Continued….. Baldwin has said the ‘American dream’ was built on the subjugation of Black people, and true freedom required the country to confront its racist past and present. He challenged the idea that racism was solely an individual failing, framing it instead as a systemic problem. His works, such as ‘The Fire Next Time’ and ‘Notes of a Native Son,’ explored the intersection of race, class and sexual identity, advocating for social justice and equal rights for all marginalised people.

Video Credit: ‘The Dick Cavett Show,’ @ABC/@PBS (X)

Sources:

1. https://www.openculture.com/2020/08/james-baldwin-talks-about-racism-in-america-civil-rights-activism-on-the-dick-cavett-show-1969.html#google_vignette

2. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/introduction-james-baldwin

3. https://time.com/5859214/james-baldwin-racism/

L.A. FIRE BURNS HISTORIC BLACK TOWN

Wildfires do not choose their victims, yet the recent southern California blazes reveal the underlying racial disparities within a community.

High winds and lack of water supplies led to wildfires in the Los Angeles area tragically claiming the lives of at least 25 people, forcing about 180,000 residents to evacuate and reducing entire neighbourhoods to ashes. One such area, Altadena, located 22 kilometres (14 miles) northeast of Los Angeles, has a population of 42,000.

Continued……. During the 1960s Civil Rights era, Altadena was one of the few places in California where Black people could own homes. As a result, Black home ownership in Altadena surged to 81 per cent, nearly double the national average. Sadly, what’s been called the ‘Eaton fire’ destroyed about 1,400 homes in Altadena and neighbouring Pasadena.

In this video, Kahlil Greene, who calls himself the ‘Gen Z historian’ on TikTok, said residents fear the government overlooking them as it directs aid toward more affluent areas like Malibu. Many are also anxious about receiving adequate insurance payouts to help them rebuild their lives. Residents expressed their frustration, noting the absence of fire trucks in Altadena during the early morning on 8 January, leaving them feeling their community was not a priority.

Video credit: @kahlil_greene (X)

Sources:

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/25622/chapter/4#18

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/lieutenant-willa-brown

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/l-wildfires-leave-diverse-historic-altadena-ashes-rubble-rcna187065

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/altadena-left-devastated-by-deadly-eaton-fire-everything-is-gone/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/01/14/altadena-california-fires-burned-rebuilt/77623737007/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/01/13/homes-burned-los-angeles-wildfires/77669976007/

CIA AND LUMUMBA’S ASSASSINATION

The US-backed assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the DRC and the country’s independence hero, took place 64 years ago today, on 17 January 1961. The gruesome murder was the culmination of multiple plots by the American, British and Belgian governments, which relied on paid Congolese accomplices and a Belgian execution squad to carry out the hit. Declassified CIA documents revealed the American government’s desire to assassinate Lumumba even before the country’s independence, and the director of the CIA had called him “worse than Castro.”

The straight-talking pan-Africanist stated numerous times that his interests were those of the Congolese people and described himself as a nationalist.

Continued……. He wanted full independence and full control over natural resources to improve the lives of the Congolese people - and that irked imperialists. While discussing the Congo crisis with Lord Home, Britain’s foreign secretary, US President Dwight Eisenhower said he wished “Lumumba would fall into a river full of crocodiles.”

After failed attempts to use a Georgian hitman and a poison expert to spike Lumumba’s toothpaste, the CIA pulled strings behind the scenes, exploiting the country’s political situation following independence to paint Lumumba as a ‘Commie.’

Lumumba and two of his associates were executed by firing squad. Their bodies were hacked to pieces and dissolved in sulphuric acid. Our video recalls the chilling details surrounding the assassination, one of the most significant in the 20th century.

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MORE DEATHS AS MOZAMBIQUE’S
CHAPO SWORN IN

Civil-society organisations reported at least eight deaths across Mozambique as the country's new president, Daniel Chapo, was sworn in on 15 January at a low-key ceremony in the capital, Maputo. Chapo, declared the winner of the 9 October presidential race by the country's electoral authorities, took the oath in front of a relatively small crowd of supporters and foreign dignitaries at a heavily guarded ceremony.

As the ceremony was underway in the city's iconic independence square, opposition protests over alleged vote-rigging raged in different parts of the country, including a few blocks from the venue.

The post-election violence adds to the long list of challenges that await Chapo, including a terrorist insurgence in the north and a sluggish economy.

RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES SECRETIVE KENYAN SECURITY UNIT OF MASS KIDNAPPINGS

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns about Kenya’s Operation Support Unit (OSU), accusing it of carrying out a wave of abductions similar to those perpetrated by the disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU), both under the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. President William Ruto had dissolved the SSU, citing its involvement in extrajudicial killings - including of around 30 people whose bodies were found in the River Yala. Now, HRW alleges the OSU - the SSU’s replacement - is perpetuating similar abuses. Since mid-2024, the group documented 86 abductions, including 26 individuals still missing, following mass protests against an IMF-backed finance bill.

Continued…….. Sources
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/report-exposes-dci-abduction-squad/ar-AA1xlAuo
https://citizen.digital/news/human-rights-watch-claims-dci-squad-osu-formed-by-ruto-behind-abductions-n356001
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001509758/rights-lobby-links-secret-units-within-dci-nis-to-abductions

Ruto disbands SSU
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3196303/kenya-disbands-killer-police-unit

Four Turks refouled
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgwg5n0y0lo

Besigye abducted
https://kenyainsights.com/how-besigye-was-abducted-in-nairobi-and-secretly-ferried-to-kampala-military-jail/

Maria abducted
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tanzanian-journalist-maria-sarungi-abducted-in-kilimani-kenya/ar-BB1rjVRk

HAWAII IS NOT AMERICA!

More Native Hawaiians now live on the US mainland than on the islands themselves. In 2023, the US Census Bureau reported that 53% of them resided on the continent, compared with 47% in Hawaii. The devastating fires on Maui in August that year only aggravated the trend.

However, the displacement of indigenous people began centuries ago through European and American expansion. Before Captain James Cook landed in 1778, Hawaii was inhabited by descendants of Polynesians who’d settled there from as early as the 5th century AD.

The US-backed overthrow of Queen Lili‘uokalani - the only reigning queen and last monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom - led to the annexation of Hawaii by the United States in 1898.

There’s still a lot of Western ignorance surrounding the history of these Pacific islands. In this 1990 clip from an episode of Island Issues, activist and educator Hunani-Kay Trask (1949-2021) quickly educates a caller on America’s dark past.

Continued……. Sources:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1018804108

https://womenshistory.si.edu/herstory/activism/object/queen-liliuokalani

https://womenshistory.si.edu/herstory/activism/object/queen-liliuokalani

SUDAN ARMED FORCES ETHNICALLY TARGETING SOUTH SUDANESE

Reports are surfacing of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) ethnically targeting South Sudanese with k*llings, torture and harassment following the SAF recapturing Wad Madani in Al Jazirah state from UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group (RSF).

South Sudanese are enraged and call for immediate accountability. The scenes depicted are not only horrific but are also a painful reminder of the systemic racism and discrimination South Sudanese communities faced in Sudan, leading to the country’s independence in 2011.

In other reports earlier this week, rights groups also accused the SAF of ethnically targeting indigenous Sudanese civilians, k*lling 13 people, including two children, in Wad Madani. SAF issued a statement on 14 January, calling these incidents ‘individual violations.’ And, in December 2024, an SAF airstrike on a Darfur market injured many civilians and k*lled over 100.

Continued………SAF violence is not a new phenomenon. For decades, indigenous communities from the Nuba Mountains to Darfur, as well as South Sudanese before the secession, have endured it.

Civil societies and rights groups have called for accountability for both warring parties throughout the duration of the proxy war that began on 15 April 2023. They continue to reiterate that SAF is Islamist-led and an extension of the former National Congress Party that oppressed Sudanese and has kept Sudan in vicious cycles of war.

Sources:

https://www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/juba-summons-sudan-envoy-over-wad-madani-atrocities

https://sudantribune.com/article296100/#google_vignette

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/10/airstrike-north-darfur-market-kills-people-sudan

https://www.barrons.com/news/sudan-army-denies-involvement-in-al-jazira-state-civilian-assaults-8c38dc92?refsec=topics_afp-news

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudanese-army-says-advancing-key-rsf-held-capital-al-jazira-state

https://x.com/african_stream/status/1869404365674467526?s=46

GRAYZONE JOURNO CONFRONTS BLINKEN

Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal delivered a sharp critique to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his final briefing at the State Department, asserting Blinken’s legacy will be one of gen*cide.

While security ejected @maxblumenthal (X) from the briefing room, he voiced the anger of many regarding the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which Amnesty International has labelled a gen*cide.

Reports indicate that Washington has been supplying Israel with a significant arsenal, including more than 10,000 ‘bunker-buster’ bombs that weigh 2,000 pounds and thousands of Hellfire missiles as of June 2024. Blumenthal pointed out to Blinken that 300 journalists have been on the ‘receiving end of [his] bombs.’

He also confronted Blinken about his relatives’ roles as Israeli lobbyists, implying Blinken is compromised.

Continued……. The Grayzone editor encapsulated his criticism of US policy, suggesting that Washington has yielded to the demands of Tel Aviv, thereby implicating itself in the ongoing onslaught that had k*lled as many as 186,000 Palestinians as of early July, per the Lancet medical journal.

Blumenthal’s ejection came after security hauled away independent journalist Sam Husseini (@samhusseini on X), the communications director at the US-based Institute for Public Accuracy (@accuracy on X), who challenged Blinken.

Video credits: @maxblumenthal, @naderabed, @theguardian (X)

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-has-sent-israel-thousands-2000-pound-bombs-since-oct-7-2024-06-28

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hecklers-interrupt-blinken-over-gaza-policy-his-final-news-conference-2025-01-16/

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/world/middleeast/blinken-israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire.html

MANDELA: CUBA SUPPORTED OUR FIGHT AGAINST IMPERIALISM

In this 1990 interview, Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) gave Cuba its flowers by refusing to declare Fidel Castro an enemy simply because of US government claims and media pressure.

The South African leader emphasised that the Caribbean island of Cuba, which has survived US economic sanctions since 1960, didn’t hesitate to provide moral and material solidarity in the fight against apartheid, unlike the US, which turned its back on Black South African freedom fighters when they asked for help. The Cuban people’s contribution to anti-imperialist struggles extended beyond his homeland and had a powerful impact across Africa.

Mandela told PBS anchor Robert MacNeil (1931-2024) that South Africans must stand by those who stood by them during times of need.

Video credit: @NewsHour (X)

Source:

https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-cuba-relations

COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

On 11 January, armed assailants broke into the home of the general secretary of the ‘Communist Party Marxist - Kenya’ (CPM-K). Booker Omole says they intended to kill him. But it was he who ended up killing one of them, in self-defence - prompting the others to flee. African Stream paid him a visit to get a first-hand account of what happened.

The Kenyan police quickly decided the incident was an attempted burglary. But, given his activities as a socialist organiser, Omole suspects other, political motives were at play. He told us that the assailants did not attempt to steal anything, and the only thing they said in his presence was ‘ua,’ which is Kiswahili for ‘kill.’ He’s demanding a thorough investigation.

Continued……. His suspicions have a strong basis. Even after Kenya’s independence, progressive organising in the country has been met with hostility by the authorities. CPM-K members have previously been victims of state persecution and repression, including Omole himself - as he relates in our interview.

LUMUMBA DISCIPLE’S FIGHT FOR A FREE CONGO

Many people worldwide celebrate the life and legacy of Congolese Pan-Africanist Patrice Lumumba (1925-61). After his assassination at the hands of Western-backed Congolese forces, guerilla warfare broke out across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to restore the power of revolutionary Pan-Africanists and socialists.

African Stream’s Inem Richardson delves into the story of Pierre Mulele (1929-68), a ‘Lumumbaist’ who led the historic Kwilu Rebellion in the country’s centre while revolutionaries waged the Simba rebellion in Eastern Congo. These socialist revolutionaries drew inspiration from Pan-Africanists, such as Lumumba and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72), as well as Karl Marx (1818-83), Vladimir Lenin (1870-2024), and Mao Zedong (1893-1976). The Simba rebellion led to the declaration of a Peoples’ Republic of the Congo, with Stanleyville as the capital (not to be confused with the Peoples’ Republic of the Congo with Brazzaville as the capital).

Continued…….. Countries such as China and Cuba provided material support and training to the rebels. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, the Argentine revolutionary who won a place in history for his role during the Cuban revolution, travelled with other Cuban militants in the Congo to fight alongside the Congolese guerillas.

Women also played a key role in the rebellion, with one scholar estimating women made up as much as 25 to 30 per cent of Kwilu rebels. Léonie Abo, now 80 years old, stands out as a combattant who fought alongside her husband, Pierre Mulele.

Ultimately, internal disorganisation, low morale, and competing factions within the rebel forces crushed both the Simba and Kwilu rebellions. Some say various imperialist forces also worked together to thwart a revolution and prop up reactionaries.

Nevertheless, Mulele, like Lumumba, remains a hero in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today.

TUPAC SPEAKS UP FOR PRE-TEEN MUM

Rapper Tupac Shakur (1971-1996) may have passed away at a young age, but his songs reveal a profound political and social awareness that surpassed his years.

At the age of just 20, Tupac released the impactful track Brenda’s Got a Baby, which tells the heartbreaking story of a 12-year-old girl who abandoned her baby boy in a garbage chute in New York City. While filming the crime movie ‘Juice’ in Harlem, he came across a newspaper article detailing the tragic circumstances of the girl’s life.

This young girl had lost her family nine years prior when they succumbed to toxic carbon monoxide poisoning after using their oven for heat. She ended up living with a great-aunt and later became pregnant by a second cousin, managing to keep it a secret until she gave birth alone.

Continued……With his roots in a community-oriented background, being the son of Black Panther member Afeni Shakur (1947-2016), Tupac recognised the significance of the girl’s story, deeming it more important than the film he was working on at the time. Frustrated by the mainstream media’s lack of urgency in covering the story, he decided to take action in the way he knew best. He wrote about ‘Brenda’ (a pseudonym) and eventually recorded the song with his friend Money B from Digital Underground. The music video for Brenda’s Got a Baby was released in 1992 and received widespread praise.

According to UNICEF, around 13% of adolescent girls and young women worldwide give birth before the age of 18. African adolescent girls face heightened risks of unplanned pregnancies due to early marriage, abuse and rape. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that girls under 18 in Africa are twice as likely to die during childbirth compared to those over 20.

As Tupac powerfully stated, if we don’t advocate for our sisters, who will?

Sources:

https://rockthebells.com/articles/brendas-got-a-baby-tupac-true-story/

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927810/brendas-got-a-baby-tupac-shakur-ethel-love

https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-health/adolescent-health/

https://esaro.unfpa.org/en/topics/adolescent-pregnancy