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


  • x
    Gregory P. Downs
    The Hidden History of Juneteenth
    23 Jun 2021
    “We knowed what was goin’ on in [the war] all the time,” said Felix Haywood, dismissing the notion that his fellow Texas slaves were ignorant of the Emancipation Proclamation.
  • Juneteenth: “The Day is Ours” 
    Nicholas Brady
    Juneteenth: “The Day is Ours” 
    23 Jun 2021
    It seems inevitable our own holiday will be sold back to us by the same corporations that profit from exploiting black lives.
  • Nicaragua's Benedict Arnolds – Political Opposition as Organized Crime
    Stephen Sefton
    Nicaragua's Benedict Arnolds – Political Opposition as Organized Crime
    23 Jun 2021
    Under Nicaraguan law, it is a crime to seek foreign interference in the country's internal affairs.
  • Why We’re Fed Up with Weak Excuses for Accepting Awards from the Empire
    Prishita Maheshwari-Aplin
    Why We’re Fed Up with Weak Excuses for Accepting Awards from the Empire
    23 Jun 2021
    How should we respond when people of color who've spent a lifetime cussing the empire start curtseying to it instead?
  • Hacked Emails Give Unfiltered View Into the DC Police Gang Database
    Chris Gelardi
    Hacked Emails Give Unfiltered View Into the DC Police Gang Database
    23 Jun 2021
    “Police can call you a gang member because they observed you with other gang members, who they declared gang members because they were with other gang members.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us