BOB MARLEY‘S POLITICAL REGGAE: ‘CRAZY BALDHEAD’

On what would have been Bob Marley’s 79th birthday, we look back at some of the deeper, political messages behind his songs - taking a deep dive into the lyrics of his revolutionary tune Crazy Baldhead.

The noscript might make it sound like it’s about neo-Nazis and skinheads. But ‘baldhead’ is actually Rasta slang for colonialists, and the words of the song are about fighting back against their cultural, political and economic grip on the Caribbean - as our man Uwimana explains. He also breaks down the Pan-African ideals behind certain other famous Marley lyrics.

Unfortunately copyright restrictions meant we weren’t able to include the music - but please do go hunt it out in the usual places if you don’t know it already!

And, of course, let us know your favourite lines in the comments!

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COERCED INTO COINTELPRO

In this 1980 interview from @abc7ny’s ‘Like It Is’ news programme, FBI informant Darthard Perry spoke to journalist Gil Noble about how the FBI was able to coerce him into betraying the African liberation struggle in the United States. The FBI’s COINTELPRO, an acronym for ‘Counterintelligence Program,’ aimed at crushing the Black Power movement and other liberation struggles in the United States. COINTELPRO sometimes relied on ordinary people infiltrating movements to serve as informants. As this clip demonstrates, the FBI recruited Africans into their ranks through manipulation, force, blackmail and threats.

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OPPRESSORS TURN PEOPLE OF COLOUR AGAINST EACH OTHER

For centuries, imperialists have sought ways of turning oppressed people against each other. This not only makes the oppressed forget who the actual enemy is, but it also turns us into cannon folder during wars of imperialist aggression.

In this 1993 clip, renowned singer and actress Eartha Kitt (1927-2008) explained how the US military-industrial complex fomented hatred between US-based African communities and other Global South people to attract Black people into the US military to fight wars in countries such as Iraq, Vietnam and Korea.

Continued…..Kitt highlights how, after our people returned to the US, they were provided with no financial support, while forced to live under discriminatory Jim Crow laws that prevailed up until the mid-20th century.

This makes it clear why the likes of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted to fight in Vietnam. When questioned, Ali famously declared, ‘I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong. No Vietcong ever called me n*gg*r.’ He added, ‘No. I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over.’ Over five decades later, his words ring true, as some African people continue to see each other and other people of colour as the ‘enemy,’ perpetuating oppressive structures that only benefit the ruling class.

Video credit: @whoopigoldberg

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LAGOS’ LITTLE CHESS KINGS

By popular demand, we’re re-running the amazing story of Nigerian chess champ Tunde Onakoya. Yesterday, we posted him beating ten players at once during a competition to raise money for his chess academy for deprived kids. Well, here’s him in action with those children in the slums of Lagos. He says the game teaches them life skills and likens his project to pawns reaching the top of the board and turning into more powerful pieces. It’s inspiring stuff. Enjoy.

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BOB MARLEY: AFRICA’S OUR HEAVEN

Happy Birthday to the late reggae legend Bob Marley.
He was born on February 6th, 1945, but there’s something we want to remember beyond his wonderful music.
The artist wanted a unified Africa. Even though he was born in Jamaica, he travelled to the continent with trips to Ethiopia, Kenya, Gabon and Zimbabwe. And he recognised all Africans scattered everywhere shared the same struggle. That is why he wrote songs like ‘Africa Unite’ and ‘Zimbabwe.’ His songs called for resistance, an end to injustice and exploitation, and a return to Africa. Africa, as he explains in this clip, is Heaven. Bob Marley passed away from skin cancer aged just 36 years old. But he remains the most internationally popular and beloved reggae artist ever and is revered by Pan-Africans worldwide.

Play your favourite Marley song today and tell us what it is in the comments 🤟🏾🎵❤️

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Britain’s King Charles III has been diagnosed with a form of cancer. The announcement comes less than 18 months after he ascended to the throne.

Charles, 75, became monarch after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8th, 2022. The British monarch is also head of state in 14 other countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu

His reign began with controversy: his first foreign visit to a commonwealth country as king was to Kenya, where he refused to issue an apology for the crimes committed by the British during colonial rule - going only so far as to admit that there were “no excuses” for the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans.” Many Kenyans were disappointed and angered, and there was a continent-wide backlash over the visit.

Continued…..In particular, there had been calls for Charles to apologise for the violent suppression carried out by British authorities in Kenya during the early reign of his mother. In the 1950s, British officials responded to what was known as the Mau Mau revolt - a movement to reclaim land and independence - with a brutal crackdown on the broader population. The Kenya Human Rights Commission estimates colonial authorities tortured, maimed or killed more than 90,000 Kenyans between 1952 and 1960.

King Charles is expected to pause public events but will continue with his constitutional role as head of state. No further details have been shared on the stage of the cancer or a prognosis.

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GROUNDATIONS, THE JAMAICAN CULTURE OF REASONING

Reggae icon Bob Marley is pictured here reasoning with brothers in Zimbabwe. 'Reasoning’ is a form of social interaction and discussion that involves the exchange of ideas in a group. It often takes place in a laid-back and informal setting, such as on street corners, in community spaces, or even at home. It is a way for individuals to connect with their roots, share traditional stories, and pass down cultural values from one generation to the next.

It’s a visible part of Jamaican culture, which of course has African origins. Many enslaved Africans brought their cultural, including communal gatherings and discussions, to the island during the European slave trade. It also draws from the Maroon communities - descendants of African slaves who escaped from plantations and formed independent communities in the mountains of the Caribbean island.

Continued….Rastafarians also engage in a version of reasoning they call ‘groundation’, typified by music, chanting, discussions, and the smoking of cannabis. The latter regarded as a sacrament with beneficial properties.

What do you think they're talking about here?

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ESCAPE FROM HELL

In March last year, this video of DRC miners being plucked out alive one by one from a collapsed makeshift shaft went viral. Nine men were saved thanks to the frantic digging efforts of a hero colleague. As each one was pulled out, they were greeted with cheers.

But the clip is as relevant now as it was then - as it highlights the dangers miners in the Congo have to face. Many seek higher earnings than exploitative multinationals are willing to pay - exposing themselves to even greater risk as ‘artisanal’ mines.

Continued…..DRC has an estimated $24 trillion in untapped minerals, yet its people are among the poorest in the world. Millions are internally displaced, countless have been killed, masses are in poverty and swathes of the population are exploited in slave-like conditions. Since the days of the limb-chopping Belgium King Leopold, to the Apples and Teslas of today, instability has been used as a tool for extracting the country's ample resources - and the people of Congo have paid the highest price.

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ABDUCTIONS OF WOMEN IN NIGERIA

There’s been another mass abduction of women in Nigeria - where militants in the northwest of the country seized dozens of wedding attendees. Abductions by those hoping for a ransom have spiked in the region of late, with the security situation there still appalling. The area became notorious for mass kidnappings almost a decade ago, when Islamic terrorists seized hundreds of school girls. Some managed to escape, others were traded for jailed fighters, while some of the children - now women - are still in captivity. But the more recent kidnappings seem more rooted in economic - rather than ideological - factors, amid rampant unemployment and poverty, as well as poor governance.

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Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) recently caused phone and Internet outages, according to the state news agency and telecommunications companies.

Sudanese families reported being unable to communicate with their loved ones, who cannot make online payments for food and other essentials.

The RSF allegedly shut down service from Sudan's two main telecommunications providers, while demanding service restoration in the Darfur region, which it largely controls. The group reportedly has forced Kuwaiti-owned Zain Sudan to stop service in the River Nile state and Port Sudan city, both controlled by the the RSF's rival, the Sudanese army.

The civil war that began in April between the RSF and the army has internally displaced 9 million people and has pushed more than 1 million out of the country. Moreover, the conflict has damaged infrastructure, such as network towers and power lines.

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BLINKEN TO AFRICA: ‘DITCH WAGNER, BUY U.S. GUNS!’

When US Secretary of State Antony Blinken came to Nigeria at the end of last month, he was there to talk regional security.

His key messages were 1) stop working with Russian mercenaries in the security sphere, and 2) rely on American weapons and support instead.

Who was he looking out for there, do you think - Africans, or America?

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Continued….This is due to Western mining firms having dominated the sector for the larger part of the last 100 years, while avoiding paying taxes.

In 2012, Washington-based group Global Financial Integrity revealed that, between 2001 and 2010, nearly $9 billion was illegally siphoned out of Zambia to tax havens. This amount is way higher than what the country received in foreign 'aid' during the period in question.

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AFRICA CONTROLLING RESOURCES WOULD BE TROUBLE FOR WEST

Journalist Clayton Morris blasted the United States during an interview with US-based media outlet Redacted about which African countries the US government may seek to destabilise next.

In this excerpt, he explains how Norway discovering oil in the mid-20th century helped transform it into one of the world’s most prosperous countries. However, Morris said the United States would not want resource-rich African countries to undergo such a transformation.

What do you think? Let us know.

Video credit: @dancohen3000 of Redacted

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MALEMA: SPRINGBOK SYMBOLISE APARTHEID

South Africa’s national rugby side may be a source of great pride for the nation following their record fourth World Cup noscript. But for some, the famous gold and green jersey and springbok emblem are anything but.

Opposition leader Julius Malema wants the colours and famous leaping antelope badge changed because of their links with the apartheid era.

They’ve been worn by the side since first appearing during a tour of Britain back in 1906. And remained during the height of apartheid when the Blacks were banned from playing the sport alongside Whites in South Africa.

Continued…..The ANC had called for the kit to be scrapped after coming to power almost 30 years ago. However, Nelson Mandela intervened and allowed the national team to use the traditional strip at the 1995 World Cup, believing it could be a unifying step. But even today, despite making up less than 10 percent of the population, White players still form more than half of the country’s rugby team.

Do you agree with Malema it’s time for a change? If so, what colours and emblem would you choose?

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