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Look through easy-to-understand notes on different texts and subject areas relevant to Black liberation. Information essential to our community should be available in an accessible and concise format. Browse what we have and learn something new!
Introductory Texts to Black Radical Knowledge, Vol 3
AFRICOM 101: The United States-Led Neocolonial Project Across Africa
10 MINUTE READ
The United States and Western powers have been engaged in the imperialist destruction of Africa for centuries. After 9/11 George W. Bush launched AFRICOM to continue U.S. and Western dominance across the African continent and advance the interests of capitalism and colonialism.
Colonial History of the Congo (1885 - 1960)
12 MINUTE READ
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing one of the worst human rights crises the world has ever seen. This is a result of centuries of colonialism and the relentless resource extraction from the region. But from the ashes of oppression rises the spirit of liberation, and in 1960 Congo was free from colonial rule; or are they?
Introductory Texts to Black Radical Knowledge, Vol 2
Contemporary Allyship and Radical Organizing
With the growing popularity of Black human rights activism in the 2010s, the role and definition of an ally have changed. How do allies fit into a Black future? Should our frameworks call for something different?
The History of the Black Radical Tradition
Black radicalism is a deeply rooted tradition within and across the African diaspora. In all corners of the world where white supremacy has reached our Black siblings, a radical tradition emerged. How can we implement this in our current conditions and future organizing?
Reproductive Violence Against Black and Indigenous People
In mainstream American society, the fight for reproductive justice has been centered around white life. This became even more apparent upon the overturning of Roe v. Wade. For many Black, Indigenous, women of color, their humanity is tied to their reproductive health.
The Black Church and the Radical Tradition
The Black church has been a center for Black organizing since the 1800s. To this day it is a hub for anti-white supremacist activism. But since Black people have increasingly had access to capitalism and systems within it, the radical roots of the Black church have eroded.
Criminalizing Fare Evasion
The growing unaffordability of public transportation has pushed many working people, whose neighborhoods are being gentrified, to commit fare evasion. The DC City Government has taken this as an opportunity to reinforce police presence in our communities and the metro.
Abolition
Abolition is a vast tradition that has a rich history within the Black community. It believes in removing systems of oppression at the root and replacing them with community-driven, life-affirming institutions. There are many components to abolition, but the most common is the police.
Intergenerational Trauma
Black people who are descendants of slavery, segregation/apartheid, and oppressive systems have developed physiological trauma responses that are passed down for generations. This, in turn, has vast effects on the mental and physical health of Black Americans.
Restorative Justice
Where there is abolition, there is restoration. Restorative justice eradicates crime, punishment, and the prison industrial complex. Restorative justice focuses on repair, dignity, humanity, consequences, and real accountability to one’s community.
Blackness, Queerness, and Masculinity
Black liberation is the liberation of all Black people, but our relationship with homophobia poses a challenge to the possibility of freedom. History demonstrates how ideas of gender and masculinity, which were indoctrinated through colonialism, show up in our community to this day.
Anti-Capitalism in Black History
Black liberation is not possible under capitalism; revolutionaries like Martin Luther King Jr. and Assata Shakur knew this. Because exploitation and inequality are built into the fabric of capitalism, it will never be the key to the liberation of all oppressed people.
Who is Presentable in a White Society?
White supremacy and its symptoms are found in all parts of society. It influences what and who we consider presentable or professional. These beliefs are enforced to assimilate marginalized peoples. Learn more about where this mindset comes from and how we can deconstruct it.
Black Revolutionaries' Adoption of Maoism
Revisionist history has disconnected the Black Power Movement and its vanguard from the revolutionaries who influenced them. Learn more about how Black revolutionaries like the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X were grounded by Maoist and Marxist ideologies.