Continued…. Harper requested identification from the driver, noticed a discrepancy, asked him to exit the car, and questioned him at the vehicle’s rear.

Accounts differ regarding what followed, but a shootout ensued. Shots instantly killed Zayd, Assata was shot and wounded with her hands raised, and Sundiata Acoli was apprehended after fleeing.

Foerster died after being shot twice in the head with his gun, while Harper was wounded.

Though Harper acknowledged shooting and killing Zayd, police charged Assata and Sundiata with killing Foerster. Police also charged Assata with killing Zayd, her closest friend, whom Professor James Small has referred to as Assata’s husband.

In 1979, the Black Liberation Army liberated Assata from prison. In 1984, Cuba granted her political asylum, and she continues to live there to this day. Meanwhile, authorities released Acoli in May 2022 after nearly 50 years behind bars.

We hail these Black liberation fighters.

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HOW COLONISERS FORCED DESTRUCTIVE CAPITALISM ON AFRICA

George Mpanga, better known by his stage name, George the Poet (@georgethepoet), breaks down how European colonisers introduced capitalism in Africa against the will of our ancestors. The Ugandan spoken-word artist describes how our land was ruthlessly appropriated from its rightful owners and converted into an asset for the sole benefit of colonisers. Thus were the livelihoods of Africans destroyed, and the exploitation continues today despite the attainment of ‘flag independence.’

George admits his rise to fame was enabled by the British capitalist system. He was offered an MBE before turning 30, and was invited to read a love poem at the 2018 royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Continued…. But he is now heading in another direction. He turned down the MBE because of what he called the ‘pure evil’ of the British Empire and is using his talent to take on the establishment and its ‘war on Blackness,’ which he defines as “a range of disconnected but related assaults on people of African descent by the global power structure.”

He’s just published a memoir, “Track Record: Me, Music and the War on Blackness.”

What are your thoughts on George’s take on capitalism’s origin in Africa? Let us know in the comments.

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AHMEND TIMOL: MURDERED BY APARTHEID

The month of May will mark 30 years since Nelson Mandela was sworn in as South Africa’s first Black leader after he won the country’s first democratic elections. It was a watershed moment that symbolised the end of apartheid and the beginning of a new society.

However, three decades later, many feel that the dream of building a new society has largely failed. There are many reasons for this, including the failure to hold accountable those who committed heinous crimes against the non-White population at the behest of the apartheid regime.

Continued…. The country is still haunted by many unresolved brutal murders of anti apartheid activists. One of these is the murder of Ahmed Timol at the then-John Vorster Police Station (now Johannesburg Central Police Station) by members of the notorious ‘Security Branch’ of the apartheid oppression apparatus.

In this clip, African Stream’s Ahmed Kaballo explains what happened - and why justice was never served. It’s taken from our full-length documentary on South Africa’s ‘unfinished’ revolution, which you can find on our YouTube channel.

Your views and insights in the comments are appreciated.

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Continued…. Football’s world governing body, FIFA, revealed in a 2022 study that nearly 50% of Black footballers suffer racial abuse. FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, is demanding tough action against offenders, including worldwide stadium bans and ‘automatic forfeits’ for teams whose supporters hurl ‘abhorrent’ abuse. Sadly, what he wants and what is happening remain two different things.

Maybe players need to down tools?

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GHANA’S ASHANTI KING WELCOMES RETURNED TREASURES

Ashanti King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II presided over a colourful ceremony on 1 May to mark the return of looted royal artefacts. 

One hundred and fifty years after the British colonial war against the Ashanti people in what is now Ghana, 32 royal items of gold and silver have been placed on display at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region. The return of the treasures is part of two three-year agreements between two British museums and the Asantehene, or king of the Asante kingdom.

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Today, 2 May, commemorates the 57th anniversary of this iconic moment when gun-wielding Black Panthers took the steps of California's state capitol as a white-led gun-control movement took hold in the United States. 

African people have endured centuries of egregious white supremacist violence in the United States. In the 1960s, the Black Panther Party rose to advocate for self-defence. Faced with rampant police brutality, the Black community came to respect the Black Panthers for their ability to guarantee Black people's security by publicly displaying firearms. 

However, the party's armed presence unsettled white people and law enforcement, leading to the white-led California state government to curb gun rights.

The first legislation emerged from an unexpected source: A conservative Republican. California Governor Ronald Reagan, who later became US president, signed into law AB 1591, famously known as the Mulford Act, in 1967.

Continued…. This law made publicly carrying firearms without a government-issued licence a felony. Before this, California state law allowed carrying loaded firearms openly in public spaces, provided they weren't concealed or aimed at others.

Today, the National Rifle Association stands as the leading advocate for gun rights in the United States. However, in 1967, they stood behind the Mulford Act, even assisting in drafting it. 

Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton caught wind as the legislation took shape. He saw it as a blatant ploy to disarm the Black community. On 2 May 1967, he led approximately 25 fully armed Panthers to the California state capitol in Sacramento, marking a pivotal moment in African people's history.

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RAMAPHOSA PALESTINE SPEECH RALLIES VOTERS

South Africa’s president is rallying support for this month’s general elections. Cyril Ramaphosa’s ruling ANC party has been shedding votes ahead of the ballot on May 29th. And he used Labour Day to urge the country’s workers to back him. He also stressed Pretoria’s unwavering support for Palestine, quoting Nelson Mandela. South Africa’s Communist Party, which is in coalition with the ANC, condemned the West, accusing it of planning to take South Africa back.

The up-coming race is hard to predict. Even though the ANC’s been in power for decades, growing numbers of South Africans feel marginalised. Issues like land redistribution remain unaddressed, with a small minority owning the vast majority of South Africa’s arable land.

It’s a mood opposition parties are exploiting, with gains being made by the pan-African EFF as well as Jacob Zuma’s MK party. The former president overcoming legal challenges to take part in the vote.

HILARIOUS MEME NIGER WINS SANCTIONS BATTLE

It’s a serious story, but this meme might make you chuckle. It’s about how Nigeria’s sanctions on Niger backfired, forcing Abuja into an embarrassing U-turn.

After the public-supported coup in Niamey, Nigeria cut off electricity to its neighbour, leaving thousands without power. It also imposed trade and diplomatic sanctions and froze Nigerien assets in external banks. Egged on by France, millions of dollars in aid were also withheld. The aim was to pressure Niger into reinstating ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

However, they got more than they bargained for when Niamey retaliated. Nigerian aircraft were banned from Niger airspace, forcing Nigerians to pay five times the normal price for an air ticket. The result: Nigeria couldn’t take the pain and lifted sanctions. A sweet win for the military leaders in Niamey, who also abandoned ECOWAS after it threatened to invade.

Continued….. Niger has now formed an Alliance of Sahel States with Burkina Faso and Mali.

'Be careful what you wish for' is a phrase that springs to mind. And the story’s sparked a bit of humour on social media, not least through this remix of the famous 'El Risitas' interview.

FYI, it’s based on a TV interview with Spanish comedian Juan Joya Borja, nicknamed El Risitas, back in 2007. He laughed uncontrollably all the way through. It’s a memorable scene that’s been put to good use since. Enjoy.

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U.S. FLAG DRENCHED IN BLACK PEOPLE'S BLOOD

Known for her courage and refusal to compromise, Fannie Lou Hamer helped found and became vice-chairperson of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964. This predominantly Black party challenged the white-run Democratic Party. 

Hamer helped transition the Civil Rights Movement to the Black Power Movement in the United States, as she understood that Black people could not achieve liberation by integrating into inherently White supremacist institutions. 

Continued….. Hamer later joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the earliest Black Power organisations in the United States. She then travelled to Guinea to meet with President Ahmed Sékou Touré on a SNCC delegation alongside Stokely Carmichael, who would later go by Kwame Ture. This trip would be pivotal in the movement’s turn from Black Power to Pan-Africanism.

In this 1968 clip from the documentary, ‘The Heritage of Slavery,’ Mama Hamer tells the truth about what the US flag represents: Blood, sweat, and tears of enslaved Africans and their descendants.

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ANTI-ZIONIST JEW: ZIONISM BENEFITS EUROPE & U.S.

In this @thepeoplesbubbiefilm clip, @jvpny member Esther Farmer reads from a piece she wrote published in a 2021 book she co-edited, ‘A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zi*nism.’ She describes her father predicting Zi*nism’s settler-colonial project in the form of the state of Israel would backfire on all Jewish people.

For Africans, Israel has unfortunately played a detrimental role on the continent, arming groups and states, while an Israeli cyber-arms company, Pegasus, has allegedly spied on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. During apartheid, Israel supplied South Africa with weapons to combat freedom-fighting Africans. Israel even gave South Africa the information it needed to build nuclear bombs.

What do you think about Esther Farmer’s remarks and how they relate to Israel’s modern-day role in Africa? Let us know in the comments.

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