We interview journalist, historian, and Marxist intellectual Vijay Prashad. We discuss the myth of the third world as a site of poverty and degradation instead of the global anti-colonial movement it once was. To gain a better understanding of the history and how it became co-opted we analyze Prashad's book "The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World." Bio Vijay is an Indian historian and journalist. He is the author of forty books, including Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World, The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South, and The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power (2022), written with Noam Chomsky. Vijay is the executive director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, the chief correspondent for Globetrotter, and the chief editor of LeftWord Books (New Delhi). He also appeared in the films Shadow World (2016) and Two Meetings (2017). Join our patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

For Pt. 2, we speak with former entrepreneur and current writer Joshua McCoy. We use his experience as a business owner for over 10 years to show the limitations of black business, how the (myth of the) circulating Black dollar does little to impact the day-to-day operations of Black business, and some socialist alternatives to the traditional aspects of Black business.   https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

In this episode, we debunk the myth circulating Black Dollar at DePaul University in Chicago. We track the original claim stating "the lifespan of the dollar in the African-American community is approximately six hours." We show its questionable origins, deconstruct the concept of community, and most importantly we explore the concept of circulation.  Sign up for patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

Myth: Prisons Rehabilitate (Reacting to the Pendleton 2   In this episode, we discuss the documentary The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up directed by our co-host Too Black and TheKingTrill. The film chronicles the story of Indiana political prisoners Christopher "Naeem" Trotter and John "Balagoon" Cole who got 200 plus years for intervening to save the life of a fellow prisoner who was being brutally beaten to death by the prison guards at Pendleton prison. Our frequent listeners will be familiar with this story.    We use this film as a case study to demonstrate how prisons fail to rehabilitate the people they lock up and how the Pendleton two are examples demonstrating that community rehabilitates people, not the state. We strongly encourage listeners to watch the film and if you have the capacity schedule a screening in your local area at pendleton2.com.    Film https://youtu.be/aQ6c4iE88Uk   Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

In this episode, we re-explore the Pendleton 2—Indiana political prisoners Christopher "Naeem" Trotter and John "Balagoon" Cole. Recently, a documentary film entitled The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up (directed and produced by TheKingTrill and our very own BMP host Too Black) debuted on Breakthrough News.  In this film, the Pendleton 2 and witnesses who were present for the '85 uprising discuss the events that led to their imprisonment and their subsequent time in solitary confinement. However, only a portion of their interviews about solitary confinement aired in the documentary. So we are sharing the full interviews of Naeem and Balagoon on solitary.    Originally, we were going to call this episode part two of our myth "Tough On Crime" but it felt more apropos to intertwine this with the myth that "torture works." Torture is an extension of counter-insurgency both domestically and internationally. Solitary confinement for political prisoners is a clear expression of such.    Please view the documentary The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up and book a screening at Pendleton2.com   Film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ6c4iE88Uk&t=3029s&ab_channel=BreakThroughNews   Donate https://chuffed.org/project/free-pendleton-2   Sign Petition https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAsx4u1g_Z38gZ3a70AAbwuFTpSJB_ipf2_qtepwbBz2iL7A/viewform

In this episode we cover the myth of "tough on crime." Utilizing the work of civil rights lawyer and author, Alec Karakatsanis, we explore how the tough on crime policies fail on their own premise and are therefore not not met to solve the needs of the people. Instead, tough on crime policies and as an extension "crime" itself, is largely a tool of the ruling class.    We also explore policies that will help reduce what the State labels as crime such as food, housing, education, and job security.    https://equalityalec.substack.com/p/tough-on-crime   https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/the-trouble-with-crime-statistics   https://nyti.ms/QvbKEV   https://whitecollar.thenewinquiry.com/#   https://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/research-reports/the-3-4-trillion-mistake-the-cost-of-mass-incarceration-and-criminalization

In this episode, we continue with our conversation on the Kwame Toure vs Molefi Asante debate. We look into modern times to discuss the recent Pan-African Summit in Ghana and how it stands up to Nkrumah's version of Pan-Africanism. We also do a brief examination of the developments in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.    00:00:51 - opening  00:03:04 - Debate continued 00:24:34 - Pan African Summit? 00:43:51 - Back to Africa 00:51:43 - Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso

  00:00:51 - Opening  00:07:08 - What is afrocentricity? 00:23:03 - What is pan africanism? 00:44:43 - Debate: Kwame Toure vs Molefi Asante  01:20:01 - Asante response 01:46:51 - Close For this episode, we examine the distinctions between Afrocenticity and Pan-Africanism that are often conflated as one and the same with our guest Dr. Layla Brown. Dr. Layla Brown is a member of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party-GC and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology & Africana Studies and affiliate faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Northeastern University.   We explore the 1996 debate on Afrocentricity vs Pan-Africanism between Molefi Asante and Kwame Ture in a talk entitled Africa and the Future. We use this debate to help flesh out the understanding of these terms and show how the application of each term both coincides and differs.      Debate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeWcBU1m5ug&t=2538s&ab_channel=MaweluluOnwuku Support our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

For part two, we cover the events after Congolese Independence including mutiny, Belgian occupation, the U.N., and most importantly CIA meddling that led to the assassination of Lumumba.   White Malice https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/white-malice/ Support our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

In this episode, we investigate the assassination of the late Patrice Lumumba. Patrice Lumumba was a leader of the Congolese movement for independence from Belgium and subsequently became the first democratically elected prime minister of the country. 62 years ago 1961, January 17th, he was gunned down thereby changing the course of history.    We honor him by offering a history of the conditions that led to his assassination and how the United States via the CIA used the inaccurate claim of communism to justify their support for his assassination. We discussed how the resources contained inside the Congo were pivotal to this tragic moment in history. We primarily pull from the thoroughly researched book White Malice: The CIA and the Covert Recolonization of Africa by Susan Williams to support our analysis.   White Malice https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/white-malice/ Support our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths