TopIcs: Remembering Patrice Lumumba, “Elections Matter” Revisited. Guests: Maurice Carney (Friends of the Congo, Washington, D.C.), Earl Ofari Hutchinson (Commentator, Publisher, The Hutchinson Report, Los Angeles, CA) and Bill Fletcher (Author, Commentator, Labor/Social Justice Activist, Washington, D.C.).
![Ben Jealous addresses supporters at a primary-election-night party on June 26, 2018.](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Ben-Jealous-fist-pump-910x512.jpg)
The former NAACP head’s big win in a key gubernatorial primary sets him up as a Democrat who can run and win with a bold progressive vision. By John Nichols, The Nation — Ben Jealous entered the race for governor of Maryland with a remarkable résumé—Rhodes scholar, investigative journalist, past president of the Rosenberg Foundation, founding director of Amnesty International’s US Domestic Human Rights Program, youngest-ever national president of the NAACP, high-profile…
![Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/alexandria-ocasio-cortez.jpg)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s primary win over Rep. Joe Crowley was no surprise to those who actually listened. By Joseph Neese, Salon — It quickly became the viral moment of Election Day….
![Ben Jealous](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Ben-Jealous.jpg)
The former NAACP chief wants to turn Maryland into a progressive beacon, fusing Bernie-style economic policy with racial justice. But first he has to win his gubernatorial primary. By Adam Serwer, The Atlantic — Ben jealous, a tall, gregarious man wearing a suit, stepped to the center of the room at Morgan State University. The comedian Dave Chappelle, wearing stylishly torn clothes and clutching a cup of coffee, took a seat…
![‘There’s another important public space where blackness has been policed: the voting booth.’ Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/voting-while-black-the-racial-injustice-that-harms-our-democracy-1.jpg)
The routine suppression of black voters is far-reaching and has devastating consequences. We cannot be silent about it. By Carol Anderson, The Guardian — The recent spate of whites calling 911 on African Americans for barbecuing while black, waiting in Starbucks while black, sleeping at Yale while black ad nauseum has led to a much-needed discussion about the policing of public spaces. Yet, there’s another important public space where blackness has been policed and we have…
![Mia Mottley](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mia-Mottley-910x512.jpg)
Mottley, 52, becomes Barbados’ eight Prime Minister and the fifth female head of government in the English speaking the Caribbean. The BLP attacked the current government on its policy of…
![Stacey Abrams](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/stacey-abrams-georgia-primary-victory-is-the-latest-win-for-black-political-organizing-1_910x512.jpg)
A large network of political groups and outreach initiatives, many of them helmed by black women, backed Abrams in Georgia’s May 22 democratic primary. By P.R. Lockhart, VOX — On Tuesday night, Georgians voting in the state Democratic primary overwhelmingly backed Stacey Abrams, bringing the 44-year-old former Georgia House minority leader one step closer to becoming the first woman governor of Georgia and the first black woman governor in the US.…
![Steve Bannon](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/steve-bannon-910x512.jpg)
Christopher Wylie told Congress that the firm engaged in “voter disengagement” tactics and targeted black Americans By Rachel Leah, Salon — Christopher Wylie, Cambridge Analytica whistleblower and a former employee…
![Russian Trolls Were Obsessed With Black Lives Matter](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/russian-trolls-were-obsessed-with-black-lives-matter-1.jpg)
By April Glaser, Slate — On Thursday, Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee released a trove of about 3,500 Facebook and Instagram ads purchased by Russian operatives to influence the 2016 election and exploit and attempt to worsen America’s polarized political climate in the months that followed. The ads reveal a sophisticated campaign clearly aimed at supporting Donald Trump’s presidential bid and inflaming Americans on some of the most divisive social and…
![Brazilian rapper Nega Gizza attends the launching of her bid for the country's October elections in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil May 8, 2018](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Brazilian-rapper-Nega-Gizza_910x512.jpg)
They represent Favela Front of Brazil, a political movement attempting to unify the voting power of favelas and other poor black neighborhoods historically overlooked and underrepresented in Brazilian politics. By teleSUR — Let’s have a round of applause for our companion Marielle, who was one of our greatest supporters in this process,” Afro-Brazilian filmmaker Anderson Quack, who is running for Congress, told a cheering crowd of nearly 200 people assembled late Tuesday…
![Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy. (Image: Wikipedia)](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/slavery-democracy-and-the-racialized-roots-of-the-electoral-college-1.jpg)
By Christopher F. Petrella — At 11:45 p.m. on November 6, 2012, Donald Trump tweeted that “the electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.” Four years later, at 2:31 a.m. on November 9, 2016, the Associated Press projected that Donald Trump would win the state of Wisconsin and therefore surpass the required 270 Electoral College votes to become President-elect. The AP tweeted: “Donald Trump is elected President of the United States.” Though…
![Epsy Campbell Barr](https://ibw21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Epsy-Campbell-Barr-910x512.jpg)
Epsy Campbell Barr is the first black, female vice president in Latin American history. Epsy Campbell Barr has just made history. The Costa Rican economist, politician and author is the first…