| Black Agenda Report

Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
Freedom Rider: Revolutionary Change and COVID-19
25 Mar 2020
The genie has escaped from the bottle, revealing the deep injustices and cruelties that are embedded in US capitalism and its warped relationship to the peoples it rules, and the world. “COVID-19 is an opportunity to demand change while the people are paying attention to the crisis.”
Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
The U.S. is a Failed State, and COVID-19 Proves it
25 Mar 2020
The United States’ capitalist and imperialist economy cannot provide a modicum of social welfare to its people and has been in perpetual war with Black Americans and Indigenous Peoples since its formation. “COVID-19 proves that the United States’ war on the world is a drag on humanity.”
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Chinese Disease?
25 Mar 2020
He didn’t say Chinese debt, did he? He didn’t say Chinese pharmaceuticals, did he? He didn’t say Chinese phone, did he? He didn’t say Chinese computer, did he? He didn’t say Chinese pen, did he? He didn’t say Chinese tie, did he? He didn’t say Chinese martial arts muscled men guarding his dumb body…
Russell Rickford
Black Politics, Class Struggle and the Illusion of Centrism
25 Mar 2020
Black Democratic Party operatives seek to camouflage class antagonisms among African Americans and to equate racial progress with the feeble policies of “diversity and inclusion.” “Black poor and laboring folk need to escape the clutches of Democratic Party hucksters while restoring their own…
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
25 Mar 2020
This week the Democratic Party and the failures of US healthcare were on your mind.
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Aparna Mishra Tarc’s “Literacy of the Other”
25 Mar 2020
The global citizenry shows increasing apathy towards each other’s social and political conditions. “I hope activists see their work as pedagogical.”
Dean Spade and Roberto Sirvent, BAR Contributors
BAR Abolition Mutual Aid Spotlight: Ujimaa Medics
25 Mar 2020
Chicago’s Ujimaa Medics bring a racial justice and cultural specificity lens to community health care through mutual aid. “The western medical-industrial complex has often left out or been directly harmful to Black people.”
Frank Chapman
Trump Using Virus to Privatize Government, Increase Repression
25 Mar 2020
Trump’s administration is more interested in saving Wall Street and boosting their profits than they are in saving lives and meeting the needs of the people. “Trump refuses to nationalize pertinent industries and be responsible for producing and distributing medical equipment.” Friends and Comrades…
Fair & Just Prosecution
Joint Statement From Elected Prosecutors on COVID-19 and Addressing the Rights and Needs of Those in Custody
25 Mar 2020
Overcrowded jail, prison and immigration detention facilities force people together in close quarters without access to proper hygiene or medical care. “An outbreak of the coronavirus in these custodial facilities would not only move fast, it would potentially be catastrophic.”
Jake Johnson
Economists Demand Trump Immediately Lift Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela Sanctions That Are 'Feeding the Coronavirus Epidemic'
25 Mar 2020
This policy is unconscionable and flagrantly against international law. It is imperative that the U.S. lift these immoral and illegal sanctions. “US sanctions against Venezuela and other nations have severely hindered their ability to respond to the pandemic.”