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

White Supremacy Goes Back to the Crusades
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
12 Nov 2019
🖨️ Print Article

The roots of western European anti-Blackness lie in the Middle Ages, in the Crusades to seize Arab lands, said Cord Whitaker, a professor at Wellesley College and author of “Black Metaphors: How Racism Emerged from Medieval Race-Thinking.” It was during this era that “you started to see the idea that darkness of skin, blackness, denoted potential evil,” said Whitaker. “It was still not the racial ideology we have today, but it was an important step in getting there.”

white supremacy

Related Podcasts

BAR Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Report October 23, 2026
23 October 2026
In this week’s segment, we hear about the ongoing uprising in France against neo-liberal austerity, colonialism, and white supremacy.
france
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
French Protests Against Neoliberal Austerity, Colonialism, and White Supremacy
23 October 2026
Bouna Mbaye is an activist, writer, and a member of the Pan-African League-Umoja, the Pan-African Brigade for Palestine, and the US Out of Africa N
BAR Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio September 11, 2026
11 September 2026
In this week’s segment, we discuss the 55th anniversary and legacy of the 1971 Attica prison revolt. But we begin with the history of W.E.B.

More Stories


  • Black Agenda Radio August 25, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio August 25, 2023
    25 Aug 2023
    Impending Haiti occupation and Black face imperialism, attacks on abortion and reproductive rights, how the climate crisis impacts Black people.
  • Haiti Under Attack from Imperialism in Black Face
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Haiti Under Attack from Imperialism in Black Face
    25 Aug 2023
    Austin Cole joins us to talk about the Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team efforts to mobilize against the impending occupation of Haiti which will use African and Caribbean nations to do U.…
  • Attacks on Abortion and Reproductive Rights Harm Black Women
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Attacks on Abortion and Reproductive Rights Harm Black Women
    25 Aug 2023
    Qiana Arnold is a birth justice associate and a full spectrum doula at Support Your Sistah at the Afiya Center in Dallas, Texas.
  • The Climate Crisis, Part 1
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Climate Crisis, Part 1
    25 Aug 2023
    Forrest Palmer is a native of Los Angeles, California who is now an electrical engineer residing in Houston, Texas.
  • Trump’s Prosector Fani Willis Sent Black Educators to Jail
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Atlanta Prosector Fani Willis Sent Black Educators to Jail
    23 Aug 2023
    Atlanta is no mecca for Black people. It is a political plantation where the white overseers rule. Fani Willis’ prosecution of Black teachers was an awful example of the power dynamic in that…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us