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

Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
28 Oct 2020
🖨️ Print Article
Letters from Our Readers

This week you discussed the role of racism in foreign policy, Black America and the duopoly, and global elites’ plans for exploiting the Covid crisis. We share your letters for “Say Racism’s Name, and Fight It With Solidarity,” “Peace, Self-Determination, and the Duopoly Trap,” and “The Rich Will Use Crisis to Further Immiserate Workers.”

“Say Racism’s Name, and Fight It With Solidarity” by Danny Haiphong argues that the enemies of the Black Lives Matter movement are the same forces pushing for a new Cold War with China.

Reg Callaway writes:

“The anti-China crusade has moved into high-gear and is moving dangerously faster than anyone can keep up. The racism card is a smokescreen to contain China's economic ambitions, which is no surprise. Blacks get this treatment all the time. The most recent manifestation in name-calling is we are Marxists or Russian agents or Looters. The objective, of course, is to rile up the willing White base. Attacking China, which is a country versus people, has also morphed into blurring the lines on what specifically the enemy really is so the attacks against them can appear to be justified. 

“Anyway, just yesterday, 21 Oct, the U.S. government offered financial support for Brazilian carriers to bypass Chinese made 5G equipment.... with a $135 billion fund. That staggering sum could fund all sorts of social issues at home, it is just the powers that be don't care about social problems when Big Techs' bottom line is at stake. Although weakened but nevertheless shameless, the U.S. continues to have the upper hand at finding stooge leaders to go along with its insanity.

“Perhaps the most dangerous movements in recent decades are the U.S. engaging Taiwan militarily. Here U.S. troops are in Taiwan openly displaying a Patriot battery in order to stick it to Beijing. China has long called Taiwan a part of the country.  Sounding the alarm, president XI has called on the Chinese army to "prepare for war." Naturally, Washington has ignored the Chinese government's redlines and has pushed forward with its own agenda. What I find disturbing is the U.S. government 1) ignores the redlines 2) and they do not bother informing the American public about potential dangers ahead, kinda like downplaying the Covid-19 response once they knew of the dangers. At some point, China is going to respond.  With what, we don't know.

“Finally, Taiwan is a tiny island without the budgetary capacity to mount a deterrence against a determined China. So what the heck is the U.S. doing putting itself and Taiwan at increased risk of war? My guess is the U.S. military investments and posturing has nothing to do with protecting Taiwan but everything to do with boosting Lockheed sales. You see, even China and Taiwan are pulled into the gravitational force of Wall Street which they can't escape.”

In “Peace, Self-Determination, and the Duopoly Trap” Glen Ford argues that despite Black Americans being the most left-wing constituency in the country, the duopoly traps them into voting for the reactionary Democratic Party.

Makheru Bradley speaks:

“If we could get 10% of the Afrikan American body politic to liberate themselves from the monopoly of the duopoly and protest vote for an independent presidential candidate, that could be a base to build on. We know the majority, mentally incarcerated by fear of the so-called greater evil, have dichotomized the devil and will vote for New Jim Crow Joe, who has done more damage to Afrikans in the US than any candidate since the enslavers Washington, Jefferson, and Jackson. Can we get a modest 10%?”

In radio segment “The Rich Will Use Crisis to Further Immiserate Workers” Anthony Monteiro discusses the plans of the global elite to consolidate the Fourth Industrial Revolution through the Covid crisis.

Paul Billings writes:

“Terrific interview with Anthony Monteiro. As Monteiro points out, Democrats and Republicans are incapable of addressing the needs of Black/working people as they have been bought and paid for by Wall St. Indeed, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed on Mar 27 with virtually no debate in Congress. While this legislation provided temporary relief to working people who lost their jobs, it provided $3 trillion to Wall St. to boost equity prices. The FED is currently fronting Wall St circa $120 billion/month ($1.8 trillion/year) to purchase toxic corporate debt and mortgage-backed securities. Indeed, the levels of taxpayer-funded financial gluttony would no doubt make 19th- century robber barons green with envy. It is important to stress that these policies have had enthusiastic bipartisan support in Congress. Meanwhile, US unemployment is at levels not seen since the Great depression, while millions of families face eviction from their homes and loss of medical insurance. The CBO estimates US government deficits for 2020 at $3.1 trillion; obviously unsustainable.”

“The political cowardice/reactionary nature of Democrats was on display during the recent Senate Judiciary committee hearings on Amy Barrett’s confirmation as an associate Justice to the Supreme Court. Instead of critically analyzing Barrett’s judicial record as Federal Judge, 7th Circuit, which has been predictably reactionary/pro-corporate we heard comments like this from the nominee ‘While I am a judge, I’m better known back home as a room parent, car-pool driver and birthday party planner.’

“At the conclusion of the hearings, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA; net worth $58 million). commented ‘It leaves one with a lot of hopes, a lot of questions and even some ideas perhaps of good bipartisan legislation we can put together.’ We are watching the continuing decline/putrefaction of late-stage American capitalism and with it the emergence of fascism, supported by both corporate parties.”

The struggle for a people’s alternative will continue no matter who wins this election. 

Jahan Choudhry is Comments Editor for Black Agenda Report.  He is an organizer with the Saturday Free School based in Philadelphia, PA.

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

Comments

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


Related Stories

Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
21 April 2021
This week pro-Zionist censorship and police brutality were on your minds.
Letters from Our Readers
by Jahan Choudhry, Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
07 April 2021
In "On Anarchism and Black Revolution" Peter James Hudson examines the historical roots of critiques of anarchism a
Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
31 March 2021
This week the U.S. state’s propaganda and the Black elite were on your minds.
Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
10 March 2021
This week Pan Africanism and the Black Panther Party were on your minds.
Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
03 March 2021
This week the blackout in Texas, the recent film on Fred Hampton, and Democracy Now’s international coverage were on your minds.
Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
24 February 2021
This week you discussed the struggle against the dollar and neocolonialism.
Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
17 February 2021
This week color-blindness on the left and the Black Misleadership Class were on your minds.
Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
10 February 2021
This week you discussed the multilayer crisis facing American people.
Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
03 February 2021
The federal government’s stimulus payments and the role of black police officers were on your minds.
Letters from Our Readers
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
27 January 2021
This week our readers talked about the weakness of the U.S. left, the storming of the Capitol, and the crisis of U.S. imperialism.

More Stories


  • Renewed Calls for International Solidarity from Haitian Trade Unions and Civil Society Organizations
    Travis Ross
    Renewed Calls for International Solidarity from Haitian Trade Unions and Civil Society Organizations
    15 Mar 2023
    Haitian trade unions and civil society groups are united in demanding sovereignty for their nation and an end to foreign interference.
  • Eddie Conway Tribute
    Mali Collins
    Eddie Conway Tribute
    15 Mar 2023
    The late Eddie Conway was a young member of the Black Panther Party who was framed for the killing of a police officer and spent more than 40 years in jail. His experience as a political…
  • Monroe Doctrine Plays Out in Perú
    Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    Monroe Doctrine Plays Out in Perú
    15 Mar 2023
    The people of Peru continue to protest the coup which ousted President Pedro Castillo Terrones. The 200-year-old Monroe Doctrine is a discredited relic, but Washington still considers the…
  • 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 Mar 2023
    The perfect storm of austerity policies and US imperialism sends billions of dollars to Ukraine but ends pandemic era emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
  • The International Politics of Observing Elections
    Owei Lakemfa
    The International Politics of Observing Elections
    15 Mar 2023
    The practice of accepting observers to oversee elections is quite problematic. This practice leads to interference from entities with ulterior motives and legacies of colonial control.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us