Continued….At the demand of the local educational board, school authorities have since removed the separate “white” and “coloured” door labels. They claim that the decoration was in violation of the “district’s curriculum and approved lesson plans.”

The educational board also stated, “the school district is required to provide social studies and history lessons to all our students in an age-appropriate manner.” However, such “age-appropriate” discretions were never afforded to newborns, adolescents or youths growing up in the Jim Crow era.

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NORWAY EXPLOITING AFRICA

The Norwegian salmon farming industry devastates West African wildlife, food production and the economy. That’s according to European environmental group Feedback’s recent investigation.

Among the world’s top 20 farmed fish producers, 11 are in Norway. One of those is Mowi, which has established processing plants in Mauritania to turn wild fish into fishmeal and fish oil to feed farmed salmon in the world’s largest farmed fish operation.

It doesn’t help that Mauritania established a so-called ‘free zone,’ which offers incentives to foreign investors. That includes tax breaks, customs exemptions, and access to Mauritania’s infrastructure and services.

Continued…..The free zone’s activities have devastated livelihoods and the environment in neighbouring Senegal, the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. This is why Ghana’s first leader, Kwame Nkrumah, warned African countries against doing business with foreigners before uniting on a continent-wide vision.

How do you think African countries should create economic arrangements with foreign powers? Let us know in the comments.

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US AMB. TO UN EVENT PAUSED DUE TO PRO-PALESTINE DISRUPTION

The US ambassador to the UN and second Black woman to lead that post, Linda Thomas Greenfield, was interrupted by pro-Palestine protestors as she opened her speech at a recent event hosted by Columbia University. Taking to the podium to speak on the theme, ‘Preventing and Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence’, Greenfield, ironically, has consistently vetoed multiple ceasefire resolutions to bring relief if not an end to Israel’s bloodthirsty assault on the Gaza Strip. Nearly 30,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, have been killed to date. Adding insult to injury, Israeli soldiers have been accused of rape and other forms of sexual abuse against Palestinian females and males during and prior to the current assault.

Continued….The pathetic and sickening pattern of the US using Black faces in high places to advance its foreign policy objectives is all too familiar. Remember Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice? This is the main reason why Kenya has been anointed to lead the UN-backed security force deployment to Haiti, sponsored and bankrolled by none other than Uncle Sam him and herself. American boots on the ground in the Caribbean island wouldn’t cut it, especially during a highly contested presidential election year where incumbent president Joe Biden (“Sleepy Joe”) needs each and every single vote to defeat his primary contender, Donald Trump.

Have a watch and let us know what you think in the comments section.

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BURKINA FASO CHURCH & MOSQUE ATTACKED

On 25 February, terror struck religious institutions in Burkina Faso.

Reports say a first attack killed several dozens at 5 a.m. during prayer at a mosque in the eastern village of Natiaboani. A few hours later, 15 Catholic worshippers were reportedly killed during a mass in the northern village of Essakane.

While the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES) is working to strengthen its mutual defence, such attacks continue to impact millions of civilians who live in border zones. Representatives of the three states that formed the AES—Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger—have spoken about the imperialist roots of the violence. They trace the proliferation of paramilitary organisations in Africa’s Sahel region to NATO destabilising Libya in 2011. After Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was slain and overthrown, militias reportedly seized Libyan weapons that flooded the Sahel.

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SOUTH AFRICA ELECTION : ANC LIKELY TO LOSE MAJORITY

Millions of South Africans are set to cast their votes in the upcoming general election. Scheduled for 29 May and coinciding with the 30th anniversary since the fall of apartheid, it has been described as South Africa’s most crucial election since Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first democratically-elected president in 1994.

While the campaign season has just kicked into high gear, many political analysts and commentators predict trouble for the African National Congress (ANC) party, which has been at the helm of the country’s governance for the entire post apartheid-era.

Opinion polls conducted by several research and academic organisations indicate that for the first time since 1994, the ANC will receive less than 50 percent of the national vote, a threshold required to form a majority government.

Continued….Dwindling support for the ANC has been attributed to its failure to oversee a thorough dismantling of apartheid-era economic structures that are widely blamed for high levels of poverty among the country’s majority Black population. Rising crime and the increase in rotational electricity rationing, locally known as load-shedding have also contributed to voters fleeing from the ANC.

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Namibia’s minister of justice gave a strong speech at the International Court of Justice. Yvonne Dausab called for an end to the decades of injustice suffered by the Palestinian people. Speaking at a UN-instigated hearing into the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories, she spoke of Namibia’s shared pain and sense of moral duty to appear before the court, and urged the world “not to ignore the carnage waged against the Palestinians.”

But she also referenced Namibia’s brutal, colonial occupation by the Germans, and the genocide they perpetrated - massacring as many as 100,000 indigenous Namibians in what’s seen as the first genocide of the 20th century. Berlin has defended Tel Aviv against South Africa’s recent genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. Germany claims the case has 'no basis’ and accuses Pretoria of a 'political instrumentalisation' of the charge of violating the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.

What do you think of Germany’s position and Namibia’s less-than-subtle rebuke?

NIGERIANS PROTEST WORST ECONOMIC CRISIS IN DECADES

Thousands of Nigerians are rallying against high costs of living that have left hungry about 26 million people, or 12.4 per cent of the population.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), an umbrella organisation for trade unions, had called for two days of protests starting 27 February to pressure the government to tame inflation and boost a depreciating Naira, all of which has caused the worst economic crisis in decades in Africa’s biggest economy.

Nigeria’s central bank raised the interest rate by four percentage points on 27 February to 22.75 per cent, after the inflation rate reached a three-decade high of 29.9 per cent in January.

Continued…After being elected last year, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu removed fuel subsidies and currency controls, immediately tripling petrol prices and spiking living costs as the Naira currency slid by 70 per cent against the US dollar. Tinubu has asked Nigerians to be patient, saying the moves are intended to attract foreign investment. However, Nigeria’s favourite jollof rice has doubled in price over the last year. Many are now eating poor-grade rice typically fed to fish.

If you are in Nigeria, have you joined the protests? If so, please let us know how it has gone on the ground.

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UNRESOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS MURDER OF CLIFFTON WALKER

Clifton Walker was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan on February 28th, 1964, as he drove home from the International Paper Plant in Mississippi.

It was close to midnight, and he took a shortcut on Poor House Road to avoid the long drive via Woodville to go home to his wife and five children. The KKK Klansmen stopped his car, on the unpaved road, surrounded him and shot him at point-blank range in the face.

The next day, he was found dead with his feet on the floorboard under the wheel and his upper body flung across the passenger seat. This was believed to be the first act of racial violence and murder by the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

Continued….No arrests were made.

About two weeks before Walker's murder, some 200 members of the White Knights met and declared it a nationwide organisation in response to the growing civil-rights movement at the time. They held cross burnings and agreed to exterminate Blacks.

Walker was a Black American US Army veteran of the Korean war.

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PINTO AND X: OVERLAPPING VISIONS AND FATES

Fifty-nine years ago, two Pan-African greats were taken from us. Kenya’s freedom fighter Pio Gama Pinto and Black civil-rights legend Malcom X were assassinated within the space of just three days, in February 1965. African Stream’s Sefu Sanni visited a memorial gathering at the former’s grave in Nairobi - and relates what other fascinating connections existed between the two icons, who are inspirations to this day. Please share your thoughts on these intertwined heroes.

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BLACK KIDS TAUGHT TO CALM DOWN WHEN FACED BY COWARD COPS

Racism is rampant in the United States of America and its various institutions. Most notorious of all are the American police who are known to commit a number of homicides and other violent offences against Black civilians. It has gotten so bad that young children are taught how to be submissive and subservient to police rather than learning how to stand up for their rights and resist oppression.

In the long run, the Black liberation struggle has benefitted most when Black people have had the courage to contest settler authority and fight for their self defence. This was at the core of the Black Panther Party’s principles and actions.

What do you think of this approach? Will it keep SOME of our children safe? Is there any guarantee that the police won’t harm us? Ultimately, should we encourage submission or self-determination and self-defence? Share your thoughts below.

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NO MORE WHITE LIES

Africa may have rid herself of colonisers, but many history books are still woefully under the yoke of colonial narratives. Europeans liked to paint themselves as having brought ‘civilisation’ to the ‘savages’ of Africa. But really, theirs is a story of rape, murder and pillage - of the destruction of native customs, culture and identities by the imposition of foreign rule.

In this clip, singer-songwriter Erica LeShai lashes out at what she calls the ‘White lies’ still dominating not just historical discussions but people’s beliefs. In particular, she vents her frustration at how people become really upset when these falsehoods are pointed out to them. Whether these ‘lies’ are conscious or subliminal, she insists that until there is a proper reckoning and admission - until a correction of the narrative is embraced by all sides - progress is impossible.

Do you think that’s true?

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BRICS DOLLAR THREAT EXPLAINED

Watch this video to understand why the West is worried about the BRICS economic alliance expanding to include five more member states.

For those who don’t know, BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Last year, it welcomed Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

These countries are rich with resources and increasingly use their currencies instead of the US dollar. If they successfully replace the dollar’s hegemony, it could be a nightmare for the United States and its European allies.

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH HIJACKED

Imperialists have tried to appropriate everything from African music to artefacts and other sectors of African identity.

In this clip, Abbas Muntaqim, a community organiser and podcaster, broke down how Western imperialism and corporate media have hijacked Black History Month. Historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History began ‘Negro History Week’ in 1926 in the United States. In 1970, Kent State University (Ohio) students launched a month-long event to highlight the historic oppression of Black people and celebrate our achievements in the face of systemic white supremacy. After it gained popularity, US President Gerald Ford announced in 1976 that every February would be commemorated as Black History Month.

Now, it is commemorated in a few European countries and, as of 2020, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ivory Coast, Comoros, Senegal and Cameroon take part, too.

What do you think of Muntaqim’s remarks? Let us know in the comments.

ISRAELI RACISM TOWARDS AFRICAN REFUGEES

Israel is home to tens of thousands of African refugees, the majority from Eritrea and Sudan. However, despite being a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, it refuses to grant asylum to the majority - treating them instead as economic migrants.

Prominent Israeli politicians have often been guilty of whipping up anti-African sentiments. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, reportedly called for all Africans to be deported after violent clashes within the Eritrean community in the streets of Tel Aviv in September last year.

But it’s not just politicians. Some Israelis have actively protested against the presence of Africans in their country, fearing their further integration - for example, by rallying against the inclusion of the children of refugees in Israeli schools.

Continued….In this clip from a few years back, US journalist Abby Martin visited one such rally - and captured on film some of the vile anti-African sentiments expressed by participants, including placards calling for refugees to stop having children.

While racism and xenophobia are by no means unique to Israel, the decades-long mistreatment of Palestinians and the sheer brutality of the current war in Gaza - widely seen as genocidal - make one wonder just how deep the rot is.

As always, your thoughts on this are most welcome.

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CONGO REFUGEE TENTS SOAKED IN RAIN

Heavy rain has soaked mattresses and makeshift tents for hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to footage X user @joe__bassey has posted.

Around Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province, these shelters made of plastic tarps litter the landscape. Congolese have fled recent escalating violence between the M23 militant group and DRC government troops.