Today, 15 May, marks 54 years since police k*lled two unarmed students with more than 400 rounds of ammunition aimed at a group of students at Jackson State College (now University) in Mississippi, USA. 

Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, 21, a junior pre-law student at Jackson State appearing on the top left in African Stream’s infographic, and James Earl Green, 17, a senior and track team member at nearby Jim Hill High School, were k*lled. The shootout wounded 12 other students. 

Police alleged a sniper shot at their officers from upper dormitory floors, but an FBI investigation found no evidence of sniper fire. 

Continued….. Racial tensions had persisted between the historically Black college’s students and white supremacists driving through Lynch Street, which cut through the campus. Tensions allegedly rose with a rumour later proven false that slain activist Medgar Evers’ brother, local politician Charles Evers, had been assassinated along with his wife, Manie Magee. Police showed up after a student had reportedly set a dump truck on fire.

The 1970 k*llings occurred shortly after midnight at a protest against the US invasion of Cambodia during the US war on Vietnam, according to Zinn Education Project.

Authorities charged no one for the Jackson State killings, which came 11 days after the more widely covered Kent State University shootings of four unarmed students during an anti-war protest.

Fifty-four years later, students on campuses all over the US are exercising their right to protest against the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza and demanding their universities divest from Israeli investments. Police have broken up Palestine solidarity camps set by students and arrested more than 2,800 at more than 60 institutions. Former President Donald Trump, a Republican Party front-runner in November’s presidential election, and US Senator Marco Rubio have called for the US to deport international students participating in the protests.

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ISRAELI RIGHT-WINGERS BLOCK & RANSACK GAZA AID TRUCKS

This viral video allegedly shows right-wing Israelis destroying on 13 May humanitarian aid destined for starving Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Reports say about 150 activists from the Tzav 9 movement, which seeks to stop the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza until all Israeli hostages are released, blocked an aid convoy at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint in the Hebron Hills region of the occupied West Bank. Several dozen people, mostly young men, have been filmed ransacking the trucks, and ripping open containers of sugar and other goods while dropping them on the road. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports the ransacking took place from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., when police deployed a water cannon to disperse the crowd. Reports vary on the aftermath, with some outlets reporting police arrested between two and four people.

Continued…. Police allegedly told news outlets they didn’t have enough forces to clear the protest because the army hadn’t given advance notice of the aid convoy’s entrance.

It is not the first time Israeli activists have blocked and vandalised deliveries to the Gaza Strip. In January, hundreds of Israelis blocked humanitarian aid from passing through the Karem Abu Salem (or Kerem Shalom) border crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip for several days. This came despite aid organisations warning the northern Gaza Strip faced catastrophic hunger, and 1 in 3 children were acutely malnourished.

Israeli forces have expanded their military onslaught by taking control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, which had been the main entry point for humanitarian aid since the 7 October escalation in the 75-year Israeli occupation of Palestine.

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U.S GOV IMPRISONS BLACK CHILD FOR 3 YEARS

On this day in 2010, the US government arrested and imprisoned, without trial, 16-year-old Black boy Kalief Browder for three years - for allegedly stealing a backpack. His confinement included two years in solitary confinement. Kalief maintained his innocence throughout. Another victim of America’s war on the poor, Browder’s family could not afford the $3,000 required as bail. He suffered abuse at the hands of Rikers Island prison wardens and prisoners alike, with surveillance footage showing an officer assaulting him and a large group of inmates pummelling and kicking him.

Prosecutors eventually had to admit they had no case against the boy and on June 5th, 2013, he was released. Physically free, his incarceration had left a massive mental scar.

Continued…. He told The New Yorker, “I’m not all right. I’m messed up.” On June 6th, 2015, he hung himself with an air conditioner cord. He was 22 years old, and his mother’s youngest child.

Browder’s case is one of countless examples of structural racism and classism in America’s justice system. Black Americans, who make up only 13% of the US population, account for 36% of the jail population. They are jailed at almost four times the rate of White Americans. Blacks are also about seven times more likely than White people to be wrongfully convicted of three major crimes: homicide, sexual assault and drug offences. In fact, Black people were 19 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of drug crimes.

How many more Kaliefs need to have their lives cut short before real change happens?

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AFRICAN UNION DANCING TO OUTSIDE BACKERS’ TUNE?

The African Union can always be “told to dance” by outsiders - so long as the bulk of its funding comes from them. That’s the view of Dr. Alfred Mutua, Kenya’s former Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Minister, who thinks it’s high time the 55-member bloc danced to its own tune - and not to that of China, or of the EU, the UK and the US, who collectively bankroll some 60% of the AU’s funds.

Dr. Mutua acknowledges that Africa does indeed need external support, but argues it should never be the main budgetary crutch if we are to be truly in control of our own destinies.

In 2016, the 27th African Union summit in Kigali, Rwanda, initiated financial reforms to raise contributions from all 55 member states. In a statement on its website, the AU admits that it is “currently not financed in a predictable, sustainable, equitable or accountable manner” and that “more than 40% of member states do not pay their yearly contributions.”

Turkey has decided to submit its declaration of official intervention in South Africa’s gen*cide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on 14 May, ‘Israel systematically kill*ng thousands of innocent Palestinians and rendering a whole residential area uninhabitable is a crime against humanity, attempted gen*cide, and the manifestation of gen*cide.’

Turkey joins Egypt, among other states, in stating intentions to intervene in South Africa’s legal proceedings against Israel, while Colombia, Libya and Nicaragua have officially applied.

Continued….. The ICJ’s 26 January provisional ruling stated Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip since 7 October were plausibly gen*cidal and ordered Israel to take steps to avoid gen*cidal acts. Since then, Israel has k*lled more than 9,000 Palestinians, bringing the death toll to more than 35,000. With Israel blocking aid deliveries, the United Nations recently announced that famine had struck the northern Gaza Strip, which the international body had warned about for months.

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DECOLONISING RIDLEY SCOTT’S NAPOLEON

The recent Ridley Scott movie about Napoleon has been widely panned for its numerous historical inaccuracies. But it doesn’t just get things wrong, it also completely ignores crucial facts about the French tyrant’s life - such as his disregard for Africans and his forcibly bringing back slavery on the island of Haiti (then known as Saint Domingue). African Stream’s Ahmed Ghoneim’s got a bone to pick with Boney…

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WHY AFRICANS SHOULD OPPOSE ISRAEL

As Israel’s relentless violence against Palestinians in Gaza continues to cost thousands of lives, more and more people are educating themselves on the history of Z*onism. But how did Israel get the funds to create such a wealthy and powerful state to begin with?

We know the US is a major funder of the Isreali state today, but much of Israel’s original wealth comes from the exploitation of African labour, land and resources. In this video, Pan-African organiser Ajamu Umi of @aaprpinternational explains how the brutal exploitation and colonisation of Palestine is linked the pillage and plunder of Africa.

As African people, we stand in firm solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. Not only because we can personally relate to their experiences, but also because Israel continues its exploitation of our continent. To this day, Israel profits extensively from Africa’s diamonds, often known as ‘blood diamonds’ due to their links with imperialist-fuelled conflicts.

WHY WE KICKED OUT US MILITARY - NIGER PM

Niger’s government has now publicly stated its reasons for sending the US troops stationed in the country packing. In an interview with the Washington Post, Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine said America had tried to dictate Niamey’s foreign policy - demanding it not partner with US foes, such as Iran and Russia. And Washington had also threatened sanctions if Niger went ahead with supplying Iran with uranium, as part of a 56-million-dollar deal with Tehran.

Continued….. But it’s not like the US presence in Niger was benefitting the country much anyway. Zeine noted that American’s military had done next to nothing to combat the terrorist threat in Niger (itself a direct consequence of NATO’s intervention in Libya in 2011). The wider Sahel region is also suffering from a terrorist insurgency that’s draining African blood. Despite the presence of several Western militaries - including several US and CIA bases - Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali lost nearly 8,000 people to terrorism in 2022. In the early 2000s, this figure was less than 30.

What do you make of Zeine’s revelation regrading the serving of notice to the Americans? Are you surprised Washington’s trying to get its way again by threatening Africans with sanctions?

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RAFAH CROSSING OPEN AGAIN?

Images on social media appear to show the Rafah border crossing has re-opened allowing aid into Gaza from Egypt. There’s been no official confirmation, but on May 15th this footage was posted by activist @Kahlissee on X.

We hope it turns out to be true, with millions of Palestinians desperate for medical and food supplies. The crossing has been shut since it was seized by Israel last week, blocking the flow of aid workers and supplies. In a statement the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said the scale of the crisis ‘defies imagination’

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On May 16th, 1977, Modibo Keïta - the father of Malian independence - died a captive of the dictatorial regime of Moussa Traoré.

A committed Pan-Africanist, he worked relentlessly towards the eradication of artificial colonial borders. As president, he brought Mali into the Union of African States with Ghana and Guinea. He was also an instrumental figure in the formation of the Organization of African Unity and, earlier, the Mali Federation, which consisted of Senegal and Mali (at the time known as French Sudan). Keïta was one of the biggest supporters of the Algerian National Liberation Front during their anti-colonial war with France, transforming Mali into a base for their struggle.

A committed socialist and an ardent anti-imperialist, he moved his country out of France's grip by expelling French troops, closing the French military base and forging a new sovereign currency for Mali. Education was transformed and government-supported farming cooperatives became the backbone of the Malian economy.

The country became a close friend of revolutionary governments worldwide from Cuba to Vietnam.

Under Modibo Keïta, revolutionary Mali placed great emphasis on cultural preservation and development. National Youth Week was instituted as a cultural showcase bringing together various ethnic groups and regions to represent their heritage. The event is largely responsible for the prominence of Mali's famous musicians today, such as Salif Keïta.

Modibo Keïta was overthrown in a Western-backed coup in 1968 and sent to prison, where he died almost a decade later, aged 61.

Mali has struggled to find stability since Keïta‘s ouster. The last decade has been marked by militant violence after a Tuareg rebellion in 2012 was hijacked by al-Qaeda-linked extremists, who occupy most of the country's north. The neocolonial CFA franc currency that Modibo Keïta replaced was reintroduced to the country following his overthrow.

Men pass, but their ideas live on. Long live Modibo Keïta!

KING CHARLES’S PORTRAIT: RED FOR DANGER

A painting of King Charles III has caused a stir online.

British artist Jonathan Yeo said his strokes meant to communicate the king’s ‘deep humanity.’ However, the painting’s blood-red background has creeped out many online, saying it alludes to the British royal family’s violent legacy of colonialism. ‘Looks like he’s going straight to hell,’ one social media user wrote.

The British empire reigned over 412 million people—23 per cent of the global population—in 1913. At its peak in 1920, it controlled about 22 million square kilometres, nearly 17 per cent of the global land area.
Currently, King Charles III is the biggest landowner in the world, according to financial experts at Invezz, which said the king and the royal family own over 6.6 billion acres of land or 17 per cent of the world’s land area. That’s 37 times more than the next largest landowner, the Catholic Church, which, according to Invezz, owns some 177 million acres.

Continued….. Most of the king’s holdings are in former British colonies, after having displaced indigenous people.

The royal family also played a vital role in the European slave trade. King Charles II set up two shipping companies in the 1660s and 1670s, monopolising the slave trade between West and Central Africa and the Americas. The company undertook nearly 250 slave trafficking voyages between 1680 and 1688.

In 1678, the British parliament passed a law allowing merchants’ companies to join the sinister trade. In total, British ships trafficked about 3.4 million Africans to sell in the Americas during the European slave trade.

More recently, shortly after Charles’s mother had become queen, the British imprisoned, tortured and k*lled about 100,000 Kenyans during a state of emergency between 1952 and 1960.

Those are just a few of the British Empire’s crimes.

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UAE’S AFRICAN LAND GRAB

There’s a new scramble for Africa few are talking about. Countries are buying up huge swathes of the continent’s forests to off-set their own carbon footprints. And UAE is one of the biggest buyers. The Middle East petrostate aims to be a net-zero nation by 2050 and has snapped up African forests covering the size of Great Britain. But this sell-off comes at a huge cost for local populations.

According to NGO, Fern, millions of people depending on Africa’s wildlife havens for their livelihood, are having their rights violated and sold off to a foreign entity. Meanwhile, major oil and gas producers of the world get to ‘whitewash’ their image as polluters. They can also make millions by selling their stake in forests to other polluting nations in the form of ‘carbon credits’. Ahmed Ghoneim looks at the dirty game being played in Africa as the world strives to go green.

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TWO AFRICAN PRESIDENTS HANG OUT IN TOWN

It’s not often you see two African presidents out for an evening stroll in the city together. But that’s exactly what happened a couple of months back. In this clip, you can see the presidents of Eritrea and Somalia wandering through downtown Asmara - casually interacting with locals, amid minimal security. There were hand shakes, high fives and big smiles all round, and the promenade included a stop-off at a coffee house.

Of course, Isaias Afwerki and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had some very important business besides socialising and checking out the capital’s nightlife. They were holding security talks amid heightened tensions in the region, after Ethiopia (from which Eritrea broke away) recognised (Somalia’s) breakaway Somaliland in return for access to the sea.

Continued….. Relations between Eritrea and Somalia haven’t always been great either, with the latter previously accusing the former of providing insurgents with weapons - something Asmara brands a lie put about by Addis Ababa.

But judging by the videos of their relaxed walkabout, the two presidents get on well enough - so it could signal a new era in bilateral ties.

The videos also contradict the typical Western portrayal of Afwerki as an autocratic ruler… would you agree?

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