The Black Myths Podcast

In part 2, we explore the factors that drive mass incarceration. Per usual the truth is more complicated than the myth. We begin with the early history of prisons in the United States. Then we delve into the work (Golden Gulag and Abolition Geography) of geographer and abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore to analyze how prisons became a fix all for social problems. We offer California as a case study...

In this episode, we examine the myth that prison is built for profit. That is, the myth that mass incarceration is driven by private profit above all else. Although there are certainly profiteers within the prison industrial complex, prisons operate at a loss. Therefore, in part 1 of this series, we explore what does not drive mass incarceration. In part two we will explore what actually drives ma...

Black Myths Pod crew reviews the myths we covered over the last year of 2023 including Patrisse Lumumba, Pan-Africanism, Political Prisoners, the Black dollar, Third World, Israel/Hamas, and Anti-Communism. Patreon https://www.patreon.com/blackmyths

In part 2, we draw the connections between Dr. CBS's Black Scare/Red Scare Theory with the contemporary issues of today: Israel-Palestine, Stop Cop City, "Wokeism", Critical Race Theory, and the distraction that these discourses cause.    Black Scare / Red Scare Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States  https://press.uchicago.edu/ ucp/books/book/chicago/B/ bo207945104.html   Sign up for P...

In this episode, we cover the myth "Communism Made Me Do It." 'Communism Made Me Do It' is a tongue-in-cheek way of how the US blames radicalism for radicalism, instead of the US capitalist-led conditions that produce it. Since the Bolshevik Revolution, Communism, more than any other political ideology, is the boogeyman that allows radicalisms of different kinds, both anticapitalist and not, to be...

We continue our conversation with our guests Rana Nazzal Hamadeh and Musa Springer. In this episode we delve into "Operation Al Aqsa" flood of October 7th and ways to understand the attack grounded in the broader historical context discussed in Pt. 1. We also discuss the anti-solidarity myths about Palestinians being homophobic and anti-black.    https://www.patreon.com/ blackmyths

In this episode, we explore the myth of the Israel-Hamas War with guests Rana Nazzal Hamadeh and Musa Springer beginning with the history of Israeli conquest of Palestine and the history of apart that followed.  Rana is a Palestinian artist and filmmaker living between Ramallah and Ottawa on unceded Anishinaabe territory. Her photography, film, and installation works look at issues related to time...

On this episode, Dr. Jared Ball joins us to debate the resolution — Pooling Black Resources is Imperative to Liberation— inspired by his recently released book  The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power. Our host Too Black debates the affirmative while Dr. Ball debates the negative. We want to engage principled disagreements throughout the Black Left and the sociopolitical Black world. The Bla...

In this episode, we explore the relationship between Atlanta and Cop City in our interview with Kamau Franklin. We explore the events that precluded cop City, how the Black elite helps shield the project, and what the realities are of organizing against it.  Kamau Franklin is the founder of Community Movement Builders, Inc. Kamau has been a dedicated community organizer for over thirty years, begi...

In this episode we cover the myth of the Black Mecca in relationship to the city of atlanta. We track the genealogy of the term and how Atlanta developed as a Black city. We cover the creation of the "new south," the rise of Maynard Jackson, the Atlanta child murders and the 1996 Olympics. We utilize "Legend of Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta" by Maurice J. Hobson....

In part 2, we explore the history of the Third World with the Soviet Union, the different characters of a one party state post-national liberation, and the activity in the Sahel region of Africa including the most recent coup in Niger. Vijay lays out the historical context that has led to the current coups in the region. He also clarifies how the Third World became known as an impoverished, backwa...

We interview journalist, historian, and Marxist intellectual Vijay Prashad. We discuss the myth of the third world as a site of poverty and degradation instead of the global anti-colonial movement it once was. To gain a better understanding of the history and how it became co-opted we analyze Prashad's book "The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World." Bio Vijay is an Indian histori...

For Pt. 2, we speak with former entrepreneur and current writer Joshua McCoy. We use his experience as a business owner for over 10 years to show the limitations of black business, how the (myth of the) circulating Black dollar does little to impact the day-to-day operations of Black business, and some socialist alternatives to the traditional aspects of Black business.   https://www.patreon.com/...

In this episode, we debunk the myth circulating Black Dollar at DePaul University in Chicago. We track the original claim stating "the lifespan of the dollar in the African-American community is approximately six hours." We show its questionable origins, deconstruct the concept of community, and most importantly we explore the concept of circulation.  Sign up for patreon https://www.patreon.com/bl...

Myth: Prisons Rehabilitate (Reacting to the Pendleton 2   In this episode, we discuss the documentary  The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up  directed by our co-host Too Black and TheKingTrill. The film chronicles the story of Indiana political prisoners Christopher "Naeem" Trotter and John "Balagoon" Cole who got 200 plus years for intervening to save the life of a fellow prisoner who was being brutally...

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...

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 tha...

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?...

  00:00:51 - 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 Peop...

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...

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 T he 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 la...

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 Univer...

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...