WHAT'S JULY 4 TO THE SLAVE?

Few people could do justice to a Frederick Douglass speech quite like Hollywood actor James Earl Jones, fellow talented orator. In this video, he reads the historic address, ‘What to the slave is your 4th of July,’ during a 5th July 2004 performance of Voices of a People's History of the United States. Douglass had initially used it to address the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society in 1852 in New York.

In the speech, Douglass chastises the United States' biggest holiday, the Fourth of July, a day marking US independence from Britain. Despite the Declaration of Independence being predicated upon ‘equality of men,' Africans remained slaves until 1865. What freedom then, Douglass asks, is there to celebrate?

Continued…Frederick Douglass was born in 1818 on a plantation owned by then Maryland governor and US senator Edward Lloyd V. He escaped at age 20, and dedicated his life to fighting for abolition of slavery. He was a dedicated reader and powerful orator. He wrote hundreds of essays, a novela, three autobiographies and thousands of speeches.

When the civil war broke, Douglass lobbied President Lincoln to free and arm all enslaved Africans. ‘End slavery right now. Free them and arm them. They know the South far better than anyone else.’ It is argued that had Lincoln’s administration heeded the advice earlier, the war would have been concluded sooner.

Douglass' words, like many other ancestors', ring as true today as it did then. The United States is still divided along racial lines. Africans in the United States are disenfranchised economically, with the average African household being 10 times less wealthy than their white counterparts. The gap is only widening. Africans are also overrepresented in the US prison system, with the legacy of the CIA-run crack epidemic playing a part. Yet, Donald Trump successfully ran in 2016 for US president on the 'Make America Great Again' platform. What then, as Douglass asked, is the 4th of July to a slave.

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ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WERE BLACK!

There’s a strong sense of denial that dark-skinned Africans contributed to ancient Egypt's great civilisation and accomplishments. But, in history books and in films, the original story of ancient Egyptians has remained in dispute. Mainstream scholars reject that Egypt was either a white civilization or a Black civilization, maintaining that applying notions of race is anachronistic. Meanwhile, Netflix's recent docudrama, "Queen Cleopatra," depicted the ancient Egyptian ruler as Black, causing an uproar as some Egyptians complained the feature appropriates their culture and rewrites their history. Well, this myth originates from colonial Egyptologists who argued that ancient Egypt was "Aryan" and therefore dominated nearby nations that were seen as "Negro." According to Dr Muhammad Arabi, it's very important to push back and to acknowledge all of Egypt's history. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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MALEMA: 'NO TO FOREIGN MILITARY BASES IN AFRICA'

The African continent has in the last two decades seen a proliferation of foreign military bases, a phenomenon that some stakeholders say puts the security and sovereignty of the continent at risk. Here is Julius Malema, president of South Africa's pan-Africanist political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, sharing this view at an EFF Diplomatic Breakfast in August. Hear what he had to say about why Africa needs to kick out all foreign forces.

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CAN YOU PRONOUNCE OUAGADOUGOU?

It’s time to test your knowledge of the African continent!
We headed to the streets of Kenya armed with our shillings and questions, and as usual bumped into some bright sparks. See if you too can crack our latest brainteasers

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END OF THE ROAD FOR NIGERIA'S PUPPET PRESIDENT?

Following the failure of his multiple attempts to invade Niger at the behest of France and the USA, Nigerian president Bola Tinubu appears to be at the end of the road, courtesy of some legal trouble in the United States.

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CUT THE CHECK!

During the Socialist Horizons conference held on September 2 in Atlanta (USA) Eugene Puryear, host of Breakthrough News (@btnews), was asked what he thought about reparations for African people in the United States. His solution was simple: Cut the check.

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AMERICA’S HYPOCRISY EXPOSED

Nigeria celebrated its 63rd independence anniversary from British colonial rule on 1 October. In this 1996 interview with US news programme, “60 Minutes,” Louis Farrakhan exposed and challenged US hypocrisy in judging Nigeria. The Nation of Islam leader said Nigeria is a young nation working to overcome its challenges. Hence, he added, it does not need the United States to lecture it on how to run its affairs.

He questioned the United States’ moral authority to impose governance on African nations. He criticised the United States for disregarding its own past atrocities, such as the atomic bombing of two Japanese cities—Hiroshima and Nagasaki—and the genocide against indigenous peoples. He challenged the portrayal of Nigeria as the world’s most corrupt nation and called for an end to hypocritical moralising.

Continued…Parallels can be drawn with recent events, as the West expects Africa to toe its geopolitical line on the war in Ukraine. They want Africans to forget that the United States and its allies bombed Libya, and invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.

Let us know what you think about Farrakhan’s remarks.

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