The second Monday of October is Columbus Day, celebrated as a federal holiday in the U.S. since 1971. This day marks the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's 1492 landing in the Americas, his "discovery of the New World" for the benefit of the Spanish monarchy....
150 years ago: first Black soldiers recruited into Civil War Exactly 150 years ago, on February 16, 1863, Boston, Mass. residents opened their newspapers to find an unprecedented advertisement in the daily newspaper. It called for “Good men of African descent” to...
A Black History Month tribute On the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, it is obligatory to pay a special tribute to the Black soldiers who served in the Union Army. When the war first started, it seemed as if Black soldiers would never be allowed to fight in the...
An updated study by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement revealed that every 28 hours, on average, law enforcement officers in the United States killed a Black person in 2012. The pandemic of police violence is largely concentrated against Black communities, but the...
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, thousands had to fend for themselves to find water, food and ice. Your mayor ain’t your friend, he’s your enemy Just to get your vote, a saint’s what he pretend to be If you don’t hustle, don’t use your energy You gonna be a...
Racism and social unrest The police killings of New York 23-year-old Sean Bell in a hail of 50 shots on Nov. 25 and of Atlanta 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston on Nov. 21 were jarring reminders of the reality of racist police terror, especially in Black and oppressed...
Review of Manning Marable's autobiography of Malcolm X In commemoration of the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, we repost this review by Eugene Puryear, originally published June 11, 2011. The review has also been published in the volume "A Lie of...
Lessons from the 1963 March on Washington and the movement we need today On Aug. 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands participated in the massive March on Washington, which many call the high point of the Civil Rights Movement. The movement radically transformed society,...
Building an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement in Obama’s second term After the racist murder of Trayvon Martin, President Obama waited several days before making a largely apolitical statement that if he had a son, he would “look like Trayvon.” This comment alone,...