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


  • The Soviet Union’s Support for Black Liberation Earns Russia Grace With Africans Everywhere
    Jon Jeter
    The Soviet Union’s Support for Black Liberation Earns Russia Grace With Africans Everywhere
    19 Jul 2023
    The Soviet Union's support of liberation movements and the activism of the Communist Party in the U.S. is not forgotten by the African diaspora. Today the Russian Federation is a beneficiary of good…
  • Nahel's France: Neo-Colonized and Pan-African Voices Speak Up
    Julia Wright
    Nahel's France: Neo-Colonized and Pan-African Voices Speak Up
    19 Jul 2023
    The police killing of Nahel M. in France cannot be properly analyzed outside of the context of French colonialism and neo-colonialism.
  • Eritrea: The Story You Don't Hear
    Eugene Puryear
    Eritrea: The Story You Don't Hear
    19 Jul 2023
    Eritrea is an African success story. The nation provides for its peoples needs despite the impact of sanctions imposed by the west which are meant to undermine its sovereignty.
  • Black Agenda Radio July 14, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio July 14, 2023
    14 Jul 2023
    In this week’s segment we will learn about Eritrea’s history of struggle against imperialist intervention, and how New York City policy harms the unhoused population. But first we hear about the…
  • Mutulu Shakur's Revolutionary Legacy
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Mutulu Shakur's Revolutionary Legacy
    14 Jul 2023
    Efia Nwangaza is a South Carolina based attorney.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us