| Black Agenda Report

Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Maureen Mahon’s “Black Diamond Queens”
14 Oct 2020
The standard version of rock and roll history does not allot much space at all to the discussion of African American women. “Popular music is political: it’s a site where relations of power play out.”
Jason Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
14 Oct 2020
This week corporate funded NGOs, liberal sympathy for Trump, and Russophobia in progressive organizations were on your minds.
Michele Bratcher Goodwin
We Can’t Be Free Until We Fully Abolish Slavery
14 Oct 2020
Through a loophole in the 13th Amendment, governments and corporations profit from cheap, incarcerated labor. “The punishment clause explicitly permits ‘slavery’ and ‘involuntary servitude’ as ‘punishment for crime.’” Shawna Lynn Jones died in 2016, only hours after battling a fire in Southern…
Robin D.G. Kelly
Getting to Freedom City
14 Oct 2020
In the 1960s LA communities of color prioritized a radical tradition of care and the transformative power of art and politics. “How a rainbow of insurgent social movements tried to peel back the glitter, dismantle the police state, and replace elite white rule.” Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
…Freakish flight of the fearless Fly…
14 Oct 2020
There sat the morally constipated politician fartin’ ‘round with truth like an amateur magician… Locked, loaded, flinging fecal matter at a class mate… morally constipated politician seized the ‘debate—’ When spiraling like pigskin past the Secret Servicemen a freakish, fearless, big black…
Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
The United States is a Sick Society That Produced Two Sick Options for President
14 Oct 2020
The US dictatorship of capital provides the people with a non-choice between two vile and racist presidential candidates. “The Democratic Party is itself an institution completely wedded to what Martin Luther King called the triple evils of materialism (capitalism), racism, and militarism.”
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
Freedom Rider: Left Out of the Debate
14 Oct 2020
If the needs of the people aren’t being addressed, what is the purpose of putting Biden and Harris into office? “Both of the duopoly political parties are happy captives of their respective donor classes.”
Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
The Useful Tool: Kamala “Heartbeat Away” Harris
15 Oct 2020
If Biden wins, Kamala Harris will be put forward as a kind of “co-president,” as a palliative for the lack of substantive relief from the forces that are plaguing Black lives. “Harris can be trusted to please Power while advancing her personal ambitions.”
Ali Winston
The NYPD Unleashes Its Most Brutal Cops On Protesters
21 Oct 2020
The police unit most likely to bust protesters’ heads is full of cops with long misconduct histories. “The SRG is a familiar presence at demonstrations and has targeted specific organizers and groups.” This summer in New York City was defined by protests. The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis…
by Signatories from the Use of Force Community Working Group
A Public Letter to Mayor Lightfoot: A Call for Leadership
21 Oct 2020
The Chicago Police Department’s new use-of-force policy input process is a sham, designed only to create the illusion of community engagement. “The Chicago Police Department made clear that it has no intention to actually engage with, listen to, or learn from community members.” Dear Mayor…