Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

Black Politics and Ukraine
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
22 Feb 2023
Black Politics and Ukraine
Rep. Gregory Meeks Declares "Glory to Ukraine" on the House floor (Photo: C-Span)

The Ukraine project is a dangerous scam perpetrated on the people of this country. Yet no member of the Congressional Black Caucus has attempted to speak truthfully about this ongoing disaster.

“You know, and it’s going to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance as well as food, water, medicines, shelter, and other aid to Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s war, and provide aid to those seeking refuge in other countries from Ukraine. It’s also going to help schools and hospitals open.  It’s going to allow pensions and social support to be paid to the Ukrainian people so they have something — something in their pocket.” Joe Biden press conference April 28, 2022

It is fascinating to read Joe Biden’s words from last year as he made the case for sending billions of dollars to help Ukrainians. Actually most of that money went to the military industrial complex, but it would be a bad look to plead for Raytheon, McDonnell-Douglas, and Lockheed. The humanitarian pitch made more sense politically, but not by much. Don’t people in the U.S. need funding for schools and hospitals? There are thousands of unhoused people living on the street, in parks, and under bridges in Washington DC. Biden doesn’t have to go far to find people in need of shelter. As for water, he might want to visit Flint, Michigan and Jackson, Mississippi. Very few Americans get pensions anymore, and the proliferation of low wage work and crushing austerity mean that millions of people need money in their pockets but don’t have it.

The cash cow for the military industrial complex and the theft of public money was a golden opportunity for the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to amplify the needs of their constituents. But that didn’t happen because Black politics died long ago.

There are plenty of Black politicians, one even became president, but in the age of corporate control of the Democratic Party, office holders are by definition the least likely to speak up for working people. Black politics are a means of declaring that Black people have a right to make demands about the issues impacting them, and to make Blackness the focus of their political organizing. When Black politics still existed, there were people in office who represented their constituents by giving voice to their grievances and by making some effort to help them, if only for appearance's sake. Now they don’t even go through the motions.

For more than a year, the Biden administration has been using Ukraine to target Russia and the end result has been a protracted war. The latest imperialist effort blew up in the faces of the Biden team as they failed to “turn the ruble to rubble” or get Vladimir Putin out of office. The war has taken thousands of lives, decimated NATO weapons stockpiles, created inflation around the world, and cost the people of this country some $113 billion. In the days of old, at least one member of the CBC would have spoken up regarding this expenditure of public money for nefarious purposes while millions of people in this country are struggling.

In the absence of Black politics we get silence or even active support of the fanatics who endanger the entire world. The main CBC cheerleader was Gregory Meeks, who served as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee when Democrats were in the majority. “Putin wins if he can divide us. He would love to divide some of our NATO allies, some of our EU allies and Ukrainians - divide us on this issue. [That] - would be a victory for him. So we can't allow that to happen.”

Who are “our” allies? If he meant NATO member nations, they have nothing to do with Meeks’ working class constituents who didn’t get their Child Tax Credit renewed or who still haven’t seen any student loan debt relief. In fact, the huge sums of money allocated to defense contractors is the cause of their woes. A neoliberal, imperialist state isn’t going to help both the war makers and the people too. To do so would be antithetical to its mission of serving the oligarchy and keeping the people financially insecure.

Meeks was the leading voice behind the Russian Malign Influence Act, which would have subjected African nations to more U.S. interference and established a modern day COINTELPRO that would have put the entire African diaspora under surveillance.

The CBC is a Democratic Party tool that is used to give an illusion of Black political power. The members get good jobs that they keep for years and in exchange they say what people want to hear at opportune moments while simultaneously acting as errand girls and boys for the Democratic Party wing of the ruling class. CBC member Hakeem Jeffries is the House Minority Leader but he is a member of the Democratic Party leadership precisely because he toes the party line.

Of course they ask no questions or make any demands regarding the Ukraine political scam. Some of them have even turned into embarrassing shadows of their former selves. When Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to congress in December 2022 he was greeted by attention seeking members eager to shake his hand. Two of those were Sheila Jackson Lee and Barbara Lee of the CBC. They were clad in blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, while hoping to be in view of cameras as they shook the hand of a man who sacrificed his people for the sake of U.S. imperialism. To put it bluntly, Ukrainians are dying in a war that he could have stopped if he had the courage to defy Biden’s fantasy foreign policy. Barbara Lee is remembered for providing the sole vote in opposition to the war against Afghanistan. Now she is just another political hack.

The late John Conyers proposed a ban on funding to Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Azov battalion but his successors in the CBC have silenced themselves regarding far right and white supremacist influence in Ukraine. White Lives Matter marches are held there and George Floyd’s killer, Derek Chauvin, is celebrated. But mums the word for the craven CBC.

Black politics died an ignominious death and every crisis reveals the rot. The Ukraine project isn’t going as Biden planned but with an acquiescent party and media to protect him most people won’t even know when the jig is finally up. The CBC will wait for their marching orders and do whatever they are told. The corruption will go on as planned.

Margaret Kimberley is the author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents. You can support her work on Patreon and also find it on the Twitter and Telegram platforms. She can be reached via email at margaret.kimberley(at)blackagendareport.com.

CBC
Congressional Black Caucus
Ukraine
Black political class

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

SNAP Benefits for African Mothers Are Gone, While Ukraine Eats Good
Erica Caines
SNAP Benefits for African Mothers Are Gone, While Ukraine Eats Good
15 March 2023
The perfect storm of austerity policies and US imperialism sends billions of dollars to Ukraine but ends pandemic era emergency Supplemental Nu
Cop City Kills Before It Opens
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Cop City Kills Before It Opens
25 January 2023
What could possibly go wrong with a $90 million, 85-acre police training ground that the community doesn't want?
Keith Davis, Jr. and Black Political Corruption
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Keith Davis, Jr. and Black Political Corruption
18 January 2023
Baltimore police continued to falsely accuse an innocent man when they shot and nearly killed him after the Freddie Gray uprisings.
Is The “Conscience of the Congress” Unconscious?
Dr.Wilmer J. Leon, III
Is The “Conscience of the Congress” Unconscious?
30 November 2022
The Congressional Black Caucus has strayed far from the politics of its original members.
DC Government’s Racial Equity Plan is Elite Capture by The State
Pan-African Community Action PACA
DC Government’s Racial Equity Plan is Elite Capture by The State
30 November 2022
Racial inequity is the result of racist and capitalist policies and can't be defeated by the self-interested Black political class. 
Congressional Black Caucus Continues Its Downward Spiral
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Congressional Black Caucus Continues Its Downward Spiral
05 October 2022
The Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference returned with the usual corporate sponsorships and obedience to the democratic par
Grandstanding: Mayoral Candidate Karen Bass Says She Can Solve LA’s Homelessness Crisis
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Grandstanding: Mayoral Candidate Karen Bass Says She Can Solve LA’s Homelessness Crisis
27 July 2022
As the late Glen Ford said, the Black misleadership class has no shame.
You Can’t Shame the Shameless Black Misleadership Class
Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
You Can’t Shame the Shameless Black Misleadership Class
27 July 2022
The Black misleaders have been busy selling out Black people for half a century, but are still only barely tolerated by the rich man’s Democrat
Punch Left Move Right: Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party Shuffle
Erica Caines
Punch Left Move Right: Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party Shuffle
29 June 2022
Stacey Abrams's campaign to become Governor of Georgia features the popular democratic strategy of pretending to be progressive while advocatin
On African Liberation Day Biden’s Troop Deployment to Somalia Confirms Africa is Not Free
Black Alliance For Peace
On African Liberation Day Biden’s Troop Deployment to Somalia Confirms Africa is Not Free
25 May 2022
The Black Alliance for Peace marks African Liberation Day with a statement condemning the latest US troop deployment to Somalia.

More Stories


  • Black Agenda Radio March 31, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio March 31, 2023
    31 Mar 2023
    20th anniversary of Iraq invasion and the Ukraine proxy war, immigration policies remain unchanged, and New York prosecutors discriminate against prospective jurors of color.
  • Ray McGovern Connects Anniversary of Iraq Invasion and Ukraine Proxy War - Part 2
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Ray McGovern Connects Anniversary of Iraq Invasion and Ukraine Proxy War - Part 2
    31 Mar 2023
    Ray McGovern served as a CIA analyst for 27 years, from the administration of John F. Kennedy to that of George H. W. Bush.
  • Biden's Punitive Immigration Policies - Part 2
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Biden's Punitive Immigration Policies - Part 2
    31 Mar 2023
    Aly Wane is on the advisory board of the Immigrant Justice Network.
  • New York Prosecutors Discriminate Against Jurors and Defendants of Color
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    New York Prosecutors Discriminate Against Jurors and Defendants of Color
    31 Mar 2023
    Ten ethics complaints were filed against prosecutors across New York state, alleging discrimination against pros
  • INTERVIEW: Randall Robinson: Third World Advocate, 1983
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    INTERVIEW: Randall Robinson: Third World Advocate, 1983
    29 Mar 2023
    Remembering Randall Robinson: Black internationalist, anti-imperialist, and friend of Haiti.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us