‘OUR WHITE HOUSE IS BLACK HARLEM’

When Thomas Sankara arrived in New York in 1984 to address the United Nations, he also had another mission in mind. Apart from addressing world leaders on issues including Israel’s oppression of Palestinians, he wanted to connect with the city’s Black community.

The day before speaking at the UN, the Burkina Faso leader headed to Harlem’s Harriet Tubman School and gave this speech to a crowd of 500 people. It was there he delivered the famous line:’ Our White House is in Black Harlem.’ He wanted to forge a bond between Africa and the African diaspora within the United States. And he wasted little time, urging his audience to ‘fight for the dignity of the African man.’

The All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (@aaprpinterntional) co-hosted the event, but it wasn’t Sankara’s only appointment. While in Harlem, he also inaugurated an exhibition of Burkinabè at the Third World Trade Centre.

Continued….. The trip underlined Sankara’s ambition to build global bridges. He hosted Pan-African organisers from the US in Burkina Faso and worked to open the Institut des Peuples Noirs (Institute of Black Peoples), an educational centre focused on the artistic, intellectual and cultural achievements of African people.

Sankara was a true pan-Africanist. He understood and embraced the Black people of the United States and the Caribbean as fellow Africans and insisted they would always have a place on the African continent. He pushed for the advancement of Africans worldwide and quickly forged a bond with the Black liberation struggle in the Americas.

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Our African proverb this week comes from Somalia and reminds us to be independent. We all have goals in life, but stay true to your own feelings and forge your own path. Don’t strive for success using someone else’s methodology.

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AFRICAN BRAIN DRAIN PLAGUES HEALTHCARE

Brain drain has left Africa’s healthcare sick. The continent faces a shortfall of a million doctors, partly due to the number of qualified medics who’ve emigrated.

Arikana Chihombori, the former AU envoy to the UN, claims there are more Ghanaian doctors in New York City than Ghana itself. And in this clip, she makes it clear it’s not just a problem facing healthcare. It’s a curse infecting every sector. Have a listen and give us your solution.

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THE GREATEST ADVICE OF ALL TIME?

Muhammad Ali - born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. - died on this day 8 years ago. He was a renowned boxer and activist. Growing up in the era of racial segregation, he was vocal about the rights of African people globally, especially in America.

At the age of 12 twelve, he was motivated to become a boxer after someone stole his bike and he wanted to ‘rough him up.’ He was encouraged by an officer to learn how to box first, and after watching the sport on TV, he trained as an amateur before becoming a pro.

Continued….. He is widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time: he won the world heavyweight championship three times - a first - and successfully defended his noscript 19 times.

A lot of people idolised him, including children and the younger generation. But in this clip, he advises them to focus on education and creating a trade for themselves - rather than try to follow in his footsteps as a fighter. That’s because only the very best stand a chance of making it, and even for them, that chance is minuscule and filled with uncertainty.

It’s great advice, but do you think young Ali would have actually listened to it?

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TUNISIAN FOOTBALL FANS’ TRIBUTE TO GAZA

During the Confederation of African Football Champions League final, supporters of Tunisia’s Espérance Sportive club, numbering 34,000 strong at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium in Radés, expressed solidarity with Palestine amidst Israel’s ongoing gen*cidal aggression in Gaza.

In a display of unity, massive mosaics adorned the stands, conveying messages advocating for the Palestinian cause and condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Banners held by Espérance fans bore slogans such as “Made in Gaza,” “Our noble values: freedom in an occupied world,” and “Standing with Palestine,” showcasing unwavering support for the oppressed.

Continued….. These banners also paid homage to various entities championing the Palestinian cause, including South African lawyers at the International Court of Justice, the Celtic Ultras, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and flags representing nations backing Palestine.

This isn’t the first time North African football supporters have raised flags and banners for Palestine. The politically conscious ultra-culture runs deep. Many of these fans are the same youth who led revolutions a decade ago against their oppressive in regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.

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With Kenyans still outraged by their president’s lavish foreign-travel costs - especially the $1.5 million he recently splashed on his private jet to the US - William Ruto is off again, this time jet-setting to South Korea.

It’s not clear this time round how much his plane will set back Kenyan tax payers - who are hard hit by the soaring cost of living, who’ve been told to tighten their belts by the traveller-in-chief and who can expect more tax hikes - but his defence is the usual one: he’s “fending for Kenyans,” go-getting business deals that will supposedly bolster his nation economically.

In fact, Ruto has vowed to “export” 10,000 Kenyans to do jobs in South Korea - his word, not ours. Perhaps he meant ‘secure jobs for’ - but it’s almost as if he regards Kenyan workers as some kind of livestock commodity.

Does his unfortunate word choice reveal his true opinion of Kenyan workers? Are his foreign-travel costs justified?

THREE MILLION SUDANESE CHILDREN FACE FAMINE

Famine could take hold of large parts of war-torn Sudan. U.N. chiefs warn 18-million people already face acute food insecurity and 3.6-million children are malnourished. It’s feared the catastrophic situation could spiral further, if agencies can’t get aid into the country.

The grim reality was spelled out by Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). There are also concerns over the sexual exploitation of women and children, and the use of child soldiers. While the question of who is winning the war in Sudan is up for debate, what’s obvious is that Sudanese people are paying the highest price.

Continued…. One year and two months ago, a power struggle between the leader of the Bashir-era paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, Hemedti, and the Sudanese Army general, Burhan, sparked the war between the two. Since then, 8.9-million people have been forced to flee, according to ReliefWeb, making it the world’s biggest displacement crisis.

According to the World Food Programme, humanitarian convoys can’t cross frontlines due to security threats. A U.N.-backed report in March said immediate action was needed to ‘prevent widespread death and total collapse of livelihoods’.

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US RAPPER CALLS FOR A FREE PALESTINE

Prominent US rapper Benjamin Haggerty, known as Macklemore, voiced his support for Palestine during a concert in Germany on June 1st. Video clips on social media show him declaring his solidarity in front of a 19,000-strong crowd in Monchengladbach.

Macklemore also denounced U.S. and German complicity in Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, which has killed more than 36,400 Palestinians - primarily women and children. A further 80,000 have been injured since October 7, 2023. Israel’s continued crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine to the enclave is causing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Continued…. South Africa’s filed a gen*cide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. In January it ordered Tel Aviv to take all measures to prevent violations of the 1948 G*nocide Convention. In May, it demanded Israel immediately halts its assault on Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians had sought refuge from the g*nocidal war.

Following his speech, Macklemore performed Hind’s Hall, a song he wrote in support of Palestine.

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WHY EFF LOST S.A. ELECTIONS

South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters were pushed into fourth place in the recent elections - despite having some of the most progressive policies out there. The party pledged to deliver a land reform that would have addressed injustices inherited from the apartheid era. It also promised to lift Black South Africans out of disproportionate poverty and to nationalise banks and mines. Yet Julius Malema’s party garnered only 9.5% of the vote, with former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party racing ahead into third with 15%. Why?

According to @timomedia360, the brother in this clip, it comes down to xenophobia among Black South Africans.

Continued…. For some reason, a large number of Black South Africans reject wider African unity - and the EFF’s open-border policy with it - out of fear that there will be a stampede from across the continent to get into South Africa.

Malema himself has rejected this explanation, adding that his party has in fact achieved one of its key stated goals: ending the ruling ANC’s majority. He insists there will be no change of Pan-African party principles.

What do you think the reason for the EFF’s loss of support came down to?

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FINED IN FRANCE FOR WEARING TRADITIONAL PALESTINIAN ATTIRE

This woman was walking by herself on 31 May down the streets of Lyon, France, when a police officer spotted her black-and-white keffiyeh and her Palestinian robe and fined her for protesting without any protest occurring in sight.

The keffiyeh and various similar scarves have been worn for different reasons across the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula for at least the past 300 years. Some trace its origin to Sumerian and Babylonian civilisation in 3100 BC. However, the scarf symbolised Palestinian resistance during the Arab revolt of 1936-39 against Zionist incursion.

As African people, we already have an understanding of what it means to be policed and profiled for expressing our culture. Often, our hairstyles are frowned upon or even blatantly banned for being deemed ‘unprofessional.’ Perhaps, in the future, this French police officer will see an African with an afro or dreadlocks and decide they are up to no good.

MUHAMMAD ALI VS VIETNAM WAR

Muhammad Ali, who died on this day in 2016, is possibly the greatest boxer of all time. But his claim to greatness rests not just on what he did inside the ring. He was also a passionate advocate for racial justice for Africans in America and globally. He never shied away from standing up for what he believed in and courageously stood against the Vietnam War, famously refusing to join the US Army’s murderous campaign against the people of Vietnam, stating: “I will not go 10,000 miles from here to help murder and kill other poor people.”

For his courageous stand, he was sentenced to five years in prison and stripped of his boxing licence. The licence was restored in 1970 and, one year later, his conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court. Ali’s spirited resistance against being drafted into America’s imperialist war is widely hailed as his greatest fight and victory! Do you agree?

CHILE JOINS G*NOC*DE CASE AGAINST ISRAEL

Chile’s the latest country to join South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel at the UN’s top court. President Gabriel Boric said the ‘catastrophic humanitarian situation’ in Gaza needed a ‘firm response’. Chile has a Palestinian community of around half a million, making up over two per cent of the population.

A dozen other countries have formally
joined or backed the lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Pretoria launched the case in December, and the court ordered Tel Aviv to take steps to prevent g*nocide. Bio

Continued….. However, Israel’s onslaught continues and over 36,000 Palestinians have been killed. Tel Aviv’s also defying ICJ demands to stop its assault on Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had taken refuge. A May 26th Israeli air strike hit a camp for displaced people in the southern Gaza city, killing at least 45 and sparking international outrage. Israel claims it’s targeting H*mas resistance fighters.

Tel Aviv is becoming increasingly isolated on the global stage. Listen to President Boric’s address to his National Congress get huge applause.

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FIVE YEARS AGO: KHARTOUM MASSACRE

Today marks five years since the killing of at least 127 Sudanese civilians by men wearing the uniform of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - a paramilitary force that at the time was allied with the Sudanese military.

The victims had been peacefully protesting outside the Ministry of Defence headquarters, demanding that the military, which had taken over the reins of authority after the overthrow of long-time Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir, step aside.

When al-Bashir was forced to step down following weeks of protests against his government, a transitional governance body made up of civilians and senior military officers had been set up, but this did not sit well with many citizens who felt that the military officers were part and parcel of the deposed administration and therefore should have no place in the new government - hence, their decision to protest outside the ministry headquarters.

Continued….. The massacre continues to haunt the country, as the perpetrators still haven’t been held accountable.

It was also a glimpse into what atrocities awaited the population at the hands of the men in uniform, as a few years later, the RSF and the army turned their guns on each other, setting off a conflict that has so far killed more than 15,000 people, displaced millions and left nearly half of the population in need of humanitarian assistance.

In this clip, African Stream’s CEO and founder, Ahmed Kaballo gives details of the massacre. The clip is part of his documentary on the 2019 Sudan revolution. You can watch it in full on our YouTube page.

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