Groundings is a place where organizing, theory, and history come in contact with dialogue, experience, and storytelling. It's where the past meets the present, and political education happens. The title "Groundings" is in honor of the revolutionary educator Walter Rodney, whose concept of "groundings" as a form of radical, political, and communal education inspires the conversations on this podcast. Groundings: we sit, we listen, we talk, we share, and we learn.
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Just two months before his 20th birthday, Black Panther and Black Liberation Army members Jalil Muntaqim was captured by enemy forces along with Albert “Nuh” Washington, and made into one of the longest-held political prisoners in U.S. history. Muntaqim joins the show to discuss his revolutionary life, his long history of organizing for incarcerated people, and his own political incarceration. We also get into a crucial paradox: the imagery of the Black Panthers is very popular now, with capital...
In this conversation from March 2022, reproductive justice practitioner, organizer, researcher, and educator Jalessah Jackson speaks about decolonial feminism , a framework that forges material feminist solidarities through an examination of the relationship between gender and colonialism. We discuss the origins of this intellectual and organizing framework, its relationship to bourgeois and carceral feminisms, material international solidarity work, and the role of scholar-activism. Get into it...
Reproductive justice practitioner Jalessah Jackson and public health professional Debbie Billings join us to discuss the recent leak by SCOTUS, which showed they are prepared to overturn abortion rights in the U.S. We put this decision by SCOTUS into the overall political context, discussing how it relates to other fascist assaults on TLGBQ rights, and is part of a larger fascist 'backlash.' We also discuss maternal health internationally, why a people-centered human rights framework is vital, a...
Dr. Horne’s books ‘ The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism ’ and ‘ The Dawning of the Apocalypse ’ are essential readings in understanding the original sins of empire, the worlds that settler colonialism precluded, and the apokalyptic transformation the world is experiencing today. Our conversation moves across subjects of colonial technology and weaponry, Africa's underdevelopment, and how our material conditions within empire are directly tied to the material conditions across the African conti...
Christian churches are found on virtually every corner across the African world, from the continent to its expansive diaspora, and their role in the affairs of Africans have long been called into question. How did a foreign religious practice gain so much influence across Africa, and why are millions of Africans devoutly following the religion even at the expense of their own indigenous practices? How do the legacies of enslavement and colonization inform Christian thinking, and how do these leg...
From Claudia Jones and Safiya Bukhari, to Assata Shakur and Dr. Patricia Rodney, the impact of Black women radicals has created monumental shifts in the way we think, organize, and survive. In this episode we're joined by community organizer and writer Erica Caines and professor Charisse Burden-Stelly, who dive into a deep history of important Black communist women figures like Claudia Jones. We discuss what makes their work so important, why they have such lasting relevance, how we should engag...
Hosts Darien and Dev welcome writer and historian Q. Anthony Omene to discuss the Christmas Rebellion (Baptist Uprising) of 1831, the largest revolt in Jamaica's history. The conversation challenges narrow definitions of 'successful' slave rebellions, debunks the 'Africans sold other Africans' myth, and highlights the profound economic and psychological impact of these uprisings on colonial powers. Omene also stresses the importance of Black liberation through class solidarity and grassroots organization over celebrity leadership.
On this episode, we talk about the US blockade against Cuba, which we define as a weapon of economic, political, racist, colonial warfare against the Cuban people. We hear from Belly of the Beast producer Daniel Montero, who explains the main character behind these mysterious protests, and then we dive into some historical context. Finally, we discuss the blockade in detail, and Luna tells us some of the important documentary projects they're working on. Make sure you check out Belly of the Beas...
The entire world has witnessed israel's naked colonial violence in Sheikh Jarrah, Palestine, where countless Palestinians have been brutalized and forcefully removed from their homes. Palestinian writer and activist Mohammed el-Kurd joins the show to discuss the latest round of ethnic cleansing in his home neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, the many ways that Palestinians are resisting israel colonial domination, and why we're seeing unprecedented resistance from Palestinians. We also discuss those ...
Professor, writer, and activist Dr. Joy James joins the show to discuss her work around abolition. More specifically, we look at what Dr. James calls "academic abolitionism", the role that academics play in halting or co-opting revolutionary organizing, the current state of the prison abolition movement, and why it is revolutionary to start our political organizing with one simple question: what do Black children need? Felicia Denaud joins as co-host. The beat you hear was produced by JayOhAye ,...
Patricia Rodney, public health expert, researcher, activist, and wife of the late Dr. Walter Rodney, discusses her 1998 book , "The Caribbean State, Health Care, and Women: An Analysis of Barbados and Grenada." We talk about her analysis of Caribbean state healthcare as it relates to women, the Cuban healthcare system, and how her analysis remains incredibly relevant during our current pandemic. We then speak on her decades-long work in preserving Walter Rodney's legacies, as well as the trouble...
Dr. Jared Ball joins the show to discuss his new book, The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power. We discuss the propaganda used to perpetuate the supposed trillion-dollar "buying power" myth, Black capitalism, and the Black misleadership class of rappers. Writer and organizer Erica Caines just as guest co-host for the conversation. The first audio you will hear is a scene from the Malcolm X movie, the second audio clip is Angela Davis discussing the relationship between capitalism and racis...
Rapper and poet Noname has spent a bulk of her career rejecting celebrity, and is now taking a turn towards the left to embrace anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and radical politics. Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Devyn Springer speak with her to find out what the trajectory towards political activation has been like, who inspires her, where she sees the state of hip-hop today, how she hopes to continue on her political path, voting, and much more. You will hear interlude audio of Nina Simone ...
Guest hosts Yasmina and Tarik interview filmmaker Merawi Gerima, who discusses his new film Residue . The film puts the spotlight on gentrification in DC, and all the racist, violent baggage and displacement that accompanies it. They discuss the process of 'community filmmaking' that helped create the film, the role of capital in dictating creative directing choices, the importance of Black film and narrative-shaping, the Gerima legacy of filmmaking and community building, the power of DC's go-g...
Writer, educator, and author of Policing Black Lives: State violence in Canada from slavery to the present, Robyn Maynard joins me to discuss policing, state violence, and prisons in Canada, as well as the connections between Indigenous and Black struggles against state violence. We also talk about the 'post-racial' mythmaking which is synonymous to Canada, despite its centuries-long history of enacting structural and systemic violence on colonized communities globally....
Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly discusses the history and institutionalization of Black Studies, the often overlapping relationship between anti-communism and anti-Blackness, and the 'elision' of political economy in capitalist academia. Moreover, she also talks about 'academic McCarthyism', academic celebrities, ideological battles, and the current state of Black Studies. [ cover image : student activist Don McAllister beaten bloodied and arrested by pigs during San Francisco State College protests,...
Writer and activist Benji Hart discusses the multitude of ways grassroots movements against police in Chicago are challenging the Black misleadership class. We discuss the struggle around the struggle against the construction of a $95 million cop academy in Chicago, the many movements and educational moments birthed from this struggle, and how individuals like Mayor Lori Lightfoot represent the 'Black misleadership class'. You will here audio from a 2017 Chicago City Council meeting which can be...
Community organizer and educator Dustin Gibson discusses the white supremacist, colonial, capitalist roots of ableism which structures capitalist society, why a disability justice framework must be abolitionist, and why "the state always has a carceral response to disabled Black people." Throughout the episode, you will hear the following audio clips: Leroy Moore discussing the erasure of Emmett Till's disability Members of Fairfax County, Virginia, at a public forum following the killing of Nat...
Mumia Abu-Jamal , world-renowned political prisoner, former Black Panther, and award-winning journalist, gives me his opinion on the movement taking place in the streets right now against police violence, the outpouring of international solidarity we've witnessed, and more. Because he is incarcerated, our interview was cut very short, but he still manages to pack intense amounts of wisdom into only a few minutes. Then we hear from author, professor, and longtime activist Johanna Fernández , who ...
I spoke with scholar, writer, and professor Charisse Burden-Stelly about W.E.B. Du Bois. Charisse recently co-authored the new book W.E.B. Du Bois: A Life in American History with historian Gerald Horne, and has an extensive amount of insight, knowledge, and research on the life of Du Bois. Moreover, she's apt to think deeply on the intellectual, political, and ideological history within his life trajectory. We speak about Du Bois, the many ways his ideological positions shifted over the century...
Philadelphia based community organizer and writer Steven Powers helps run a community based, free, socialist gym, the People Power Gym, and is involved in a number of other community survival projects. In this episode we discuss how his organization was able to turn these survival programs into a Covid-19 mutual aid grocery program, delivering free groceries throughout their neighborhood. We also discuss how capitalism has exacerbated this pandemic into a crisis with blood on its hands, the need...
Professor Johanna Fernandez introduces listeners to the Young Lords, a revolutionary Puerto Rican organization that radically shifted international discourse on Puerto Rican politics. Fernandez recently publish The Young Lords: A Radical History , a groundbreaking and foundational new book which compiles 20 years of research to create the authoritative history of the Young Lords. In our conversation we discuss the roots of the Young Lords organization, how they transformed from a street gang to ...
I speak with community organizer, researcher, and writer Taiza Troutman to discuss urban development, trap music, Tyler Perry, activism, homelessness, neoliberalism, displacement and, above all else, gentrification in Atlanta. Audio used throughout the episode was provided graciously by Eva Dickerson, activist, educator, and all around comrade. Watch the full video in which this audio is from here . Some of the books mentioned in the episode: Rashad Shabazz, Spatializing Blackness: Architectures...
We explore the philosophy and theoretical work behind the actions of Amílcar Cabral , African revolutionary from Guinea-Bissau who helped lead a succesful anti-colonial movement against the Portugese in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. Reasearcher, writer, and organizer Zeyad El Nabolsy discusses Cabral's approach to culture and cultural liberation, dispels some eurocentric and racist myth surrounding Cabral's legacy, and looks at Cabral's relationship to Marxism. You can find Zeyad's essays we ref...
If you don't know the story of #KeithDavisJr. , make sure you listen to this episode of the #GroundingsPodcast . Keith is being framed for murder by the Baltimore police and the state of Baltimore. Police shot at Keith over 44 times, hitting him in the face and neck. Keith has been in jail for a crime he didn't commit since 2015. Keith has been through FOUR trials because Marilyn Mosby, the state attorney, is determined to see him behind bars. Keith was the first high-profile police in shooting ...
In this episode, activist and writer Bilphena Yahwon get into the nitty gritty details of the school-to-prison pipeline, racial disparities in school disciplinary actions, how these disparities send Black children to prison, and the ways she uses restorative justice processes to combat it.
Haiti is an island in perpetual revolution, and over the past few months massive island-wide mobilizations have been taking place as Haitians protest to oust their corrupt, neo-colonial, U.S.-installed government. I speak with lawyer, activist, and director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti Brian Concannon , who gives a general overview of why Haitians are protesting, and how the corrupt and violent Moïse government has remained in power with support from Western empires like...
This is part two of a special report on Venezuela, in collaboration with Venezuelanalysis.com . First I speak with Christina Schiavoni, scholar and activist who deals with issues of food, food sovereignty, and agriculture. Her work in Venezuela has been very important to dispelling misinformation about food, food shortages, and agricultural production in Venezuela, as well as the great strides towards food sovereignty that the Bolivarian Revolution has made. We specifically reference an essay of...
In collaboration with Venezuelanalysis.com , this is part one of a two-part special on current events in Venezuela, as well as the historical developments which have led to the country being the target of an international imperialist campaign, conducted by the U.S., to remove the popularly elected President Maduro and install a Western puppet via a coup. We remove the imperialist propaganda dominating the news and interview four different people whose analyses are key to understanding Venezuela,...
Writer, academic, and activist Max Ajl discusses his critique of the Green New Deal , which particularly looks at the ways in which the Green New Deals intentionally leaves out the Global South and functions to preserve a "green" version of industrial capitalism. Then he explains what ecological catastrophe like global warming could mean for the Global South if left in our current state of global capitalism, and we explore revolutionary, agricultural alternatives to the Green New Deal that have ...
