Black Agenda Radio 02.08.21

Black Agenda Radio

Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Margaret Kimberley, along with my co-host Glen Ford. Coming up: Most Americans have been led to believe that the only purpose of political parties is to win elections. But a Black party in Maryland believes its main mission is to organize the people. And, Black people that immigrate to the United States from elsewhere in the diaspora inherit the historical legacies of Black Americans, but also bring their own perspectives on liberation. We’ll hear from a multicultural scholar, born in Nigeria.

But first – politically active Black teachers have created a 21st century version of “freedom schools,” to prepare a new generation for struggle. Peta [Peh-TAY] Lindsay is a California teacher and a founder of the Ida B. Wells Education Project.

The Ujima People's Progress Party has been organizing for about a decade in Baltimore and other Maryland cities. But, for Ujima, winning elections takes a back seat to grassroots organizing and political education – as organizer Nnamdi Lumumba explained on Dr. Jared Ball’s influential podcast, I Mix What I Like.

Kovie [KOH-vee] Biakolo [Bee-AH-kolo] is a writer and scholar, born in Nigeria, who specializes in culture and identity. Her recent article is titled, “We Can’t Talk About Immigration Without Acknowledging Black Immigrants." Biakolo says the period of the Harlem Renaissance was a turning point in Black American politics and culture, partly because of the influence of Black immigrants.