The Black Myths Podcast

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

We review the myths we covered throughout the year 2022.  An extended version of this conversation exists on our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

This is a special crossover episode with The Malcolm Effect hosted Momodou Taal. BMP Host Too Black was interviewed by Momodou and ME special host Deej about his 2 part essay "Laundering Black Rage." The essay was discussed prior on BMP on our "profiting off of Black Death" myth/episode. In this engaging conversation Black Rage, the function of the Black Elite, and some of the means to reverse launder Black Rage. Essays https://www.blackagendareport.com/laundering-black-rage https://www.blackagendareport.com/laundering-black-rage-part-2 Prior Episode https://blackmyths.libsyn.com/myth-profiting-off-black-rage https://blackmyths.libsyn.com/myth-profiting-off-black-death-pt-2 Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths