In this episode we welcome an organizer who goes by Grandma to talk about the campaign to Stop Camp Grayling.

Encompassing roughly 150,000 acres of land, Camp Grayling is already the largest National Guard training facility in the United States. For about a year now there has been a concerted effort to expand it to an even larger area. In this conversation we talk to Grandma about the campaign to fight its expansion, about the environmental impacts of the current facility and the further devastation that could be generated by its expansion. We also talk about the relationship between the National Guard and settler colonialism, imperialism, and the fascistic management of human populations impacted by the worst impacts of climate change. 

Of course, many around the country have also become more familiar with the national guard’s role in domestic counterinsurgency and pacification during times of social unrest such as the rebellions in 2020 in the wake of the extrajudicial killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.

Understanding these roles of the National Guard and also Camp Grayling’s utility to the testing and development of new technologies of warfare and to the training of military and police forces domestically and internationally, Grandma also situates this intended expansion within various attempts to build new “cop cities” including but not limited to the struggle in Atlanta.

We also discuss some of the actions that folks in the movement have taken, some of the repression they have faced, and some of the contradictions of local politics that create different spheres of opposition to the project than for instance the cop city project in Atlanta.

I apologize that I did not get this episode out in time for the week of action, as I recently took a short vacation from production work, but hopefully there will be more of those coming in the future. You can follow them at @GraylingCamp on the website formerly known as twitter or email them at stopcampgrayling at proton dot me.

This is our first episode of August, our goal for the month is get 50 people to either become patrons of the show or increase their pledge to the show. We’ll be looking to publish at least 6 episodes this month. So if you’ve been thinking about either increasing your pledge or becoming a patron you can do so for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism.

Links:

Follow them on X/Twitter or instagram

The Base Among the Jack Pine: notes on the Camp Grayling Expansion on Anishnabewaki (zine we discuss in the podcast)

In this episode we discuss the brand new authorized English translation of Domenico Losurdo’s Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend, pre-orders are now being fulfilled, from Iskra Books. 

Joining us for this conversation are the translators of the text Henry Hakamäki and Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro. 

Henry Hakamäki is best known as the co-host of the Guerrilla History podcast. And of course among many other things, he is also the co-translator and editor of the book we will be discussing today. You can follow him on Twitter at @huck1995.

Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro is Professor at the Geography Department of SUNY New Paltz and is chief editor for the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism.  His book Socialist States and the Environment is available from Pluto Press. 

We talk to the two translators about why this book has taken so long to receive an authorized translation into English. How Henry and Salvatore got involved in the project. We also talk about how the book helps us deconstruct and reorient ideas and understandings about Stalin’s legacy and in doing so hopefully helps to pave the way for better understandings of the larger social processes during a critical era of Soviet History as well. 

We talk about how Losurdo addresses the false equivalence often made between Stalin and Hitler. Which also sets up a false equivalency between fascism and communism. Our guests discuss problem of comparing abstract universalist ideals with concrete attempts to build socialism. How Losurdo deals with and situates the purges and terror with regards to Stalin’s legacy as well as contradictory charges that Stalin was both bumbling and incompetent and an absolute dictator that made every decision of any importance across the whole of the USSR. We close with some discussion of Stalin on the national question and his stance on language in the early USSR.

The book is available now for pre-order and we will include a link in the show notes where folks can purchase the book. The free pdf should be available through the Iskra Books website by August 9th.

We also just want to send a shout-out to Guerrilla History the podcast which Henry is a regular co-host. They have another episode on the book that is out that goes in more detail over some of the aspects of the book that we do not touch on as much so check that out and while you’re there subscribe and check out their other content and support their work if you appreciate what they do.

And lastly this is our fifth episode of the month of July. We did hit our goal for new patrons for the month, so thanks to everyone who contributed to that. And if you have been thinking about becoming a patron of the show we can always use your support to sustain what we do here. You can become a patron of the show for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

Links:

Purchase the book (paperback)

Purchase the book (hardback)

Free PDF will be available here in the coming days

Guerrilla History episode on the book 

This is the conclusion of our two-part discussion with Dr. Jared A. Ball on the release of the second edition of his book The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power. Part one can be found here.

Once again, Jared Ball is the host of imixwhatilike and co-host of Earn Your Liberation and the RemiX Morning Show over on Black Power Media. 

He works as Professor of Africana and Communication Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. His decades of journalism, media, writing, and political work can be found at imixwhatilike.org. 

In this part of the discussion we talk a little bit about hip hop and its modern relation to corporations and social media influencers. Content warning on that conversation especially for fans of modern hip hop music, as Jared Ball and Jared Ware both turn into old men shaking our fists at clouds and telling children to get off our lawns during that portion of the discussion.

Jared Ball talks a bit more about how nonsensical it is to confront his work around “Black Buying Power” with a demand for an alternative solution. From there we get into the After Party concept that Dr. Ball has shared on his platforms over the years, and get into some discussion of Green Party politics and Dr. Cornel West’s campaign. All in all it’s a pretty free ranging conversation where we discuss a variety of different topics. We had a lot of fun doing it and we hope you enjoy it half as much as we enjoyed recording it. 

We did record it a month ago back on June 20th. So you’ll note at the end we referenced the launch party for the second edition, which unfortunately we weren’t able to get this episode out in time to help promote, but we will link a recording of that in the show notes.

We will link to some other places folks can learn more about the book, as well as a link to where you can purchase a copy. 

We do want to mention that Black Power Media did get a strike from YouTube for their H8 Awards so their new content this week will be on Twitch, Twitter and Facebook, until they have served their 7 day sentence for that. You can also find all of the relevant links and information at blackpowermedia.org including ways to donate and support their work.

And last but not least if you like what we do, please become a patron of the show if you have the means to do so. You can do that for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

Links:

Launch Party for the second edition of The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power

Our first conversation with Dr. Ball on the The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power

Discussions on the Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power

Purchase the hardback or e-book of The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power

Our conversation with Dr. Ball from the Journalism For Liberation and Combat Session 1: Internal Colonialism & Emancipatory Journalism with Dr. Jared A. Ball

"A Threat To This Day" Jared Ball on the Distortion and Erasure of Black Revolutionaries in Corporate Media

In this episode we welcome Dr. Jared A. Ball back to the podcast.

Of course we know Jared Ball as a host of imixwhatilike and co-host of Earn Your Liberation and the RemiX Morning Show over on Black Power Media. 

In addition he is of course Professor of Africana and Communication Studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. His decades of journalism, media, writing, and political work can be found at imixwhatilike.org. 

He has previously joined us for multiple discussions which we will link in the show notes.

For this conversation we talk about the newly released second edition of his book The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power. We should note that we do have a previous conversation on the first edition and if you missed that it would be helpful to understand the work more holistically. Today we talk about some of the new sections in the second edition, including the chapter on Cryptocurrency and Cryptoganda targeted at Black audiences. We also talk to him about what it has been like to confront various promoters of the concept of Black Buying Power in the promotion of the book. 

There will be a second half of this conversation which we will release later this week where we wrap up our discussion of the second edition and get into some other topics.

We will link to some other places folks can learn more about the book, as well as a link to where you can purchase a copy. 

And if you like what we do of course as always, support our ability to continue to do it. You can become a patron of the show for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

Links:

Our first conversation with Dr. Ball on the The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power

Discussions on the Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power

Purchase the hardback or e-book of The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power

Our conversation with Dr. Ball from the Journalism For Liberation and Combat Session 1: Internal Colonialism & Emancipatory Journalism with Dr. Jared A. Ball

"A Threat To This Day" Jared Ball on the Distortion and Erasure of Black Revolutionaries in Corporate Media

In this episode we welcome Thandisizwe Chimurenga and Yusef “Bunchy” Shakur to have a conversation that revolves around Sanyika Shakur’s final book, Stand-Up, Struggle Forward: New Afrikan Revolutionary Writings on Nation, Class and Patriarchy.

Thandisizwe Chimurenga is an award-winning Los Angeles-based journalist. Having worked in print and radio/broadcast journalism, she is the author of No Doubt: The Murder(s) of Oscar Grant; Reparations … Not Yet: A Case for Reparations and Why We Must Wait; the soon-to-be-published Some Of Us Are Brave: Interviews and Conversations with Sistas on Life, Art and Struggle, published by Daraja Press, and Nobody Knows My Name: Coming of Age in and Resilience After the Black Power Movement co-written with Deborah Jones, to be published by Diasporic Africa Press.

Her commitment to infusing radical Black feminist/womanist politics within Revolutionary New Afrikan Nationalism, which she believes is key to destroying capitalism, patriarchy and white supremacist imperialism, has been informed by Aminata Umoja, Assata Shakur, Pearl Cleage, bell hooks, Angela Davis, Queen Mother Moore, Gloria Richardson, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Claudia Jones, Ida B Wells and the “Amazons” of Dahomey.

Yusef “Bunchy” Shakur is a father, neighborhood organizer, author of multiple books, educator and a member of Community Movement Builders. He organizes in Detroit, Michigan. Yusef wrote the foreword to Sanyika’s Stand Up, Struggle Forward which we’re discussing today and Sanyika Shakur wrote the foreword to Yusef Shakur’s book Redemptive Soul. 

In this discussion Thandisizwe and Yusef talk about their own personal and political relationships with Sanyika Shakur and to his writings. We talk a little bit about New Afrikan political thought as it emanated from the New Afrikan Prisoners Organization particularly as was elaborated by Owusu Yaki Yakubu formerly known under the names James “Yaki” Sayles and Atiba Shanna. We discuss the importance of terminology within the New Afrikan Independence Movement and the contributions of Yaki and Sanyika to this body of political thought. 

Thandisizwe Chimurenga and Yusef “Bunchy” Shakur share reflections on Sanyika’s writings on patriarchy, homophobia and transphobia and on revolutionary transformation. They discuss the difficulties of re-entry for politicized and political prisoners in an environment without a strong political home to return to, as well as the use of solitary confinement and control units as weapons against politicized figures.

Since the publication of our last episode Dr. Mutulu Shakur has transitioned beyond this realm and we want to send our condolences to all of his loved ones and co-strugglers, we also want to take this moment to recognize his indelible contributions to the New Afrikan Independence Movement and the cause of Black Liberation.

In the show notes we will link to the book we discuss which can be found through Kersplebedeb or leftwingbooks.net along with the writings of Yaki. We highly, highly recommend both. We will also include a link to many more related writings available digitally through Freedom Archives. 

And of course if you like what we do, bringing you these episodes on a weekly basis, become a patron of the show. You can do so for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

Links:

Thandisizwe's website (includes ways to support her work)

Yusef "Bunchy" Shakur's website (includes a store with his books)

Stand-Up, Struggle Forward: New Afrikan Revolutionary Writings on Nation, Class and Patriarchy

Meditations on Frantz Fanon's Wretched of the Earth: New Afrikan Revolutionary Writings by James "Yaki" Sayles

Freedom Archives: New Afrikan Prisoner Organization Archives

"Pathology of Patriarchy: A Search for Clues at the Scene of the Crime" by Sanyika Shakur

Beneath My Surface - Thandisizwe Chimurenga (includes reflection on Sanyika's passing as discussed in the episode)

Day of the Gun (George Jackson Doc)

The Political Theory of Dr. Mutulu Shakur with Thandisizwe Chimurenga, Kalonji Changa, & Akinyele Umoja

This past May David Chávez, Steven Osuna, Alejandro Villalpando, and Jared Ware (co-host of MAKC) gave a panel presentation at the Abolitions Conference in DC. We wanted to have a conversation to share some of what we talked about, some of our reflections on the conference, discuss some of the possibilities, limitations and contradictions of Abolition within Academic spaces, as well as some of the potential ways that these spaces, jobs within them, or alternatives to them might be useful in advancing the abolitionist struggle. Before we get into this conversation we would like to thank organizers Whitney Pirtle and Tanya Golash-Boza for putting the conference together and welcoming us to it. And also shout out all the folks we were able to connect with there and the people who gave talks and shared their insights and their research.

We will include links to our presentation from the conference and encourage folks to check out others from the conferences if they’re interested. There is a lot of good work that was presented and good discussions that were had. 

Joining J for this conversation: 

David Chávez teaches History & Ethnic Studies at Compton College. With his dissertation, “From Delinquents to Street Terrorists: L.A.’s War on Black and Chicanx Youth, 1945-1965,” Chávez has studied the policing and criminalization of those populations in Greater Los Angeles. He also has many years of organizing experience, including with Critical Resistance.

Steven Osuna is an associate professor of Sociology at CSU Long Beach. He has written extensively on street organizations, policing, the so-called war on drugs, and the ravages of capitalism and neoliberalism. He also has experience organizing in the Philippine solidarity movement and other struggles. 

Alejandro Villalpando is an assistant professor in the Department of Pan-African Studies and the Latin American Studies Program at Cal State LA. He earned his Ph.D. in Critical Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside, and an M.A. from Latin American Studies at Cal State LA. His work lies at the intersection of Black, Central American, and Ethnic Studies. He also organizes with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police.

We have had previous conversations with Alejandro and Steven and will link those in the show notes as well.

It is July. Over the months of June and May we released over 14 new episodes of material. We probably will not be able to keep that pace up for this month, but we could definitely use some support from our listeners. We unfortunately just missed our sustainability goal for June. So if you are listening and are able to support the show become a patron for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

Links:

Our presentation at the UCDC Abolitions Conference “Advancing the Abolitionist Struggle, Everywhere” (starts at approximately 4:31:30 into the recording)

“The Day in Day Out Commitment to Abolition” - Alejandro Villalpando on Organizing, Building Connection, and the Abolitionist Horizon 

"We Need To Be Active In The Working Class Struggle For Socialism Globally" - Steven Osuna on Class Suicide 

One alternative to an academic conference is the recent Black Radical Organizing Conference, you can find video of it on Black Power Media 

Photos of panelists taken by Charles H.F. Davis III at the Abolitions Conference

In this episode we welcome on multiple activists and organizers involved in the struggle to stop cop city.

For this discussion Kamau Franklin from Community Movement Builders, and Micah Herskind return to the podcast, and K from Unity and Struggle, and Matthew Johnson from the Stop Cop City Faith Coalition join them to talk about various facets of the movement to stop cop city current strategic and tactical questions and concerns.

They each provide brief introductions during the show itself. We catch folks up on some of the important recent events in this struggle since our conversation on the movement last Fall. We discusss the repression of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, the use of domestic terrorism charges, and against firm and nearly unanimous public opposition the Atlanta City Council’s recent allocation of the funding for the building of Cop City. 

We also get into the new referendum initiative and some of the tactical and strategic debates around that effort. Further all of our guests offer up multiple ways that people can get involved and plug into the struggle against cop city wherever they are. This week is a week of action in the struggle to Stop Cop City so we will include links with more information on ways people can get involved in that as well.

UPDATES which occurred after the recording (which are relevant to some discussions within the episode): The referendum effort is now underway, the county clerk approved the ability of organizers to begin collecting signatures a couple of hours after we recorded this conversation. Dekalb County DA Sherry Boston has withdrawn her office from the prosecution of 42 cases against stop cop city activists due to movement pressure. 

And we are almost at the end of the month, this is our 7th and final episode for the month of June. We are unlikely to hit our goal for new patrons of the month, as we are still over new 10 patrons away from reaching it. But any support you can offer is very much needed and appreciated. You can become a patron of the show for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism

Links:

Week of Action in Atlanta June 24 - July 1 

Contribute to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund

Referendum Effort - Cop City Vote (thread on helping with referendum)

stopcopcitysolidarity.org

communitymovementbuilders.org's Stop Cop City Page

Unity and Struggle's Three Theories of Victory in Atlanta

This is the Atlanta Way: A Primer on Cop City by Micah Herskind

defendtheatlantaforest.org

atlpresscollective.com

Our prior episode on the movement to Stop Cop City

In this episode we welcome members of the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network to the podcast.

We discuss their most recent book Breaking the Silence on NGOs in Africa edited by Nicholas Mwangi, Lewis Maghanga and the contributors of the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network.

Today we have Gacheke Gachihi, Comrade Maghanga, Sungu Oyoo, and Wanjira Wanjiru each from various formations including the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network. 

Primarily the subject of our discussion is their book which follows on the work of Professor Issa Shivji who wrote a very important piece back in 2007 called Silences in NGO Discourse: The Role and Future of NGOs in Africa. The comrades from the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network examine the conjuncture in which NGOs emerged in Kenya, they talk about their role in social movements, they share some of their own experiences working in NGOs or organizing in struggles where NGOs take a prominent role. And importantly they examine the contradictions, limitations  and historical role of NGOs in Africa, with a specific emphasis on Kenya. They also discuss their own efforts through organizations like the Revolutionary Socialist League, Communist Party of Kenya, Social Justice Centres, Kongamano la Mapinduzi, Mwamko, and the Ukombozi Library to cultivate progressive movements in Kenya and revitalize a larger revolutionary Pan Africanist movement with a scientific socialist orientation.

Guests:

Gacheke Gachihi is Coordinator at the Mathare Social Justice Center, and a member of the Social Justice Centres Working Group.

Comrade Maghanga is a member of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Socialist League, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an activist and organizer, and an active participant in the Pan African Movement.

Sungu Oyoo is a writer and organizer at Kongamano la Mapinduzi and a member of Mwamko.

Wanjira Wanjiru is a co-founder of Mathare Social Justice Center, host of the Liberating Minds podcast, and Matigari book club. 

Links: 

Mathare Social Justice Centre 

Kongamano la Mapinduzi 

Mwamko 

Ukombozi Library 

Revolutionary Socialist League (Kenya) 

Liberating Minds podcast 

Pio Gama Pinto book

Breaking the Silence on NGOs in Africa (Book)

And if you appreciate the work that we do, we’re still work on our goal for the month to add 40 patrons to the show. We are running a little behind pace, but if a few comrades chip in we should still be able to reach it by the end of the month. You can support the show for $1 a month or more at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism. 

For this episode Orisanmi Burton returns to the podcast.

This episode is about Dr. Burton’s latest article which was released today on Truthout. This new piece is called, “New Docs Link CIA to Medical Torture of Indigenous Children and Black Prisoners.”

In our conversation we will talk about the connections between the Central Intelligence Agency’s MKULTRA program, former Governor Normal Rockefeller, the Rockefeller Foundation, McGill University, the Allan Memorial Institute and experiments that were conducted in New York State prisons. 

There are some references in this episode to our most recent episode with Orisanmi Burton in this discussion, when Dr. Burton makes mentions to things he discussed “earlier” or “before” they are to be found in that discussion which we will link as well. 

Content Warning: There is discussion of torture, rape, and other forms of state violence in this episode

We also encourage folks to pre-order Dr. Burton’s forthcoming book Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt and will link that in the show notes.

If you would like to support our work we are running a little behind on our goal for the month of June. For as little as $1 a month you can contribute to that effort at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism and support our ability to bring you these episodes on a weekly basis.

Links: 

Our Mohawk Warrior Society episode

First episode with Orisanmi, 2nd episode with Orisanmi

Silent Cells (referenced in the discussion)

Acres of Skin

Recent agreement between Mohawk Mothers and McGill

In this episode Josh caught up with organizers from the National Network on Cuba, Shaquille Fontenot and Tee Maloney.

We will provide full bios of each guest in the show notes, but will share some highlights here.

Shaquille Fontenot (she/they) is an anti-imperialist, cultural worker. Shaquille currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Cedar Wolf Media Group, and is co-founder of the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC), a Black-led grassroots organization dedicated to Black liberation through service, political education, and collective action in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Shaquille is also a member of the National Network on Cuba, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Black Alliance for Peace, Charleston Climate Coalition, and others. Shaquille is also a founding member of the People’s Budget Coalition and serves the National Network on Cuba as co-chair.

Tee Maloney is a revolutionary cultural worker who makes art and designs based in contributing to the global movement for African liberation and unity, and other movements related to the international struggle toward ending imperialist domination Tee is the Art Lead for the June 25th Action in DC and is a member of the Black Alliance for Peace, a work-study member of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party. They got involved in the National Network on Cuba as a brigadista from the most recent May Day delegation.

In this discussion they talk about the current revitalization of the movement to end the US blockade or embargo on Cuba, a 60 year blockade that is an egregious attack on the human rights of the Cuban people by the US government. They also discuss the NNOC’s efforts to get Cuba taken off the state sponsors of terror list.   

Tee and Shaquille also discuss their trips to Cuba, what they’ve learned from those experiences, they combat some misinformation and also contextualize some protests and advocate that people really need to improve their social media literacy when evaluating how to respond to protests in other countries.

There are a number of events coming up as part of this renewed campaign to end the blockade and get Cuba removed from this list. The first one is tonight, June 15th at 7:30pm Eastern Time a webinar from Black Alliance For Peace which will be livestreamed on Twitter and YouTube. If you miss the livestream, a recording will be on BAP’s Youtube page after the event as well.

There are a number of upcoming actions in solidarity with the Cuban people which we’ll also list in the show notes, the biggest coming June 25th in DC. 

Our comrades at Prisons Kill and Massive Bookshop selected Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary to send into our incarcerated readers this month. Support that here.

And if you appreciate the work that we do here, become a patron of the podcast for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism. Shout-out to each and every person who makes this show possible through your monthly or yearly donations. Thank you.

Links:

#OFFTHELIST CAMPAIGN

NNOC.ORG

TEE’S ART