By Peniel E. Joseph— This week marks the 155th anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution that banned racial slavery. At the time this marked a new birth of American freedom, one that came at a such a high cost — and remains so incomplete — that many Americans tend to gloss over the contemporary challenges left in its wake. The end of 2020 also…
The US is now an empire in decline, regardless of whether Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or Mitch McConnell runs the show. By Tom Engelhardt— We’re now living in an age of opacity, as Rudy Giuliani pointed out in a courtroom recently. Here was the exchange: “In the plaintiffs’ counties, they were denied the opportunity to have an unobstructed observation and ensure opacity,” Giuliani said. “I’m not quite sure I know what…
An Ode to Mi Corona, Featuring Yvette Modestin (Lepolata Aduke Apoukissi). The HairStory Project — A multimodal art experience providing context for the ongoing debate of natural hair and celebrating the roots of their African heritage. Learn more: @thehairstoryproject Yvette Modestin is an Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW21) Board Member, a National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) Commissioner and the Founder and Executive Director of Encuentro Diaspora.
By Tom Phillips in Duque de Caxias— The shooting of two young black girls – who had between them enjoyed fewer than 11 years of life – has sparked outrage in Brazil and intensified the debate over police violence and structural racism in a country still grappling with the legacy of slavery. Witnesses claimed they had seen a police officer shoot into the community at about 8.30pm that night, although Rio’s…
By Mike Ludwig— In a historic vote, House Democrats passed legislation that would decriminalize marijuana on the federal level and begin to address the harms caused by drug policing in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color. The House voted 228-164 on Friday to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would remove cannabis from the federal list of illegal drugs, create a process for expunging “non-violent” federal marijuana convictions, and funnel tax revenue from legal cannabis sales to communities that…
By: Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent — A lot of past cruelties can underscore America’s history of hate. Today, one could capture that hate through the lens of at least some of the more than 74 million people casting a vote for President Donald Trump. Often described as a racist, chauvinist, and one whose policies separated immigrant children from their parents and put them in cages along…
By: Dr. Ahmed Reid— In the second of the guest column, ‘Reparation Time’ in collaboration with The Centre for Reparation Research (CRR) at The University of the West Indies. CRR’s first Research Fellow, Dr Ahmed Reid, highlights the disparities and the large deficits that currently exist between Caribbean countries and former colonial powers of Europe as a context for the demand for reparation for development. The United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index (HDI) is…
By: ARYN BAKER/KAMPALA, UGANDA— To find the most famous musician in Uganda, simply punch his name into uber. If you follow directions to Bobi Wine Residence or Bobi Wine Road, you’ll eventually find yourself on a rutted mud track that winds through the remnants of an old banana plantation on the fringes of the Ugandan capital, Kampala. When TIME visits in September 2019, the man himself greets us at his…
By: Melissa Chan — Luther Thompson never thought he’d be a gun owner. But in April, the 41-year-old obtained a concealed carry license and bought his first firearm—a $400 Smith & Wesson pistol—after feeling, for the first time, that he was not safe raising a family in the South as a Black man. “Down here, it’s totally different,” he says. “They’re bold with their racism.” The purchase came two months…
By Nkechi Taifa — Time can be both friend and enemy, although it teaches us so much in either identity. I was in my first year of evening law school when Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, was born. Ronald Reagan was president and I was working fulltime during the day for an anti-apartheid organization under the tutelage of Dr. Jean Sindab, a badass, brilliant Black woman —…
By Jessica Byrd, The Root — For months, I’ve been anxious, yet hopeful. Despite all of what we faced this year from the pandemic to the economic crisis to racial violence, I held onto my faith in Black movement. We’re building a future where every Black person can live free with the resources they need to thrive, not simply survive. To do that, we believe we must contest for power…
Black people have known forever that White people’s commitment to true democracy can be fickle By Anneliese M. Bruner, The Lily — As a Black woman in America, I’ve been watching the neck-and-neck presidential election race like everyone else. I’ve also been reading online posts, conversations and articles happening in the spaces I inhabit — spaces where Black folks speak their minds openly about the racism that stains and permeates…
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW21) is committed to enhancing the capacity of Black communities in the U.S. and globally to achieve cultural, social, economic and political equality and an enhanced quality of life for all marginalized people. – Learn more here
© 2021 Institute of the Black World 21st Century.
