Continued…. Such weaponry has been used against civilians - including, allegedly, the horrific bombing of two refugee camps near Goma on May 3rd, which k*lled at least 12. The beneficiaries of this three-decade conflict have been Western powers - chiefly, the US and the UK, both of which fund Rwanda's Paul Kagame and Uganda's Yoweri Museveni. Former US President Bill Clinton hailed Kagame and Museveni as examples of a "new breed of leaders" when describing Washington's allies in Africa. MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping force in DR Congo, is exiting after a 25-year presence, and has been accused of doing little to keep the peace in the volatile region. As foreign powers profit from extracting DRC's vast mineral wealth, it is the Congolese people who bear the horrific brunt of the country's long-running conflict.

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CRIMES OF APARTHEID: SOWETO STUDENT MASSACRE

Three decades ago, South Africa's brutal apartheid policy officially came to end with the election of longtime political prisoner and anti-apartheid stalwart Nelson Mandela as the country's first Black president.

It was a moment of great hope and expectations - not only hope for a brighter future for the Black population, which had faced centuries of oppression, but also hope that there would be justice for the numerous atrocities that the apartheid regime had perpetrated against Black people as it violently enforced its racist policies.

Continued…. One such atrocity occurred on the morning of 16th June, 1976, when over 20,000 students in Soweto township, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, took to the streets to protest against the apartheid regime's education policy - in particular, the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction.

The students attempted to march to Orlando stadium for a rally to register their displeasure, but they were confronted by heavily armed police officers and soldiers. After a brief standoff, police fired teargas and live ammunition on the peaceful march, killing at least 176 students and injuring nearly a thousand. Some estimates of the death toll are even higher.

This clip is from our full-length documentary looking at the state of South Africa 30 years on from the fall of apartheid - which you can find on our YouTube channel.

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KENYA'S DOCTORS' STRIKE: NO BACKING DOWN!

For almost two months now, Kenyan doctors have been on strike - embroiled in a bitter row with the government over pay and conditions. Services in public hospitals are at a standstill, with citizens paying the highest price.

The medics want the government to honour a 2017 agreement, but rather than improving conditions, the government seems intent on making them worse - for example, by slashing medical interns’ pay by 77%. At the same time, the government is facing criticism for its lavish expenses on foreign travel and inner-circle residences.

Continued….. In the background is the IMF, which, like the World Bank, is heavily involved in Kenya's economy. One of their typical loan conditions is limiting public spending, including on healthcare. With billions of dollars in new loans flooding in, it raises the question of the role of the Bretton Woods institutions in this stalemate.

How do you see this confrontation between Kenya’s medics and government (hamstrung by the IMF?) playing out? Which side of the picket line are you on?

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WHY H*TLER IS MORE FAMOUS THAN LEOPOLD

In this video, African Stream’s editor-in-chief Ahmed Kaballo tries to make sense of the indifference shown to the suffering of the Congolese people. He argues that history shapes current perceptions and responses to atrocities. King Leopold’s atrocities in Congo in the late 19th century, which k*lled an estimated 10-million people, set a precedent that allowed subsequent mass k*llings in Africa to receive less attention and condemnation. Because Leopold got away with the Congo atrocities, it made it easier for the world to ignore the around 6-million Congolese people k*lled in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Continued…. Colonial figures responsible for mass African deaths are not properly recognised or condemned - even within Africa - thanks to Western biases regarding how history is framed and taught. Compare, for example, the legacy of brutal figures like H*tler, whom many Africans unhesitatingly recognise as the embodiment of evil, even though he did not commit violence against Africans on the scale seen in the Congo.

Do you agree that history has desensitised the former colonial powers to African suffering today?

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THE GAZA STRIP: AN ISRAELI INVENTION

Israeli historian and political scientist Ilan Pappé expounds in this video clip on the history of Gaza, a melting pot of culture, commerce and religion.

Gaza City became prominent because of an ancient coastal trade route—the Via Maris—connecting modern-day Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Turkey.

In 1948, settler-colonial forces, backed by the United Kingdom, displaced 750,000 Palestinians the day after the state of Israel was established. Palestinians call that event the ‘Nakba’ (‘catastrophe’ in Arabic). While neighbouring countries welcomed Palestinian refugees, Egypt closed its borders. That forced the newly established Israeli state to give back 2 per cent of historic Palestine, dubbing the 41-kilometre enclave the ‘Gaza Strip.’

Continued….. Israel has now turned the Gaza Strip into the world’s biggest open-air prison, blockading more than 2 million Palestinians since 2007 by cutting power, restricting food intake and imports, and arbitrarily closing borders. Israel declared a total blockade after the 7 October escalation, cutting water, electricity and food supplies to the enclave in violation of the Geneva Conventions that prohibit collective punishment of civilian populations.

Since 7 October, Israeli forces have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened a ground invasion of the strip’s southern city of Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge on the border with Egypt.

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U.S. NEO-N*ZIS RALLY OVER ‘ANTI-WHITE’ CRIME

It’s a shocking scene. A neo-N*zi rally in a US suburb demanding action against Black women over an alleged crime.

Members of NSC-131 stood on a roadside in Greenwich chanting N*zi slogans and giving one-armed salutes. They say they want justice after a White female was allegedly attacked in a local park. And they warn if police don’t take the ‘right’ action, they’ll be back.

In case you don’t know, NSC stands for Nationalist Social Club. It has about 30 members and is one of a growing number of White supremacist groups in America. In December 2023, it was sued by the Massachusetts Attorney General over a ‘campaign’ of violent protests and attacks on LGBTQ and non-White people.

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U.S. ACCUSES RWANDA OF DEADLY DRC REFUGEE CAMP STRIKES

The US has pointed the finger at Rwanda - after two deadly strikes on refugee camps in neighboring DRC. The bombings took place at Mugunga and Lac Vert on Friday, with dozens who’d fled the violence in the war-torn east killed - mostly women and children. Washington alleges Rwanda’s military, in collaboration with the M23 rebel group, committed these atrocities, although Kigali strongly denies this and blames other groups fighting alongside the DRC’s military.

Continued…. The US, and wider West, condemns Rwanda for backing the M23 group, but has taken no significant actions, while US corporations allegedly continue to profit from the illegal mining of Congolese resources, which are laundered through Rwanda. Countries such as the UK continue to provide substantial aid and investment to Rwanda, and there have been few sanctions on Rwandan officials, raising questions about the West’s commitment to addressing the decades-long conflict in Congo.

What do you think? Should the West wield its stick or are we actually better off finding an African solution to the murderous campaign in DRC?

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BURKINABÉ CALL OUT U.S. HYPOCRISY

Several hundred protesters gathered on 3 May outside the US embassy in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, expressing anger and discontent with Washington for recently criticising the African state's military leadership.

A joint statement by the United States and Britain on 29 April expressed 'grave concern' over a Human Rights Watch report that military forces killed hundreds of civilians in February in the country's north. The government has denied the allegation.

Waving Burkinabé, Russian and North Korean flags, protesters accused the US of a double standard, pointing to about 500,000 people killed in the US war on Iraq and US financial and military support for Israel's onslaught in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.

Burkina Faso's military government, which seized power in a 2022 coup, has further defied the West by embracing Russia as a partner to secure the border zones where armed militants had controlled territory.

KWAME TURE: PAN-AFRICANISM IS A MASS MOVEMENT

African people’s contributions to the fight for a more just and humane world have shaped and added dimensions to the global class struggle.

In this 1996 clip, the late revolutionary Pan-Africanist and founding member of @aaprp (or @aaprpinternational), Kwame Ture (1941-98), highlighted a unique feature of the African fight for liberation: Mass-based parties. While fighting for a unified and socialist Africa, we have formed organisations that have set aside the vanguardism of revolutionary movements in other parts of the world in favour of mass-based political structures. Vanguard parties require a small group of well-trained people providing leadership to build a mass movement. These parties tend to have a small membership, as a result.

Continued….. Mass parties, on the other hand, allow members of any rank to have an equal say, but can move slower.

In search of concrete examples of what Ture speaks of, one may look to the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde (PAIGC), which liberated Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde through a mass-led armed struggle. One could also look to the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the National Liberation Front (FLN) of Algeria or the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).

And, today, we see our people pouring out into the streets of Ouagadougou, Bamako, Niamey and other Sahelian cities to defend the anti-imperialist revolutionary process. We see thousands of Haitian people protesting, organising and fighting, year after year for their liberation. Rarely do we see a minority of our people leading successful liberation movements. Perhaps this speaks to a democratic worldview and approach to our fight.

As Ture points out, we must join organisations and come together worldwide to defend our collective interests as African peoples everywhere.

What are your thoughts?

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Civil rights activist Reverend George W. Lee was killed on this day 69 years ago, but his murder remains unsolved. While driving his car in Belzoni, Mississippi, he was shot by a man who pulled up alongside and opened fire. FBI agents identified credible White suspects, but said potential witnesses appeared afraid to talk and dropped the case.

What is clear, is that Lee’s campaigning for the Black vote put him in the crosshairs of White supremacists. At the time of his murder, he was the leader of the Belzoni chapter of the The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was actively involved in civil rights campaigning and became the first Black person to register as a voter in the 1950s. Lee wanted others to follow suit and successfully got another 92 Africans on the voting register, with help from activist Gus Courts.

Continued….. In response, White supremacists demanded Lee stop his activism and remove his name from the voting roll. He refused. Despite mounting threats, he remained defiant. In April ,1955, Lee addressed more than 7,000 people who’d gathered for the annual meeting of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). He was the vice president of the Mississippi civil rights body, but it would be his last major public engagement before his murder less than a month later.

The county sheriff and state governor both refused to launch an investigation into the death, and a Department of Justice probe only followed after intervention by the United States Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. However, no charges were ever brought and the case was eventually closed.

His murder and its subsequent treatment by the authorities underlined the brutal prejudice he was fighting against.

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One of Beyoncé’s hits goes: “Who run the world? Girls!” - and in African and Caribbean countries at least, this might actually be true!

According to the International Labour Organization, data collected in 2022-2023 reveal that Burkina Faso and Nigeria have the world’s highest share of female bosses - 70% and 67%, respectively. The next two countries on the list are Jamaica and Botswana.

Africa as a whole, though, has a bit further to go along the road towards gender equality. I

Continued…. n 2022, 38% of managers in our continent were female - an increase of 2% since the Covid pandemic, which saw women take on more roles.

Looking at female representation in parliaments across Africa, progress is visible - with Sub-Saharan Africa recording the highest increase in women lawmakers in 2023. Rwanda continues to lead globally - with women accounting for 61% of seats in the Chamber of Deputies, closely followed by Cuba and Nicaragua (with 55.7% and 53.9%, respectively).

So Africa boasts the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to women in power and in top jobs. Why do you think that is?

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DRC PREZ: WHY WE PREFER CHINA AND RUSSIA

Europe should be Africa’s best trading partner due to its geographic proximity, according to DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi. However, it’s the arrogance of Western leaders that’s destroying any hope of meaningful relations.

During this interview with French TV station LCI, Tshisekedi says the West likes to preach on human rights (which it obliterated during 400-years of colonialism). And it’s why many African nations now choose to do business with Beijing and Moscow.

It sums up the continent’s international relations, and we’re seeing it play out in the Sahel. Russia has signed security and economic deals with Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali after the French were kicked out.

Do you agree with the DR Congo leader?

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CHINESE BOSS WHIPPING AFRICANS
SPARKS OUTRAGE

A video appearing to show a Chinese man whipping African workers with a stick has sparked debate on racial discrimination by foreign employers based in Africa. The viral clip was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Dom Lucre, journalist and founder of BTNNetwk. He posted, ‘Chinese employer in Africa treating his employees like Trans Atlantic slaves.’

Although we haven’t been able to verify the location and date of the footage, it mirrors past cases:
* In April 2022, Rwanda sentenced Sun Shujun, a Chinese national, to 20 years after he was found guilty of whipping a worker.
*In 2021, a Kenyan court awarded an African worker more than $25,000 after he was beaten by his Chinese restaurant employer.
*In 2021, the non-profit Business and Human Rights Resource Center (BHRRC) found 181 claims of human rights abuses connected to Chinese investment activities in Africa between 2013 and 2020.