HOW UK MEDIA DEMONISED ASIAN MEN AS SEX PREDATORS

The far-right billionaire owner of Tesla and X, Elon Musk, in recent weeks, has used his social media platform X to attack and spread misinformation demonising South Asians and Muslims in the UK over a decade-old child sex abuse scandal. However, the demonisation of both groups over the so-called Grooming Gang Scandal predates Musk’s recent ramblings on X. In this clip, UK rapper and activist Lowkey (@lowkeyonline) gives a striking example of how the British media has been fanning the flames of racism that have been engulfing the country lately.

When a report by the Quilliam Foundation concluded that so-called ‘grooming gangs’ - which prey on often underage girls to sexually abuse them - consisted, in the UK, predominantly (84%) of Asian men, the media ran wild with the story, plastering their front pages with headlines that painted immigrants as sex pests.

Continued……. Yet the study had serious methodological flaws - so bad that Lowkey calls them criminal. First and foremost, the sample size was tiny (a hundred or so cases) compared with the vast number of sex crimes committed in the UK - so no general conclusions could confidently be inferred from it.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales reported that an estimated 1.1 million adults (798,000 women and 275,000 men) aged 16 years and over were victims of sexual assault (including attempts) in the year ending March 2022. Around 227,500 identifiable child abuse offences were recorded by the police in the year ending March 2019.

Of course, when the flawed nature of the study was finally realised, the media did little to disabuse the public. Why do you think that was?

CIA CAUGHT DEALING DRUGS?

People like journalist Gary Webb (1955-2004) have uncovered the CIA's connection to drug trafficking, reporting that the CIA facilitated crack-cocaine routes from South America to mainly Black neighbourhoods in the US to finance anti-communist efforts. Initially published in the San Jose Mercury News, Webb compiled his findings into a book noscriptd, ‘Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.’

The Iran-Contra affair is an example of the US arming Nicaraguan right-wing militia (Contras) using profits from CIA-run drug operations. 

Webb's eye-opening revelations led to several congressional inquiries, including a notable 1996 town hall meeting where Michael Ruppert (1951-2014), a former narcotics officer with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), confronted ex-CIA Director John Deutch with proof of the agency's involvement in drug trafficking that contributed to the crack-cocaine crisis in Black communities. 

Continued….. In the mid-1970s, Ruppert uncovered a vast CIA-run drug network that included the US military and the LAPD. He ultimately left the police force in November 1978. After exposing these illegal drug operations, Ruppert faced threats and harassment. Tragically, he took his own life in 2014.

Video credit: @PowerfulJRE (YouTube), @joerogan (X) and @cspan

Sources:

https://www.democracynow.org/2014/10/6/inside_the_dark_alliance_gary_webb

https://www.kboo.fm/media/16200-investigative-journalist-michael-ruppert-found-dead-apparent-suicide

https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch01p1.htm

https://www.freedommag.ca/magazine/201604-pill-pushers/the-lead/exposing-the-cias-involvement-in-the-cocaine-trade.html

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reagan-iran

https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch04p1.htm

SCOTLAND’S ROLE IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE’S SLAVE TRADE

The European slave trade and the British Empire are so closely linked that you can’t discuss one without the other. Britain made a fortune from its Caribbean colonies through slave labour. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, British slave traders transported around 3.1 million enslaved Africans, who endured brutal conditions on plantations, producing cash crops like sugar, tobacco and coffee.

But one country that is often overlooked in this dark chapter is Scotland. According to the National Library of Scotland, 27 slave trade voyages set sail from Greenock, Port Glasgow, Leith, and Montrose between 1706 and 1766, transporting about 4,000 to 5,000 enslaved people across the ocean. For example, Alexander MacFarlane, an 18th-century astronomer and merchant, owned plantations and enslaved people.

Continued……During Black History Month in October, Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s former first minister and now a Scottish Parliament member, called on his fellow lawmakers to ensure Scotland’s true history is taught in schools.

We think it would be great to add a focus on reparatory justice to Yousaf’s important message, helping to acknowledge and provide some restitution for the millions affected by the slave trade.

Video credit: @scottishparl (YouTube) @scotparl (X)

Sources:

https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/british-colonial-rule/the-toll-of-slavery-and-exploitation-under-british-colonial-rule-in-the-caribbean/

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/slavery-in-the-colonies

https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/legacy-slavery-caribbean-and-journey-towards-justice

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1150546/number-slaves-arrived-in-each-region-of-british-caribbean-from-africa/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/12/british-history-slavery-buried-scale-revealed

https://www.nls.uk/collections/scotland-and-the-slave-trade/involvement/#:~:text=Indeed%2C%20Scots%20were%20directly%20involved,infrastructure%20of%20the%20slave%20trade.

UAE ROLE IN SUDAN WAR IS ‘CRIMINAL’

Commenting on the role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the destruction of Sudan by funding and supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sidgi Kaballo calls a spade a spade: “I have no other word to use for the Emirates leadership except they are criminals.”

The academic, economist and leading member of the Sudanese Communist Party did not mince his words. He says the UAE has an economic interest in Sudan’s wealth of resources. The Gulf Arab country’s involvement in the exploitation of Sudan’s resources - and, by extension, Africa - is something that has been well documented over the years. A 2023 report found that Africa lost billions each year in smuggled gold, 85% of which ends up in the UAE’s market - a country with no gold mines.

Continued….. Evidence of the country’s role in exacerbating and escalating the current vicious cycle of war in Sudan has been presented in numerous investigative reports. Yet the group has not been held accountable by any international bodies.

For instance, a November 2024 investigative report by media outlet La Silla Vacia found that Colombian ex-soldiers fighting alongside the RSF in Sudan were being lured by promises of jobs as security guards at UAE oil sites. Another investigative report by the New York Times uncovered through satellite images how the UAE was covertly arming the RSF using the Red Crescent logo to disguise shipments as aid through the Chadian border. These are just a few examples of the UAE’s illicit activities in Sudan at the expense of the Sudanese people.

Thus, there is no word to describe the UAE leadership other than ‘criminals,’ as Professor Kaballo puts it.

The full episode is available on our X, Patreon and Rumble platforms.
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AFRICA’S FABULOUS FABRICS

Sumptuous African fabrics aren’t just beautiful to look at. Every thread weaves a tale of ancient dynasties and cultural rituals. From the geometric Kente cloth of the Ashanti, down to the Lamba Mena in Madagascar, they stitch together the continent’s rich history. Here are some of our favourites. Let us know yours!

Is man’s best friend loyal only because we feed him? Whether your pet really loves you or not, this week’s African proverb reminds us that powerful forces can exert undue influence with their patronage.

SUPPORTERS OF ISRAEL ARE SETTLER COLONIALISTS

While the Gaza Health Ministry estimates Israel’s onslaught in Gaza has k*lled more than 46,000 Palestinians, the Lancet medical journal estimated the death toll by July 2024 to be more than 186,000 people, with many more unaccounted for buried under the rubble.

In this ‘time travel’ clip, Noam Chomsky discusses Israel’s long-standing occupation of Gaza, referring to it as the final phase of European colonisation. He gave this lecture on 14 October 2014 at the UN in New York, pointing out that countries that have consistently supported Israel’s actions are themselves settler-colonial projects.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Continued….. Source:

https://www.un.org/unispal/lecture-by-prof-noam-chomsky-14-october-2014-general-assembly-hall-united-nations-headquarters
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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!

ROSEWOOD MASSACRE REMEMBERED

In January 1923, the Black community in Rosewood, Florida, faced a horrific tragedy that lasted five days. It all kicked off on the 1st of January, when a mob of over 200 white supremacists invaded the town, looking for a Black man named Jesse Hunter, who had been wrongly accused of assault by Fannie Taylor, a white woman. When they couldn’t find him, the mob went on a rampage, terrorising the community, lynching individuals, and destroying property. For three days, the Black residents fought back, pushing the mob to retreat and regroup. However, on the fifth day, the mob returned with reinforcements, k*lling around 30 to 40 Black men, women, and children, and setting the town ablaze. Many residents fled into the swamps or escaped by train to the northern Florida city of Gainesville, never to return. The following day, about 100 to 150 white men returned to Rosewood to burn properties. People later learned Taylor had made up her story to cover up an affair with a white man.

Continued…….. The Rosewood Massacre didn’t get as much attention as other racial violence events, like the 1921 Tulsa race massacre or the 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till. That is, until 1982, when journalist Gary Moore brought the tragic story to light through a series of articles. This renewed interest prompted elderly survivors to seek restitution. In 1994, the Florida state legislature passed a bill that provided $150,000 each to nine living survivors, including Minnie Lee Langley (1913-95), while only half of the descendant families received $2,000 each in compensation.

The bill also created a scholarship program for Rosewood descendants, allowing them to attend Florida state universities or colleges without paying tuition. This was a groundbreaking move, as it marked the first time a US legislative body offered reparations to Black individuals. However, survivors said the amount the state set aside to pay for descendants’ education was far too small. 

In 1997, director John Singleton brought the story to the big screen with his film, ‘Rosewood.’

Sources:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rosewood-massacre-florida-1923

https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/jan/05

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1995/12/18/minnie-langley-rosewood-survivor-and-fighter

https://ir.law.fsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1498&context=lr

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2019/05/03/25-years-ago-florida-compensated-survivors-of-rosewood-racial-violence

https://time.com/5887247/reparations-america-rosewood-massacre

TULSA RACE MASSACRE WAS ‘MILITARY-STYLE ATTACK’ - U.S. JUSTICE DEPT.

The US Department of Justice has released a report on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, often referred to as the Black Wall Street Massacre, referring to one of the most horrific instances of racial violence in US history as a ‘coordinated, military-style attack’ that involved law enforcement’s support.

Kristen Clarke, the US assistant attorney general for civil rights, shared the findings of an investigation into a mob of 10,000 white people k*lling as many as 300 Black people and destroying properties along 35 city blocks on 31 May and 1 June in 1921 in the Greenwood neighbourhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. While false allegations of a Black teenager assaulting a white woman in an elevator sparked the massacre, many have alternatively argued the prosperous Black community drew the envy of white neighbours in a society built on racial capitalism.

The US Justice Department said no one involved is alive.

Continued….. The repercussions of this tragedy continue to resonate through generations. In June 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the last two known survivors, Lessie Benningfield Randle, 109, and Viola Ford Fletcher, 110, who sought reparations.

No one has ever been held accountable or prosecuted for these heinous acts, and survivors from Greenwood have not received compensation for their immense losses.

Will there ever be justice for the victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre?

Sources

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-results-review-and-evaluation-tulsa-race-massacre

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tulsa-race-massacre-probe-finds-1921-horror-coordinated/story?id=117581090

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=TU013

https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/oklahoma-supreme-court-rejects-reparations-tulsa-race-massacre

https://lawrepository.ualr.edu/faculty_scholarship/281

YOUNG DRC RAP SENSATION URGES PEACE

Is the world on the brink of discovering a groundbreaking rap talent from the heart of Africa?

That’s the buzz circulating online as a young boy from the Democratic Republic of Congo captivates audiences with his powerful lyrics highlighting the struggles of his homeland. Social media is abuzz with claims that he embodies authenticity in the rap scene, channelling genuine emotion and lived experiences into his music.

This rising star is nurturing his extraordinary gift at the Invisible Kids Academy, a non-profit institution located in the war-torn eastern region of Congo. The Academy provides orphaned children with opportunities to express themselves through art, dance and music, offering them a glimmer of hope.