RUBY BRIDGES: THE LITTLE BLACK GIRL WHO DEFIED ALL ODDS

Ruby Bridges made history on 14 November 1960 as the first Black child to enroll at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, an all-white elementary school. Her feat came six years after the US Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in the Brown vs Board of Education case, which declared segregation in US public schools unconstitutional. 

At just six years old, Bridges faced a daunting challenge: Daily taunts by an angry white mob shouting racial slurs. White parents also took their children out of school in protest. One protester also held a coffin showing a Black doll. Yet, Ruby remained resolute, never missing a day of school as federal marshals escorted her. Digital creator and storyteller @myjessstory breaks down the events and why this is such a pivotal moment in Black history.

Continued….. Ruby attended classes alone, guided by a teacher, Barbara Henry. However, Bridges’ parents paid a huge price when both lost their jobs, leaving us to wonder whether integration was worth the trouble.

Further, while many often speak of racial integration as a solution in the United States, it has yet to transform the system. According to a UCLA Civil Rights Project 2019 report, despite an increasingly diverse US population 65 years after the Supreme Court ruling, segregation is ‘expanding.’ Perhaps we can take a cue from psychologist Dr Amos Wilson (1941-95), who said that integration with the descendants of the ‘world’s greatest criminals and thieves,’ those who systematically work to marginalise us, is a mere ‘fantasy’ and that we would be better off building our own nation-states.

Video credit: @myjessstory (IG) 

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/may/06/ruby-bridges-the-six-year-old-who-defied-a-mob-and-desegregated-her-school

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ruby-bridges

https://www.epi.org/publication/schools-are-still-segregated-and-black-children-are-paying-a-price

https://x.com/african_stream/status/1879001913590440022

A TALE OF TWO SETTLER-COLONIALISTS

In this post, X user Nick Stankovic (@nickstankovic_) points out the irony in the United States advocating for forcing Palestinians out of Gaza while the US condemns South African policies addressing the inequitable land-distribution legacy of the apartheid era. 

Israel’s US-backed military onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza reportedly k*lled more than 186,000 as of early July 2024, according to the Lancet medical journal. Despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then-Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, the US continues to support Tel Aviv’s 76-year-old settler-colonial project to occupy Palestine. US President Donald Trump even went as far as announcing US intentions to occupy and rebuild Gaza—while displacing Palestinians—during a press conference on 4 February during Netanyahu’s White House visit.

Continued……. Ironically, the Trump administration has threatened South Africa with sanctions following a new land reform law seeking to remedy the injustice of European settler-colonialism and the apartheid era, which dispossessed Black South Africans of their indigenous lands. Over 70 per cent of privately owned farmlands are in the hands of white settlers, who comprise less than 8 per cent of South Africa’s population.

It appears the US only has an issue when people take a stand to end systemic white supremacy, while ardently defending initiatives that advance white supremacy, imperialism and colonialism.

Video credit: @nickstankovic_ (X)

Sources:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/analysis-trumps-gaza-stunner-builds-on-his-expansionist-aims/ar-AA1yr7lO

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/factbox-what-is-south-africa-s-land-law-that-triggered-trump-s-threats/3470475

BUJU BANTON ON THE MAROONS IN JAMAICA

Like many colonised and enslaved territories, Jamaica fronted strong resistance against imperialism. Listen to legendary Jamaican singer Buju Banton explain the role the Maroons played. 

The Maroons, enslaved Africans who escaped from Spanish and British plantations, formed independent communities in the island’s mountainous regions. Over time, they established well-organised societies, drawing on African cultural traditions for survival. Known for their staunch defiance of British rule and their resistance to slavery, they played a crucial role in the fight for liberation on the Caribbean island.

In the First Maroon War, Africans used guerrilla war tactics to defend their freedom and disrupt British plantations. Maroons’ extensive knowledge of Jamaica’s terrain challenged colonial forces, and so, after years of conflict, Britain was forced to negotiate peace treaties in 1739 and 1740.

Continued……The terms recognised Maroon autonomy and the right to own land. In return, the Maroons agreed to stop raiding plantations.

However, tensions persisted despite the treaties, leading to the Second Maroon War in 1795. The war ended in December of that year, with the Maroons agreeing to lay down their arms, return runaway enslaved Africans and be relocated to another part of the island in exchange for being spared repercussions. The British, as usual, broke the agreement.

They deported many to Nova Scotia in Canada, and later to Sierra Leone upon demand due to Canada’s hostile climate. This marked the end of large-scale Maroon resistance to British colonial rule.

Maroons hold a cherished legacy in Jamaica to this day. Communities, such as Accompong and Moore Town, still celebrate their heritage, preserving rich African cultural practices. For example, on 5-6 January each year, the Maroon festival brings together people from around the world to commemorate the signing of the 1739 treaty under Captain Cudjoe, who is considered the greatest of the Maroon leaders.

Video credit: @revolttv 

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

Continued…..Sources:


Who were the Maroons? https://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/black-resistance-against-slavery/the-maroons-of-jamaica/

Fought against slavery https://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/black-resistance-against-slavery/the-maroons-of-jamaica/

First Maroon war https://face2faceafrica.com/article/how-the-maroons-from-africa-battled-the-british-in-jamaica-and-won-in-the-1700s
https://discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/black-resistance-against-slavery/the-maroons-of-jamaica/

Second Maroon war https://jamaicatimeline.com/history/maroon-2ndwar.html

Deportation to Canada
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20240731/what-happened-trelawny-town-maroons

British breaking the agreement
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20240731/what-happened-trelawny-town-maroons

Petition to go to Sierra Leone
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20240731/what-happened-trelawny-town-maroons

Legacy today.
Accompong https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/legendary-community-that-fought-for-its-freedom-in-jamaica

Moore Town https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3xW808tdJE

https://schoolhistory.co.uk/early-modern/second-maroon-war

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2018/04/07/what-triggered-the-second-maroon-war-in-1795

Captain Cudjoe
https://nlj.gov.jm/history-notes/The%20Maroons%20edited%20final.htm

Maroon Festival
https://maroonfestja.com/about-us

ROADS, RAILS & PLANES FOR AES

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have put the necessary infrastructure in place to forge greater unity in Africa’s Sahel region.

Between 14-16 January 2025, ministers from the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) member countries met in Bamako, Mali, to develop a plan of action to establish a unified road, railway and air infrastructure to support the circulation of people and goods.

Then, on 22 January, Malian President Assimi Goïta chaired a meeting to ratify the plan.

While a railway links Mali and Senegal, and another railway links Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, no railways connect Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Furthermore, neither of the aforementioned railways carries passengers between neighbouring West African countries.

The ultimate goal of the AES confederation is to unify the three countries into a single federal state, as first agreed upon by their foreign ministers on 30 November and 1 December 2023.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

Sources:

https://primature.ml/communique-du-conseil-des-ministres-du-mercredi-22-janvier-2025-cm-n2025-04-sgg

https://wadr.org/mali-sahel-states-outline-roadmap-for-development-projects

https://apanews.net/aes-member-states-adopt-ambitious-projects-at-ministerial-council

https://www.aglgroup.com/en/solutions/rail-transport

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1506488/economie-entreprises/comment-le-senegal-et-le-mali-veulent-faire-renaitre-le-train-dakar-bamako/?__cf_chl_tk=Lv1Xjn1Gj3uyGTLJOTHaHcwLIYJEQgYArZXJwSQCM2A-1738840467-1.0.1.1-PgIWdjhigvdWmtQk3g5ZJQoH0auRDAhIhJYQZbHipFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjOrFD0oqUw

‘NO COLTAN, NO COBALT IN RWANDA’ - MINING EXPERT

According to an anonymous mining expert from Colorado, USA, Rwanda has no coltan, cobalt, or gold deposits.

He claimed this during a livestream hosted by Congolese digital creator Muyisa Michelline (@MuyisaMichelline on Instagram), choosing to keep his identity hidden due to the sensitive nature of his job.

Based on satellite imaging of Central Africa, the mining expert said mineral deposits are contained in geological structures akin to veins in a human body, running down the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, then onward to Kasai and Bandundu provinces. Rwanda, to the east of the DRC, happens to be outside the path of these geological ‘veins.’

Continued……The mining expert claimed Western buyers of ‘Rwandan’ minerals know that it does not have a mineral portfolio of note, if at all. In November 2022, at a ministerial swearing-in, Rwandan President Paul Kagame acknowledged that Rwanda acts as a transit point for smuggled Congolese minerals. He remarked, ‘Some people come from Congo, whether they smuggle or go through the right channel, they bring minerals. But most of it goes through here, but does not stay here. It goes to Dubai, to Brussels, Tel Aviv.’

Rwanda reported mining revenues of $1.1 billion in 2023, a 43 per cent year-on-year increase. An eye-popping 2021 report from the US Geological Survey revealed that the US sourced 36 per cent of niobium and tantalum ores and concentrates from Rwanda, the highest share among global suppliers, while only 7 per cent came from the DRC.

A December 2024 UN experts’ report noted that after Rwanda- and Uganda-backed M23 rebels seized the Rubaya region, home to the largest coltan mines in eastern DRC, they imposed taxes generating $800,000 monthly on extracted minerals and ensured their transfer to Rwanda.

Rwanda and its international allies are key players in Congo’s nearly 30-year resource war, which cost a recorded 6 million lives by 2010 and internally displaced about 7 million as of last year, with more blood shed every day.

Video credit: @muyisamichelline / @congoamerica (IG)

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

Sources:

https://www.voanews.com/a/rwandan-mining-soars-as-minerals-certified-conflict-free/1798931.html

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2024-002684_EN.html

https://www.mining.com/web/congo-rebel-gains-to-boost-illicit-mineral-trade-through-rwanda-analysts-say

https://amsterdamandpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024.04.25-AP-DRC-Blood-Minerals.pdf

https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021.pdf

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/rwanda-mining-and-minerals

https://youtu.be/Opf0b_svQl8?t=3444

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/2/blood-minerals-what-are-the-hidden-costs-of-the-eu-rwanda-supply-deal

https://www.forbesafrica.com/opinion/op-ed/2023/03/29/rwandas-mining-sector-is-poised-for-even-more-growth-as-commodity-prices-continue-to-rise

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/congo-rebel-gains-boost-illicit-mineral-trade-through-rwanda-analysts-say-2025-01-28

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-rwanda-minerals-agreement-coltan-ore-mining-conflict-smuggling-rubaya-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-paul-kagame

https://www.caritas.org/2010/02/six-million-dead-in-congos-war

https://drcongo.iom.int/en/news/internal-displacement-overview-2024-published

https://docs.un.org/en/s/2024/969

https://rwandadispatch.com/rwandas-mineral-exports-rise-to-a-record-1-1-billion-in-2023

PAYPAL MAFIA’S LINKS TO APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

Elon Musk’s role in the ongoing spat between Donald Trump and South Africa has brought to the fore ties between powerful US interests and individuals linked to the apartheid-era.

The tech tycoon is on everybody’s radar, but there are several other individuals in US business and political circles whose rise to the top can be traced to the privileges that the apartheid system gave to White people at the expense of indigenous Black South Africans.

In this interview, journalist and former South Africa correspondent for The Guardian newspaper Chris McGreal explains how men with links to apartheid South Africa created the payment platform PayPal.

Continued…….. It’s true that most of them were children during the apartheid era and played no role in the regime’s atrocities. However, the fact is that the privileges they derived from the system gave them a headstart that enabled them to rise to where they are today. Most importantly, it also shaped their political views - which, as Musk has shown in recent weeks, are largely anti-African.

Credit: Democracy Now!

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

@⁨Kristina⁩ , please replace the denoscription online for this story to this:

Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl on 9 February set the Internet ablaze. The Pulitzer-winning hip-hop maestro brought along an all-Black dance crew. But not everyone was doing the happy dance.

US-based political analyst Dominic Michael Tripi took to X to express his dismay over the absence of white dancers, and his tweet has been viewed by over 17-million people.
Some are linking his gripe to US President Donald Trump’s attacks on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies, saying that Lamar’s dancers were selected on merit—because who needs diversity when you can have a meritocracy, right?

Continued….. Kendrick’s performance was packed with symbolism, featuring A-list actor Samuel L Jackson dressed up as Uncle Sam, a kind of mascot of patriotic white people, representing the US government and the days of slavery. As the show’s master of ceremonies, Jackson took a moment to highlight the struggles of Black people, humorously asking Lamar to ease up on the ‘ghetto’ vibes before the rapper launched into his hit, ‘Not Like Us.’

Let’s not forget, Black people in the US have a tragic history filled with violent displacement, slavery and exploitation stretching back 400 years, not to mention modern-day police brutality against people of colour. In 2024, 28 per cent of those killed by police were Black, despite the community representing only 13 per cent of the population.

February is Black History Month, chosen because it’s the birthday month of civil-rights legend Frederick Douglass. So, let’s celebrate, but please, without any drama over dance lineups!

Sources:

https://www.theroot.com/imagery-symbolism-and-backstory-you-missed-from-kendri-1851759118

https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2025-halftime-show-review-1dc2bce615ebfba0c8af0ea7c3ce4b9d

https://www.newsweek.com/kendrick-lamar-symbolic-message-super-bowl-halftime-show-2028856

https://mappingpoliceviolence.us/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/01/national-black-history-month-2025/

NO SOLDIERS IN DRC? RWANDAN MILITARY CEMETERIES FILL UP

Despite Rwanda’s repeated denials that its troops are fighting alongside the M23 militia in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a wealth of evidence suggests that a large number of Rwandan soldiers has been killed since the Kigali-backed rebels intensified their insurgency in 2021.

On 7 February, the British newspaper The Guardian, quoting intelligence sources, reported that the number of Rwandan soldiers killed in the DRC in the last three years could be in the thousands. According to the report, military hospitals in Rwanda have recorded a surge in the number of soldiers hospitalised for war-related injuries. Morgues at some of the hospitals are reportedly running out of space.

Satellite images, meanwhile, show a major increase in the number of graves at military cemeteries nationwide. For instance, at least 600 new graves were added to the Kanombe military cemetery in the capital between August 2021 and 15 December 2024.

Continued……. But this likely only hints at the scale of the deaths, as many of the killed soldiers, especially of lower rank, are not repatriated home. Also, the number of graves is likely to have risen further in the last few weeks following M23’s violent capture of eastern DRC’s largest city, Goma, at the end of January.

These data not only confirm that Rwanda is the puppet master behind M23, they also show that Congolese people are not taking the invasion lying down but are defending their homeland and fighting back.

According to UN figures, since 26 January, more than 3,000 people have been killed, 2,880 injured and over 500,000 displaced - adding to the more than 7 million already displaced by the three-decade proxy mineral war in the Congo.

Video Credit: Planet Labs PBC

Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/07/democratic-republic-congo-drc-paul-kagame-m23-rebels-goma-rwanda-troops-dying-denials

TRUMP’S ATTEMPT TO BULLY S. AFRICA SIGN OF WEAKNESS

Washington’s use of economic and soft-power coercion against South Africa reveals US weakness, says political commentator Saheed Bolsen in this clip. Aid freezes, economic pressure and disinformation campaigns are the tactics of an empire in decline.

Pretoria came under attack from the Trump administration after passing its Land Expropriation Law, a piece of legislation designed to correct historical injustices against South Africa’s Black majority. But the US president claims, falsely, that it persecutes the wealthy Afrikaner (Dutch settler origin) community.

It’s all part of an effort, Bolsoen claims, to create internal divisions, undermine the credibility of South Africa’s leadership and force the country into submission - tactics that can only succeed if the targeted nation permits them to work.

Continued….. Alternatively, Pretoria can choose to not be tied to an abusive relationship with the US - by diversifying its trade and cultural ties. It can see this as an opportunity to become more self-reliant and assume greater leadership on the global stage, as with its action against Israel at The Hague - in defiance of the US.

Video Credit: Shaheed Bolsen and his Nation

Sources

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-06-we-will-not-be-bullied-resolute-ramaphosa-stands-up-to-us/?dm_source=dm_block_grid&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=main

Rubio-Trump vs South Africa
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-top-diplomat-rubio-will-not-attend-g20-meet-south-africa-2025-02-06/
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/trump-cut-off-all-future-funding-south-africa-2025-02-02/

U.K FOREIGN OFFICE TARGETS AFRICAN STREAM

A trove of confidential documents, e-mails and WhatsApp conversations has unveiled a ploy by the British Foreign Office to run a smear campaign against African Stream.

The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) is at the centre of the scheme, the latest by Western governments opposed to our independent and African-centred reporting.

According to the documents, CIR is paying African journalists to write articles claiming that African Stream is a Russian-funded propaganda outlet - a claim not backed by any evidence other than similar accusations by the US government.

However, as African Stream’s editor-in-chief, Ahmed Kaballo, explains in this video, plenty of evidence indicates that CIR is firmly connected to the British government and other Western intelligence establishments.