Another day, another BBC headline downplaying Palestinian suffering.

The British-state media outlet, BBC, buried a headline about a 13 October Israeli attack that k*lled seven adults and 15 children displaced in a central Gaza school under a headline about four dead Israeli soldiers.

The truism that the pen is mightier than guns is increasingly relevant amidst the year-long escalation in Israel's 76-year occupation of Palestine. For example, many have criticised international media outlets, like the BBC, for using passive language while reporting on the Israeli occupation, such as writing 'died' and 'were k*lled' without mentioning who caused the deaths. These outlets then whip up emotions by framing the Palestinian population as militant, or they peddle lies of barbaric acts that Palestinians allegedly committed, such as the debunked beheaded-babies story.

Continued......The calculated use of vocabulary, placement of headlines and choice of which facts to present is known as framing, which can reinforce stereotypes, sway opinion and used to justify atrocities.

Israel's military onslaught on Gaza has k*lled more than 42,000 Palestinians—primarily women and children—and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel has targeted hospitals, schools, and residential buildings in operations it says are aimed at Hamas. On 3 October, a group of 99 US volunteer health workers who spent a combined 254 weeks in Gaza wrote to US President Joe Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, reiterating that they did not witness any militant activities in healthcare facilities, calling for an end to US diplomatic, economic and military aid to Israel. They also cited a July report by the Lancet, a British medical journal, that Gaza's death toll could be more than 186,000. However, University of Edinburgh global health chair Devi Sridhar estimated the death as high as 335,000 by September.

SOURCES:

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-how-media-language-manipulated-justify-killing-palestinians-and-used-dehumanise-them

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y8zj8qrn5o

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/05/scientists-death-disease-gaza-polio-vaccinations-israel

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/oct/16/bbc-gets-1500-complaints-over-israel-hamas-coverage-split-50-50-on-each-side

https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-bbc-is-under-fire-for-its-coverage-of-the-israel-hamas-war-rightly-so/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/25/bbc-admits-reporting-gaza-civilian-deaths-inaccurate/

https://www.thecanary.co/uk/2023/10/17/bbc-news-pro-hamas/

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gaza-genocide--5--of-gaza-population-killed-or-injured-as-of

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/99-us-doctors-who-volunteered-to-work-in-gaza-say-they-have-not-seen-any-militant-activity-in-hospitals/3350931

https://www.gazahealthcareletters.org

https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/research/blog/media-framing-and-how-it-shifts-the-narrative

THE BLACK PANTHERS: THUGS OR REVOLUTIONARIES?

Fists in the air as we celebrate the formation of the revolutionary Black Panther Party! The group, founded on 15 October 1966, confronted the political establishment, challenged state oppression, protected Black communities from brutality and fiercely fought for a global Black power revolution.

But mainstream narratives tend to portray the Black Panthers as thugs championing no meaningful ideology, who stood for and advocated for nothing but violence.

This narrative is one that has been challenged critically by members of the Black community and scholars, who have written extensively on, and spoken of, the Black Panther Party's community work.

In this clip, Xavier Buck (@historyin3 on TikTok) - executive director at the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and all-round Black history content producer - enlightens us on the BPP Community Survival Programs, which sought to provide much-needed services for the marginalised and impoverished Black community.

Continued.......The Black Panthers had at least 65 programmes, including to feed the hungry, to keep the elderly safe, to empower and provide mentorship to young people and to create better housing conditions.

As Bobby Seale, one of the founders of the BPP noted in a 2001 interview with the Las Vegas Sun, contrary to the portrayal of the Black Panthers as a violent hate group, "we were students. We were avid readers. We were researchers. We were serious," adding that their "philosophy was about empowering the people."

These survival programmes only support his statements.

Happy 58th to the Black Panther Party!

Video credit: @historyin3 (TikTok)

SOURCES:

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-black-panther-party-service-to-the-people-programs_huey-p-newton-foundation/1523466/

https://www.pbs.org/hueypnewton/actions/actions_survival.html

https://practice.malvinharrison.com/survival-programs/

https://bppaln.org/programs

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/black-panther-party-challenging-police-and-promoting-social-change

https://iphistoryproject.org/resources/bpp-community-survival-programs/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222490/

https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/Implications%20of%20Housing%20Conditions%20for%20Racial%20Wealth%20and%20Health%20Disparities_0.pdf

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Worst-Case-Housing-Needs-2021.pdf

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2001/feb/24/seale-black-panthers-wrongly-tagged-as-hoodlums-th/

https://thefederalist.com/2019/01/21/black-panthers-murderous-thugs-dont-deserve-public-accolades/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/spectrum.5.1.02#:~:text=Popular%20and%20scholarly%20narratives%20of,thugs%20remain%20central%20to%20that

FELA KUTI: REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE

Few figures have left such an impression on the African music scene as Nigeria’s Fela Kuti. As we celebrate what would have been his 86th birthday, we explore the legacy he left behind.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his musical family have done much to shape Nigerian arts, culture and politics. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was a revolutionary who organised Nigerian women to fight neo-colonialism and capitalist exploitation. Fela Kuti in turn understood his role as an artist in the service of African liberation. Now his children carry on their father's musical legacy, with son Seun Kuti also actively engaged in keeping alive the pan-African and socialist politics of his family.

PAN-AFRICAN ACTIVIST ARRESTED IN FRANCE

On Monday, French police arrested Beninese pan-Africanist Kemi Seba and his colleague Hery Djehuty in two separate incidents. Reports suggest it’s connected to Seba’s entry into France, even though he holds a Nigerien diplomatic passport and a Shengen visa issued by Spain, which allows him freedom of movement inside the European Union.

Seba has been a vocal critic of French neocolonialism in Africa. He has participated in protests against the CFA franc and tore up his French passport before Paris later revoked his citizenship. Seba was also recently appointed adviser to Niger's revolutionary leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, who has done much to stand up to French neo-colonialism in his country.

Continued......The incident seems to fit nicely into the wider Western campaign to deplatform alternative, anti-imperialist, African voices - including yours truly, African Stream.

SOURCES:

Seba’s arrest
https://www.trtafrika.com/africa/beninese-anti-french-activist-kemi-seba-arrested-in-paris-18220259

Seba has been a vocal anti-imperialist
https://www.trtafrika.com/africa/beninese-anti-french-activist-kemi-seba-arrested-in-paris-18220259

SANKARA LIVES ON

Burkina Faso's pan-African president and hero, Thomas Sankara, was assassinated on this day in 1987 in the capital, Ouagadougou.  A hit squad also killed 12 of his comrades. Sankara was one of Africa's most outstanding leaders.

He came to power in a coup in 1983, and his pro-people policies endeared him to the nation. He understood that Africa's problems resulted from systemic issues such as debt. In his four years in power, he did a lot for Burkina Faso. For example, his land-reform policies gave rural farmers greater access to territory, which in turn boosted wheat production; while his drive to vaccinate two-million children against meningitis, measles and yellow fever saved many lives.

We remember his life and legacy, but we also raise questions about his death: why are the CIA and France still refusing to de-classify some of their records relating to Sankara’s demise?

On this day in 1987, visionary pan-African icon and leader of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara was assassinated by his longtime friend and, at the time ,minister of state, Blaise Compaoré. That put a temporary halt to his progressive vision for the Sahel nation, which - under him - saw land redistribution, expanded access to education and mass vaccination. After his death, Ouagadougou again came under the sway of ex-colonial power France amid lingering suspicions that Paris had a hand in the assassination.

Sankara was taken too soon. But the torch he lit continues to guide Burkina Faso. We compare Thomas Sankara's impact over his four-year tenure with the work accomplished by the man currently at the nation’s helm, Ibrahim Traoré.

Continued......Since coming to power in 2022, Traoré has embarked on similar initiatives, including the removal of French influence in Burkina Faso and the partial realisation of the pan-African project: the unification with Mali and Niger into a tripartite anti-imperialist confederation.

Do you think Traoré is a Sankara 2.0?

SOURCES:

Death of Sankara, role of Blaise
https://archive.ph/3BN2v#selection-4979.139-4979.217

Sankara's progressive policies
https://archive.ph/3BN2v#selection-4979.139-4979.217

Burkina kicks out the French under Traore
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68846771

On 5th October, 2024, President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso made an important statement in a radio address: the country will be revoking mining licences and focusing on mining its own gold.

Since the revolution that brought him to power, several of the country's gold mines have been nationalised, including Boungou and Wahgnion. In addition, early into his presidency, the Canada-based Trevali mining firm ended operations in Burkina after it was found guilty of manslaughter by a Burkinabe court.

Continued.......Ouagadougou is increasingly focused on manufacturing and refining raw materials locally. It’s laid the foundation for its first gold refinery, which is set to launch by the end of this year. The site will be able to produce 150 tonnes of gold annually. The country has also opened a mining-waste treatment facility.

Burkina Faso, which is part of an anti-imperialist bloc known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), is not the only country vigorously asserting sovereignty over its natural resources. Neighbouring AES member Mali has signed a contract with Russia to build a gold refinery capable of producing 200 tonnes of gold per year. And next-door Niger (also in the AES) recently revoked French company Orano's licence to exploit uranium.

According to World Gold Council, Mali was the second-largest gold producer in Africa in 2023, while Burkina Faso was fourth.

SOURCES:

https://www.mining-technology.com/news/burkina-faso-set-to-cancel-foreign-mining-operations/

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/burkina-faso-plans-withdraw-some-mining-permits-junta-leader-says-2024-10-05/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/14/burkina-court-finds-mine-execs-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter

https://www.miningreview.com/base-metals/trevali-surrenders-nantou-mining-in-burkina-faso/

https://www.ecofinagency.com/public-management/2411-45079-burkina-faso-to-launch-its-first-gold-refinery-by-the-end-of-2024

https://trtafrika.com/africa/burkina-faso-opens-first-mine-waste-treatment-facility-16757632

https://www.mining-technology.com/news/mali-russia-gold-refinery-bamako/

https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/gold-production-by-country

GHANAIAN ARTIST RALLIES SUPPORT FOR AFRICAN STREAM

Ghanaian artist Kwame Oteanankanduro says he woke up to a nightmare when he found out YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Threads had banned African Stream. After he made this video, TikTok and Gmail also banned or suspended our accounts.

The tech bans followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claiming, without offering any evidence, that African Stream was 'secretly run' by Russian state-owned TV network RT.

Not a person given to despair, this artist put up a list of things for like-minded followers of our anti-imperialist work, like you, to do to keep the fire burning. He suggested in the denoscription of his Instagram video that you create 20-second videos, share our materials, defend the Alliance of Sahel States and use hashtags like #WeAreAllAfricanStream.

Continued......Like our Ghanaian subscriber, don't remain silent. Follow us on Telegram, Patreon, Rumble and X. Ask others to do the same.

Together, no one can silence us!

#WeAreAllAfricanStream

Video credit: @oteanankanduro (TikTok)

SOURCES:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/google-bans-african-stream-locks-prominent-media-group-out-of-workspace/3348185

https://www.tiktok.com/@africaliberationmovement/video/7416299924289096965

The tributaries that represent the global oppression of indigenous and poor peoples may take different shapes and directions. Still, their waters flow from the same river source that controls the masses and defines the circles beyond which the people are forbidden from crossing in thought, action or livelihood.

Thus, the seeds for revolution connect from the 'security' walls encapsulating Gaza to the shores of the Western Cape and from the streets of Havana to the sands of the Nubian Desert. 

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-68) said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'

Enjoy and share this week's Wednesday Wisdom.

SOURCE:

https://www.gphistorical.org/mlk/mlkspeech/

On 16 October 1968, an unforgettable moment unfolded at the Olympic Games in Mexico City. As the US national anthem played, two sprinters, Tommie Smith (centre) and John Carlos (right), raised their gloved fists in the Black Power salute in silent protest against racism in the United States. They wore beads and scarves to represent their opposition to lynchings and black socks with no shoes to raise awareness about Black poverty in the US.

Continued......The Olympic Project for Human Rights fought for hiring Black coaches, including Black people on the Olympic Committee, and barring apartheid South Africa and white-run Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe). Some athletes in the project boycotted the Olympics, but Smith and Carlos saw the opportunity to raise their issues.

Smith and Carlos' defiance on the world stage came at a significant personal cost. Even though Smith had won gold and Carlos earned bronze in the men's 200-metre event, the International Olympic Committee condemned the pair, while the US team banned both athletes and sent them home early. This move effectively ended their careers, and they faced death threats. Their marriages fell apart, and Carlos found it challenging to find employment for years afterwards.

Smith and Carlos' brave move came during a tumultuous year in the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement. In April, a gunman assassinated the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr (1929-68). Plus, the anti-war movement had gained momentum thanks to opposition against the US imperialist war against Vietnam. 

During the 1960s, life was tough for Black people in the US. Their average life span was seven years lower than that of white people. Compared to white children, Black children had only half the chance of completing high school, only one-third the possibility of obtaining a bachelor's degree, and a third the chance of entering a profession upon becoming adults. On average, our people earned half of what white people did and were twice as likely to be unemployed.

Nearly 60 years later, despite the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the struggle for equality continues. Black people earn 24 per cent less than white and are five times more likely to be incarcerated, making up half of the prison population despite only being 13 per cent of the US population.

Given the persistent racial disparities in the US, is the Black Power salute as relevant today as it was in 1968?

SOURCES:

https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3323

https://www.history.com/news/black-athletes-raise-fists-1968-olympics

https://www.brut.media/us/videos/sports/olympic-games/the-legacy-of-the-1968-olympics-black-power-salute

https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/disparities-in-health-and-health-care-5-key-question-and-answers/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169721811024087

Prison population
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2023/05/racial-disparities-persist-in-many-us-jails

KENYAN COURT DENIES DEPUTY PRESIDENT IMPEACHMENT REPRIEVE

A Kenyan court has rejected Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's attempt to block the Senate debate and vote on his impeachment, following the National Assembly's overwhelming decision to impeach him on 11 charges, including corruption. Gachagua, who denies the allegations, will continue in office while the Senate deliberates his fate. His legal team plans to appeal the ruling, with the High Court judge noting that the petition raises significant legal issues to be heard alongside other petitions challenging the impeachment process.

This case marks the first impeachment of a deputy president under Kenya's 2010 constitution, with over two dozen legal challenges filed against the proceedings. Six of these petitions have been consolidated and will be heard by a three-judge panel.

Continued……The Senate requires a two-thirds majority to remove Gachagua from office. Critics say it’s all a distraction from bigger problems facing the nation, such as wider rampant government corruption and the controversial proposed lease of Kenya’s main air hub to a foreign investor.

SOURCES:

News
http://doc.afp.com/36K27H2

Sale of airport
https://citizen.digital/news/the-adani-jkia-deal-a-deep-dive-into-kenyas-most-controversial-aviation-project-n349437

Sale of power transmission
https://citizen.digital/business/inside-adanis-ksh95-billion-30-year-deal-for-kenyas-power-lines-n351348

'AFRICAN STREAM BANNED FOR TELLING THE TRUTH'

Why did YouTube, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, TikTok, and Gmail ban African Stream? Could it be because African Stream spreads the truth online? Could it be because African Stream provides an authentically Pan-Africanist and anti-imperialist perspective on geopolitics and critical current events?

In this video, Nigerian political analyst Adamu Garba II suggested African Stream was plain too honest to last on corporate social-media platforms. Forget about the Russia boogeyman claims. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken most likely knows we do not receive Russian funding. We think it was always about finding a way to silence dissenting African voices and anyone else who refuses to submit to US global hegemony.

Continued......
So, what can you do about it? You can continue to share African Stream videos across social media. Use the hashtag #WeAreAllAfricanStream. Follow us on Telegram, Patreon, Rumble and X. Ask others to do the same! We will not be silenced.

#WeAreAllAfricanStream

Video credit: @adamugarbaii on TikTok