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

Spike Lee Movie Whitewashes Police Repression of Blacks
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
17 Sep 2018
🖨️ Print Article

Robin DG Kelly, the author and essayist, agrees with Boots Riley’s critique of BlacKkKlansman, the Spike Lee movie whose hero is a Black cop who spies on Black activists. “It basically erases state violence,” said Kelly, a professor of history at UCLA. Riley wants to “focus our attention on the larger question: What has been the function of the police in relationship to our struggles for land, bread, freedom, justice and power?”

Police Repression

Related Podcasts

BAR Radio Logo
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio January 23, 2026
23 January 2026
In this week’s segment, we cover state repression and regime change efforts.
ICE Protest
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
ICE Domestic Repression in Minnesota
23 January 2026
Mnar Adley is the founder and director of MintPress News, an independent media outlet.
Ilyasah Shabazz
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Shabazz Family Lawsuit Against the FBI and NYPD
03 October 2025
The investigation of the 1965 assassination of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, Malcolm X, was compromised by the NYPD and the FBI from the very beginning

More Stories


  • The Fabulist Arrogance of US Power
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    The Fabulist Arrogance of US Power
    22 Mar 2023
    The U.S. reserves for itself the right to commit crimes all over the world with impunity. It even passed a law giving itself the right to invade the Netherlands to rescue any US citizen or ally ever…
  • Avotcja’s Love…
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Avotcja’s Love…
    22 Mar 2023
                                                           …
  •  BAR Book Forum: Nanjala Nyabola’s Book, “Strange and Difficult Times”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Nanjala Nyabola’s Book, “Strange and Difficult Times”
    22 Mar 2023
    This week’s featured author is Nanjala Nyabola. Nyabola is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Bloodshed, Tear Gas Bombs and Mudslides: 100 Days of Dictatorship
    Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    Bloodshed, Tear Gas Bombs and Mudslides: 100 Days of Dictatorship
    22 Mar 2023
    Clau O'Brien Moscoso continues her dispatches from Peru in the wake of a natural disaster and the ongoing coup against President Castillo. A Spanish translation follows.
  • President Guelleh’s Iron Grip on Djibouti Erodes
    Dr. Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad
    President Guelleh’s Iron Grip on Djibouti Erodes
    22 Mar 2023
    The legacy of colonialism and interference from the U.S. and other states keeps Djibouti's president in office after 25 years. Djibouti needs democracy and sovereignty for its people.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us