The Black Myths Podcast

In this episode, we re-explore the Pendleton 2—Indiana political prisoners Christopher "Naeem" Trotter and John "Balagoon" Cole. Recently, a documentary film entitled The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up (directed and produced by TheKingTrill and our very own BMP host Too Black) debuted on Breakthrough News. In this film, the Pendleton 2 and witnesses who were present for the '85 uprising discuss the events that led to their imprisonment and their subsequent time in solitary confinement. However, only a portion of their interviews about solitary confinement aired in the documentary. So we are sharing the full interviews of Naeem and Balagoon on solitary. Originally, we were going to call this episode part two of our myth "Tough On Crime" but it felt more apropos to intertwine this with the myth that "torture works." Torture is an extension of counter-insurgency both domestically and internationally. Solitary confinement for political prisoners is a clear expression of such. Please view the documentary The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up and book a screening at Pendleton2.com Film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ6c4iE88Uk&t=3029s&ab_channel=BreakThroughNews Donate https://chuffed.org/project/free-pendleton-2 Sign Petition https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAsx4u1g_Z38gZ3a70AAbwuFTpSJB_ipf2_qtepwbBz2iL7A/viewform

In this episode we cover the myth of "tough on crime." Utilizing the work of civil rights lawyer and author, Alec Karakatsanis, we explore how the tough on crime policies fail on their own premise and are therefore not not met to solve the needs of the people. Instead, tough on crime policies and as an extension "crime" itself, is largely a tool of the ruling class. We also explore policies that will help reduce what the State labels as crime such as food, housing, education, and job security. https://equalityalec.substack.com/p/tough-on-crime https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/the-trouble-with-crime-statistics https://nyti.ms/QvbKEV https://whitecollar.thenewinquiry.com/# https://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/research-reports/the-3-4-trillion-mistake-the-cost-of-mass-incarceration-and-criminalization

In this episode, we continue with our conversation on the Kwame Toure vs Molefi Asante debate. We look into modern times to discuss the recent Pan-African Summit in Ghana and how it stands up to Nkrumah's version of Pan-Africanism. We also do a brief examination of the developments in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso. 00:00:51 - opening 00:03:04 - Debate continued 00:24:34 - Pan African Summit? 00:43:51 - Back to Africa 00:51:43 - Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso

00:00:51 - Opening 00:07:08 - What is afrocentricity? 00:23:03 - What is pan africanism? 00:44:43 - Debate: Kwame Toure vs Molefi Asante 01:20:01 - Asante response 01:46:51 - Close For this episode, we examine the distinctions between Afrocenticity and Pan-Africanism that are often conflated as one and the same with our guest Dr. Layla Brown. Dr. Layla Brown is a member of the All African People's Revolutionary Party-GC and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology & Africana Studies and affiliate faculty in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Northeastern University. We explore the 1996 debate on Afrocentricity vs Pan-Africanism between Molefi Asante and Kwame Ture in a talk entitled Africa and the Future. We use this debate to help flesh out the understanding of these terms and show how the application of each term both coincides and differs. Debate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeWcBU1m5ug&t=2538s&ab_channel=MaweluluOnwuku Support our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

For part two, we cover the events after Congolese Independence including mutiny, Belgian occupation, the U.N., and most importantly CIA meddling that led to the assassination of Lumumba. White Malice https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/white-malice/ Support our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

In this episode, we investigate the assassination of the late Patrice Lumumba. Patrice Lumumba was a leader of the Congolese movement for independence from Belgium and subsequently became the first democratically elected prime minister of the country. 62 years ago 1961, January 17th, he was gunned down thereby changing the course of history. We honor him by offering a history of the conditions that led to his assassination and how the United States via the CIA used the inaccurate claim of communism to justify their support for his assassination. We discussed how the resources contained inside the Congo were pivotal to this tragic moment in history. We primarily pull from the thoroughly researched book White Malice: The CIA and the Covert Recolonization of Africa by Susan Williams to support our analysis. White Malice https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/white-malice/ Support our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

We review the myths we covered throughout the year 2022. An extended version of this conversation exists on our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

This is a special crossover episode with The Malcolm Effect hosted Momodou Taal. BMP Host Too Black was interviewed by Momodou and ME special host Deej about his 2 part essay "Laundering Black Rage." The essay was discussed prior on BMP on our "profiting off of Black Death" myth/episode. In this engaging conversation Black Rage, the function of the Black Elite, and some of the means to reverse launder Black Rage. Essays https://www.blackagendareport.com/laundering-black-rage https://www.blackagendareport.com/laundering-black-rage-part-2 Prior Episode https://blackmyths.libsyn.com/myth-profiting-off-black-rage https://blackmyths.libsyn.com/myth-profiting-off-black-death-pt-2 Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

For part 2, we continue our sit down with Dr. Jemima Pierre investigating the situation in Haiti. In this episode we delve into the so-called "gang activity" in Haiti, leftist governments who have failed Haiti, the Global Fragility Act, and what is to be done to bring peace to Haiti. Jemima Pierre is Associate Professor in the Departments of African American Studies and Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is an editor and columnist for Black Agenda Report. She is also the co-cordinator for the Haiti/Americas team of the The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), a anti-war, anti-imperialist, and pro-peace of organization of the radical black movement. Haiti and the Americas Syllabus https://www.blackagendareport.com/haiti-and-americas-syllabus#_czm6rl4s9rf0 Widespread Panic as Anti-Haitian Decree Goes into Effect in Dominican Republic https://www.latinorebels.com/2022/11/17/antihaitiandecree/ Support Patreon patreon.com/blackmyths

For this episode, we sit down with Dr. Jemima Pierre to discuss Haiti and its history of foreign intervention. Dr. Pierre explores the historical foundations that led to the influx of "gangs" in Haiti that the UN and US is now attempting to exploit as a justification for intervention. She demonstrates how Haiti has been under constant meddling since it's revolutionary inception. Jemima Pierre is Associate Professor in the Departments of African American Studies and Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is an editor and columnist for Black Agenda Report. She is also the co-cordinator for the Haiti/Americas team of the The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), a anti-war, anti-imperialist, and pro-peace of organization of the radical black movement. Haiti and the Americas Syllabus (BAP) https://www.blackagendareport.com/haiti-and-americas-syllabus#_czm6rl4s9rf0 Support Patreon patreon.com/blackmyths