A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

When the Hurricane hit, Occupy movement activists wanted to do good in the hood. However, their mission has inevitably become political as well as humanitarian. “Occupy Sandy illuminates how economic and political power shapes the geography of pain.”

 by Yvette Carnell

African Americans “leaders” – or “liars,” in the case of Reverends Sharpton and Dyson – did a great disservice to their constituencies by failing to pressure President Obama. “These men selfishly took advantage of their proximity to power, and successfully used it as leverage for their personal brands, at the expense of the black community at large.

by Jesse Hagopian

The arch-racist Bill O’Reilly believes Blacks expect to receive “a cornucopia of benefits” from the newly-reelected president. However, it’s about four years late for that. African Americans know they’ll have to fight – and work – to get what they deserve, as has always been the case.

 by Adèle Kirsten and Tshepo Madlingozi

There is no doubt that South Africa is in deep crisis – an unfinished revolution. “The land question is unresolved, economic redistribution is not addressed, racial equality is not attained.” Yet the ruling African National Congress remains deeply embedded in the nation’s political culture. “The ANC remains the central organizational pivot in South Africa’s peoples’ lives.”

 Racial Solidarity in Misery

Who won on November 6? “If maintaining a degree of racial solidarity is a victory, then both sides – those that were solidified by their whiteness, and those that were solidified by their Blackness – I guess you can say that they both won that,” said Columbia, South Carolina, activist and author Kevin Alexander Gray. “Every economic and social indicator since Barack Obama got elected is in the negative.” Gray is author of Waiting for Lightning to Strike: The Fundamentals of Black Politics.

Wealth Wins Big

The issue of “poverty was almost completely missing in the campaign,” said author and political analyst Paul Street. “Wealthy people own this political system: they own the economy, they own the society, the own the government, they own the politicians.” Street is author of The Emperor’s New Clothes: Barack Obama and the Real World of Power.

Blacks to Become More Invisible

Reflexive African American loyalty to President Obama reminds Dr. Anthony Monteiro of Malcolm X’s critique of Black affection for President John F. Kennedy: “We put him first, and he put us last.” The same goes for Obama, said Monteiro, professor of African American Studies at Temple University, in Philadelphia. “And us being last will be even worse in his second term, because he does not need the Black vote again. Black people will become more i nvisible.”

Capitalists Running Scared

President Obama’s preventive detention law and his plans to introduce “a new legal architecture” on national security in his next term, show that U.S. rulers live in fear of the people, said Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations. “When the state has to show its hand in such a heavy-fisted way, it is clear that they are anticipating a severe crisis for which they do not have a response,” said Yeshitela.

Seattle Likes Socialists

Kshama Sawant, Socialist Alternative candidate for the Washington State House of Representatives, won 27 percent of the vote on November 6. It is no longer taboo to campaign openly as a socialist, said Sawant, a professor of economics at Seattle Central Community College. “Times are changing, it’s not the Cold War propaganda era, anymore.” She attributes the party’s success to “the massive crisis of capitalism and the anger that people are feeling” at the financial oligarchy.