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Mae Jackson is a New York City based writer, poet, dreamer and doer whose record of activism on behalf of her people stretches back to SNCC. A founder of Art Without Walls, an art program for the children of imprisoned women, she is well acquainted with the difference between surface change, and fundamental, revolutionary change.
Here are a few minutes of her address to the crowd at May 31, 2009 event memorializing the early 20th century Harlem activist Hubert Harrison, in which she lays out a clear understanding of whose lips move when our First Black President speaks. Referring to some of Barack Obama's widely acclaimed orations at the Democratic convention, atop Lincoln's tomb, and other places, she tells us
â..those wonderful speeches made by the young man from Chicago were actually crafted, that's written, by three young white men 25, 26 and 31 years old. We got the unfortunate opportunity once again to see the world through their eyes. Obama was the spokesperson. Same as when you buy a painting, that doesn't make you the painter...â
She explains how the establishment turned took the politics out of activism, neutralizing and de-politicizing young political activists by turning them into âcommunity organizers."
A 2005 editorial from Ezili Dantò reminds us that when it comes to Haiti, Black huckster Ron Daniels is cruising on the wrong side of history.
US and EU forces have been unable to defeat Ansar Allah and now the US is floating a story that theyâre working with Al Shabaab.
"Is âDuelâ the better 4-letter Dream word for âDebate?â" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning paid a high price for revealing U.S. vicious criminality in Iraq. Their experiences are indicative of how far the state will go to silence anyone who reveals itsâŚ
âReflections on Parenting and Revolutionary Struggleâ is a space for parent-organizers to share their experiences and struggles with parenting. BAR Book Forum Editor, Roberto Sirvent will speak toâŚ
