Saturday in Philly - Building a Successful Youth Movement panel at Arts Sanctuary with Gabriel Bryant, Marc Lamont Hill, and Erin Morales Williams moderated by Latosha Brown.
You Should Know: Memorial Day was founded by freed slaves
The week coming? memorial day was founded by recently-freed layoffs in charleston, south carolina who gathered to bury and commemorate those who had given their lives in a war that provided their liberation. you should snow that tomorrow marks the 11th straight memorial day our country will observe while waging war for longest such period in our history. you should know 122 u.s. soldiers have died in afghanistan this year alone. in a staggering 164 active-duty army national guard and reserve troops committed suicide in 2011 . thanks to a change in policy, the family of soldiers who die of suicide receive a condolence note from the president, but only if the suicide occurs in theater.
»> you should know according to the census buehrle, oneoccurs in theater . 1/10 of nonelderly veterans don’t have health insurance . there are 1.3 uninsured veterans and if the affordable care act survives the challenge before the supreme court it will move this system into exchanges which will provide access to insurance for all of the recent remarkable trend showing a transformation of public opinion on the issue of america marriage equality continues. 59% of african-americans support same-sex marriage and this should put to the rest the press’ somewhat strange obsession with african-americans being uniquely opposed to gay rights . the neat, liberal narrative about moral progress and bending toward jult simply doesn’t seem to apply to a host of other deeply contentious moral issues such as abortion and the death penalty . despite nearly overwhelming evidence we have executed innocently people, people continue to favor the death penalty . moral revolutions take time and require a whole lot of unglamorous work. you should know egypti’s elections are set to take place. a choice between the muslim brotherhood and a choice of a cronie of mubarak’s seems like no choice at all. the election about happen on june 16 -17, and the world will be watching to see if the revolutionary promise on true democracy in egypt is kept. the hardest part to revolutions are what come after they are won. i want to find out what my guests think we should know for the week ahead. let us begin with mr. john mcwhorter .
» the death penalty , it makes me think of those who are exonerated and go back to community in broken men. i think particularly in new york and many cities, we’ll continue the debate over stop and frisk which disproportionately affect the minority community and people who have a private sense and there are such people, that these excessive stop and frisks are something that an alienated young black man somehow deserbs because is he anti social, people should understand this stopping and frisking creates exactly the kind of alienated semi employable black man that many think deserve to be stopped and frisked. it goes in a sir compcircle and it’s disgusting.
» since we have been talking about soldiers and veterans there, is one group that gets ignored. a stunning documentary called “the invisible war ” about the epidemic of rape of female soldiers in the military. i thought as a ball-busting feminist, i knew about this. but 20% of women in the military are sexually assaulted, which i find astonishing. this documentary is about these really, really brave veterans who have taken on this culture of impunity and have created real change , although change not coming fast enough.
» i have seen some of the people associated with the film, heard amazing things about the film.
» even if you think you know about this and won’t be shocked, i think you’ll be shocked.
» hill anna segura, what should people know?
» this really interesting sort of must-read discussion that the ” texas monthly ” published in the june issue a discussion between an austin police chief , houston d.a., a number of other people involved in the criminal justice system , and anthony graves who spent 18 years on death row in texas, and the discussion is so valuable, because there is this, you know — very revealing in the tension it reveals between anthony graves saying you guys tried to kill me, twice, and the discussions what reforms might work and what the politics might be and what efforts look like sr. a, and it paints a broad and detailed picture of the debate.
» it sounds like a good panel to have on the show. brainstorming here. do you feel like — one of the things you talk about is the brokenness of people out of the system. someone, very quickly, who reports on this, do we do a good job of providing a soft landing for people who are exonerated?
» no, but also over years of meeting exx ining exonories, i am mazed by the strength of these people who come out and hit the ground running try to fight the injustices.
» michael brendan dougherty?
» there was an interview that mitt romney did with “time” magazine, he was asked, if you want to cut government spending , why don’t you do it in the first year? why do you have the long-term budge net four years out or ten years out? and he said, that cutting government spending will hurt the economy and he said, by definition it would hurt the economy is, and, in fact, the kind of government spending done right away would tip us to depression or recession. this is the first in a long series of moves that mitt romney will be making over the next several months in which the tea party is long forgotten, conservatives — he will depend on barack obama to unite conservatives behind him and this interview is a sign of it. the other thing, when i was young and the rangers won the stanley cup , i just want to say this. i thought hockey was getting big again and then it faded out after a lockout. well, hell has frozen again and you can root for the devils on ice, and go, devils.
» i want to thank my guests, john mcwhorter , michelle goldberg , “sex, power, and the future of the world, liliana segura and michael brendan dougherty, thank you, all. thank you for joining us. we’ll be back next weekend, saturday, sunday, 8:00 eastern time , our guests will include thomas mann and norm ornstein . they discuss their new book on the causes of political gridlock in washington. stay up to date, check us out online at up.msnbc.com or go to twilightoftheelites.com on facebook. coming up next, the one and only melis melissa harris-perry. see you next week, here
African Liberation Day
ALD was founded in 1958 when Kwame Nkrumah convened the First Conference of Independent States held in Accra, Ghana and attended by eight independent African states. The 15th of April was declared “African Freedom Day,” to mark each year the onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation.
Between 1958 and 1963 the nation/class struggle intensified in Africa and the world. Seventeen countries in Africa won their independence and 1960 was proclaimed the Year of Africa. Further advances were made with the defeat of U.S. imperialism in Asia and the Caribbean. Imperialism responded to this tide of victories by assassinating revolutionary leaders and sending U.S. troops to Viet Nam. On the 25th of May 1963, thirty-one African Heads of state convened a summit meeting to found the Organization of African Unity (OAU). They renamed African Freedom Day “African Liberation Day” and changed its date to May 25th.
Since then, the world has witnessed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, the US invasion of Cuba, the US move to crush liberation movements in Asia, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan; the overthrow of the Democratic Party of Guinea, the US invasion of Grenada, the US bombing of Libya, and the overthrow of Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso. This period had marked a temporary setback for the Pan-African movement and since 1966, was characterized by a lull in ALD activities. Neo-colonialism was imposed upon the people as the new stage of the capitalist, imperialist strategy in Africa.
Out of the intensification of the nation/class struggle, a new generation of African youth emerged and reaffirmed their African personality, history and their Pan-African objectives. This youth was the product of Malcolm X, Sister M’balia Camara, Patrice Lumumba, Frantz Fanon and the countless generations before them. Links were made and maintained with Kwame Nkrumah. Understanding the need for clear and precise ideological and organizational direction for the Pan-African movement, Nkrumah published Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology for Decolonization (1963), Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare (1968), and Class Struggle in Africa (1970). The ideas of Nkrumah infused the Black Power Movement (1960-1972).
Nkrumah taught us, “The total liberation and unification of Africa under an All-African Socialist Government must be the primary objective of all Black revolutionaries throughout the world. It is an objective which, when achieved, will bring about the fulfillment of the aspirations of Africans and people of African descent everywhere. It will at the same time advance the triumph of the international socialist revolution.”
In 1970 the Pan-African Secretariat of Guyana made the call for the celebration of ALD in the western hemisphere. In response, a large demonstration was held in Georgetown, Guyana and smaller celebrations in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The Pan-African movement was once again on the verge of taking a mass revolutionary character and educating and organizing the people. By 1971 Pan-Africanism had become the dominant discussion in every factory, home, school and church in the African world. In the 1990s, as a result of the people’s struggle, we have witnessed the defeat of apartheid, the heroic decision of the OAU to break UN sanctions against Libya, and the Congo victory by pro-African forces over imperialist proxy forces, making an advance toward Nkrumah’s call for an African High Command and representing a healthy day in line with the African Union. The African Union, and Africa’s first continental holiday, “Africa Day,” are clear signs that the struggle for African Unity will not stop until victory is achieved.
Today African Liberation Day is a permanent mass institution in the world-wide Pan-African movement. As an institution, it is stronger today because the masses of African people are stronger and ALD is their day. As a day of work in the area of political education and organization, it reflects the fact that we have not obtained our freedom, and thus it is a day to reaffirm our commitment to Pan-Africanism, the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism. At ALD we also deepen our understanding of other just struggles and affirm our role in the world socialist revolution. ALD has but one direction, forward to a unified socialist Africa. It is growing as the level of awareness about Pan-Africanism and the primacy of Africa grows. It is growing as progressive and revolutionary organizations grow. And lastly, it is growing as the masses make increasing victories against capitalism, neo-colonialism, racism, and zionism.
