Millennials Are Killing Capitalism

In this episode we interview Dhoruba bin Wahad. A leading member of the New York Black Panther Party, a Field Secretary of the BPP responsible for organizing chapters throughout the East Coast, and a member of the Panther 21. He is a veteran and co-founder of the Black Liberation Army and a former political prisoner. He - and Geronimo ji Jaga Pratt - are, we believe, the only two Black political prisoners to use COINTELPRO documents to secure their release from political imprisonment. Both the FBI and NYPD settled with Dhoruba in lawsuits he filed against them for framing him. There are a number of great writings and conversations with Dhoruba bin Wahad out there. But we asked Dhoruba to do this episode to discuss his political philosophy. He found our approach to that a bit humorous at times, but as one of our favorite thinkers, and someone who embodies their theory in social practice to a degree few of us can imagine, we hoped to contribute to his legacy in this way. In this conversation we cover some common themes in Dhoruba’s writing, we ask about his ideology, his frequent use of the term “whirlwind,” Democratic Fascism, his emphasis on humanism, and the differing historical destinies of white and Black people in the US. Dhoruba talks about demands, encapsulation, the local nature of politics, Black sovereign thinking, solidarity, united fronts and political consequences for injustice. We also discuss the iconification of Assata Shakur and what it means to support the right of self-determination and the people who become political prisoners for exercising that right. There were other questions and follow-ups we wanted to ask, but time did not allow for it. We hope that if possible we will be able to record a part 2 in the future. More importantly, we want to note that we are not requesting financial support for our platform for this episode. Instead what we hope our listeners will do is contribute to the GoFundMe that Community Movement Builders has set up for Dhoruba bin Wahad’s medical fund. Dhoruba has stage 4 cancer and is in need of financial support. The GoFundMe will only be up for two more weeks, so if you can give something to that, please do so now. We’ll include a link to that in the show notes. Links: The GoFundMe Dhoruba's website  Dhoruba's content on imixwhatilike. Dhoruba's content on Black Power Media. Still Black, Still Strong Look For Me In The Whirlwind Dhoruba bin Wahad's Political Writings (in French, English and German)

In this episode we talk to Louis Allday, writer, historian and founding editor of Liberated Texts. Liberated Texts is an independent book review website which features works of ongoing relevance that have been forgotten, underappreciated, suppressed or misinterpreted in the cultural mainstream since their release. Louis gets into a more detailed description of the site’s purpose and some of the reviews they’ve featured since its founding just over a year ago. He also talks about the importance of books to anti-imperialist struggle, and ways that the publishing industry has been targeted by counterintelligence and counterinsurgency operations by the likes of the CIA and other related agencies. The inaugural Liberated Texts Collected Reviews volume is now available. Published by Ebb books, we’ll include links to where you can order it in the show notes. As we mention in the episode, Liberated Texts is a resource that we use to find interesting subject matter for this podcast. We’ve previously featured a couple of discussions directly based on reviews from the site, and also featured folks who have gone on to write reviews for Liberated Texts. We’ll include some links to those in the show notes as well. As Louis mentions in the episode, Liberated Texts is going to soon begin republishing or publishing books in English for the first time starting in July of this year. Their first book will be an English translation of Ghassan Kanafani’s On Zionist Literature. Proceeds from the sales of their first volume of collected reviews will go towards that publishing work. And as always if you like what we do here at Millennials Are Killing Capitalism, the best way that you can support our work is to become a patron of the show. You can do that for as little as $1 a month or a yearly membership of $10.80. If you’re not able to do that right now, please do what you can to like, share, retweet and spread the word. Links: Liberated Texts Order Liberated Texts from Bookshop.org Another interview we did which talks about Walter Rodney's time in Tanzania and relationship with Nyerere. Our episode with Bill Rolston and Robbie McVeigh Our episode with Alex Turrall Our previous conversation with Ju-Hyun Park.

This episode is the 4th and final session of Journalism for Liberation and Combat.  Make sure to check out the audio from all four sessions here on Millennials Are Killing Capitalism. Or if you prefer, the videos from all four sessions are up on Black Power Media. And there’s a syllabus you can access in the show notes. This episode is a panel discussion with Erica Caines from Hood Communist and Black Alliance For Peace, Kelly Hayes from Truthout and Movement Memos, Brian Nam-Sonenstein from Shadowproof and Beyond Prisons and Brandon Soderberg co-author of I Got A Monster and former editor-in-chief of the Baltimore City Paper.  Each of these folks have much more extensive bios which we will include in the show notes and which get read out later in the episode after Brooke and I situate the panel a bit within the series. We encourage you to follow and support their work and more than that we hope that more comes from our collaboration with these great folks, and through folks who either participated in the seminars or who have watched or listened to this series in video or audio form. This is our first episode of April, we put out 5 episodes in March. So if you like what we do here at MAKC, kick $1 or whatever you can into our patreon to make sure we can continue to provide you with new episodes every week.  Panelists: Erica Caines is a coordinating committee of The Black Alliance For Peace and a member of the Black working-class centered Ujima People’s Progress Party in Maryland. Caines is the founder of Liberation Through Reading and is also co-editor of the Revolutionary African blog, Hood Communist. Kelly Hayes is the host of Truthout’s podcast Movement Memos and a contributing writer at Truthout. Kelly’s written work can be found in numerous other publications and books, including the anthology Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? and Mariame Kaba's bestseller We Do This 'til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice. Kelly was an organizer with We Charge Genocide and co-founded the Chicago Light Brigade and the Lifted Voices collective. Kelly’s movement photography is featured in the “Freedom and Resistance” exhibit of the DuSable Museum of African American History.  Brian Nam-Sonenstein is an independent journalist and editor living in Maine. He is one of the co-founders of the reader-supported news website Shadowproof.com and the Beyond Prisons podcast. Previously, Brian was the associate publisher of Firedoglake, an early and influential online forum for left journalism and organizing. There, he worked to connect journalists with movement organizers around the country working on a wide range of issues including fighting foreclosures, drug prohibition, anti war mobilizations, whistleblower defense, and environmental justice. Since around 2014, his primary focus has been to amplify abolitionist movements and thought through media, and to help cultivate and spread an abolitionist ethic among journalists.  Brandon Soderberg is a Baltimore-based reporter who covers dirty cops, harm reduction, direct action, and guns. He is the coauthor of I Got a Monster: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Corrupt Police Squad. He is the former editor-in-chief of Baltimore City Paper and is the co-founder of Baltimore Beat, a community-focused nonprofit media outlet. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Intercept, Vice, The Appeal, Filter Magazine, and many other publications. Currently he writes about Baltimore for The Real News.

This is the 3rd session of Journalism for Liberation and Combat. This session is hosted by Too Black. Too Black is a poet, member of Black Alliance For Peace, producer of The Last Dope Intellectual Podcast, and host of The Black Myths Podcast on Black Power Media. He is based in Indianapolis, IN. This session focuses on The League of Revolutionary Black Workers newspaper work as a living example and case study for the examination of emancipatory journalism. In this episode Too Black breaks down comparisons of The South End under the editorship of John Watson in comparison with the coverage of the same events by The Detroit Free Press. This juxtaposition illuminates the possibilities of emancipatory journalism in practice. Shout out to Austin McCoy for sharing examples of articles from The South End with us for this presentation. Too Black also discusses the work he and his co-hosts do over at the Black Myths Podcast and the process they use to engage and debunk popular myths. Finally Too Black touches on methods of corporate counterinsurgency. Too Black’s presentation is followed by a Q&A from the Journalism for Liberation and Combat course participants. In the Q&A Brooke Terpstra from Oakland Abolition and Solidarity and I begin a conversation with Too Black about prisons and profit that we continue during an episode of IMIXWHATILIKE that came out this past Monday March 28th.  There’s a brief introductory conversation by Brooke and me. As we ground the discussion within the overall context of the Journalism for Liberation and Combat seminar series. All of the Journalism for Liberation and Combat sessions have video versions as well and you can find those on Black Power Media, we’ll provide a link to the playlist with all four sessions in the show notes. This particular session has a decent length powerpoint presentation with examples of articles from The South End so it is beneficial to watch it over on BPM. If you like the work that we do here at MAKC all of our work is solely funded by our listeners so please become a patron of the show, you can do that for as little as $1 a month over at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism. Check out and support: Black Myths Podcast (show, patreon) The Last Dope Intellectual (show, patreon) Oakland Abolition and Solidarity Black Power Media (channel, patreon)

This is session 2 of Journalism for Liberation & Combat. If you missed session 1, Journalism for Liberation & Combat was a mini-course that Jared Ware (Jay from MAKC) helped convene along with Brooke Terpstra who is an organizer with Oakland Abolition & Solidarity. We worked closely to put this together with Jared Ball from imixwhatilike and Black Power Media, and with a number of other radical journalists who you will hear from throughout the series.  Brooke Terpstra titled Session 2: “From Survival to Winning - Hegemony and Liberation on the Ground.” Both Brooke and Jared Ware cover the presentation in this session and the Jared Ball returns for a Q&A answering questions from the participants in the Journalism for Liberation & Combat course on the heels of Session 1 which Jared Ball gave the main presentation. This conversation is really about making the concepts of culture and hegemony real for folks and about sharing a media struggle from the coverage of the Prison Strike in 2018 which Brooke and Jay were very involved in as members of the Prison Strike Media Relations team for that action. There is a brief introductory conversation from Brooke and Jay on this session, and there is a lengthy Q&A with Jay, Brooke and Jared Ball at the end of the conversation. These sessions took place over zoom, and you can watch this session in its totality over on Black Power Media (session 1 also!) which is a great channel on Youtube with tons of amazing content from a Black Left perspective.  There was also a syllabus to the course, which we recommend you check out. As always if you like the work that we do here at Millennials Are Killing Capitalism, we do operate entirely on the support of our listeners. And as many folks are cutting costs in these rough financial times, we have been losing some patrons for the show. So if you are a listener and you have not become a patron yet and you can afford $1 a month or more, head to patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism and become a patron of the show.

***Video version now up on Black Power Media*** Earlier this month Brooke Terpstra from Oakland Abolition and Solidarity and Jared Ware convened a brief course that we titled Journalism for Liberation and Combat. At the heart of the course was the question: How do we cultivate revolutionary culture? Further we looked at the specific intersection of media or cultural production and revolutionary organizing.  Over the next couple weeks we will be sharing audio versions of all of these sessions. We will also be working with Black Power Media to release the video versions of these discussions over there over the next couple of weeks, the first one could premiere as soon as this Friday. What you will get here is lightly edited audio. The videos do often include visual aids. In addition to this there is a syllabus for this course which we will link in the show notes, that includes all of the readings we asked course participants to complete along with participating in the classes themselves. We encourage folks to do this course on their own time ideally with folks they organize with or work on radical media work with or maybe both.  Our guests for this series include: Jared Ball from IMIXWHATILIKE and Black Power Media,  Too Black from Black Myths Podcast, Black Power Media, and The Last Dope Intellectual Erica Caines from Black Alliance For Peace & Hood Communist Kelly Hayes from Truthout & Movement Memos Brian Nam-Sonenstein from Shadowproof and Beyond Prisons Brandon Soderberg (coauthor of I Got A Monster: The Rise & Fall of America's Most Corrupt Police Squad) And Jared Ware (MAKC) and Brooke Terpstra (Oakland Abolition & Solidarity) In this conversation there’s a little bit of an introduction from myself and Brooke just giving you some background on the series, and then you will hear Jared Ball’s presentation Journalism, Internal Colonialism, and Emancipation. In this session, Jared Ball will cover a summary of internal colonialism theory as context for emancipatory journalism. He will define and exemplify emancipatory journalism and he will discuss the rise and current state of the media/journalism environment in these so-called United States. At the close of his presentation, there is a Q&A session where Jared Ware, Brooke Terpstra, and coco ask Jared Ball some introductory questions. coco the comrade who joins us, is a conscious New Afrikan who engages in prisoner solidarity work along with political education & New Afrikan resistance, currently they host the Nkrumah study group we’ve been running. For folks looking specifically for Jared Ball’s presentation it starts at 29:45 seconds. The first roughly 30 minutes here are Brooke and me discussing the Journalism For Liberation & Combat series as well as this episode. This was a collaborative process and so I encourage you to contribute to, join or follow any of the organizations involved in putting this together - whether they do media work or organizing work - for us the easiest way to do that is by becoming a patron of the show at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

In this episode we interview Robbie McVeigh and Bill Rolston, authors of the book Anois ar theacht an tSamraidh: Ireland Colonialism and the Unfinished Revolution, a work that may be unparalleled in its analysis of the history of colonialism and modes of anti-imperialist struggle across Irish history.  It covers 800 years of history of colonialism in Ireland, and pays particular attention to the various colonial forms British Imperialism imposes upon the people of the island.  It also takes a deep dive into examining the contradictions of each of the Irish states that emerge from partition, an undemocratic and colonial imposition that the Irish people have yet to dismantle. Along the way the book also deals with important questions of race, gender and the position of Ireland in relation to the British Empire. At its core the book demonstrates that Ireland has not achieved decolonization even in the 26 counties in the South, but argues that self-determination for Irish people is within reach, perhaps closer now than it has been in a century. In our conversation we explore many of these topics as well as An Gorta Mór, the British starvation of Ireland often misnamed/misunderstood as the "Potato Famine." We talk about the unexpected possibilities and contradictions created by the UK’s reactionary Brexit maneuvering. We talk about resonances between Ireland and other sites of settler colonialism, and discuss how racism and religious sectarianism are interwoven in the Irish context. We also ask Robbie & Bill about the legacy of Irish anti-imperial struggle, which is significant and innovative, but is also checkered by a history of figures who failed to demonstrate solidarity to other anti-colonial struggles and marginalized peoples. They also discuss the complexity of Irish involvement in colonial management, and racial regimes outside of the Irish context. We want to give a special shout-out to Liberated Texts (you can order volume 1 here) and Chris Beausang for the review which alerted us to the existence of this book.  And just note that you can order it directly from Ireland at Beyondthepalebooks.com. And if you’re listening in North America I’ll just add that the good people at leftwingbooks.net have ordered some copies so you should be able to order it there soon as well. One more note, Dhoruba Bin Wahad is mentioned in passing during the show. Dhoruba who has lived a life in struggle for Black Liberation is currently battling stage 4 cancer and has a gofundme to support his treatment and care. We have contributed and we encourage you to do the same. Lastly, if you like what we do and want to hear more conversations like this, please support us on patreon. Our listeners are our sole source of income for the show, and you can become a patron for $1 a month or whatever you can afford to contribute.

In this episode we talk to Olúfẹmi O. Táíwò. Táíwò is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. In this episode we talk about his recently published book Reconsidering Reparations, which examines arguments for reparations historically and offers a philosophical argument for a constructive vision of reparations.  Along the way Femi looks at the linkages between slavery, racism, colonialism, imperialism and climate change.  In looking at this world system which he articulates as Global Racial Empire, Táíwò offers a vision for reconfiguring this world system in a more just way. Along the way he tackles issues of racial justice, economic security, and also a global vision of disability justice. We talk about systems of global distribution. And Femi examines arguments related to Rawlsian visions of justice, questions of identity and reparations, and certain critiques of reparations arguments. Táíwò also shares concerns about symbolic notions of reparations and advocates a materialist world-making project as a political horizon. Mentioned in the episode is a debate between Adolph Reed Jr. and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on the issue of reparations, you can listen to it here.  And just a reminder that we do need support to be able to run this show. If you like what we do, want us to be able to keep doing it, particularly as frequently as we do, please give a little money to our patreon. It’s through your support that we are able to do the show, keep the show free, keep it ad-free, and deliver you conversations like this unfiltered and unfettered by corporations or foundations.

In this episode we interview António Tomás. Tomás is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. He is a native of Angola, and holds a PhD in Anthropology from Columbia University. He has worked as a journalist in Angola and Portugal and has written extensively on issues related to Lusophone Africa.  Back in early December we published an interview with Tomás on his book Amílcar Cabral: The Life of a Reluctant Nationalist. In that conversation Tomás delved into the struggle of the PAIGC, various dynamics of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, and an analysis of Portuguese colonialism and counterinsurgency. Tomás also examined Cabral’s theory and practice in relation to Marxist thought and techniques of guerrilla warfare popular at the time. Discussing some of Cabral’s unique theoretical and practical interventions along the way. As we mentioned at the time, there were others aspects of Cabral’s life we wanted to delve into more deeply. Such as his time with the MAC or Movimento Anticolonial (Anticolonial Movement) his relationships with, and the influence of, figures like Frantz Fanon, Sekou Touré, and Kwame Nkrumah and his thinking on issues of Pan Africanism and internationalism. In this conversation we explore those topics and also further discuss how Cabral’s speeches must be read in the context of audience both intended and unintended. As well as in relation to the concrete needs of the PAIGC’s liberation struggle in that moment. We also talk specifically about the relationships Cabral had with Léopold Senghor and Sekou Touré the heads of state of Guinea-Bissau’s neighbors, who each provided different forms of solidarity, allowed different types of activity from the PAIGC within their state, and embraced a different tactics in relation to the PAIGC’s struggle against Portuguese colonialism. Finally, Tomás discusses what he considers Cabral’s greatest contributions to African anti colonial struggle.  It’s important to remember that many of the questions asked here remain open, but Tomás’s insights are very useful in reading Cabral’s thought and understanding the practices of the PAIGC in context. This is our fourth episode of the month of February, and currently we’re still down 3 patrons for the month. So if you’ve been thinking about becoming a patron, now is a great time to show your support. You can do so for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism References in the show: Part 1 of this conversation Amílcar Cabral: The Life of a Reluctant Nationalist by António Tomás António Tomás' forthcoming book In the Skin of the City: Spatial Transformation in Luanda Cabral's "Facts About Colonialism" also known as "Facts About Portugal's African Colonies" can be found in Unity & Struggle. Return To The Source (and mulitiple speeches within it) is also referenced in the show. Cesaire's Notebook of a Return to the Nativeland Fanon's Wretched of the Earth  

In this episode we interview two members of the Certain Days Collective.  Josh Davidson has been an activist for nearly two decades, focusing on prisoner support and the abolition of the carceral state. He is involved in numerous social justice projects, including the Certain Days collective and the Children’s Art Project with political prisoner Oso Blanco. Josh is currently editing a book detailing the struggles of current and former political prisoners, and also works in communications with the Zinn Education Project. Daniel McGowan is a member of the Certain Days collective, and former political prisoner from Queens, NY. He works with NYC Books Through Bars, the Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) and supporting political prisoner Eric King.  The topic of today’s discussion is the Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar which is a joint fundraising and educational project between outside organizers in Montreal, Hamilton, New York, and Baltimore, and political prisoner Xinachtli (formerly known as Alvaro Luna Hernandez).  All of the outside collective members are involved in day-to-day organizing work other than the calendar, on issues ranging from refugee and immigrant solidarity to community media to prisoner justice. They work from an anti-imperialist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, feminist, queer- and trans liberationist position. In this episode they talk about welcoming founding members Herman Bell and Robert Seth Hayes (Rest in Power) home from prison in 2018, and founding member David Gilbert home from prison just a few months ago at the end of 2021.  Daniel and Josh talk about the nuts and bolts of putting the calendar together, working with political prisoners on the project, and supporting prisoners against state repression. Along the way they both talk about tensions they feel in political prisoner support in the present moment. Both embracing prison abolition, understanding the inherently political nature of all imprisonment, and holding firm on the critical importance of movement defense to the creation of a better future. Daniel also shares many insights from his own time as a political prisoner on the vicious and arbitrary nature of carceral power and the role that political prisoners try to play teaching and sharing radical knowledge but also seeking to legally combat the most repressive facets of the prison system both inside and out. Josh and Daniel reference a ton of great projects and ways people can get involved, we will include all of them in the show notes so make sure to check them all out and get involved. One in particular we want to draw folks attention to uprisingsupport.org which was created to support people facing political repression for their involvement in the uprisings in response to the executions of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others in 2020. And of course make sure you pick up a copy of the Certain Days calendar if you haven’t yet, they’re now on sale for $10 at burningbooks.com and the other outlets listed in this episode and in the show notes. Finally, a reminder that if you appreciate the work that we do, we also need support. Become a patron of the show for as little as one dollar a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism  Other links and projects discussed in the episode: 2022 Artists- Carrot, Comrade Z, Jesus Barraza, Leila Abdelrazaq, Oso Blanco, Peter Railand, Roger Peet, Wendy Elisheva Somerson, Windigo Army, Virginia Lee, Xinachtli and Xue. 2022 Articles- Alanna Kibbe, Cory Charles Cardinal, David Gilbert, Daniel McGowan, Eric King, Hanif Bey, J.“g.”J., Martha Hennessy, Montclair Mutual Aid, Mwalimu Shakur, Sean Adams, Shukri Abu-Baker, Tauno Biltsted. PPs- editors are/were David Gilbert and Xinatchli Prisoners- Comrade Z (Julio Zuniga)- Texas,  Fed: Eric King, Hanif Bey, Oso Blanco, Shukri Abu Baker, Martha Hennessy. Sean Adams (released from Texas state),  Mwalimu Shakur (CA)   PP News Current campaigns- Dr. Mutulu Shakur (clemency, parole, compassionate release) Sundiata Acoli  Political Prisoners Near Release- Doug Wright  Josh Williams (12.22)   New(er) Political Prisoners - Jessica Reznicek Dan Baker Daniel Hale Floyd Uprising defendants (Uprisingsupport.org)   More orgs: Books Through Bars NYC Anarchist Black Cross Federation  Support Eric King (March 14th trial date) Daniel's consulting  Proceeds 2021 · RAPP (Release Aging People in Prison)  · Barton Prisoner Solidarity- .  · Tucson Anti-Repression Crew  · Prison Health News  · Austin ABC  · Solidarity Across Borders  · Buffalo Books Through Bars  · Mongoose Distro-  HOW TO ORDER -  US orders Burning Books  AK Press  Stores that sell the calendar Canada Kersplebedeb/Leftwingbooks  Canada bulk orders (10+)  UK order:Active Distribution  Prisoner orders- only $8 and you can buy it from Certain Days directly, and they will send the calendar to them. Deaths in or after custody- 2021 Chip Fitzgerald- 3.29.2021 death in custody (RIP) Russell Marroon Shoatz- 10.25.2021 Releases 2021: Michael Markus (Rattler)- Father Steve Kelly- Jaan Laaman- Martha Hennessy- Joshua Stafford- Carmen Trotta- Clare Grady-  Patrick O’ Neill    Mark Colville- 9.11.2021 David Gilbert- 11.4.21