Blossom of Thought

John Trimble joins me to talk about his latest book, APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY MANIFESTO: Shifting the Forces of Production to Empower People and Protect the Planet. With an intention to do a chapter per episode, in this episode we discuss chapter 1. In this episode John gives a critical analysis of the western paradigm of conquest, domination and exploitation which inspires the development of technology. Such technology turns out to be destructive to land, harmful to humanity, and disruptive to ecological systems. He argues that the technology of conquest, oppression and violence has further been developed to suppress all effort for justice and equality and is concealed in the advances of Industrial Revolutions.  In opposition to the technology of conquest, John captures the new paradigm of the oppressed and indigenous people who are most aware of the polluted waters, toxic air, dirty food and decimated forests that are the result of the technology misadventures around the world. Such a paradigm calls for development of technology that focuses on human needs, not profit for the wealthy and corporate owners. A verbatim extract from Chapter 1 states: “We cannot continue to view the planet, its land, its waters, its plants, its animals, its people, and its natural resources as things to be conquered, dominated, and exploited.” 

Find some of John's work at International Network on Appropriate Technology and his book at Africa World Press & The Red Sea Press / APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY MANIFESTO: Shifting the Force of Production to Empower People and Protect the Planet Edited by John Trimble & Mammo Muchie and on Amazon

Mimut Nuhu, minister from the House of Sankofa in California and a cadre of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party, joins me in this episode to pay a respectful tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  King was born on January 15th, 1929, and died on April 4th 1968. Minister Mimut speaks not only of Dr King, but his family too, stating that his brother, Alfred Daniel King, and mother (Alberta Christine Williams King) were assassinated too - something relatively unknown to the public and African community. MLK’s life was an embodiment and manifestation of the laws or principles of Ma’at, namely, Truth, Justice, Balance, Order, Harmony, etc., says Mimut. And these principles are a legacy of our ancestors.

Ahjamu Umi returns to the show to talk about the insurance industry from a Pan-African perspective, at the wake of the killing of the United health care CEO Brian Thompson. Ajamu is an organizer for over 40 years with the All African People’s Revolutionary Party. Ahjamu is an author, and his recent work, which has been gaining more attention and traction after the re-election of Donald Trump is title “A guide for Organizing Defense Against White SUpremacy, Patriarchy, and Fascist Violence” - a manifesto designed to provide guidance for how to organize neighborhoods on a block by block basis.

Ahjamu speaks about the genesis and the historical development of the insurance industry on the backs of Africans. He argues that it is an industry that extorts and exploits the people to make super profits - just as it has been said that all insurance companies have an incentive to chisel their customers in order to increase profits as apparent in the government data below:

 Ahjamu also speaks about other industries that feed off or support the insurance industry, namely, the Collection Agencies, lawyers, etc. Regulation is not the solution here since these companies outlive regulation, says Ahjamu. In the final analysis, political education and organizing, says Ahjamu, will advance the masses towards liberation not one person shooting another.

To interact with Ahjamu and his writing, go to https://www.abetterworld.me/

Malcolm X is accredited with these words: You cant have capitalism without racism. Joseph Kaluba, originally from Zambia, now living in the US, is my guest today to speak about the challenges of racism in Utah. In recent years, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for Utah had a settlement agreement with Davis School District in Utah - an attempt to address race discrimination in the district’s schools, including serious and widespread racial harassment of Black and Asian-American students.

As a parent, Joseph has children that have been heavily hit by racism, including being called a “monkey.” With such a traumatic experience continuing unabated despite taking the issue to the highest echelons of the school system in the district, a decision had to be made for the best interest of the kids whose mental health was spiraling down. They were sent away from the parents to live in Africa, a mega decision that proved fruitful to both parents and children. Change of environment defined with clarity the effects on the individual of the Western culture of individualism and the African culture of Ubuntu or collectivism.

To realize their growing yearning for a liberated and unified Africa, Africans are organizing themselves throughout the continent and its diaspora. In this episode, John Trimble and Sobukwe Shakura join me to discuss their organizing activities in Southern and East Africa, respectively. They each have been organizing for over 40 years and are a

Some of the issues they discuss are land reclamation, the struggle against neocolonialism, the Green Revolution of Multination Corporations and the negative impact these have on the environment, local farmers and over the food sector.

This episode takes us into the success and challenges of organizing in both South and East Africa as the Pan-African project reverberates across the continent and the diaspora.

This is an anthological episode dealing with Black Power and  the intricacies of Pan-Africanism. In this regard we host the voices of Kwame Ture, Ahjamu Umi, and Kwame Nkrumah. Pan-Africanism has come a long way - going as far back as the 1900s or from the days of Marcus Garvey through W.E.B Du Bois who kept the lights of Pan-Africanism burning till the 1945 Pan-African Congress with George Padmore (from the Caribbean) and Kwame Nkumah representing the Motherland. It is a fact that the struggle of Africans in North America produced what is known as Black Power in the 60s of the Civil Rights Movement.However, it is argued that Black Power naturally mutates or evolves to Pan-Africanism.

Inem Richardson, journalist with African Stream, co-founder of the Thomas Sankara Center/Burkina Books (Centre Thomas Sankara Pour La Libération et L’Unité Africain), sits down with me to discuss the Burkinabe peoples wrestles against colonial and imperialist West, such as France, in the past 4 decades.  Inem is also A member and cadre of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party. She is originally from The Bay Area in Northern California, but she currently lives in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Burkina Books is a Pan-African library and political education center. 

Inem gives us a detailed account of the political and socio-economic struggle of the Burkinabe people from the days of that great son of Africa and Pan-Africanist, Captain Thomas Sankara, until right before the current leadership of Captain Ibrahim Traore. She eloquently ties into the conversation the external relations created by Sankara’s leadership with other revolutionary countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, among others. This discussion is inspired by her article - Burkina Faso: La Patrie ou la Mort… Venceremos - published by Hood Communist, an online Pan-african Media. This episode is part one of two episodes. The second episode will cover where this one leaves off all the way to the present and prevailing socio-economic and political conditions in Burkina Faso under the leadership of Captain Ibrahim Traore. We anticipate covering a lot about the Sahel with Inem in the near future.

To connect with Inem, and to support the Pan-african work she does in the Sahel, please visit:

https://www.instagram.com/burkinabooks/?hl=en

https://tinyurl.com/sahelbooks

https://tinyurl.com/nigerlibrary

https://tinyurl.com/burkinalibrary

https://patreon.com/burkinabooks

Pius returns to conclude his appraisal of the mass struggle for liberation and against the regime in Swaziland. He speaks of international solidarity vs. the so-called international community and which of these can support revolutionary changes in Swaziland. Pius is very candid on whether the monarch has a place in the modern political, economic, and social fabric of society.

The Multi Stakeholder Forum is not revolutionary according to him, hence, the Communist Party of Swaziland is not a member of this forum.

For an appraisal of the struggle for democracy in Swaziland, Pius Vilakati sits down with me. Pius is Central Committee Member and Head of Research and Policy Development of the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) and a former International Secretary of the CPS. He is former President

After the 2021 uprising and protests for democratic reforms in Swaziland, things are back to normal and no more protest against the regime. Nothing has changed though: there are still about 100 people who died during the uprising, dozens and dozens maimed and disabled, 100s imprisoned

Pius views the uprising as a positive step forward, but is also convinced that nothing much would unless the masses are organized with political education.

Ahjamu Umi returns to talk about Organizing Lessons from the 60s. Ahjamu is a dedicated activist/organizer/author who has engaged in on the ground work throughout Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and throughout the U.S. for 4 decades now. His latest work is "A Guide for Defense against White Supremacist, Patriarchal, and Fascist Violence" - it's a manifesto designed to provide guidance for how to organize neighborhoods on a block by block basis. He is also a long time organizer with the All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party (AAPRP).

Ahjamu elucidates on some of the positives, errors and lessons to be drawn from organizing during the Civil Rights movement era. Some of the highlights of this episode include military self-defense, organizational Internal conflict and government manipulation, non-violence, urban rebellions, and ultimately Pan-Africanism.