Zwelivelile Mandela (@nkosizwelivelile), the grandson of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, has joined the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ (@gazafflotilla), a grassroots fleet of boats set to sail from Turkey to the Gaza Strip to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to break the Israeli siege on more than 2 million Palestinians.

According to organisers, the boats carry more than 5,500 tonnes of food and other humanitarian supplies, as well as medical workers and activists.

Zwelivelile, also a parliamentarian in South Africa, said on his social media accounts that people from more than 50 countries will participate in the humanitarian voyage.

Continued….. Although the flotilla was set to sail on Sunday, 21 April, Turkish authorities have not yet given the green light. In May 2010, Israel intercepted a flotilla carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid for Gaza. Israel k*lled 10 people and injured 30, inflaming diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel. 

Israeli authorities had imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, which escalated after 7 October. Israel restricting the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave has pushed Palestinians to the brink of famine, as the UN has warned is imminent by next month in the northern part. In March, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said one in three children under the age of two in northern Gaza are now acutely malnourished.

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WHY IS THE WEST UPSET AFRICA IS DEALING WITH RUSSIA & CHINA?

Why is the West obsessed with who Africa deals with? 

If you ask the United States, the response is usually along the lines of ‘safeguarding democracy from authoritarian regimes.’ But, every so often, the mask falls off, such as with US Africa Command (AFRICOM)’s head, General Michael Langley, who let out the reason is ‘access and influence.’ The West doesn’t see Africa as an equal partner but a witless pawn.

Western powers are known for overthrowing democratic governments, propping up dictators, providing a haven to stash loot robbed from African taxpayers and so on. On the other hand, China, in recent decades, has partnered with African countries to build up sectors like trade and infrastructure. Yet, the West wants Africans to cut ties with the Chinese and the Russians, both of whose history of solidarity with Africa goes as far as the struggle for independence.

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MALEMA: 'WE WANT ONE AFRICA'

Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) President @Julius_S_Malema spoke with Kaya FM radio host @PhemeloMotene about the South African economy, education, and the continent's future ahead of the South African provincial and national elections on 29 May.

In this 27 February clip, Malema made the case for unifying Africa by eliminating colonial borders and creating a continent-wide governance, military protection and currency. He said this is how Africans will win genuine respect when dealing with the international community and benefit from Africa's natural mineral wealth.

What do you think about Malema's plan to unify Africa? Let us know in the comments.

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THE STORY OF AFRICA'S MOST FAMOUS MELODY

The Lion Sleeps Tonight uses perhaps Africa's most famous melody and made millions of dollars - but not for its original creator, Zulu singer Solomon Linda.

The melody did not belong to Disney, yet it helped turn The Lion King into a huge box-office success. The US entertainment giant held out crediting the South African singer until it was sued by his descendants.

Nothing wrong with African music being enjoyed and appreciated beyond the continent, of course, but credit where it’s due, please. Can you think of other examples of appropriation without acknowledgement?

This is the story of the song whose real name is Mbube.

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WHITE PRIVILEGE FOR DUMMIES

Some people actually still think that White privilege is a myth - created by ‘angry’ people of colour as a tool to bash Whites.

They believe, for example, that poverty rates are higher among Africans because they make the racist assumption that we are somehow lazy. Never do they entertain the possibility that we are, in fact, hindered every step of the way by systemic political and economic oppression rooted in slavery, colonialism and neo-colonalism.

In this clip, spoken-word artist Kyla Jenée Lacey breaks down the concept of White privilege for those who still do not get it or believe in its existence.

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FRANCE URGED TO PAY HAITI REPARATIONS

A group of 20 NGOs meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, have called on France to pay reparations to Haiti to cover a debt former slaves were forced to pay in exchange for recognition of the island's independence.

The coalition of civil activists working under the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) wants to create a new independent commission to oversee the restitution of the debt and compensation for attendant economic losses. Some experts argue Haiti is owed over $100 billion.

Continued…. Haitian slaves successfully revolted against French colonialists and established the world's first Black republic in 1804. France then imposed a 150m gold franc 'ransom' on Haiti to compensate colonialists for the loss of land and slaves. Haiti finished paying it in 1947, but the damage had been done by then. The Caribbean island was severely deprived of economic resources to develop itself and has been embroiled in instability, poverty and underdevelopment.

France admits it owes Haiti a 'moral debt' but has ignored previous calls to pay reparations.

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‘YOU’RE COMMITTING ASSAULT’ U.S. POLICE ARREST PRO-PALESTINE STUDENTS

Student protests against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza are happening across the world, and they’ve exploded in the United States. Over the last week there have been demonstrations at campuses from California to Massachusetts. But their calls of ‘free Palestine’ have been met with a violent response from police who’ve arrested hundreds.

This clip shows Los Angeles officers man-handling students at University of Southern California (USC). You can hear a bystander shouting ‘you’re committing assault’ as officers pull a protester off campus. Ninety-three people were detained for ‘trespassing’ after they'd formed a camp on college grounds.

Continued…. Footage on social media also appears to show police firing a rubber bullet into a crowd near the university. The LAPD hasn’t confirmed if officers used such weapons during the hours-long operation on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024.

Apart from arrest, students also face suspension by universities, which are accused of investing in corporations that profit from the war.

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Take a look at any war the United States has waged, and you’ll find Black people involved.

While some of our people fought for the US side in the US-Mexico War, which began on this date, April 25, 1846, many Africans fought on the Mexican side, too. Why might that be, you ask? The war started with European slaveholders in places like Texas and Louisiana demanding to be part of the United States after Mexico abolished slavery in 1837, 28 years before the United States did the same. Mexico granted enslaved people freedom as soon as they crossed the border. Plus, Mexican officials refused to return runaways under the US Fugitive Slave Act.

Continued….. The war resulted in what is considered the 19th century’s biggest land grab, with the United States acquiring more than 500,000 square miles (1.3 million square km) of Mexican territory, extending westward from the Rio Grande, a river, to the Pacific Ocean. The war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on 2 February 1848. It gave the US control of present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming, for $15 million.

The United States continued with its expansionist agenda, later developing Manifest Destiny, a belief that white settlers were destined to conquer the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Does US expansionist history inform its support for Israel, accused of harbouring a similar policy in its quest for ‘Greater Israel’ in West Asia and northern Africa? Let us know in the comments.

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HOW BLACK STUDENTS LED 1968 COLUMBIA UNI REVOLT

Student protests are sweeping elite US colleges over Israel’s war on Gaza. Since police broke up demonstrations at Columbia University last week, rallies have spread to other institutions, including Yale, New York and California universities as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Students are demanding a ceasefire and want their universities to stop investing in corporations that profit from the conflict. A coalition - made up of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace - has formed the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ movement.

Continued….. Such action is reminiscent of protests at Columbia University 56 years ago. Back then, there was a revolt against college ties to military research and the construction of a gymnasium in a public park in Harlem, New York. Led by Black students, five campus buildings were barricaded, forcing the university to shut down for a week. They were also protesting against the deeply unpopular Vietnam War, which they believed was immoral and unjustified.

It’s a story that made global headlines and, just like now, police were used to break up the demonstrations. It was seen as a pivotal moment in the campus movement. And those that organised it, have since explained how Black students were instrumental.

In this clip, we hear from those involved in the Columbia protests that broke out on April 23rd, 1968. They were speaking on its 50th anniversary.

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NAOMI KLEIN: ‘ZIONISM IS A FALSE IDOL’

Canadian author and activist @NaomiAKlein ripped into the basis for the Israeli state during a 23 April protest held during the Jewish holiday of Passover in New York.

Klein, a Jew herself, said the political ideology of Zi*nism is a ‘false idol’ that has corrupted Biblical ideals of justice, emancipation and freedom by entrenching an ethno-supremacist settler-colonial state in Palestine.

Hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers turned the event into an anti-war demonstration, blocking traffic at sunset in the area of Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza so they could pray for a ceasefire and urge the highest-ranking Jewish member of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, to end US military aid to Israel.

Continued…. That day, the Senate approved a $95 billion military aid package to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine that US President Joe Biden signed into law the following day.

Reports vary, saying police arrested between 200 and 300 people at the demonstration held a block away from Schumer’s residence.

The ‘Freedom Seder,’ a Black and Jewish multiethnic demonstration in 1969 against the US war on Vietnam on the first anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, inspired @JVPNY and @ifnotnoworg organisers. A Seder event commemorates the story of Moses leading Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt.

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CENK UYGUR: 'ISRAEL SHOULD DO NOTHING IN RESPONSE' TO IRAN

When British journalist Piers Morgan asked TYT Network founder Cenk Uygur what Israel's response should be to Iran's recent drone attack, Uygur reminded Morgan that Israel provoked Tehran by bombing Iran's consulate in Syria.

The 1 April attack killed 16 people, including two high-ranking Iranian military officials.

Uygur added that Israel should not respond.

Do you think Israel is to blame for this escalation? Let us know in the comments.

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