Black Agenda Radio - 09.02.19

Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Why are Muslims always part of the story when a mass shooting occurs, even when a white American is the perpetrator? We’ll discuss that question. And, Black women from across the Diaspora have produced an important book on Gender Studies in Africa

A bill that would require all students in the California state university system to pass a course in Ethnic Studies before graduating has been put on hold after meeting fierce opposition. Dr. Gilda Ochoa, a professor of Chicano/Latino Studies at Pomona College, was a key player in pushing for the legislation. Ochoa and her brother Enrique wrote an article calling for passage of the Ethnic Studies bill. She’s not happy that it’s been sidelined.

 Most mass shootings in the United States are committed by white men. But Dr. Maha Hilal, co-director of the Justice for Muslims Collective, and an organizer with Witness Against Torture, says even when the perpetrators of mass murder are white, Muslims are somehow brought into the discussion. Dr. Hilal wrote an article for Truthout, titled “Leave Muslims Out of This. Let’s Discuss White Violence on It’s Own Terms.”

 Cheryl Rodriquez is co-editor of a fascinating new book, titled “TransAtlantic Feminism: Women and Gender Studies in Africa.” Roderiguez’s co-editors are drawn from a range of countries in the African Diaspora, including Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, and Uganda. She says Black people are always seen as “the enemy” in the U.S.