Black Agenda Radio 03.29.21

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: There are many obstacles to Black American liberation. We’ll speak with a young writer and activist who says one of the primary impediments to a more powerful liberation movement is the Black elite, whose main goal is to prosper under capitalism. And, we’ll take a look at the life and work of Audre Lorde, the poet and Black feminist thinker.

But first – Transgender people attempting to migrate to the United States have a difficult time, especially if they’re Black. A young woman who goes by the name Deborah “A” is a national organizer for the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project – or, “BLMP,” for short. Deborah “A” says the BLMP works through regional networks across the country.

That was Deborah “A”, of the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project.

It’s bad enough that Black liberation movements have always encountered massive white American hostility, but elite sectors of Black America have often opposed mass Black street action. Kandist Mallett is a columnist for Teen Vogue magazine. She’s author of a recent column titled, “The Black Elite Are an Obstacle Toward Black Liberation.”

That was writer and activist Kandist Mallet.

Jack Turner is a professor of political science at the University of Washington, and co- editor of the book, “African American Political Thought: A Collected History.” Turner’s contribution to that collection is a chapter titled, “Audre Lorde’s Politics of Difference.” It’s a rich subject. Audre Lorde was an important Black poetic and feminist luminary who was New York State Poet Laureate in the last years of her life. Professor Turner says Lorde clashed directly with President Reagan when the U.S. invaded the Caribbean nation of Grenada, in 1983.

Professor Jack Turner, speaking from the University of Washington.

With U.S. media describing the past 12 months as the “worst year ever,” imagine if you were locked up in even closer confines, with no defense against Covid-19 for a solid year. Long term Pennsylvania prison inmate Segio Hyland filed this report for Prison Radio.

And, here’s another report from a Prison Radio correspondent – Tabitha Maynerd, incarcerated in Michigan.