Groundings

Former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member, Jalil Muntaqim, discusses his revolutionary life and organizing for incarcerated people. The podcast explores the popularity of Black Panther imagery, the Mutual Aid for Veteran Black Panther Party Members fund, and the disregard for surviving Black Panthers. Other topics include the fight against white supremacy, the hypocrisy of political prisoners, and the global struggle against imperialism and white supremacy.

In this conversation from March 2022,  reproductive justice practitioner, organizer, researcher, and educator Jalessah Jackson speaks about decolonial feminism, a framework that forges material feminist solidarities through an examination of the relationship between gender and colonialism. We discuss the origins of this intellectual and organizing framework, its relationship to bourgeois and carceral feminisms, material international solidarity work, and the role of scholar-activism. Get into it! Check out the decolonial feminist collective at instagram.com/decolonialfeministcollective / The music you hear was produced by the homie JayOhAye , support them at www.jayohaye.com / Support Groundings on Patreon at patreon.com/Halfatlanta / Support ARC-Southeast at arc-southeast.org/ / 

Reproductive justice practitioner Jalessah Jackson and public health professional Debbie Billings join us to discuss the recent leak by SCOTUS, which showed they are prepared to overturn abortion rights in the U.S.We put this decision by SCOTUS into the overall political context, discussing how it relates to other fascist assaults on TLGBQ rights, and is part of a larger fascist 'backlash.' We also discuss maternal health internationally, why a people-centered human rights framework is vital, and the power of mutual aid and other grassroots organizing in the face of state violence.  ARC-SoutheastPalmetto State Abortion FundLas LIBRES: La Historia Después (Documentary)Accompaniment (Documentary)What Is People(s)-Centered Human Rights?Decolonial Feminist Collective

Dr. Horne’s books ‘The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism’ and ‘The Dawning of the Apocalypse’ are essential readings in understanding the original sins of empire, the worlds that settler colonialism precluded, and the apokalyptic transformation the world is experiencing today. Our conversation moves across subjects of colonial technology and weaponry, Africa's underdevelopment, and how our material conditions within empire are directly tied to the material conditions across the African continent and diaspora.Dr. Horne also candidly reflects on his own writing process, how he’s such a prolific and productive writer and activist, and the stakes of doing rigorous work as a peoples historian. Give it a listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments!Audio snippets heard in the episode:Kwame Ture on The History of Pan AfricanismWalter Rodney - Crisis in the Periphery: Africa and the Caribbean-If you enjoyed the episode, consider subscribing to Dev's Patreon [here] to support the show and get access to extras. Music by the comrade JayOhAye.  

Christian churches are found on virtually every corner across the African world, from the continent to its expansive diaspora, and their role in the affairs of Africans have long been called into question. How did a foreign religious practice gain so much influence across Africa, and why are millions of Africans devoutly following the religion even at the expense of their own indigenous practices? How do the legacies of enslavement and colonization inform Christian thinking, and how do these legacies influence the neo-colonialism of the African world today? How do other religious or spiritual practices, like Islam or Voudou, fit into this historical arc?Actor, director, and producer Onuora Abuah helps us make sense of all this and much more in this conversation. You can find Onuora's outstanding documentary work on YouTube here, or at KweliTV here. If you enjoyed the episode, consider subscribing to Dev's Patreon here to support the show. Music by the comrade JayOhAye. 

From Claudia Jones and Safiya Bukhari, to Assata Shakur and Dr. Patricia Rodney, the impact of Black women radicals has created monumental shifts in the way we think, organize, and survive. In this episode we're joined by community organizer and writer Erica Caines and professor Charisse Burden-Stelly, who dive into a deep history of important Black communist women figures like Claudia Jones. We discuss what makes their work so important, why they have such lasting relevance, how we should engage their work, and why there's a battle going on to dissociate them from their communist politics. In the opening, you will hear an excerpt from a speech given by Shirley Graham Du Bois in 1970 at UCLA. You can listen to the full speech here. To support the podcast, consider becoming a monthly patron at Patreon.com/Halfatlanta. To support Erica Caines, consider becoming a monthly patron at Patreon.com/Rickii.Shout out to the homie JayOhAye for providing music for season 4 of Groundings; check out more of their work here. This episode was recorded using SquadCast. 

Armed uprisings across the Caribbean can often be portrayed as spontaneous and isolated events that were largely unsuccessful. In fact, these efforts have informed each other across time and can reshape how we think about imperial domination in Africa and across the Americas.  The Christmas Rebellion, sometimes called the Baptist Uprising, is the largest rebellion in Jamaica's history, and it reveals the importance of continued resistance and pushes us to rethink what we call ‘successful’ revolts by the enslaved. Writer and organizer Q. Anthony Omene joins us to discuss this and much more, in the first episode of Groundings season 4. You will also hear archival audio from Walter Rodney, which can be found in full here.Hosts:DarienDevSupport:Patreon.com/Halfatlanta

On this episode, we talk about the US blockade against Cuba, which we define as a weapon of economic, political, racist, colonial warfare against the Cuban people. We hear from Belly of the Beast producer Daniel Montero, who explains the main character behind these mysterious protests, and then we dive into some historical context. Finally, we discuss the blockade in detail, and Luna tells us some of the important documentary projects they're working on. Make sure you check out Belly of the Beast's work on YouTube here, and follow them on Twitter as well here. #EndTheBlockade #UnblockCuba #CubaSíBloqueoNo Music: "(DRILL) CUBAN DRILL - LATIN Brass Sax by Dios Mio Beats"

The entire world has witnessed israel's naked colonial violence in Sheikh Jarrah, Palestine, where countless Palestinians have been brutalized and forcefully removed from their homes. Palestinian writer and activist Mohammed el-Kurd joins the show to discuss the latest round of ethnic cleansing in his home neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, the many ways that Palestinians are resisting israel colonial domination, and why we're seeing unprecedented resistance from Palestinians.  We also discuss those who only support Palestinians when they appear to be 'perfect victims' but are quiet when they are resisting iraeli state violence, and how international media is complicit in ongoing israeli apartheid. Palestinian-American medical worker and community organizer Abu Shawarib joins as co-host. This is a special bonus episode of season 3 in collaboration with Mondoweiss, an independent website devoted to informing readers about developments in occupied Palestine and related US foreign policy.

Professor, writer, and activist Dr. Joy James joins the show to discuss her work around abolition. More specifically, we look at what Dr. James calls "academic abolitionism", the role that academics play in halting or co-opting revolutionary organizing, the current state of the prison abolition movement, and why it is revolutionary to start our political organizing with one simple question: what do Black children need?Felicia Denaud joins as co-host. The beat you hear was produced by JayOhAye, and you can hear more here. The painting on the cover art is "J.D. McClain’s Day in Court" (1970) by Jeff Donaldson.If you enjoyed the episode, consider supporting on Patreon here.