Month: January 2020

An actress known for decades of work in soap operas said on Wednesday she has agreed to become Brazil’s secretary …

Source: Brazil’s Little Sweetheart Is Now the Country’s Culture Secretary – brazzil

Holiday, who throughout her career called public attention to the devastating impact of white supremacy, drew the notice of the Commissioner for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. He ordered her to stop singing the song…

Source: How ‘Strange Fruit’ Killed Billie Holiday – Progressive.org

It’s time to change the way we talk and think about Africa.

Source: Africa is not poor, we are stealing its wealth | Corruption | Al Jazeera

The expression “evangelical drug trafficker” may sound incongruous, but in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, it’s widespread. Charismatic Christianity is on the rise across Brazil. Slightly less than a third of all Brazilians identify as evangelical, up from 5% in the 1960s. The 2020 national census is expected to show significantly more growth. In Rio, where the evangelical population increased 30% in the first decade of this century, even some of the most notorious drug dealers claim to be spreading the gospel.

Source: Evangelical gangs in Rio de Janeiro wage ‘holy war’ on Afro-Brazilian faiths

Canada Post unveiled a limited edition stamp on Tuesday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of black men who formed a segregated unit and fought during the First World War.

Source: Canada’s first and only all-black battalion honoured with special stamp | Globalnews.ca

Source: 9 Instances of Fidel Castro and Cubans Helping Black People Fight Colonialism and White Supremacy

Given that African-Americans were an easy target in the 1950s and 1960s, the Ku Klux Klan – the white supremacist group – had a free reign, terrorizing and even murdering civil rights supporters.

The incessant attacks were so frequent that many civil rights workers armed themselves for self-protection. Even the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had so many guns during the 1950s that one visitor called it an “arsenal.”

Source: The Deacons; the black armed Christians who protected MLK, civil rights supporters before Black Panther – Face2Face Africa

Inequality, racism and poverty are entrenched problems for the beautiful city of Salvador de Bahia. But its artistic and musical roots go deep, giving great potential for regeneration.

Source: Salvador de Bahia: Brazil’s new capital of creative enterprise? | The Social Enterprise Magazine – Pioneers Post

White Collar criminologist Bill Black analyzes the new study, “The Plunder of Black Wealth in Chicago,” opening the way for a fruitful conversation about reparations and our future

Source: Billions Stolen From Black Families by Predatory Lending

“Blind Tom” was a musical prodigy who was born in slavery in 1850, in the state of Georgia. He was a contemporary virtuoso of Liszt and Rubinstein, but one who seemed unaware of his skin color, his fame, or his success. Blind Tom was aware only of the sounds and music around him. He left a few compositions behind, but the man behind the virtuoso persona, Thomas Wiggins, is a puzzling character of the 19th century who left nothing to the world, not a word, not a note, only the memories of other people. Very little is known about this genius who performed in the White House in front of President James Buchanan.

Source: “Blind Tom,” born a slave, at the age of 10 became the highest paid pianist of the 19th century