TRINIDAD’S LEGENDARY CLAUDIA JONES

With roots in Trinidad and a political consciousness forged as an immigrant in the US witnessing racial injustice, Claudia Cumberbatch Jones was a leading feminist-Marxist intellectual - whose activism saw her jailed, and then deported to the UK. There, in response to London’s Notting Hill race riots, she launched what is now one of the world’s most famous and vibrant carnivals. She was already a legend whilst alive, and her works and legacy remain an inspiration. African Stream’s Wambura Mwai brings us the story of this amazing woman. Have you read her work?

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KNOW THREE COUNTRIES WITH FIRST LETTER M?

We’re back on the streets with another exciting edition of Afriquiz! Watch - and join in - as host Miss Phyll tries to tease the right answers out of her contestants. Can you name three countries in Africa that start with the letter M? Let us know in the comments.

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SCOTTISH TRADE UNIONIST’S REMARKS RING TRUE FOR AFRICANS

At African Stream, we think Scottish trade unionist Jimmy Reid’s remarks in this clip from about 50 years ago are relevant for Africans.

From the continent and throughout the world, governments tell us we have rights. According to international law, a Malian farmer has the same legal rights and responsibilities as Nestlé CEO Ulf Mark Schneider. However, when Malians lost a lawsuit against food companies Nestlé and Cargill for child slavery, we saw that, in practice, equality before the law isn’t real.

Rural Nigerian villagers are allegedly equal to the executives running oil companies Shell and Chevron. But who do you think has the upper hand in the courtroom?

Continued…. Legally, African Stream has the same rights to freedom of speech as the New York Times, CNN and the BBC. But which do you think has to contend with censorship?

Under capitalism, most of our freedoms are abstract because, while we have the same legal rights as those who rule over us, we do not have the resources to fight to maintain these so-called freedoms.

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WHAT IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF IMMIGRATION?

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, while speaking to France 24 about immigration, reminded viewers of the root cause: Europeans coming to Africa to enslave, plunder and colonise - and leaving Africa underdeveloped while robbing it of resources to this day. That’s why those in a panic in the EU and the United States about Africans seeking a new life there ought to be more understanding. Had the West not enriched itself at the expense of Africans and done everything to keep our continent down and divided, this ‘crisis’ would not be at their door. What are your thoughts on this?

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NO AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT DEVELOPING AFRICANS

Africa’s most prized resource, its people, have been relegated to mere footnotes by Africa’s ruling elite. With low literacy rates and high poverty and hunger on a continent with 67 per cent of the world’s arable land, what gives? Everyone is clamouring for Africa, except the Africans, who, on rickety boats, look for opportunities their governments should have provided.

Imperialism plays a role in the current state of affairs, as well. Leaders of the 20th century, such as Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Patrice Lumumba, Burkina Faso’s Thomas Sankara, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah and Grenada’s Maurice Bishop, all executed pro-people policies, looking to utilise their natural resources to develop African people. They all saw their final days at the hands of the colonial powers.

Continued…. PLO Lumumba, a Pan-Africanist and former director of the Kenya School of Law, made the case in November 2022 that development is impossible without improving the African condition. In this clip, he spoke to Nigerian politicians in Abuja before the 2023 elections.

Could greed, a lack of self-esteem and insecurity explain the disconnect? How relevant would the tired unimaginative elite be if Africans were empowered? How much better would the continent fare if the lions refused to be led by bought-and-paid-for sheep?

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

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WATCH YOUR WAIST… BEADS TO STAY SEXY

Waist beads are all the rage on TikTok. For pretty much the same reasons our African ancestors loved them. African Stream’s Miss Phyll explains.

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FORCED STERILISATION IN AFRICA!

US philanthropic foundations’ have a long and dark history of trying to control reproduction in Africa.

The Rockefeller Foundation advertised in 1979 that it was launching the ‘Nertus Project’ to depopulate Africa in exchange for food, water and housing. However, decades later, activists and justice-minded intellectuals are trying to hold some of these foundations accountable, as African Stream’s Wambura Mwai explains.

How should Africans hold outsiders accountable for eugenicist projects? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Should Africans hold foreigners accountable for trying to depopulate our continent?

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Our African Proverb of the Week originates from South Africa - and could almost be said to illustrate itself, as it’s short but deep. It’s a reminder not to rush to judge others based simply on their appearances, but to make the effort to get to know them better. Do you have any similar sayings?

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BURKINA FASO READY TO DEFEND ITS LAND

Burkina Faso has been investing most of its resources into defending its territory against paramilitary forces roaming the Sahel region, most recently by acquiring aircraft seen in this @rtburkina clip.

Words like ‘sovereignty’ and ‘autonomy’ are featured in President Ibrahim Traoré’s speeches and increasingly in the everyday conversations of citizens.

Burkina Faso, along with neighbouring countries Mali and Niger, are working to strengthen their relationships with one another, as well as with international partners, to fight back successfully.

Continued…. For Burkinabé, these aircraft are a step toward greater security, prosperity and self-determination.

Over the past nine years, paramilitary attacks led France to occupy this small landlocked country militarily. However, attacks continued across Burkina Faso and the Sahel, an arid zone south of the Sahara Desert. Many people across the region believe paramilitary forces, or what some refer to as ‘death squads,’ are connected to foreign powers outside of Africa. These forces increased in the aftermath of the 2011 NATO destabilisation of Libya. After former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s ouster, rebel groups from Mali were able to access the fallen government’s weapons stash. Since then, some have wondered how these militants have been obtaining new weapons and technologies.

After the 2022 military coup that ousted a Western-aligned leader, France got the boot to the cheers of the Burkinabè people.

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CASTRO: WHY U.S. HATES CUBA

Two months after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Cuban leader Fidel Castro visited Argentina, where he delivered a speech that highlighted Cuba’s staunch opposition to Washington’s destructive imperialist policies, a position that’s earned Cuba a six-decade blockade.

Castro compared the United States dropping bombs to Cuba’s medical internationalism, which benefits people in far-flung corners of the globe. Since 1963, more than 600,000 Cuban health workers have provided medical services in more than 160 countries. Cuba also provided free military support to the last of Africa’s liberation struggles in the southern part of our continent.

In contrast, in the past 20 years, US and allied air forces have dropped more than 337,000 bombs and missiles around the world. That doesn’t include the 7.6 million tonnes of explosives dropped on Vietnam alone.

Why is Washington desperate to crush Cuba’s revolution?

Let us know your thoughts.

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THE PENTAGON’S DIRTY CARBON BOOT-PRINT

As the world observes Earth Day today, one institution seems to have been let off the hook: the U.S. military. It’s the planet’s biggest polluter, according to multiple studies.

Washington has done much to bury this uncomfortable truth. It lobbied to exempt its military from reporting its emissions, as required by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The 2015 Paris Agreement overturned this exemption - but still does not legally bind the US to report military emissions.

With at least 750 American army bases globally (29 in Africa), it’s not just US boots on the ground that are a cause for concern - but the carbon footprint they leave. African Stream’s Kenneth Kaigua looks at how this enormous war machine is killing our beautiful planet.

It’s another reason to take pride in our brothers and sisters in the Sahel, as they kick out US forces from their counties - do you agree?

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MOROCCANS BLAME U.S. & ISRAEL FOR GAZA MASSACRE

Hundreds of Moroccans gathered on 20 April in front of the US consulate in Casablanca to say the United States is just as responsible as Israel for the bombardments and escalated siege that have killed 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since 7 October.

US diplomatic, financial and military support has allowed Israel to occupy Palestinian territories for 75 years.

On 19 April, the US House of Representatives passed a bill giving Israel $26 billion in ‘emergency aid.’ If it passes in the Senate, US President Joe Biden, who has promoted the bill since October, is likely to sign off on the $95 billion military aid package to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.