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 Logo
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio September 26, 2025
26 September 2025
In this week’s segment we discuss the need for self-defense against racist, white supremacist forces.
One People’s Project
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
One People's Project and the Fight Against Racism and Fascism
26 September 2025
Our guest is Daryle Lamont Jenkins, founder of One People’s Project.
NYPD gang database
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
NYPD Gang Database Targets Young Black and Latino Men
28 February 2025
Proposed legislation in the New York City Council, Intro 798, seeks to end the NYPD’s Gang Database, ensuring that individuals unjustly labeled as

More Stories


  • Charisse Burden-Stelly, PhD
    The June Jordan-Audre Lorde Dispute, Kamala Harris, and Palestine
    14 Aug 2024
    Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly provides important context to “Moving Towards Life” which examines how the issue of Palestine changed the relationship between June Jordan and Audre Lorde.
  • National Lawyers Guild
    The National Lawyers Guild Disputes Carter Center Statements on 2024 Venezuelan Presidential Elections
    14 Aug 2024
    The U.S. has crafted a narrative of a stolen election in Venezuela, supported by the Carter Center as a source. The National Lawyers Guild refutes this false claim.
  • Ramzy Baroud
    Why Israel’s Strategy of Fear, Humiliation is Destined to Fail
    14 Aug 2024
    Israel depends on acts of terror to maintain dominance over the Palestinian people. But that tactic will never succeed in breaking the will of the people - it has only grown stronger.
  • Akela Lacy
    After Michael Brown’s Killing, Wesley Bell Called for “Accountability on Both Sides” in Ferguson Racism
    14 Aug 2024
    The AIPAC-backed challenger to Rep. Cori Bush also said the decision not to release Darren Wilson’s side of the story was “tragic.”
  • Black Agenda Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio August 9, 2024
    09 Aug 2024
    In this week’s segment, we examine why there are violent racist and Islamophobic riots in Britain. But first, we talk about the upcoming trial of the Uhuru Three, which is yet another state attack on…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us