Myth: AI Data Centers Uplift Black Communities (w/ Black Alliance for Peace)
The Black Myths Podcast
In this episode, we dissect the myths surrounding the proliferation of data centers in Black communities. We explore the realities behind industry promises—ranging from job creation and infrastructure support to tax base contributions—and examine the potential long-term impacts on water, energy, and community autonomy. Join us as we ground the conversation in what AI and data centers actually are, and discuss how Black communities can organize to address these critical issues.We are joined by guests Austin Cole, Nicholas Richard-Thompson, and India Williams from the Black Alliance for...
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Myth: "It Just Sports" and the World Cup (w/ Erica Caines)
The Black Myths Podcast
In this episode of "Its Just Sports," we, dismantle the persistent myth that athletics exist in an apolitical vacuum. Joined by guest Black Alliance For Peace National Co-Coordinator, Erica Caines, we dive into why the "just sports" narrative often washes the crimes of US imperialism. We explore the work of the BAP and their "People-Centered Human Rights" framework—rights secured through social struggle rather than top-down mandates. We contrast this grassroots approach with FIFA's own human rights protocols, which fronts for corporate interests. BAP argues that by allowing the U.S. to...
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Myth: All Marxisms are Created Equal (w/ Gabriel Rockhill)
The Black Myths Podcast
On this episode of the Black Myths Podcast, we tackle the "Myth: All Marxisms are Created Equal" with guest Gabriel Rockhill. Rockhill, a philosopher, cultural critic, and activist, breaks down the origins and implications of "Western Marxism". We discuss the influence of imperial entities like the CIA and the deep collaboration of the Frankfurt School founders with the State. The conversation explores the tendency within Western Marxism to oppose "actually existing socialism," and how this stance influences Black and critical theories around race. Finally, we address how to navigate the...
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Myth: Black Voting Rights = Voting Power (w/ Petros Bein)
The Black Myths Podcast
In this episode, the myth that Black voting rights = voting power is analyzed through the lens of internal neo-colonialism following the recent devastating blow to the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais. We are joined by Petros Bein, author of "Internal Colonialism and the Reproduction of Capital", to explore the historical evolution from colonialism (Slavery, Jim Crow) to neo-colonialism. The discussion focuses on the critical distinction between the right to vote and actual power, using examples like the War on Drugs and the Crime Bill to show how Black elected officials have...
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Myth: Black People Died to Vote (Revisited)
The Black Myths Podcast
In this episode, we revisit a Black Myths classic: Black People Died to Vote. Due to the recent supreme court decision on (LOUISIANA v. CALLAIS ET AL.) that effectively ends majority Black districts across the south, voting rights is back in the public discourse. Although well-intentioned by most, the often-heard retort that "Black People Died to Vote" distorts the history of struggle around the vote. It reduces Black death to the vote itself, not the broader struggle for liberation. In this episode, we explore the history surrounding the vote throughout Black history with a...
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Black Myths Takeover: Nonviolence and Grassroots Thinking (w/ J. Ezra McCoy )
The Black Myths Podcast
Executive Editor of Grassroots Thinking, J. Ezra McCoy joins Black Myths Pod to Interview Too Black regarding his latest pieces on "Nonviolence is Violence Too". They discuss the process for writing the pieces, the limitations of nonviolence as a concept, how historically violence is a companion to nonviolence, and some of the background editing that went into the piece. pt. 1 https://www.grassrootsthinking.com/nonviolence-is-violence-too-somebodys-gotta-die/ pt. 2 https://www.grassrootsthinking.com/nonviolence-is-violence-too-part-2-were-all-in-the-gunk/
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BMP Debrief: Iran, Islam, and Imperialism w/ Momodou Taal
The Black Myths Podcast
In this episode, we are joined by guest Momodou Taal, a PhD candidate in the Africana Studies department at Cornell University, host of The Malcolm Effect podcast, and a co-founder member of VoxUmmah. We dive into a critical discussion on the intersections of Iran, global power, and religion. We open with reflections from our previous episode, including an assessment based on Dr. Bikrum Gill’s analysis of "Imperialism as the primary contradiction". We focus on Islam, exploring its material role in the current war against Iran, and analyzing why the left often finds it challenging to...
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Myth: “I Stand With the Iranian People…BUT" w/ Bikrum Gill
The Black Myths Podcast
In this episode, we are visited by anti-imperialist scholar and professor Dr. Bikrum Gill. We delve into the critical historical and political arguments for why separating the Iranian "people" from the Islamic Republic of Iran at this moment is a dangerous ideological move that reproduces the logic of imperialism. We explore how the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew a brutal, Western-backed client regime and established a state explicitly opposed to U.S. imperialism and Zionist settler colonialism. Drawing on the work of scholars like Bikrum Gill, we challenge the...
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Myth: Nonviolence is…Nonviolent
The Black Myths Podcast
This podcast delves into the violent contradictions at the heart of mass movements, challenging the idea of "spotless innocence." We explore how tactics of nonviolence function as a form of sacrificial violence, drawing in the State—both as a protector and a predator—and how insurgent violence acts as a "positive radical flank," forcing political concessions. From the Civil Rights Movement's reliance on federal troops to the global legacy of colonialism, discover why violence is the inevitable companion to confrontation, and why movements must seize the power to impose peace....
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Myth: Non-Violence
The Black Myths Podcast
This episode challenges the term "nonviolence," proposing that movements for social and political change often succeed by relying on the opponent's violence. We introduce the concept of sacrificial violence: the intentional absorption of an opponent's brutality to gain strategic concessions, a topic explored in the article "Nonviolence is Violence, Too: Somebody's Gotta " written by BMP host Too Black. The discussion analyzes historical actions like the Freedom Rides and the Albany Movement, drawing on the work of figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and political...
info_outlineThis episode will focus on how the city of New York created the conditions for Hip Hop. We also discussed the meeting between rival gangs in the South Bronx that helped create the conditions for what became Hip-Hop to operate. We end with how we should understand Hip Hop with these new reveals in history.
https://www.amazon.com/City-Hip-Hop-Rob-Swift/dp/1032835516
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