Letters from Our Readers

Jason Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor

01 May 2019

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This week readers discussed the suppression of WikiLeaks, reactionary black politicians, and the racial roots of capitalism. We share letters for “The War on Wikileaks: Which Side Are You On?,” “Terri Sewell, the Worst of the Black Caucus, Subverts $15 Wage Bill,” and “Racist Dawn of Capitalism.”

In “The War on Wikileaks: Which Side Are You On?” Danny Haiphong asks readers this question in the context of WikiLeaks exposing the reality of the US empire.

Trisha Driscollwrites:

“That this is even a question just goes to show how warped U.S. society has become. The deep state and its captured propaganda outlets are displaying masterful use of misdirection: kill the messenger and ignore the message.

“For the message of WikiLeaks is in the detailed accounting of crimes committed by the greatest criminal organization on the planet, the U.S.

“The silence (which equals consent) of practically every Democrat (and virtual Democrat Bernie Sanders) on this manufactured ‘issue’ has nothing to do with journalism, and everything to do with the crimes committed by past and current Democratic leadership of conducting aggressive wars, condoning war crimes and torture, carrying out election fraud, and concocting a conspiracy to bring down a U.S. President.

“Thanks for the great journalism you do!”

In “Terri Sewell, the Worst of the Black Caucus, Subverts $15 Wage Bill” Glen Ford exposes the Alabama Congresswoman’s pro-corporate politics and herorigins in the right-wing takeover of Black Democratic Party politics.

Kairon Arnold writes:

“Thanks Glen for this article calling out how horrible Terri Sewell and the rest of the new black corporate Dems are.

“I'm a black 42-year old resident of Selma who cares for my 75-year old father, so this really hits home cause I'll be returning to the workforce eventually and will need to make enough to maintain my dad's house when he's no longer around.

“I appreciate your work and I'll continue to donated to your site.”

In “Racist Dawn of Capitalism” Peter Hudson critiques recent academic histories of slavery, such as Empire of Cotton: A Global History and The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, for their disconnectedness from radical historical works such as Black Reconstruction in America by W.E.B. Du Bois and Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition by Cedric Robinson.

Craig Bardo writes:

“I am guilty. I have Black Reconstruction, Black Marxism and on my bookshelf unread and I have not completed Capitalism and Slavery. Here's where Audible enters. I have ‘read’ The Half Has Never Been Told,America's Slave Coast, Slavery's Capitalism, and The Empire of Cotton. I commute from Nashville, TN to midtown Manhattan, and listening is easier than reading. I have purchased Black Reconstruction on Audible and I will get to it soon. Dr. Hudson's observations stuck a chord with me. I found great value in Half and Empire and though the enslaved African is present, even centered, to a degree in parts of these texts, capitalism and racism/white supremacy are de-linked as a cause of conquest and exploitation. Similarly, sexual violence against men were almost erased as a technology of ‘dis-humanizaton’ and a key part of establishing and maintaining white racial dominance. That gendered assault against racialized Black men remains a key capitalist/white supremacist commitment today as theorized more recently by Sidanius and Pratto, Curry, and others and borne out by the longitudinal studies conducted by Chetty et al.”

BAR is working hard to keep the intellectual tradition of radical scholarship such as Black Reconstruction alive. Your comments play a big part in keeping this tradition alive and strong.

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

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