Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Margaret Kimberley, along with my co-host Glen Ford. Coming up: The old Year, 2020, laid bare the fundamental contradictions of capitalism. We’ll hear from Ajamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace, who says electoral politics must be secondary to grassroots organizing. And, U.S. involvement in the African nation of Cameroon has created humanitarian crises on both sides of the the Atlantic Ocean.
But first – the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations is in its 12th year of advocacy for Black self-determination, world-wide. Coalition chairman Omali Yeshitela says the Covid-19 epidemic and economic breakdown have exposed the United States as a power in decline.
Four years ago, Ajamu Baraka ran for vice president on the Green Party ticket. He then formed the Black Alliance for Peace, which has taken the lead in demanding the dismantling of the U.S. Military Command in Africa and an end to the police occupation of Black communities in the United States. Baraka was recently interviewed by Dr. Jared Ball on his influential podcast, “I Mix What I Like.” Baraka said electoral politics can be important, but only as a tool of grassroots organizing.
All but one nation in Africa is collaborating with AFRICOM, the U.S. Military Command in Africa that was created by the George Bush administration but vastly expanded under President Obama. AFRICOM is deeply involved in the west African nation of Cameroon, where the United States supports a French-speaking government that is at war with both Boko Haram fighters and its own English-speaking population. Journalist Joe Penny has been covering the Cameroon conflict for The Intercept.