BE PROUD OF YOUR AFRICAN ANCESTRY

In this clip from the Honest Bunch Podcast on Glitch Africa Studios, child-abuse activist Praise Fowowe spoke about why it’s important to teach future generations about their African ancestry so they can be unfazed in the face of racism.  

@praisefowowe (X) recounted a time when he was introduced as ‘Black man’ in an all-white meeting. He responded with a history of his ancestors of the Benin Kingdom, a highly advanced civilisation with innovations in urban planning and architecture, including street lighting and well-organised road networks, long before many Western cities achieved similar advancements. 

Continued…….. Knowing about these historical accomplishments helps children stand with grace rather than bitterness in the face of discrimination and racism by reminding them of the greatness from which they descend.

Video credit: @glitchafricastu (X)

Sources:

1. http://revealinghistories.org.uk/colonialism-and-the-expansion-of-empires/articles/the-empire-of-benin-and-its-cultural-heritage.html#:~:text=The%20social%20structure%20was%20complex,well%20as%20its%20central%20city.

2. https://www.artshelp.com/the-walls-of-benin-the-forgotten-structural-wonder/

3. https://effiongp.msu.domains/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Benin-Walls.pdf

4. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/kingdom-benin/

5. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/14/children-family-histories-tales

WAS THERE A PLOT TO WIPE OUT BLACK S. AFRICANS WITH HIV?

For decades, the Southern African region has been the epicentre of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Most of the countries in the region have HIV prevalence rates of over 10% - versus a global prevalence rate of 0.8%. For instance, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 18.8% of South Africans between the ages of 15 and 49 were HIV positive as of 2024. The figure for neighbouring eSwatini is even worse - at 25.9%.

For a long time, scientists and policymakers have been baffled as to why the region is more affected by the virus than other parts of the world. Many theories have emerged regarding what could be behind this high prevalence rate. One of the most shocking - seen by some as a conspiracy - is the claim that White supremacist forces deliberately spread HIV among Black South Africans during the apartheid era.

In this video, African Stream’s Clinton Nzala takes a closer look into this jaw-dropping allegation.

Continued…….. Sources:

https://newafricanmagazine.com/18285/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/27/south-african-intelligence-officers-spread-aids-black-communities

https://www.unodc.org/newsletter/en/perspectives/no02/page005.html#:~:text=With%20a%20national%20HIV%20prevalence,:%20Zapiro/Mail%20and%20Guardian.

IBRAHIM TRAORÉ: WE MUST DECOLONISE THE MIND

On 13 January, Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré reminded his compatriots that one of the crucial steps toward combating imperialism is decolonising the mind, the most difficult part of the struggle. 

Traoré called out the West’s hypocrisy in deciding who is a t*rrorist based on their interests. South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela was a US designated t*rrorist until 2008, 14 years after he was elected president. Meanwhile, the US celebrates Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), the new Syrian leader who fought for and led regional affiliates of terror groups Al-Qa*da and IS*S.

Continued……. Former coloniser France wags its fingers at the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) confederation, an anti-imperialist Pan-African bloc comprising Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, for a supposed lack of democracy. Yet, in a move largely viewed as undemocratic, French President Emmanuel Macron refused to install as prime minister Lucie Castets, a candidate selected by a coalition of left parties that won the most seats in recent parliamentary elections.

Africa needs something different, and that difference has finally arrived with the AES, which is charting a path toward sovereignty, self-determination and Pan-African unity.

As Traoré stated, Africa must wake up!

Video credit: Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina
(@rtburkina on X)

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/27/macron-has-blocked-left-wing-choice-for-french-pm-what-happens-next

https://jacobin.com/2024/10/republicans-democrats-sponsors-2024-election

https://www.mintpressnews.com/from-terrorist-to-freedom-fighter-how-the-west-rebranded-al-qaedas-jolani-as-syrias-woke-new-leader/288820/

https://saiia.org.za/research/they-once-called-mandela-a-terrorist/

https://www.ecchr.eu/en/publication/my-terrorists-your-terrorists/

EUROPEAN COLONISATION UNDERDEVELOPED AFRICA

Guyanese historian Walter Rodney’s book, ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’ (1972) examines the wealth disparity between the West and much of the world, highlighting how the former has extensively exploited the latter. This illuminating work sheds light on the impact of European colonialism in Africa, the effects of which can be seen today in corrupt African governments aligned with the West. Meanwhile, the masses lack adequate infrastructure, jobs, and access to food, medicines and fuel.

Continued……In this clip from a recent video, content creator @_rathbone (X) shared his insights while reading the book. Rodney (1942-80) argued that as long as those who once exploited and oppressed African nations continue to hold economic power in these countries, Africa’s wealth will keep flowing outwards. Rathbone concluded that while countries like the US often complain about immigrants taking their resources and labour, they frequently overlook that colonialism did the same.

Video credit: @_rathbone (X)
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Our troubles may be significant, but we can overcome them with perseverance. That’s the optimistic content of this week’s African proverb: dawn always follows night. No matter how challenging the night was, dawn symbolises the arrival of a new day where anything can happen.

Our thoughts in the morning versus our thoughts in the evening can be worlds apart.

AFRICANS ARE TOO CONCERNED WITH WHITE PEOPLE?

Kwame Ture (1941-98) is one of the greatest Pan-African voices of the 21st century. Like many Pan-Africanists in the Western Hemisphere, he came to his political convictions through the Black Power movement. 

In this video clip, Ture calls out Africans fighting in the so-called ‘American Revolution,’ explaining why Black people should not have served on the side of the settlers. This is consistent with Ture’s stance that Africans around the world (including in the United States) should strive for self-determination and autonomy from the imperialist capitalist system or the ‘white power structure,’ as it was known at the time.  

Another Pan-Africanist who has addressed this topic is historian Gerald Horne, who wrote the book, ‘The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America’ (2014).

Continued……However, he argues that Africans overwhelmingly and rightfully sided with the British over the US colonists. Horne calls the ‘American Revolution’ a fight to preserve slavery amidst Britain’s call to abolish the practice, leading Africans to side against the colonial settlers.

Do you believe that the ‘American Revolution’ was a revolution or a counter-revolution? And how should Africans have responded?
Sources;

http://www.aavw.org/special_features/speeches_speech_carmichael01.html

https://revolutionaryspaces.org/the-legacy-of-crispus-attucks-part-iii-patriot-or-fool-crispus-attucks-and-the-civil-rights-movement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DnVvcYCW0s

AMÍLCAR CABRAL: COLONIAL PORTUGAL’S NIGHTMARE

Fifty-two years ago today, on 20 January 1973, Amílcar Cabral was shot dead, about eight months before Guinea-Bissau’s unilateral declaration of independence. The great revolutionary pan-Africanist Cabral became an icon and a hero of the liberation struggle as leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. The PAIGC (for short) fought an armed struggle against Portuguese colonialism, organising rural farmers in Guinea-Bissau and training them both ideologically and militarily for the fight.

In addition to this, Cabral was also a founding member of The People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), having met Angolan militants such as Agostinho Neto while studying in Portugal.

Continued……. Cabral was educated as an agricultural engineer in Lisbon, but he decided to give up a comfortable career in order to dedicate his life to liberating his people. This perhaps inspired his theory of ‘class suicide,’ referring to the act of sacrificing one’s higher-class status to struggle alongside the most oppressed sectors of society.

Cabral was not just a strategic warrior; he was also a brilliant theorist who developed a framework to understand the importance of culture in the struggle for national liberation. Today, oppressed and colonised people worldwide study Cabral’s speeches to learn from his wisdom.

If you’ve read him, let us know in the comments what inspired you most.

Sources:

https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/cabral-amilcar-lopes-1924-1973/

https://www.buala.org/en/to-read/amilcar-cabral-and-decolonization-today

BRAVE JOURNO PRESSES BLINKEN

Many will remember two journalists’ bold inquiries at outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final press briefing. Max Blumenthal (@maxblumenthal on X) from the @thegrayzonenews and Sam Husseini (@samhusseini on X), the communications director at the US-based Institute for Public Accuracy (@accuracy on X), challenged Blinken on Washington’s support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, leading to their forceful ejection from the US State Department briefing room.