by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
Since the onset of the Obama phenomenon, Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth and death days have been “polluted” by false and ahistorical comparisons between Obama and MLK. The two men represent opposite political poles: one, a radical opponent of imperial war and concentrated economic power, the other, an ally of Wall Street and commander-in-chief of “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” In focusing on King, the man of peace, Tavis Smiley’s PBS special corrects a history that has been distorted, sometimes beyond recognition – not the least by the revisionist and poseur in the White House.
This week readers discussed Tulsi Gabbard’s relationship with the Democratic Party and the New York Times coverage of Africa. Letters came for
A small group of committed antiracist feminist activists changed the global discourse about racism and antiracism.
The 1950s calypso craze provided black performers with new occasions to intervene in the public sphere as well as new creative and financial opportunities.
Ecuador’s president appears to be using Assange as a bargaining chip for debt relief.
The still-chocolate city bids farewell to its first Black mayor.
