Continued…….. After teaching himself to read and write in French, Sembène began writing fiction. His first novel, Le Docker Noir (The Black Docker), released in 1956, highlights the life of an African dock worker. In 1960, Sembène released Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu (God’s Bits of Wood), a fictional account of the Dakar–Niger Railway strike. While he found great satisfaction in tackling social issues in his writing, he began to consider that film might be a “more effective tool” for his activism. “To summarize history using our oral tradition,” he said, “cinema is an important tool for us.”

As a filmmaker, Sembène sought to challenge colonial modes of film production and expression. He directed films in various African languages including Wolof, Fulfulde, and Mandinka. Sembène’s choice to incorporate indigenous languages into his films was a deliberate effort to represent the rich cultural and linguistic tapestry of Africa. It aligned with his broader mission of decolonizing African cinema and promoting authentic narratives rooted in local experiences. This viral clip from the film Caméra d’Afrique speaks to an idea that African artists today should remember: Europe (the West) should not be the center of our world.

CAPITALISM REQUIRES RACISM AND INEQUALITY

According to Dr Ruth Wilson Gilmore, capitalism requires inequality to function, and racism enshrines that inequality. Or, as the great Pan-Africanist Malcolm X put it, ‘You can’t have capitalism without racism.’

In this clip from a recent talk, Gilmore, a scholar at @GC_CUNY, who has been studying the relationship between racism, capitalism, and the US prison system for over 30 years, explained that capitalism needs to keep people divided into categories to continue exploiting them. If nothing separates us, one can imagine the dangers a united working class might pose to the capitalist system.

In addition to dividing modern workers, capitalists needed to deploy racism to develop the initial capital used to create their now global system. Thus came chattel slavery in the Americas, g*nocide across multiple continents, and colonial theft around the world. 

Continued……In the words of assassinated Burkina Faso President Thomas Sankara (1949-87), ‘It is our blood that nourished the rise of capitalism, that made possible our present condition of dependence and consolidated our underdevelopment. But we cannot hide the truth anymore; it cannot be ignored. The figures cannot be simply haggled away. For every Black man who came to the plantations, five died or were crippled.’

Sources:

https://communist.red/capitalism-and-racism-a-marxist-introduction/

https://www.marxists.org/archive/sankara/1984/october/04.htm

https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2023/02/07/ruthie-wilson-gilmore-abolition-geography

https://globalsocialtheory.org/topics/racial-capitalism/

WIKIPEDIA WEAPONISED AGAINST AFRICAN STREAM

Search for ‘African Stream’ on Wikipedia. Notice how the first line immediately alleges that our pan-African, anti-imperialist outlet is a Kremlin proxy? As far back as July, The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal explained that the barrage of media attacks on African Stream from outlets such as NBC was designed to provide a fund of information to be used by Wikipedia. Regarded by many as a reliable source, this Wiki info is then used to shape public perceptions and even fed into AI models.

Since the Max Blumenthal interview, apart from NBC, African Stream has been attacked by the US state-funded Voice of America, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Stanford Internet Observatory. No evidence has been provided for any of the allegations pressed.

Continued…….. While disappointing, Western hypocrisy and double standards are not surprising. We only need to look at the treatment of figures like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden to realise that US claims of being a bastion of democracy and a defender of media freedom are mere posturing. The empire maintains a tight grip on the views and opinions it will tolerate, silencing any voices - like our own - that challenge its imperalist interests.

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If you want to support our work, please consider joining our Patreon! Our African-centered videos take many hours to conceptualise, develop, research, noscript, present and edit. We need your support to sustain the production value of the channel and to help us reach new audiences. Join our community at patreon.com/AfricanStream, where we'll provide some of our members with great perks! Link in Bio!

NAPOLEON’S RACISM AGENDA IN HAITI

Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign against the Black Haitians, particularly under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture, was marked by racial brutality and imperial ambition. After the Haitian Revolution erupted in 1791, Haiti became a symbol of Black resistance against European colonialism. France, under Napoleon, sought to reclaim control of the colony and reinstate slavery, which had been abolished during the early years of the revolution. Napoleon’s invasion of Haiti in 1802 was not just a military effort but also a deeply racist campaign aimed at crushing Black autonomy and reasserting white supremacy.

Continued……. Napoleon’s forces were instructed to use extreme violence to subdue the Haitians, treating them as lesser beings unworthy of freedom. His racist policies extended beyond warfare - he sought to restore the plantation economy and reinstitute the brutal conditions of slavery, disregarding the humanity of the Haitian people. The French military employed tactics of terror, including mass executions, and attempted to erase the progress Black Haitians had made toward liberty. Despite Napoleon’s ruthless efforts, the Haitian people, under the leadership of figures like Jean-Jacques Dessalines, eventually won their independence in 1804, making Haiti the first Black republic in the world.

This campaign remains one of the darkest examples of European colonial brutality in the Americas, highlighting the lengths to which powers like France were willing to go to maintain racial hierarchies and economic control. The Haitian victory was a monumental event in world history, challenging the racial order and inspiring anti-colonial movements globally.

Sources:

1. https://allthatsinteresting.com/toussaint-louverture

2. https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/napoleon-the-dark-side-napoleon-and-santo-domingo-haiti-and-santo-domingo-4-min-read/

3. https://www.history.com/news/toussaint-louverture-haiti-revolution

4. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-haitian-revolution-and-the-hole-in-french-high-school-history

BLACK ORGANISERS CRITICISE BLACK GOVERNANCE

More than 640 Black mayors govern US cities, home to 48 million people. That comes to about 14 per cent of the US population. Yet, for the 90 per cent of our people who are working class, these mayors amount to symbols at best and traitors at worst.

That's according to @mapinduzi organisers Dedan Wa Waciuri (@dedanwaciuri on Instagram, @waciuri_dedan on Twitter and @bigkfla600 on TikTok) and Askari wa Watu (@askariwawatu on TikTok and @asafoyusuf on Instagram). Their African Marxist-Leninist community organisation's name, Mapinduzi, is the Swahili word for 'revolution.'

What the men describe at the micro level in a city of 89,000 people like Greenville in the US state of North Carolina, where Black people make up half of the city council, can be seen on a large scale in New York City. There, Mayor Eric Adams, the city's second Black mayor, recently reintroduced stop-and-frisk policing that a court had ruled unconstitutional.

Continued……. On a global scale, the first Black president, Barack Obama, advocated in 2011 that the US invade Libya, kicking off a crisis of governance in that country as well as the creation of slave markets and an upsurge in terrorism in Africa's Sahel region.

The US Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 led to a surge in our people serving as elected and appointed government officials. Some have said this trend is akin to the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) that sought to destroy revolutionary political organising in the United States.

Video credit: @bigkfla600

WHATSAPP FRANCE? AU CHAT ROASTS EX-COLONISERS

Group chats on WhatsApp can get awkward when the wrong people have accidentally been invited. As France and Britain find out when they get roasted by African Union countries in this satirical (not!) sketch.

THE AMAZING AMAZIGH

North Africa is a diverse region home to a multitude of identities, cultures and traditions. One of the significant indigenous ethnic groups living in North Africa as far back as 3000 BC is the Amazigh people. So who are they and what’s their story?

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If you want to support our work, please consider joining our Patreon! Our African-centered videos take many hours to conceptualise, develop, research, noscript, present and edit. We need your support to sustain the production value of the channel and to help us reach new audiences. Join our community at patreon.com/AfricanStream, where we'll provide some of our members with great perks! Link in Bio!

WHY DEBT SINKS AFRICA NOT AMERICA

Why is it that America can run up huge debts and survive, but African countries cannot?
Well, it’s simple. The US can print the greenback, while the rest of the world can’t.
Listen to economist Michael Hudson explain how that basic fact underpins the world order and keeps Uncle Sam on top.

THE UPC: CAMEROON’S TRAGIC INDEPENDENCE HEROES

A shout-out to our brothers and sisters in Cameroon celebrating Independence Day! January 1st marks a pivotal moment in their history: the day the country broke free from colonial domination and embarked on its journey as a sovereign nation. However, this milestone was not achieved without immense sacrifice, revolutionary struggle, and the enduring fight for Pan-African unity. While the date is formally tied to the leadership of French-backed president Ahmadou Ahidjo, the true heroes of Cameroon’s independence remain the revolutionary Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) and the countless lives sacrificed in the fight against imperialism.

Continued……. The UPC fought and died for the independence and unity of Cameroon, as well as that of Africa - but they paid a terrible price. Ahidjo - backed by France - waged a genocidal war against not just the UPC but also the Bamiléké people. However, the UPC organised the peoples of Cameroon and fought to keep the country together, even across linguistic lines.

While the Cameroonian War of Independence is often referred to as the ‘Forgotten War’ because the more successful Algerian Revolution overshadowed it at the time, the history of this struggle continues to shape Cameroon in the present.

Since independence in 1960 and the elimination of the UPC, a single political party and only two presidents have ruled the country: Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya.

Despite many setbacks, the UPC worked tirelessly to build relationships with other Pan-African organisations and leaders, from Kwame Nkrumah to Patrice Lumumba and Ahmed Ben Bella. Though not yet achieved, their objective of a unified and liberated Africa continues to inspire us in the ongoing struggle.

Today, as Cameroon reflects on its independence, it is crucial to rekindle the revolutionary spirit of the UPC and the broader Pan-African movement. With this milestone, let us honour the legacy of the country’s revolutionaries by working toward the realisation of their dreams: a Cameroon and an Africa that is truly free.

Watch, Subscribe, Like and Share

https://youtu.be/R58wESzIKp0

LAWN OF THE BEAST

A nice, well-kept garden looks innocuous enough, but the reasons it became popular aren't so beautiful.
We look at the thorny colonial history of the British lawn, which left its mark on the African landscape

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If you want to support our work, please consider joining our Patreon! Our African-centered videos take many hours to conceptualise, develop, research, noscript, present and edit. We need your support to sustain the production value of the channel and to help us reach new audiences. Join our community at patreon.com/AfricanStream, where we'll provide some of our members with great perks! Link in Bio!

‘LEAVE EUROPE? ONCE EUROPE GETS OUT OF AFRICA!’

Racists in Europe will often mask their hatred as patriotism, telling Black and Brown people to ‘leave’ and ‘go back’ to their ‘own countries.’ The level of ignorance is galling. It was Europeans that came and pillaged our ancestral lands. It’s our wealth they built their more ‘advanced’ societies on - something that continues to this day through neo-colonial exploitation.

Adding to the irony is the fact that Europe controls two African territories on the Northern Coast: Ceuta and Melilla. This control, which dates back to Spanish colonisation, symbolises the ongoing neo-colonial presence of Europe in Africa. It highlights the contradictory nature of European immigration laws and policies:

Continued…….. on the one hand, European countries fortify their borders against African migrants, while on the other, they maintain sovereign territories on African soil, revealing a shameless double standard. At the same time, neo-colonial policies towards African nations continue to create terrible living standards that force Africans to look for livelihoods outside of Africa, while her plundered resources feed the Global North.

In this video, a brother expresses sentiments shared by many Africans living in Europe and in the diaspora: until Europe (and the rest of the Western world) leave Africa and provide restitution, Africans will not leave Europe. Africans are rightfully ennoscriptd to be in Europe and enjoy the fruits of their blood, sweat and tears. The video is particularly timely, given the recent racial violence we have seen erupt in the UK lately.

Unfortunately, we don’t know the video author’s name and can’t link to his account. If you can enlighten us, please do in the comments - where your reactions to what he has to say are also most welcome!

(Source video was shared by @Tasetireloaded2 on X.)

‘ALIENS DID IT!’ A RACIST CONSPIRACY

From the pyramids and the Great Zimbabwe National Monument, to the legendary city of Timbuktu, ancient, pre-colonial African civilisation is stunning - too stunning for some racists to handle. They’d rather believe wonders of the world such as these were created by aliens than by Africans. African Stream’s Clinton Nzala breaks it down.

SEAN IN TOTTENHAM, PT 2: ISRAEL VIOLATES INT'L LAW

Thanks to popular demand, we're dropping part 2 of Sean, our man in Tottenham, England, dropping truth bombs during a recent call into an LBC radio programme.

He shines a spotlight on Israel's clear violation of international law, violations that its Western backers have chosen to do nothing about despite their self-appointed position as upholders of the 'rules-based order.'

Sean reminds us of the West's main reasons for invading Iraq and Libya: Supposed violations of international law. Yet, they disregard even worse violations by Israel.