Liberation School introduction This is the first English translation of an interview with Thomas Sankara, originally published here in French under the title, “We vote for Le Pen too much in Ouagadougou.” The interview took place on August 5, 1985 and was first...
“Shelby County v. Holder:” How the Supreme Court attacked Black voting rights
Editor’s note: Beginning with overturning Roe v. Wade, the ultra right-wing Supreme Court continues to attack hard-won and elementary democratic rights in the United States, from affirmative action to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The following article is the second...
Walter Rodney: A people’s professor
Introduction In a recent book on the ongoing relevance of Walter Rodney’s work, Karim F. Hirji notes that, “as with scores of progressive intellectuals and activists of the past, the prevailing ideology functions to relegate Rodney into the deepest, almost...
A weapon against radicalism: Debunking the myth of the conservative Black voter
Nina Turner’s loss, the primary results of Bernie Sanders, India Walton’s win—and then loss—the victory of Eric Adams, and the triumph of Cori Bush’s sit-in once again ignited the political discussion around the political make-up of the Black electorate. The general...
Have Black lives ever mattered?
Mumia Abu-Jamal's book, Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? addresses the long history of racist police and state repression. It offers contemporary organizers crucial historical insights and lessons, as well as advice, on organizing to stop the war on Black America...
Hammer and hoe: Alabama communists during the Great Depression
Robin D.G. Kelley first published Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression in 1990, although he began working on it as a doctoral student in the 1980s. In the book, Kelley narrates the emergence of the communist movement in Alabama during the...
Reading Kelley’s “Hammer and hoe” as organizers today
This article accompanies Liberation School's new study guide for Robin D.G. Kelley's, Hammer and Hoe. As the re-popularization of socialism continues, the practical lessons today’s organizers can learn from the history of the communist movement in the U.S. become...
Black struggle is class struggle: A 4-part PSL course
This four-part digital course focuses on Black Revolutionary History in the United States and its central role in the development of U.S. society today. Last summer, tens of millions of people took to the streets in an unprecedented revolt against racism and police...
Liberation School Interview: Dr. Jared Ball on the myth of Black buying power
The 2nd installment of our Liberation School Interview series features Dr. Jared A. Ball on the topic of his 2020 book, The myth and propaganda of Black buying power (Palgrave Macmillan). Exposing the myth and marketing strategy that the path to freedom lies through...