AfricanStream

This viral video allegedly shows right-wing Israelis destroying on 13 May humanitarian aid destined for starving Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. Reports say about 150 activists from the Tzav 9 movement, which seeks to stop the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza until all Israeli hostages are released, blocked an aid convoy at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint in the Hebron Hills region of the occupied West Bank. Several dozen people, mostly young men, have been filmed ransacking the trucks, and ripping open containers of sugar and other goods while dropping them on the road. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports the ransacking took place from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., when police deployed a water cannon to disperse the crowd. Reports vary on the aftermath, with some outlets reporting police arrested between two and four people. Police allegedly told news outlets they didn't have enough forces to clear the protest because the army hadn't given advance notice of the aid convoy's entrance. It is not the first time Israeli activists have blocked and vandalised deliveries to the Gaza Strip. In January, hundreds of Israelis blocked humanitarian aid from passing through the Karem Abu Salem (or Kerem Shalom) border crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip for several days. This came despite aid organisations warning the northern Gaza Strip faced catastrophic hunger, and 1 in 3 children were acutely malnourished. Israeli forces have expanded their military onslaught by taking control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, which had been the main entry point for humanitarian aid since the 7 October escalation in the 75-year Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Ghana has granted citizenship to music legend Stevie Wonder. President Nana Akufo-Addo handed a citizenship certificate and passport to the US-born singer-songwriter at a 13 May ceremony held at the presidential palace in Accra, the Ghanaian capital. Wonder also turned 74 that day. During the event, the president hailed Wonder as an icon whose exploits have gone beyond the music stage to humanitarian works that have positively impacted the African diaspora. The singer-songwriter joins 252 individuals from the United States and the Caribbean who have been granted citizenship since 2019. That year, the West African state ramped up efforts to attract diaspora-born Africans to move there under the ‘Year of Return’ initiative to mark 400 years since ships carried Africans stolen from the continent to be sold into slavery in the Americas.

The US government frequently accuses other governments—especially those that do not obey it—of using state-sanctioned violence to suppress divergent views. You would think the United States does not do what it condemns. However, as history has shown, the US might be suffering a case of 'projection,' as the late Black psychologist Amos Wilson has said. At a 8 May rally in Washington DC, US Congressperson Cori Bush accused the United States of hypocrisy. The Missouri congresswoman has a history in community organising and was involved in the 2014 Black-led Ferguson uprising that authorities suppressed with military equipment. She pointed out the US government also has used heavy-handed tactics against students who have been demanding an end to Washington's military and financial support of Israel's military onslaught against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

This was a scene repeated across US universities at the weekend. Students walking out of their commencement ceremonies as part of pro-Palestine protests. In this clip dozens leave the event at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on May 11th, during a speech by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. It was expected following his support for police breaking up earlier protests on Virginia campuses. According to local media, students chanted ‘No books, no peace, let the knowledge increase’ and ‘Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.’ They, like many others, want their college to stop investing in Israeli-linked companies. There have been around 2,800 arrests on campuses across the US since the first pro-Palestinian protests erupted mid-April.

Chad’s incumbent ruler, Mahamat Déby, won a landslide victory in the recent presidential election - but the opposition is crying foul. Déby’s main rival was assassinated ahead of the vote, and the opposition says its people faced intimidation and threats in the run-up to the May 6th poll. Their candidate, who came second, alleges vote-rigging and has urged people to protest the result. Déby has been cozying up to the French, for whom Chad is one of their ever dwindling places of influence in Africa, having been kicked out of the Sahel. So France for one will be celebrating the outcome. What do you think of Déby‘s retaining power in Chad?

In what may be the first African university encampment in solidarity with Palestine, students at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, commonly known as ‘Wits University’ or simply ‘Wits,’ set up their tents on campus on 13 May. By doing so, they have joined thousands of their peers in Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea and the United States. Some student encampments call for universities to divest from companies that support Israel, which occupies the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Students also call for an immediate ceasefire to the military onslaught and siege taking place in Gaza that have cost the lives of more than 35,000 people, most of whom are children and women. Police have cracked down on US student encampments, with about 2,800 people arrested on more than 60 campuses, according to a New York Times tally.

The UN Secretary-General fears an ‘epic humanitarian disaster’ as Israel intensifies its assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Speaking at a press conference in Kenya, Antonio Guterres warned there were no tents or food left for the thousands of fleeing Palestinians. On Sunday, Israeli forces pushed deeper into Rafah where more than a million civilians have been sheltering. Over three hundred thousand have fled the city in the last few days, according to the UN, with most heading to the badly-damaged city of Khan Yunisor the crowded Mawasi tent camp. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023 when Tel Aviv launched its offensive on the besieged enclave. The majority of those killed are women and children, despite Israel claiming its offensive is targeting H*mas fighters. Conditions for survivors are bleak. In March the UN warned over half the Strip’s population faces imminent famine due to Israel’s blockade of food and aid.

We’ve sewn together two clips filmed six decades apart, that show the same thing: Police violence in the US. The top footage captures officers quashing civil rights protests in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. The one below it shows officers hurling to the floor Emory University professor Caroline Fohlin at recent pro-Palestinian protests. She says they smashed her head on the concrete after she confronted them for 'pummelling’ a young student on campus. She’s been charged with disorderly conduct and could face a year in jail. Just one of hundreds of university protesters detained and bearing the brunt of heavy-handed police crackdowns nationwide. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Are we back in 60s America?

This was a scene repeated across US universities at the weekend. Students walking out of their commencement ceremonies as part of pro-Palestine protests. In this clip dozens leave the event at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on May 11th, during a speech by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. It was expected following his support for police breaking up earlier protests on Virginia campuses. According to local media, students chanted 'No books, no peace, let the knowledge increase' and 'Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.' They, like many others, want their college to stop investing in Israeli-linked companies. There have been around 2,800 arrests on campuses across the US since the first pro-Palestinian protests erupted mid-April.

Revolutionary Pan-African leader and founding member of the @aaprpinternational Kwame Ture once stated, ‘Until Africa is free, no African anywhere in the world will ever be free or respected.’ Africans scattered across the diaspora, living far off in places like Europe or the Americas, find themselves without a home base to defend them. Ture said if Africa unified based on socialism, it would be powerful enough to punish countries that enact brutal acts of violence against Black civilians, such as in the United States. In what ways do you think life would change for Africans of the world if Africa unified? Drop your ideas in the comments.

South Africans have just marked three decades since apartheid officially ended. But while the collapse of that oppressive system no doubt improved the lives of the country's indigenous Black population, there are concerns that the racist regime's economic structures remain mostly intact - and continue to deny Black people opportunities to fully participate in the country's economy. In this speech from 2016, Pan-African politician and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party Julius Malema explains how this was no accident, but rather the result of agreements that leaders of the then-liberation movement and now-ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), reached with White capitalists in the run-up to the end of apartheid. Is this how you see it?

The West has always wanted the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to remain in turmoil. Those are the words of Pan-African scholar PLO Lumumba. During a recent appearance on African Stream’s flagship podcast, ‘Pan-African Attitude,’ Lumumba highlighted how Western governments have used Africans to sow division in the Congo to facilitate the exploitation of its resources. He gave an example of how US and Belgian intelligence services groomed the DRC’s longtime president, Mobutu Sese Seko (1930-97), to overthrow revolutionary leader Patrice Lumumba (1925-61) and take power from 1965 until 1997. He added that using proxies has continued into modern times, giving credence to allegations that the West is using Rwanda and Uganda to foment strife and conflict in the Congo while facilitating the transit and laundering of suspected conflict minerals whose proceeds help perpetuate violence. Watch the rest of this conversation by heading to our YouTube channel.

One big Zoo. That’s how the world views Africa, according to pan-African scholar PLO Lumuba. The West cares more about Africa’s animals than the continent’s people unless it wants to extract our resources. Only by understanding this fact will Africans begin taking good care of themselves instead of waiting for outside help. Lumumba always speaks with clarity, and this observation roars the truth as far as we’re concerned. Do you also think his analysis is spot on?

Pan-African musical icon Bob Marley died on this day in 1981 and it is important to remind the world that Bob Marley always identified as an African first. When US journalist Gil Noble sat down in 1980 with Bob Marley, 1 year before died, he asked whether he felt more Jamaican or African. The legendary reggae musical icon had an interesting response that should make Africans in the diaspora rethink their relationship with their motherland. Let us know what you think of Marley’s answer.

In this clip, we see African Stream journalist Inem Richardson reacting to US Africa Command head Michael Langley referring to North Africa as NATO’s ‘southern flank.’ This was from the 29 April livestream, ‘US MILITARY KICKED OUT OF CHAD?’ when Richardson and Joe Hotagua, founder of @authentic_african, dug into US military intervention in Africa, the history of neo-colonialism in Chad, as well as stories about imperialism, capitalism, and the food industry in Africa. The complete video is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJXbnQb6Svg Catch the show at 3 p.m. EAT (East Africa Time) on Mondays.

Born mixed-race with mental health problems in apartheid South Africa and placed into foster care, the chances of Bessie Amelia Head becoming a literary giant may have looked somewhat slim at the outset. But in her short life, she achieved just that - transforming from journalist-activist into author-in-exile and political refugee in Botswana. There, she was afflicted by bouts of poverty and depression - barred from returning home by the apartheid regime. But her writing flourished. Although she died aged only 48, her reputation as a writer adept at handling issues of race, identity and power has only continued to grow. African Stream’s Wambura Mwai pays tribute to her talents and legacy. Have you read Head’s works? Which ones? Location: @Chechebooks

How are criminals dealt with in civilised societies? You could say by the rule of law. But that’s not the case in the United States, said the late Pan-African scholar Amos Wilson (1941-95). There, the government projects its criminal nature by treating Indigenous peoples and Africans as savages worthy of punishment. Is this the same treatment being dished out to peaceful pro-Palestine protesters on US university campuses? Authorities now describe these students as ‘criminals.’ Jump in with your comments to let us know what you think.

On many levels, Sierra Leone has one of the worst gender gaps in the world. As of 2021, women held only 12.3% of seats in parliament, while less than 10 per cent aged over 25 have secondary education. That’s not acceptable, according to the country’s First Lady Fatima Maada Bio. And in this interview she says ‘pushing women into the kitchen’ is strangling her country’s development. She compares it to telling Muhammad Ali to box with one hand. Rwanda leads the way in African politics, in terms of female representation. Just over half its cabinet positions are held by women. Other countries with similar numbers include South Africa and Ethiopia. The question is, when will other African nations catch up?

Many Africans are celebrating Mother’s Day today. But African countries are also celebrating the women they’ve come to revere as ‘mothers of the nation.’ Today, we look at some of the great African mothers and their different contributions to championing the liberation, development and growth of our motherland. What other African mothers are you celebrating today?

On 10th May, 1740, South Carolina enacted the Negro Act, which banned the use of the drum among enslaved Africans. African Stream journalist Salifu Mack explores how enslaved Africans, stripped of their right to drum, ingeniously preserved their heritage. Fast-forward to today, the legacy echoes through the halls of Kingstree High School in South Carolina. Students reclaim the drum as a symbol of pride, defiance and cultural identity. Hear from these young voices as they share what the drum means to them, weaving a narrative of resilience, heritage and the relentless pursuit of freedom.

South Africa’s white-dominated opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has ignited a storm with an advertisement that shows a burning South African flag. President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the video as ‘treasonous’ and the ‘most despicable political act that anyone can embark upon.’ He added the act was not illegal, but it was in bad taste as the flag symbolises national unity and triumph against the oppressive apartheid system that ruled until the early 1990s. The DA has, however, defended the move, saying the advertisement is designed to show South Africans what would happen if the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is re-elected on 29 May, or enter an alliance with the Julius Malema-led Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) or the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, led by long-time ANC president (2007-17) and former South African President Jacob Zuma (2009-18). Some sections of the white population have publicly expressed their preference for the old apartheid flag. Reports have indicated the flag’s display at mostly white events and functions. In 2019, the country’s Equality Court ruled that ‘gratuitous displays’ of the apartheid-era flag amounted to hate speech and discrimination, adding that it is a ‘vivid symbol of white supremacy and Black disenfranchisement and suppression.’ The Supreme Court of Appeals upheld that decision last month.

Three decades ago today, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa's first democratically elected president. His party, the African National Congress, had emerged victorious in the country's first truly democratic elections, officially ending decades of settler oppression of Black people. It was a watershed moment in the history of the country and in the life of a man who had spent 27 years in prison after being jailed by the racist regime in the early 1960s for his anti-apartheid activities. The mainstream media, when reflecting on Mandela's legacy, always omits the fact that he remained loyal to those who supported the anti-apartheid struggle. As he famously told his Western detractors: ‘Your enemies are not our enemies!‘ Watch him deliver that line here in this iconic clip - in which he demolishes a critic who tried to get him to disown leaders despised by Western nations. Do you cheer his remarks as loudly as the audience does here?

How much cultural, social and political force do Africans positively exert on other communities? Listen as UK-based Pakistani social media influencer Sa'ad Mustafā (@saadmustafauk) describes boxer and activist Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) and Pan-Africanist Malcolm X's (1925-65) influence. Mustafā said these African elders helped him develop confidence and encouraged him to learn about his own people's history to understand himself. It is a testament to Africans' power to inspire the world to embrace higher ideals.

Now that Niger has announced its expulsion of US troops and Sahelian states have kicked out French military forces, could the two Western powers be eyeing its southern neighbour, Nigeria? The leaders of research institutes and civil society organisations delivered a letter on 3 May to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly, rejecting any proposal to allow Western military bases into Nigeria. The letter points out that terrorism worsened in the Sahel, an arid zone south of the Sahara Desert, during the period of US military occupation. According to a study by the US Department of Defense’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies, terrorism has increased by more than 100,000 per cent since US launched its ‘War on Terror’ in 2001. Additionally, according to the Global Terrorism Index, 43 per cent of all terrorism-related deaths in 2022 occurred in the Sahel. That year, more people died from terrorism there than in West Asia, South Asia and North Africa combined.

In this 30 April video, a person identified in the original X post as a Columbia University student and as a Palestinian tried to lodge a complaint with New York police officers about a white man spitting in his ear outside of campus. That's where an encampment demanding the university divest from Israeli investments has taken place since 17 April, drawing pro-Israel protesters to the perimeter of the urban campus. However, this video showed the offender walked scot-free. It isn’t an isolated incident as US police forces have stood idly by as pro-Palestine supporters have reported pro-Israel 'mobs' have wreaked havoc across encampments that began popping up on university campuses. US police have had a history of doing nothing or protecting right-wingers, as seen during the 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, among other instances. So far, police have arrested more than 2,800 protesters on more than 50 US campuses, according to an Associated Press tally. Meanwhile, new congressional legislation has enshrined a broader definition of anti-Semitism into the US Civil Rights Act of 1964, an anti-discrimination law. While complaints of anti-Semitism on campuses have risen, Jewish students have played a significant role in these encampments and have denied these encampments are anti-Semitic. Credit: @itslaylas