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

White Supremacy Goes Back to the Crusades
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
12 Nov 2019
🖨️ Print Article

The roots of western European anti-Blackness lie in the Middle Ages, in the Crusades to seize Arab lands, said Cord Whitaker, a professor at Wellesley College and author of “Black Metaphors: How Racism Emerged from Medieval Race-Thinking.” It was during this era that “you started to see the idea that darkness of skin, blackness, denoted potential evil,” said Whitaker. “It was still not the racial ideology we have today, but it was an important step in getting there.”

white supremacy

Related Podcasts

BAR Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Report October 23, 2026
23 October 2026
In this week’s segment, we hear about the ongoing uprising in France against neo-liberal austerity, colonialism, and white supremacy.
france
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
French Protests Against Neoliberal Austerity, Colonialism, and White Supremacy
23 October 2026
Bouna Mbaye is an activist, writer, and a member of the Pan-African League-Umoja, the Pan-African Brigade for Palestine, and the US Out of Africa N
BAR Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio September 11, 2026
11 September 2026
In this week’s segment, we discuss the 55th anniversary and legacy of the 1971 Attica prison revolt. But we begin with the history of W.E.B.

More Stories


  • Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia
    13 Apr 2022
    BAR Contributing Editor Ann Garrison reports from Ethiopia.
  • Who Will Hold the US/EU/NATO Accountable For Its Many War Crimes?
    Jacqueline Luqman
    Who Will Hold the US/EU/NATO Accountable For Its Many War Crimes?
    13 Apr 2022
    U.S. presidents and their NATO counterparts have committed war crimes all over the world. But they exempt themselves from prosecution, and use orporate media to act as their personal advocates.…
  • Francia Márquez Mina: the Triumph of a Pedagogy of the Oppressed in Progress
    Charo Mina Rojas
    Francia Márquez Mina: the Triumph of a Pedagogy of the Oppressed in Progress
    13 Apr 2022
    Francia Márquez Mina: the Triumph of a Pedagogy of the Oppressed in Progress
  • “Voting and the Black Left”: An Interview with Kamau Franklin
    Kamau Franklin and Roberto Sirvent
    “Voting and the Black Left”: An Interview with Kamau Franklin
    12 Apr 2022
    Kamau Franklin, founder of Community Movement Builders, speaks with BAR Book Forum Editor Roberto Sirvent about the limitations of electoral politics for the left.
  • BAR Book Forum: Andrea A. Davis’ “Horizon, Sea, Sound"
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Andrea A. Davis’ “Horizon, Sea, Sound"
    12 Apr 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Andrea A. Davis. Davis is Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities at…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us