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 BAR Readers, Week of Oct 20, 2018
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
21 Oct 2018
🖨️ Print Article
more of the same
Email and other feedback from our readers. Join the conversation at comments@blackagendareport.com.

This week readers wanted to talk about "MLK Disrupted for Justice” and " The Long Night Has Fallen on Supreme Court”. Readers engaged with the historical legacy of Dr. King and the Democratic Party’s complicity in the regressive direction of the Supreme Court.

In the radio segment "MLK Disrupted for Justice” Glen Ford interviewed political scientist Jeanne Theoharis, author of A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History, on the sanitization of Dr. King by opponents of today’s black resistance movements and the reality of King’s disruptive politics deeply offending the powerful in his era.

Paul Cianfrocca comments:

“Could it be that the reason the deep state killed Dr. King is so that they could rewrite his history and co-opt it for their own use? In his last years, he was speaking out more against the Vietnam aggression and other U.S. violence. They couldn't allow that to be the thing he became best known for.”

In "The Long Night Has Fallen on Supreme Court" Glen Ford gives an overview of the decades long Democratic Party cave-in to GOP Supreme Court appointments because of the two parties’ shared allegiance to oligarchy.

Wallace Nixon tells us:

“Ever since the formation of the Democratic Leadership Council by the Clintons the Democrats have become cross-dressing Republicans. They abandoned New Deal policies, abandoned minorities and have made every effort to win back the Reagan Democrats who were white working class voters. They have no principles or consistent message. They are just competing for votes with the other party. Booker T. Washington didn´t have much use for them and neither did W.E.B. DuBois. Marcus Garvey had no use for them, neither did Elijah Muhammad, Malcom X or Huey Newton. What we didn´t learn from the experience of Fannie Lou Hamer we should have learned from how they treated Cynthia McKinney. Democrats are active and almost open collaborators with the other party. It is a game of three-card Monte where all the players but the public know what is going on.”

Ron Williams says:

“I agree with everything in this article, however to save all your criticism for the Democrats and 100% ignore the Freight Train heading one way driven by the Republicans is a very bad thing. The American system is designed to have a Strong Right/Republican party and a Weak Left/Democratic party. That is the setup.”

Glen Ford responds:

“We all know that the GOP, the White Man's Party, is the enemy. The problem is, too many Black folks forget what Malcolm said about foxes and wolves both being canines and think the Democrats are our friends.”

It’s great to see engagement with the history of King, Malcolm and other elders of the Black freedom struggle this week. Expect another set of letters and responses next week. Remember your letters make BAR a forum for new ideas on the Black Left.

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

 

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


More Stories


  • x
    Stevie Wilson
    When I Heard of the Passing of Johanna Fernandez
    04 Aug 2026
    Johanna Fernandez touched many lives through her scholarship, activism, and belief that people themselves can change history and be "the ones we've been waiting for."
  • x
    Craig Mokhiber
    No, Israel does not have ‘a right to exist.’ Quite the contrary, actually.
    04 Aug 2026
    "Unlike the Zionist claim that 'Israel has a right to exist,' my assertion is rooted in international law. Of course, given Israel’s propensity for violating such laws, it’s no surprise they’re still…
  • x
    Black Alliance For Peace
    In Unwavering Solidarity with the African and Anti-Colonial Struggle: A Call for Unified Action Among the U.S. Left
    04 Aug 2026
    The recent report by the U.S. fascist state attacking Cuba and its allies serves as a glaring call for urgent and strategic unity among the broadest sectors of the U.S. left, and all people of…
  • x
    John Perry
    Nicaragua Banned US-Backed Coup Leaders From Elections, and Corporate Media Lost It
    04 Aug 2026
    Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega stated that when the country's next elections take place, none who promoted a violent anti-government insurrection in 2018 will be allowed to stand for office.…
  • x
    Gary Wilson
    They came to Spain for work. Washington called it an invasion.
    04 Aug 2026
    "Israel and Washington use Ceuta and Melilla to attack Spain for naming the genocide in Gaza. The enclaves are colonial relics. But the powers now raising the issue have no concern for African or…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us