By William K. Alcorn, The Vindicator — Ron Daniels, former Youngstown community activist and television personality, introduced as one of the founders of Youngstown Kwanzaa 50 years ago, paid a surprise visit to the first day of this year’s weeklong event that celebrates African heritage in African-American culture. “When we started Kwanzaa here in the former West Federal Street YMCA, we were among the first in the United States to celebrate…
By Eugene Mason, PBS — The United States owes African-Americans reparations for slavery, a recent report by a United Nations-affiliated group said. The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent said that compensation is necessary to combat the disadvantages caused by 245 years of legally allowing the sale of people based on the color of their skin. The U.N. group warned that the U.S. has not confronted its legacy of “racial terrorism.”…
From Ethiopia to Tanzania and South Africa to Ghana, African nations are embracing this ledger technology to weed out graft. By Kizito Makoye, OZY — On his first day in…
By Felice León, The Root — It’s no secret that Jesus Christ, known in Christian circles as the Son of God, is often depicted as a white man. But, how…
What a Danish slave trade castle in Accra revealed about Ghana’s history and my family. By Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann, Hampshire College — As a Ghanaian archaeologist, I have been conducting research at Christiansborg Castle in Accra, Ghana. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the castle is a former seventeenth century trading post, colonial Danish and British seat of government, and Office of the President of the Republic of Ghana. Today,…
We are profoundly thankful to Danny Glover for his support of the work of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) and the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC). As a tireless advocate for the U.N. Decade for People of African Descent and reparatory justice, Danny Glover has been with IBW every step of the way in our successful effort to intensify the U.S. and global reparations movements. We urgently need your support to continue this vital work.
Nixon came in part to avoid attending the funeral, but he also brought a check—later lost—for her children’s education, according to a family friend finally telling the story. By Eleanor…
Reggae was often championed as a music of the oppressed, with lyrics addressing sociopolitical issues, imprisonment and inequality. By TeleSUR — Reggae music – whose calm, lilting grooves found international fame thanks to artists like Bob Marley – has won a coveted spot on the United Nations’ list of global cultural treasures. UNESCO, the world body’s cultural and scientific agency, added the genre that originated in Jamaica to its collection of “intangible…
You can attack the Palestinians in America uninterrupted, call to expel them and deny their existence. Just don’t dare say a bad word about Israel, the holy of holies. By…
Today’s far-right populists relish the idea that they can be morally contemptible, yet still prevail. By Keith Kahn-Harris, The Guardian — The concept of “white supremacy” is having a moment right now, and understandably so. White resentment, entitlement and bigotry never went away, but it is closer to the political mainstream now than it has been for decades. The rhetoric of the likes of Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, Steve Bannon and…
Democrats hoped for a huge rejection of Trumpism, but found two forces still hold an intoxicating political power. By Andrew Gawthorpe, The Guardian — The expectations we carry into elections always make it difficult to objectively assess their outcome. Before the midterms, Democrats hoped for a blue wave that would decisively hand them the House and perhaps more, while Donald Trump was poised to declare victory whatever the outcome. The morning…
This video makes the powerful point that Britain and other European countries fail to honor and memorialize Black and Brown soldiers who fought and died for “democracy” in the…