S. AFRICAN SISTER SLAMS CAPE INDY MOVEMENT

You’ve heard of Brexit, but have you heard of CapeXit? It’s a movement calling for South Africa’s Western Cape - as well as potentially other parts of the Cape - to break away from the rest of the country.

What little support it currently has comes mainly from the region’s White population, who say Western Cape - currently run by the Democratic Alliance, which has roots in what was the ruling party under apartheid - is better managed than the rest of the country, and better off going it alone.

But in this clip, a South African sister exposes the movement for what it really is: a land project driven by a colonial sense of ennoscriptment to divide Africans even further.

Continued….As she notes, White people in South Africa - including in Western Cape - are descended from Dutch colonisers, and hence have no right to be trying to subdivide the country further. If anything, we should be removing borders, not imposing them: as she says, Nigeria is as much her home as Kenya is, and as South Africa - in its entirety - is.

Do you agree with her?

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

CAMEROON’S MARTHE MOUMIÉ VS THE FRENCH

Cameroon’s Marthe Moumié (1931-2009) fought tirelessly for the independence of her home country and other African states, especially Equatorial Guinea. Her first husband was the nationalist Félix Moumié, who was assassinated. Her next partner would also be killed - executed for his role in a coup attempt. Marthe was imprisoned and tortured during her struggle against French imperialism, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to push back against the colonialists. She led the women’s wing at the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon. African Stream’s Wambura Mwai looks back at her life.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

WEST BEHIND SOUTH AFRICA’S BLACKOUTS?

Despite being Africa’s second-largest economy, South Africa’s been battling power blackouts for years. Many blame the corruption and inefficiency plaguing the state-owned power firm Eskom. However, some allege it’s being deliberately sabotaged to collapse it ahead of a cheap sell-off to the private sector.

Among those convinced this is happening is South African author and entrepreneur Mpho Dagada. He claims the public would never sanction Eskom’s sale unless it were on its last legs. He alleges Western capitalists are now encouraging senior members of the country’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), to help do that by embezzling Eskom funds. It’s an outlandish allegation, but could it be true?

Continued….The ANC has always denied such rumours. Last year it threatened legal action against former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter, who described the firm as a ‘feeding trough’ of the party.

Whatever the truth is, Eskom is a faltering company, and South Africans are suffering as a result.

Listen to this guy’s take on the sad situation and give us yours.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

ISRAEL REALTOR SELLS WEST BANK TO NORTH AMERICANS

Fancy buying property in the West Bank in Occupied Palestine?

Events promoting the sale of settler developments in occupied Palestinian territories have been held in synagogues in the United States and Canada, apparently exclusively reserved for Jewish buyers.

This clip shows the public’s outcry in various cities as these events took place. For example, a Muslim man went to an event advertised in Toronto, Canada. On the way there, an online search showed the for-sale property is in a West Bank settlement. Then, a recording showed him being turned away because he’s not Jewish.

Continued…..Under international law, Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal. According to the United Nations, between 2012 and 2022, the population of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, had grown from 520,000 to more than 700,000.

These events have been held regularly throughout the years. But amidst the Israeli bombardments and blockade that have killed more than 31,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since 7 October, protests have not only risen but been amplified by social media users.

Public awareness about the broader 75-year Palestine-Israel conflict has spiked, with the majority of people in the United States telling pollsters they support a comprehensive ceasefire. However, Canadian residents are less likely to support it.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

WHEN AFRICANS IN AMERICA FOUGHT TO LIBERATE ETHIOPIA

Do you know the story of John C. Robinson? He was an African-American pilot who volunteered to help Ethiopia in its resistance against Italian fascist colonialism. His tale is worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster, yet finding big bucks for Black history has never been easy. But @etancomics have now turned Robinson into a comic-book superhero. In this clip, their founder explains why.

Which African legends would you like to see turned into comic book (and Hollywood!) heroes?

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

Our African proverb of the week comes from Ghana and offers some humour paired with a deep message. Sometimes we need to adjust our position to find a solution, no matter how big the problem.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

KILL N-WORD STOP KILLINGS

Seventy per cent of Baltimore is Black, and its homicide rate makes it one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

For the last decade, there have been around 300 killings a year in a population of just over 600,000. But what are the causes? Community activist and organiser Brother Alton blames a lack of self-respect among the Black community as a result of 400 years of systemic oppression and white supremacy. And he’s working hard to reduce violence by mentoring Black males to be their brothers’ keepers.

In this clip, he powerfully reminds them to stop using the derogatory n-word when referring to each other. a term created by racist whites to dehumanise our people. He says, ‘You can kill a n****r, but you can’t kill your brother.’

Continued….Baltimore’s homicide rate fell below 300 in 2023 for the first time in years. Politicians typically credit targeted police enforcement for the drop. However, we feel community activists like Brother Alton are the ones who deserve the credit.

According to the US Department of Justice, over 80 per cent of homicides across the country involve Black men. Explanations are complex, but maybe wider adoption of initiatives like Brother Alton’s could help.

Watch the clip and tell us what you think.

Video credit: @mrleagueofmen

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

WHITE BANK PRESIDENT STEALS FROM FREEDMEN

Black people in the United States have survived perpetual annihilation tactics designed to rob them of their human rights. The intentional financial marginalisation of the Black community has long fueled wealth disparity in the US between the black and white communities. The story of the Freedman's Bank is just one example.

Continued….The bank was allegedly founded to help formerly enslaved Africans build savings for future generations. One only needed a nickel to open an account. Soon, the bank had more than 61,000 depositors. However, all of the bank's trustees were white. They lobbied the US Congress to relax the bank's charter. They then proceeded to gamble the savings away. They gave money to friends. They invested in elaborate yet frivolous construction projects. When the bank collapsed, Black people lost the equivalent of $77 million when adjusted for inflation. Considering the interest they were owed, Jesse Van Tol, president and CEO of the US-based National Community Reinvestment Coalition, estimated a loss of between $118 billion and $139 billion in today's dollars.

The tragedy of the Freedman's Bank is that white people played with Black people's resources, knowing they could get away with it. And, they were right. Academics and historians who have studied the case argue a consequence was Black people lost trust in banks.

Have you heard this history before? What do you think?

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

THEY MUST NOT DIE: STORY OF SCOTTSBORO

On March 25th, 1931, nine Black boys in Alabama, USA were falsely charged with r*ping a White woman. They would then be sentenced to death. Labelled a legal case of lynching, this case, known as the Scottsboro Boys case, blew up across the country and the world as a major part of the early Civil Rights Struggle.

Continued….The Scottsboro Boys case was a pivotal moment in Black history in the United States that had rippling effects that would impact generations to come. The international struggle to free the Scottsboro Boys led to the largest resistance movement against racism in the US justice system in history. The international impact of the Scottsboro case was so far reaching that a Sedition Bill was passed in Ghana (then the British colony of the Gold Coast) to prevent Africans from agitating in support of the Scottsboro Boys.

While the case did officially bring about certain legal reforms to the carceral system, such as mandating the presence of Black jurors in cases with Black defendants, this would often go unenforced throughout the 20th century and into the present. In one example, Black revolutionary Assata Shakur would go on to be sentenced to life in prison by an all-White jury. In 1986, a court ruled that race could not be used as a factor in the initial establishment of a jury pool. In 2021, there were two high-profile cases in which nearly all-White juries acquitted White men for shooting and killing Black men - the murders of Jake Blake and Ahmaud Arbery.

Africans in the United States and throughout the diaspora continue to struggle against a racist criminal justice system in which they are disproportionally incarcerated.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio