Continued.........However, this was an exaggeration. By the time of his statement, nearly three years into his presidency since January 2017, Black unemployment rates had only dropped by 2.1%. This slight improvement was short-lived, as the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 disproportionately affected Black people, who experienced higher rates of infections, hospitalisations and deaths. This disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black people was directly linked to their economic disenfranchisement in the US.

As Dr. Michael Lucien, Associate Medical Director of the University of California Davis Health Community Physicians Group, explained, “it’s not that Black people genetically have a higher risk of getting COVID-19. It’s about the social determinants of health. Black people often have higher risk factors that make them more susceptible to this disease.”

Trump’s administration also advocated eliminating affirmative-action measures in areas such as education and housing. Although the Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action (an initiative aimed at levelling the playing field and ensuring equal opportunities without discrimination) was only passed in 2023 under the Biden administration, the ruling was decisively influenced by Trump’s three Supreme Court appointees.

Meanwhile, housing legislation under Trump regressed when his administration repealed key provisions of the Fair Housing Act, thereby undermining efforts to integrate housing and provide equal access to affordable housing for Black people America. As a result, poor Black neighbourhoods remained underfunded.

Thus, Trump's words, which were met with applause, amounted to little more than virtue signalling. Will his inauguration in January lead to different outcomes for Black people in America?

Video credit: @USA Today (YouTube)

Sources:

https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2020/07/22/white-house-scraps-fair-housing-rule-as-trump-bids-for-suburban-voters-1303170

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/01/trump-black-americans-policies-433744

https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/4-things-the-black-population-needs-to-know-about-covid-19/2022/02#:~:text=COVID%2D19%20has%20disproportionately%20affected,compared%20to%20the%20white%20population.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-ERP.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T5_yYN6w2w

Continued.....
Sources
Sudan shuns Kenya mediation
https://www.voanews.com/a/tension-between-sudan-kenya-s-ruto-impedes-igad-mediation-effort-in-sudan/7195894.html

Sudan rejects EA troops
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/91570-kenya-responds-over-video-sudan-general-daring-ruto-war

RSF figure in Nairobi
https://thebrief.co.ke/news/rsfs-dagalo-interview-by-sky-news-confirms-presence-in-nairobi/

RSF presser
https://www.barrons.com/news/sudan-s-rsf-denies-rights-violations-and-uae-support-87ff766b

Ruto’s flight with RSF figure
https://www.facebook.com/Sudania24TV/posts/pfbid0ZKqXAGe4Bzus1PBizPdDvq9h2jRbrjiMa3XLn5ip2p5aEt9XrwXSZ7PRckBNfToGl

Hemedti’s Africa trip
https://www.trtworld.com/africa/sudan-protests-rsf-leaders-reception-in-kenya-recalls-ambassador-16537421

KENYA CANCELS ADANI DEALS AMIDST U.S. INDICTMENT

Kenyan President William Ruto announced on 21 November the cancellation of proposed infrastructure deals with India-based Adani Group in the energy and aviation sectors. This decision follows evidence, including allegations that Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani paid $250 million in bribes for solar energy contracts in India.

Continued........The Kenyan deals included a $1.84 billion proposal to renovate and manage Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 30 years and a $736 million project to develop and operate electricity infrastructure under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Opiyo Wandayi had earlier defended the deals, citing due diligence and the absence of evidence linking corruption allegations to the Kenyan projects.

Source
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/20/business/gautam-adani-indicted/index.html

Adani in Australia
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/australia-s-involvement-in-the-largest-con-in-corporate-history-20230126-p5cfpp.html

Adani Ketraco deal
https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/companies/adani-signs-sh96bn-build-operate-kenya-power-lines-for-30-years-4792304

Adani JKIA deal
https://kenyanwallstreet.com/inside-adanis-us-1-84-billion-jkia-proposal/

Adani no corruption history
https://ntvkenya.co.ke/news/adani-has-no-corruption-history-cs-chirchir-defends-jkia-deal/

Adani operations will continue
https://x.com/citizentvkenya/status/1859516734207664280

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/billionaire-chairman-conglomerate-and-seven-other-senior-business-executives-indicted

'SAHEL REBIRTH A REVOLUTIONARY PROCESS' - FRED M'MEMBE

The military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel region are not just coups d’état but revolutionary processes that aim to transform the arid area south of the Sahara Desert. That's according to Fred M'membe (@drfredmmembe on X), president of the Socialist Party of Zambia (@spzambia on X). 

He made these remarks in Niamey, Niger, at the 'Conference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel.’ M'membe argued that many of Africa's so-called elections are, in reality, sham processes devoid of a meaningful agenda other than the acquisition of power by bribing voters.

Continued........He showered praise on the Sahel’s trio of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for their people-driven overthrow of neocolonialism. For instance, following the overthrow of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July 2023, thousands of people took to the streets to demand the exit of French troops and diplomatic personnel, even besieging French installations.

Meanwhile, South Africa's 29 May elections resulted in a unity government that merged the African National Congress (ANC) with the Democratic Alliance (DA), a party representing the interests of apartheid-era ‘old money.' 

Over in the Sahel, on 6 July, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) confederation, an anti-imperialist bloc sharing economic, defence and foreign policies, with an eye on creating a federation and eventually uniting Africa. 

Do you agree with M'membe's assessment?

Video credit: Pan African Television (@panafricantv on X)

Sources:

https://www.voanews.com/a/sahel-military-chiefs-form-confederation-cement-exit-from-west-africa-bloc-/7687790.html

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/07/02/meet-the-victors-in-africas-coup-belt

https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Revolution

https://issafrica.org/iss-today/five-worrying-signs-of-africa-s-poor-election-quality

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/violence-african-elections

https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/sahel-niger/worrying-new-phase-sahel-crisis

https://www.dw.com/en/west-african-ecowas-bloc-weaker-as-three-sahel-nations-quit/a-68115980

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/9/3/photos-huge-protests-in-niger-call-for-french-forces-to-leave

NIGER: SOME COUPS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS

It’s important to distinguish different types of coup. So argues Booker Omole from the Communist-Marxist Party of Kenya. This is him speaking at a recent conference in Niger noscriptd “In Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel." The event took stock of - and stressed the need to defend - the achievements of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger since their revolutionary, anti-neo-colonialist coups. Omole says these reflect true people power and mustn’t be confused with the seizures-of-power backed by neo-imperialists such as the US - which aids and abets coups in far away places only to the extent that it serves its own interests, whatever the cost to the people affected.

Video credit: @Pan African Television

'WE ARE BLACK FIRST!'

'We can't let where the boat dropped us off define who we are,' Laz Alonso (@lazofficial) powerfully reminded us on the Hollywood Unlocked (@hollywoodunlockedUL) entertainment news platform. 

The actor, known for roles including in the film 'Fast and Furious' (2009), referred to how the European Slave Trade sold kidnapped Africans in various parts of the Americas. Yet, modern Black people identify more with the countries they now find themselves in rather than recognising our shared African heritage. This mindset is crucial because, in the eyes of the oppressors, we're African first. 

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Video credit: @hollywoodunlockedUL (X)

Continued.......Sources:

1. https://time.com/6213368/afro-latino-history/

2. https://hispanicwealthproject.org/features/celebrating-afro-latinos-cultural-richness

3. https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/legacy-slavery-caribbean-and-journey-towards-justice#:~:text=Some%2040%20per%20cent%20of,principal%20market%20for%20enslaved%20labour.

4. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/05/02/about-6-million-u-s-adults-identify-as-afro-latino/

5. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/26/us/black-latinos-afro-latinos-experience/index.html

6. https://www.kqed.org/news/11905454/we-are-black-we-just-speak-spanish-why-some-afro-latinos-want-more-visibility-during-black-history-month

SEX OR STARVATION: SUDANESE WOMEN
ABUSED BY AID WORKERS

Sudanese women escaping the war in Sudan are finding themselves at the mercy of those expected to protect them: aid workers.

Refugees in a Chadian camp are reporting cases of abuse and exploitation, alleging that humanitarian personnel are forcing them to have sex - withholding food, shelter and security if they refuse.

Although aid organisations have banned (even consensual) sex between workers and beneficiaries, such cases have been reported for decades. Yet, save for repetitive statements of condemnation, there seem to be no consequences for those who abuse their position of power.

Sources

https://apnews.com/article/chad-sudan-war-refugees-sexual-exploitation-49b3d344da3573d4abe06bb7c3be965e

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/2022/09/22/exclusive-alleged-sex-abuse-aid-workers-unchecked-years-un-run-south-sudan-camp

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2022/9/22/sex-abuse-allegations-against-aid-workers-in-south-sudan-un-camp