Millennials Are Killing Capitalism

In this episode we talk to Zoé Samudzi. Dr. Samudzi has a PhD in Medical Sociology from the University of California, San Francisco. Her dissertation was about German colonialism, the Herero/Nama genocide, and the afterlife of that genocidal structure in the present. Her writing has appeared in Art in America, The New Republic, The New Inquiry, Jewish Currents, and other outlets. She is co-author of As Black as Resistance, which we spoke with her and co-author William C. Anderson back in 2018. In this conversation we talk about a range of topics related to settler colonialism and colonization in Africa, specifically in modern day Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Zoé shares with us some of the historical fights between European nation states, and European settlers in Southern Africa. She also shares a little bit of history on the Nama/Herero genocide and how it was utilized by the British to undermine the German Empire. Josh and Zoé explore the relationship between colonialism and fascism. And Zoé also shares some thoughts on the film Exterminate All The Brutes and challenges US exceptionalism in relationship to our analysis of settler colonialism and genocide.  Finally, Zoé talks about museums as ongoing sites of colonial violence and we discuss this in relationship to the recent revelations about the U Penn museum and U Penn and Princeton’s use of the remains of Delisha and Tree Africa, two MOVE children killed in the 1985 bombing, whose remains were taken from their families without consent or notice. MOVE has an event scheduled for May 15th in recognition of the 36th Anniversary of the MOVE bombing. You can also see their press conference addressing U Penn.  And there’s a petition for the repatriation of the remains of Tree and Delisha, and financial reparations to the affected families.  Suggested readings from Zoé Samudzi: - Mobilizing Black Germany by Tiffany Florvil - The Problems of Genocide by Dirk Moses  - Potential History: Unlearning Imperialism by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay  - The Brutish Museums by Dan Hicks  - Multidirectional Memory by Michael Rothberg - Exterminate all the Brutes by Sven Lindqvist - Alabama in Africa by Andrew Zimmerman May is a really busy month for us, beyond this great conversation we have a number of other exciting new episodes planned. If you are able to become a patron of the show, you can do so for as little as $1 a month.  

In this episode we interview Hy Thurman, founding member of the Young Patriots, and the Rainbow Coalition.  Our conversation focuses on his recently published memoir Revolutionary Hillbilly: Notes From The Struggle On The Edge Of The Rainbow.  We begin the conversation discussing growing up in a family of poor white farm workers in Appalachia and the conditions in Tennessee that lead to his migration to Chicago along with tens of thousands of other displaced Appalachians. We talk about how police harassment, bigotry and violence structured his adolescent years in both Tennessee and when he arrived in Chicago. And then he gets into various aspects of the conditions in Uptown, the Daley political regime in Chicago, and the extortive practices of the Chicago PD that gave rise to radical organizing and would eventually lead to the development of the Young Patriots Organization (YPO).  Hy talks about the organizing work of the YPO fighting gentrification, organizing health clinics, and touches on others aspects of their survival programs and organizing against police brutality. Ultimately Hy gets into conversations around their approach to questions of racism, class and gender. And we talk about their controversial use - and eventual denouncement - of the Confederate flag.  And we discuss their 11 point program and their participation in the Rainbow Coalition. Along the way Hy shares memories of his interactions with Fred Hampton and Bobby Lee from the Black Panther Party, and shares his thoughts on Judas And The Black Messiah.  Finally Hy talks about his current work with the North Alabama School For Organizers. Just a content notice there are discussions of state violence including murder and sexual assault by police.   As always if you appreciate the content that we produce and share, please support us by becoming a patron of the show. You can do that for as little as $1 per month on our patreon.

In this episode we interview Devyn Springer. This is the third episode we’ve recorded over the years with Springer, but the first since the summer of 2018.  Devyn Springer is a cultural worker, community organizer, and independent researcher. They are a member of the Walter Rodney Foundation and the host of the Groundings podcast. In this episode we revisit some of our discussion from 2017 on Walter Rodney, touching on How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, the dialectic of underdevelopment and development, and the apocalyptic impact of the transatlantic slave trade on the African continent. Devyn also shares insights on key issues facing African peoples today in Africa and across the diaspora. And Josh and Devyn discuss the continued relevance of Springer’s piece from 2017, Does The Western Left Have An Africa Problem? We also revisit concepts of the guerrilla intellectual and the misleadership class. Finally Devyn adds some thoughts on critical struggles for the Pan African Left today, including freeing political prisoners like Mumia Abu-Jamal. As always if you appreciate what we do and want to help sustain our work here at Millennials Are Killing Capitalism, you can do so by contributing to our patreon. And just a note Devyn announces on this episode a forthcoming season of Groundings and multiple other projects they are working on, so remember to support their patreon as well.

In this episode we interview Justine Teba, Orien Longknife, and Demetrius Johnson from The Red Nation. Our discussion centers around the book The Red Deal: Indigenous Action To Save Our Earth, which is the first book release from the Red Media imprint on Common Notions. The Red Deal is a call for action beyond the scope of the US colonial state.  It’s a program for Indigenous liberation, life, and land—an affirmation that colonialism and capitalism must be overturned for this planet to be habitable for human and other-than-human relatives to live dignified lives. The Red Deal is not a response to the Green New Deal, or a “bargain” with the elite and powerful. It’s a deal with the humble people of the earth; a pact that we shall strive for peace and justice and a declaration that movements for justice must come from below and to the left.  In 2019 we had a conversation with Nick Estes that touched on The Red Deal, but the new book offers a full elaboration of the program. We talk to Justine, Orien and Demetrius about the creation of the book and many of the topics covered within it. Including how struggles for indigenous sovereignty, decolonization, anti-imperialism, food sovereignty, and the caretaking economy are central to the struggle to maintain a habitable Earth. Along the way we also cover indigenous science, the importance of organizations, and how The Red Nation see their role in revitalizing the spirit of indigenous resistance. Please remember to support Millennials Are Killing Capitalism and Red Media on patreon if you enjoy our content and are able to support and make sure you go pick up a copy of The Red Deal and tune into their launch party on April 22nd.

This is part two one of a two-part conversation with Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert, editors of the book Venezuela, The Present As Struggle: Voices From The Bolivarian Revolution. The book is a collection of interviews with Chavistas, communards, campesinos, and a variety of activists, organizers, intellectuals and workers from the grassroots in Venezuela.  Cira Pascual Marquina is Political Science professor at the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela in Caracas and a writer and editor for Venezuelanalysis.com. Chris Gilbert teaches Marxist political economy at the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela. His articles have appeared in Rebelión, LaHaine, Monthly Review, and CounterPunch. Gilbert and Pascual Marquina are creators of the Marxist educational program Escuela de Cuadros, broadcast on Venezuelan public television. In part two of our discussion here, we ask Pasqual Marquina and Gilbert why Chavez continues to be such an important figure for the left in Venezuela years after his death. We also talk about tendencies within the left that can tend to denounce or renounce state power. The editors discuss critiques within the book related to clientelism, and their thoughts on role of the party and of direct democracy - and the voices of the people - in a revolutionary process. Please support Venezuelanalysis.com as the best English language source of information coming out of Venezuela. And of course if you appreciate the work we do bringing you interviews like this, please remember to support us on patreon if you are able.  

This is part one of a two-part conversation with Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert, editors of the book Venezuela, The Present As Struggle: Voices From The Bolivarian Revolution. This book is a collection of interviews with Chavistas, communards, Campesinos, and a variety of activists, organizers, intellectuals and workers from the grassroots in Venezuela.  The book offers a view of both the impacts of US imperialism and sanctions in Venezuela, but also the voices of the Venezuelan people on the pathway out of the existing crisis and toward socialism.  In this first part of our conversation, Cira and Chris talk about the subjects they interview in their book. We also discuss internationalism, US sanctions, some tendencies within the Bolivarian revolution, and some of the challenges that face rentier economies like Venezuela’s. Gilbert and Pascual Marquina also share insights on the communes and the struggles of campesinos and why the represent the most revolutionary possibilities for the present and future of the Bolivarian process. A couple quick plugs, please support Venezuelanalysis.com as the best English language source of information coming out of Venezuela. And of course if you appreciate the work we do bringing you interviews like this, please remember to support us on patreon if you are able.

Harsha Walia is the award-winning author of Undoing Border Imperialism and Border & Rule. She is trained in law, and is a community organizer and campaigner in migrant justice, anti-capitalist, feminist, and anti-imperialist movements, including No One Is Illegal and Women’s Memorial March Committee.   In this episode we talk to her about her latest book Border & Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism, which further examines border imperialism and the features of racial capitalism and imperialism which produce the conditions necessitating migration and then criminalize and punish migrants and refugees.   Just a reminder if you are not yet a patron of the show and you have a dollar a month or more to spare, you can support us on patreon and help sustain and grow our work.

This is part 2 of our 2 part conversation with journalist, educator, author and activist Herb Boyd. In this part of the conversation we talk more about how Boyd and other politicized students used the 1967 Rebellion to launch Black Studies at Wayne State University, and develop it into a radical space for the political and cultural education of Black students living in Detroit and often working and organizing on campus, and in the automobile plants. We also ask Boyd several questions about the  Revolutionary Union Movements (DRUM, ELRUM, FRUM CADRUM, UPRUM, etc) which came together under the umbrella of The League of Revolutionary Black Workers. We also talk about the importance of newspapers in the League’s analysis and organizing and some of the reasons that the League eventually splintered in different directions.

This is part 1 of a 2 part conversation with journalist, educator, author, and activist Herb Boyd. Our conversation with Boyd centers around his book Black Detroit, with particular attention paid to the middle of the 20th Century, leading up to the development of The League of Revolutionary Black Workers.  In this part of the conversation Boyd talks about moving to Detroit, the strains of Black progressive and radical politics going on at the time. We ask about the importance of figures like Malcolm X and MLK to Black organizers in Detroit. Boyd shares some of the issues facing Black workers in the working class city of Detroit at the height of its relationship to automobile manufacturing, and the contradictions that arose in the union movements for Black workers specifically. Boyd also shares some personal history of key Black organizers, activists and politicians in this era, leading up to the Rebellion of 1967.

400+1 is a Black, cooperative federation that exists to leverage vanguardism, destabilization, and Black and autonomous alternatives to build a world beyond survival. The federation is currently engaged in a protracted struggle against the state for Orisha Land, an autonomous zone in Texas. We talk to them about their organization, how it’s structured, what political education looks like to them, and their analysis, which argues for the necessity of the Black Vanguard at this historical moment. We also talk to them about their struggle for Orisha Land in the area commonly known as Austin Texas, and about their mutual aid work during the recent winter storm that left people in Texas without heat and basic necessities for days.