Episodes
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In this podcast I summarize some of the main ideas from my 10 part examination of Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology while describing briefly why America needs a new left or must form a new coalition, like it did in the past, to confront the political and economic crisis it is facing today. If you are interested in a particular period please refer to the 10 part series including an introduction and conclusion remarks in my playlist "Black History Month February 2025- Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology (10 part series)"
Black History Month February: The 10 part podcast on Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology
Join me in my ten part series on YouTube, my channel is Sunny Sharma@IndiaInsightMovement (and coming to my audio podcast soon called âIndia Insight with Sunny Sharmaâ) to examine the history of black intellectual, social and political thought since 1768, around the founding of the American Republic in 1776, through 5 periods of history outlined below extending all the way up to the seminal election of Barack Obama, who boasted a rainbow coalition, to the presidency in 2008.
1. Introduction
2. Section 1- Foundations: Slavery and Abolitionism, 1768-1861
3. Section 2- Reconstruction and Reaction: The Aftermath of Slavery and the Dawn of Segregation, 1861-1915
4. Section 3- From Plantation to Ghetto: The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War, 1915-1954 Part 1 and Part 2
5. Section 4 Monday February 24- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 1 and Part 2
6. Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present Part 1 and Part 2
7. Part 10 Concluding Remarks on Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology8. Bonus: Major Themes and Lessons from Black History and President Barack Obama
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YouTube channel: Sunny SharmaâȘ@IndiaInsightMovementâŹ, podcast: India insight with Sunny Sharma.
I briefly discuss President Barack Obamaâs legacy at the end!
The contemporary era 1975-the present is characterized by an explosion of the black middle class, black electoral politics, the bourgeoisie, and black academic scholarship. Even with the proclivity towards capitalist entrepreneurship and the gospel of wealth of Booker T. Washington gaining precedent in this era, there were still some critical Marxist perspectives concerning the problems of black crime as expressed by Jarvis Tyner, who also ran for president two times under the Communist ticket in the 1970s. Moreover, despite critical condemnation of wasteful spending of the criminal justice system there was an inability to stop these developments. There was a consensus that Americans needed schools, healthcare, and infrastructure development not more prisons. Furthermore, there was still immense discrimination in the judicial system towards African Americans especially former Black panther members who were considered to be political prisoners. The Sing Sing prison acknowledged along with Dr. Cornell West that prisons are easier to build than to give hope (it is easier to incarcerate than to rehabilitate and educate). However, these were not the only essential organizations to reform America, change world perception, and alter political structures.
The Black Radical Congress (BRC) sought such provisions as public education improvements, economic justice, and the realization of political democracy for all Americans. The Racial Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001 sought not only to connect class oppression, racial discrimination, and xenophobia, but also to make critical research into black history and why reparations are a necessity for the descendants of slaves. On the other hand, Michael Dyson realized prisons and the history of lynching of the later 1800s and early 1900s was politicized in many ways most blacks donât understand. The consequences of the Iraq War, the disaster of the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina which marginalized primarily black people, and a need to transcend political divides for the realization of a higher politic resulted in the ascendency of Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008.
President Barack Obamaâs ascendency to the presidency in 2008 and 2012 was not just an explosion of hope, it was characterized by a resounding defeat of his critics through his ability and example of navigating complex difficulties in which he shaped public opinion in favor of his perspective and agenda. He was certainly criticized for certain actions and rhetoric, but it was shown through his genuine compassion and communication of the fundamental issues American were facing that he not only cared for the average American, but that he had a plan to respond to their fundamental grievances. President Obama understood the dangers of tribal politics, something he discussed widely at the end of his presidency, but his social media campaign demonstrated that technological advancement can be used in favor of positive political programs rather than become a divisive tool. He advocated peace domestically and abroad in a world in turmoil especially in the Middle East contributing to his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Award. More than anything, President Obama not only boasted a very progressive, radical, and transformative agenda, he stood as a symbol of black excellence and meritocratic success that showed anyone with an education and strong sense of purpose can benefit from the American Dream.
Tune in for my summary of these 9 episodes covering black history since 1768. All these 10 episodes are in my playlist Black History Month February 2025 - Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology (10 part series). -
Episodes manquant?
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The contemporary era of black intellectual thought 1975 to the present is characterized by a growth in black feminist thought, an expansion of rainbow coalitions by prominent black leaders, an explosion of the black middle class and a black bourgeoisie, and an extension of black political, social, and cultural ideas by influential scholars and academics. In opposition to the New Left Movement, there was a significant rise in conservatism not just in America but throughout the globe. This led to a drastic decrease in liberal welfare programs as well as a decrease in the practical reliance on socialism: Booker T. Washingtonâs ideology specifically concerning education became the norm in the contemporary era. This period also witnessed the rise of the New Jim Crow: a system of mass incarceration and control of millions of primarily poor black and brown people as evidenced by millions of dollars governmental investment in for-profit prisons throughout America.
The eventual election of President Barack Obama was not only a call to transcend the partisan bickering of Washington, but his presidency stood as a symbol of black excellence against traditional social hierarchies of white supremacy. The feminist Barbara Smith at the 1980 Combahee River Collective argues that world changing revolution donât have to just redistribute resources, but they also must be pro-feminist and antiracist to be comprehensive enough to include the most historically marginalized people in the modern era, black women. Many feminist and male freedom fighters such as the black panthers, were political prisoners who have garnered immense support for freedom in the modern era. Furthermore, the seminal first black mayor of Chicago Harold Washington through his reform of the segregated city revealed its racist structure and sought to undermine it. Intellectual feminists such as Audre Lorde indicated the necessity of identifying the elements of the oppressor in the oppressed, while Dr. Bell Hooks sought to illustrate the hierarchies of race, class, and gender and how we can overcome them.
This era also saw massive opposition to the South African Apartheid state that lasted for four decades by such black icons such as Randall Robinson and Reverend Jesse Jackson. Jesse Jacksonâs rainbow coalition from his run for presidency in the mid 1980s would foreshadow the rise of Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008, 20 years later. However, education perspectives would transform more than politics. Academic scholars would shift the consciousness of minority student towards a greater appreciation of education by moving away from Eurocentric models of learning. What scholars like Dr. West and politicians like President Obama would recognize is that political advancement is more seated in understanding the need for hope, meaning, and purpose rather than identifying elements of subjugation against black America. These ideas would be drawn from many black figures of the past such as academics like W.E.B. Du Bois and social reformers like Dr. King and President Abraham Lincoln. -
The rise of such proponents of black nationalism and black power as Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael was seated in deep frustration with the inability to change the fundamental economic conditions of blacks even with the passing of political protections to the vote and legal protections against discrimination. Moreover, there was deep seated opposition to police brutality which resulted in the creation of the Black Panther Party. Along with the rise of Black electoral politics which expressed many of the demands of previous black organization agendas like that of the Marcusâs Garveyâs UNIA, W.E.B. Du Boisâs Niagara Movement, and the Black Panthers 10 point program, the rise of these black nationalist ideologues, cultural nationalism, and black power did not just contribute to creative movements of the future they also sought to regain political ownership of their community. However, even if many agreed on the need for a grassroots approach as a means of forcing political, legal, and economic change, black moderates such as Bayard Rustin felt black nationalism detracted from a unified and strategic effort to overcome inequities and inequality in America. The main nonviolent Civil Disobedience strategists insist that their approach in hindsight led to meaningful change especially as evidenced by the movements to desegregate Alabama in Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham.
Dr. King became much more radical after 1966 sympathizing with Democratic Socialism and a radical proposition called the revolution of values to overcome the evils of racism, militarisms, and racism. This shift in outlook was in many ways inspired by Malcolm X approbation towards capitalist exploitation of black communities. There was also a rise in black electoral politics seeking independent black politics that was person centered and sought to develop political consciousness to overcome the failure of an entrenched system of institutional racism and barriers to political and economic equality.
The Marxist theorist Henry Winston was one of the first people to combine a critique of capitalist inequality undermining race relations with imperialist oppression in such places as South Africa. Like the many organizations and conferences of this periods there were not just strong criticisms of systemic racism, capitalism, and a call for essential rights like health, education, housing, and a decent paying job, there were movements towards a more revolutionary politics seated in the development of class consciousness. What would be witnessed in future periods 1975 to present is a rise in rainbow coalition movements under leaders like Jesse Jackson and Harold Washington paralleling the rise of a black bourgeoisie which would speak to many of the fundamental concerns of the African American community. However, impeccable orators like Louis Farrakhan, though not involved politically, would resonate with the masses due to his fundamental examination of race relations; rhetoric that would mirror that of many past leaders like Malcolm X. There would be an effort to create a social contract that would eventually manifest with the rise of President Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008; a man who would speak to the need for liberal progress, aspirational hope in a changing America, and a rhetoric which would transcend partisan bickering and racial animosity. He would not only lead America out of the worst recession since the Great Depression while speaking to the dangers of inequities in power politically and economically, but he would also provide an ambitious agenda that managed to lead America through an era of great technological advancement while also providing reassurance to the American people that their basic needs would be endorsed and enhanced by governmental support.
Next: Contemporary era- 1975 to the Present Part 1 and Part 2 -
If you enjoy these history lessons please follow, like, share, and subscribe for future videos.
My YouTube channel is Sunny SharmaâȘ@IndiaInsightMovement⏠and my podcast is âIndia Insight with Sunny Sharmaâ
This short era of immense change began with the critical case of Brown vs Board of Education in 1954 that established separate but not equal is unconstitutional. This marked a significant constitutional victory in favor of an integrationist approach which led to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement which was launched through the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama in 1955-1956. The revolutionary approach, depending upon who you ask, of active nonviolent Civil Disobedience led by such figures as Rosa Parks, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. King, Ralph Abernathy, Reverend James Lawson, and Bayard Rustin was the leading philosophical and practical approach to integrate public institutions in America including restaurants, schools, and public transportation. This period was characterized by immense grassroots movements led by coalitions of very diverse groups of people welcomed by a more inclusive approach. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded by Dr. King in 1957 revolved around nonviolent civil disobedience as a protest strategy and the goal of achieving full democratic participation through legal protections for the vote.
The young John Lewis and Ella Baker, major leaders in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), demanded not just more radical change and group centered leadership while also endorsing Dr. Kingâs methods, but they also represented a cognitive and philosophical shift that many leaders such as Dr. King would take after 1966. These shifts occurred due to frustrations from the inability to change the fundamental political and economic conditions of African Americans despite legislative victories such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This tension resulted in the rise of black nationalism, cultural nationalism, and black power movements which influenced many young people to leave the integrationist fold. However, the two most influential black power groups the Black Panthers and partly Black Electoral Politics were not as comprehensive systems compared to the moral tactics and philosophy of Dr. King. Nonetheless, these black power movements, along with Malcolm X who will be discussed in part 2 of We Shall Overcome, have certainly captured the imagination of many young people while inspiring a black artistic and cultural movement to contribute to black expression and excellence even if their approach was somewhat limited when compared to integration.
Still, integration was meant for the meaningful realization of full equality and equity with whites and it was clear that Western civilization not only has structural political and economic barriers to the advancement of colored people, it was also in a crisis. This is why, after 1966, Dr. King viewed that black people were in danger of âintegrating into a burning house.â However, his Letter from a Birmingham Jail of 1963 stood the test of time as still relevant today to freedom fighters around the globe of the need to break unjust laws, force the moderates into action against perceived injustice, the reclamation of the social justice function of institutions or to see their degeneration, and so much more. In the next section, I will discuss some of the major movements to shift black consciousness later in the period from 1954-1975 such as Malcolm X, the black panthers, and the movement to elect black political figures many of whom were freedom fighters in the 1970s. The question is why did Malcolm X shift to a black nationalist international perspective and were these movementâs goal to protect, enrich the black community, and form an independent black politics successful in hindsight? -
This period is characterized by an intense push for equal occupational opportunities that would yield economic prosperity for all people. This would be realized after World War II where due to the efforts of a variety of labor organizers, many influenced by Marxist theories, America would enter an era of the pinnacle of its union cooperation which would correspond to a great degree of prosperity. However, there was not just a push for jobs through legal and political protections there were efforts to create a variety of new civil rights and educational legislation. Women educator and scholars also became more involved in labor organizing as time went on contributing to the massive membership of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union to 300,000. The involvement of students in this era would foreshadow future involvement of student participation in the Civil Rights movement that would be crucial to ending segregation in the south.
Asa Randolph and others relate a growing global sentiment as countries around the world urged for freedom against the chains of fascism, authoritarianism, and communism that a society is only democratic when the weakest members can exercise not just political rights but has the economic means to fend for themselves. President FDR relates to this global sentiment through his aspirations for greater equity and equality through his 1945 Economic Bill of Rights near the end of his life demanding health care, housing, a decent paying job, and more. As will see at the end of these podcasts, the political agenda of President Barack Obama, especially his passing of Universal Healthcare to provide insurance to millions of poor people and his advocacy against inequality, and efforts to end the 2008 national recession, was in many ways a fruition of this 1945 Economic Bill of Rights.
This period from 1915-1954 saw a significant growth in political consciousness not just of the masses, but also the place of black women whose recognition of the identity of black, woman, and worker is critical in recognizing a heightened political consciousness and achieving rights for all people. Moreover, the rise of Thurgood Marshal saw the translation of the social and moral principles of passed luminaries especially the abolitionists in legislation. The Harlem Renaissance was an immense cultural phenomenon which was an incubator not just for artistic expression, but also for the race question. This would influence future cultural icons like Amiri Baraka and other intellectual who would be entering a more open academic space as the McCarthyism movement subsided, allowing them to influence a whole new generation of young people. The question is what methods, which overlap, would win out not just during the Second Reconstruction of 1954-1975, but also today: nonviolent civil disobedience and the realization of the Beloved Community, conservative black nationalism, cultural nationalism, revolutionary black nationalism, or black electoral politics?
Tune in for the next video podcast to delve more deeply into these ideas.
Next Podcast Monday February 24-
Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 1 of 2
Next Podcast Monday February 25-
Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 2 of 2
Next podcast February 28 Thursday:
Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present Part 1 of 2
Next podcast Finale March 1 Friday:
Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present Part 2 of 2 -
In Section 3, I discuss some of the prominent movements and themes occurring in between two World Wars, particularly the Great Migration characterized by the movement of millions of blacks from the rural agricultural south to the urban industrial north as well as highlighting some important proponents of the Harlem Renaissance like Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes (the Shakespeare of Harlem), Paul Laurence Dunbar (who inspired the movement after passing away in 1906) and others. The Harlem Renaissance influenced the Great Migration just as the Great Migration influenced the Harlem Renaissance. Not only was there a growth in a black intelligentsia or bourgeoisie, there also was an increase in the black urban worker described in past podcasts. Denied not only political protections and equality but also entry into certain occupations, housing, credit, and capital, there would be immense organization for rights. The Declaration of Rights of the UNIA, established in Harlem, would be spearheaded by perhaps the greatest black organizer in American history Marcus Garvey, who sought not only economic advancement for blacks, but support and self help through his organization for African Americans and the black diaspora around the world. Garvey, heavily influenced by Booker T. Washington yet being way more expansive in his demands for education and political opportunity, would be skeptical of the NAACP and W.E.B Du Bois limited political actualization. However, some community organizers would take it a step further than Garvey, demanding not only a radical redistribution of wealth but world revolution. In part 2 of the Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War 1915-1954, we will see an increased proclivity, prevalence, and sympathy towards communist ideology, influenced by the 1917 Russian Revolution. Not only would blacks recognize race exploitation as tied to wider class exploitation, but in doing so they would seek solidarity with other working class whites in the fight against what Cyril V. Briggs would term "Private Capitalism."
Is such an ideology conducive to accommodating a liberal integrationist perspective of the future Civil Rights movement? In some ways yes and in some ways no. Without a doubt, this period saw not only a bursting of literary creativity and a fundamental critique of white oppression and caste democracy, it would also provide the seeds for marxist theories advocated by future leaders and intellectuals like Fred Hampton, Dr. Angela Davis, and Dr. Cornell West. The failures of the economic system, as evidenced by the Great Depression, only heightened a sentiment towards more radical and alternative economic perspectives. Is the problem corruption, capitalism, or political inequality? This would be a question that many people of this period from 1915-1954 would engage with as American after the Great Depression and World War II would enter an era of immense prosperity. However, within two decades it would be short lived.
Next video and podcast coming out Friday February 21:
Section 3- From Plantation to Ghetto: The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War, 1915-1954 Part 2 of 2
Monday February 24 will come out:
Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 1 of 2
Tuesday February 25 will come out:
Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 2 of 2
Friday February 28 will come out (either in 1 or 2 parts):
Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present -
Link to YouTube video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=StdiCf4rIFI&t=56s
In this part 2 of a 6 part series including an introduction, I discuss some of the foundational ideas behind the struggle for black liberation, economic involvement, education, and political aspirations. Leaders like Booker T. Washington rose to prominence during this period advocating self help, economic reliance, business development, and racial accomodation. Others more critical of his outlook arose demanding not just political equality, but an entire referendum on a system that denied the most basic of rights whether that was equal health, education, or housing. These discussions, held at such forums as the Niagara Movement and spearheaded by numerous leaders such as most notably W.E.B. Du Bois, would boast a whole host of educators, clergy, and intellectuals. This would provide the genesis not only for future movements whether that was movements to end occupational discrimination in the next section or even further down the road where demands for participatory democracy would be pushed during the height of the Civil Rights movement, but also were critical to the formation of the most important African American advocacy organization of the 20th century the NAACP.
Frederick Douglas and others didn't just demand the right to vote, but full political equality, foreshadowing that if blacks were unable to push for it now they would have to wait for a century for the same disposition and circumstances. Clergy such as Alexander Crummell would speak to the importance of fraternity and morality underlying the push for fundamental rights inspiring later ideas of W.E.B. Du Bois. Groundbreaking educators that demanded inclusivity in more elite institutions, following Washington's sentiment, would push blacks to reach new heights academically while also getting more involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
Lastly, many blacks would set the foundation for black perspectives on socialism that would be very prevalent in the next section 1915-1954 such as Hubert Henry Harrison who would recognize through deep study that race exploitation not only is seated in class exploitation, but also that the controllers of the means of production benefit from the division of the proletariat. Of course, the renowned reporter Ida B. Wells would set the gold standard for investigative journalism and whistleblowing concerning the systemic and institutional racism of the Jim Crow South and establishment. Critique of the white establishment as well as inspiration for immense creativity in the arts and music through the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s would be inspired by such figures as the poet and intellectual Paul Laurence Dunbar.
These ideas would set the foundation for a whole new generation barred from political involvement in 1901, seeking the vote, socio-economic development, political protections, and purpose in a world that sought their subjugation. As we go into the next section, it is clear that there aren't only new educational opportunities, but also that organized labor was not going to give up the fight. The repression of blacks would not only force people to take on more radical agitational outlooks, but also resulted in swaying many towards socialism. However, for doing so there would be immense consequences. It was clear that as the divide grew, more radical black revolutionary nationalism would surface and there would be a paradigm shift among many leaders in the future just as it occurred through the most prominent black leader of this period Booker T. Washington.3. Next podcast Thursday February 20: Section 3- From Plantation to Ghetto: The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War, 1915-1954
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Hello to my audience, friends, and family this is India Insight with Sunny Sharma. If you enjoyed this podcast please follow, share, like, and subscribe for future episodes.
Link to YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukxoY3KSJA
My channel is called Sunny Sharma@IndiaInsightMovement
In honor of black history month and President Lincoln's birthday today (February 12), I discuss the significance of President Lincoln's legacy from my point of view as well as many of the most important black intellectual social and political ideas and thoughts from the period the Foundations: Slavery and Abolitionism, 1768-1861 in the book Let Nobody Turn Us Around (LNTUA): An African American Anthology
President Lincoln's exercise of executive authority and war powers as well as his ability to navigate the complexity of political postering in the Legislative Branch allowed him to successfully abolish the institution of slavery as a military necessity and use this action to rally thousands of black troops to his side to definitively win the war. He was a humanitarian who spoke to internal harmony and coexistence between nations as well as, most importantly, the importance of the perseveration of the project of self government. Despite making many speeches, we remember President Lincoln as being a man of action; a figure who was pivotal in our understanding of the American republic's struggle to become more inclusive politically and economically.
There were many prominent black intellectuals and abolitionists from 1768-1861 who were not just spiritually inspired and motivated to end slavery, but also to live up the the aspirations of the constitution. Many of the prominent black women of this period set the foundational ideas for black feminist thought that future intellectuals would engage with. The men on the other hand would set the fundamental ideas of black nationalism that such figures as Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X would bring to the forefront of their discourse. As a whole, most of these figures were not asking for a revolution and respected private property, they merely wanted a seat at the table. Those more disappointed with America's hypocrisy spoke of the need to return to Africa such as Martin Delany who advocated "Africa for Africans." The repercussions of the more dominant integrationist perspective over black nationalism would influence future leaders, at least for the beginning of their life, like Dr. King and Booker T. Washington to dominate the public discourse in favor of education and hard work as the vehicle for advancement vs more radical political and economic redistribution.
However, many of these figures would shift their paradigm as time went on not just to demand political equality, but more economic opportunity for those generationally disadvantaged.
In the next podcast episode, we see some of these tensions such as W.E.B. Du Bois perspective for a radical contract of political, economic, health, education, the end of Jim Crow Segregation, and more through the Declaration of the Niagara Movement vs. Booker T. Washington's advocacy for self-help, business development, and racial accommodation while ignoring political advancement.
Black History Month February Coming up: The five part podcast on Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology
1. Section 1- Foundations: Slavery and Abolitionism, 1768-1861
2. Next podcast: Section 2- Reconstruction and Reaction: The Aftermath of Slavery and the Dawn of Segregation, 1861-1915
3. Section 3- From Plantation to Ghetto: The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War, 1915-1954
4. Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975
5. Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-America
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Youtube video link: https://youtu.be/VD2hV906mP8
In honor of Black History Month in February, I want to share some of the most important insights I have learned from the book Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology (collection of essays and short speeches on black social and political thought primarily pertaining to the black struggle for liberation). This is part one, the intro, and the following 5 parts highlight 5 periods of American history since 1768 around the founding of the republic in 1776 all the way up to the seminal election of Barack Obama (who boasted a rainbow coalition) to the presidency of the United States of America in 2008.
This almost 250 year history represents the black struggle for freedom and political advancement such as fulfilling the maximum privileges of participatory democracy as was the final goal of the democratic project (encompassing the previous fulfillment of political democracy in the 1850s through the first Reconstruction era and the aspirations for social democracy in the 1930s and 1940s). I point this out in the podcast
The book argues that we must reexamine the place of black women in the black liberation struggle, insisting that their contribution to the advancement of liberty for all people is severely understated. Nonetheless, there are many unsung male and female heroes including presidents who helped or thwarted democratic aspirations for all people.
Black History Month February Coming up: The five part podcast on Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology
1. Stay tuned for next podcast Wednesday February 12 Lincolnâs birthday: Section 1- Foundations: Slavery and Abolitionism, 1768-1861
2. Section 2- Reconstruction and Reaction: The Aftermath of Slavery and the Dawn of Segregation, 1861-1915
3. Section 3- From Plantation to Ghetto: The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War, 1915-1954
4. Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975
5. Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present
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Link to youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UulsDFqqqXQ
Hello to my audience, friends, and family this is India Insight with Sunny Sharma. I am super excited to have one of the most prominent Indian intellectuals of the modern era on my podcast
As you have must have heard some of my audio podcasts that I have been doing for the past 4 years, Iâm privileged today for my first ever video visual podcast to have an intellectual trendsetter in the areas of quantum computing, linguistic connections between ancient cultures, ancient Vedic ideas of cosmology, physics, and science, history revisionism, and so much more.
Dr. Subhash Kak is Regents Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. His legacy speaks for itself.
He has authored and co-authored at least 20 books on a variety of topics. He was awarded the Science Medal of the Indian National Science Academy in the autumn of 1977 at the Indian Science Congress given to him by Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Moreover, he was awarded the title of Vishwa Hindu by Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swami, the spiritual head of Avadhoota Datta Peetham, a major center for Vedic studies and spiritual life on May 20, 2007. In 2019, Dr. Kak was awarded the very prestigious Padma Shri for his immense contributions in multiple areas of expertise.
I highly recommend for my audience to learn a little bit more about his intellectual legacy and trajectory throughout his career to read his book In the Circle of Memory: An Autobiography.
Also in stores is his most recent book this year is The Age of Artificial Intelligence. -
Season 8 Episode 3
The true spirit of industry and capitalism is emblematic of choice and to reflect that idea means there must be a multiparty system in America and the world.
The growth of special interests means there must be a counteracting force to serve the interests and grievances of everyday workers and taxpayers. This is the genesis of the need for new parties to come on the seen to serve the many different needs, perspectives, and ideologies of a diverse community of people. There must be a movement of organized labor to petition for not just for better standards of living and economic opportunity but also to secure our fundamental rights and liberties in every generation. Students of Indian, American, and other national histories know this too well.
The problem in America, is that the average citizen not only does not know the essential importance of new parties throughout US history, but they have also been conditioned to believe and rely upon a lie; the two party system is the only means to achieving their fundamental needs and wants. Third parties have served essential functions in garnering support for new policy agendas and perpetuating them to the forefront of federal and local discourse. Like many social movements, they have shifted the moral narrative to include more and more people to get involved in the political process.
Madison understood that party spirit would be inevitable, but he wasn't a fortune teller. Nonetheless, he was one of the only founders to be involved with both major parties during his day, the Federalists and the Democrat-Republican Party. He saw the necessity of parties to offer diffing points of views and emphasis on particular goals in what President Barack Obama calls the "arena of ideas" so as Madison understood the most popular ideas would come to the forefront.
Many questions still remain. Did Madison believe such types of popular democracy were more effective than age old ideas of the primacy of aristocracy and oligarchies? Many people would say no; the founding fathers did not believe in such types of democracy, rather those most knowledgable and entrusted with the reigns of power should steer the course of a nation.
That is for our generation to figure out: Does democracy function better when more people are involved or should those more "capable" decide how political decisions are made? I for one believe a multiparty system both gets more people involved while simultaneously, in President Obama's words, encourages more capable individuals to enter the political arena and discourse as too socially and culturally reform society for the better. -
The dangers of political parties, why we are so partisan in the modern era, and potential solutions to the problem.
I further extrapolate on what the American founding fathers, especially James Madison, knew about political parties including the costs and benefits and why their 18th century arguments are still relevant today. I also point out that in hindsight that they were not able to predict all of the historical outcomes in American history including the growth of multinational corporation, special interests, bureaucracy, technocratic overreach, and the expansion of executive power, but nonetheless Madison set the constitutional framework of society to regulate the passions of men and injustice so reason prevails.
For an aside not mentioned, Madison's decision to outline the Bill of Rights as mere Amendments was a debatable decision that was perhaps rooted in the potential danger of people utilizing and abusing their rights to oppress others or target government institutions. He thus had to balance the needs for the stability of government with the rights of the everyday citizen just as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had to do as the first law minister of India in the mid-1900s.
The essential question for our era (as well as other eras in American history) is can the power of money be overcome by public sentiment and free men and women? Can organized power in the hands of certain people counter organized tyranny and what are the potential dangers of this?
Please follow, share, and subscribe to my podcast for future episodes whether that is standalone podcasts or group discussion I do with my elder, informative, and insightful cousins Vinni and Tinku who live in Bangalore, India.
Following my podcast encourages me to make new episodes to educate the public, but especially to educate myself on American, Indian, and other relevant historical and political ideas.
Please tune in for my next podcast Season 8 episode 3 which I will release on Saturday January 11 called Why America and the world need a Multiparty System.
Now letâs get started on this part 2 discussion on Political Parties: -
For the first episode of season 8 I explain that despite the fact that the American founding fathers were not party men, the Constitution in many ways facilitates the rise of parties and factions. This was the genius of Madison; creating a system of checks and balances whereby special interests would inevitably develop, but "ambition would counter ambition" ensuring that enterprising men would not take advantage of the majority nor the majority take advantage of the minority.
I examine many of the most relevant warnings the American founding fathers, especially the Architect of the American Constitution James Madison, gave about factions and political parties and why they are certainly still relevant today.
If you enjoyed this episode please follow and subscribe to my podcast for future standalone episodes on Indian and American history, news, and politics as well as discussions I have with my two elder, insightful, and informative cousins who live in India Vinni and Tinku.
I will be releasing a part 2 to complement this discussion on the dangers of factions and political parties where I outline some of the reasons why modern-day society has become so partisan while also advising some potential solutions to the problem of parties in America.
Supporting my podcast encourages me to make new episodes so if you enjoy what I'm producing please follow and share with others. -
Exalting upon high the principle of liberty to smash the pedestal upon which the principle of avaricious profit lays.
Tune in to hear my case for the need for our society to dedicate itself to the principle of liberty in an era of growing inequality. I take inspiration from many of the greatest human rights icons, educators, and leaders of the modern eras such as President Obama, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Georges Bernanos, Michelle Alexander and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR).
It was becoming increasingly apparent to many people that America was slowly becoming a plutocracy in the late 19th century. Today that is a definite truth. I try to make the case that a society can be dedicated to either liberty or profit, not both at the same time. I also discuss the problems with vested economic interests having power over ethical implications as well as the dangers of tyranny of the majority/mobs, and increased polarization being directly correlated with increased income inequality. Moreover, job insecurity makes it more difficult to people to unionize as people are dissuaded by their bosses who own the means of production.
Since the American New Left Movement 1950-1975 there was a strong student and minority movement demanding rights and a more egalitarian society. Today, there is a strong corporate backlash to this movement that has resulted in a shift in power towards big business also fueled by the growth in multinational corporations and globalization.
It was not only the original 1st Amendment from the Bill of Rights and 14th Amendment founded at the beginning of Reconstruction that provided protections and judicial precedent there were also the consumer protection laws passed by FDR to provide a social safety net well into the 1960s. Much of this apparatus was dismantled and some of it was recovered under the Obama administration in response to the 2008 recession. The 2011 Occupy Wall Street Movement was sparked by the disillusionment by young people faced with college loans, unemployment, and a housing crisis.
I discuss these issues in the podcast and how the spirit of youth in our generation will exalt the principle of liberty to act on our conscience through a grassroots movement to regulate the spirit of avarice due to our societies material decadence and dedication to profit in the current era. -
President Barack Obama and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar were not just impeccable social reformers, but they were also unprecedented leaders for their time. It is difficult to compare them, but in every regard they were constitutional experts and trendsetters.
They put their theoretical education into practical organizing: President Obama organized the very first true social media presidential campaign in history; Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar created two political parties, one for the labor classes, and one for Dalits (both which represent the subaltern classes). Nonetheless, both leaders stand on the shoulder of giants whether that was Civil Rights icons as Bayard Rustin or Harold Washington or social reformer as the Buddha and FDR.
They sought to live up to the values not just of the US Constitution, but also of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity which is commonly derived by many great people in history.
Moreover, they predicted and forecasted many of the problems which I outline such as the dangers of tribalism. -
Tune in to part 1 of a 5 part series I will be making on the significance of the legacy of Abraham Lincoln the 16th president of the United States who united America during its Civil War, emancipated the slaves, and gave meaning, more so than any American (or even world leader) to America's experiment in self government and humanitarianism.
I rely heavily and recommend Doris Kearns Goodwins seminal book on Lincoln called Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
If I reach 20 downloads for every subsequent podcast including this one I will continue to release new podcast episodes on President Lincoln. -
President Lincoln stayed true to himself till his assassination leaving the grandest legacy by any leader in not only the 19th century but perhaps all of the modern era. Through his leadership and moral example, he gave a renewed meaning to democracy and social justice for America and the world watched America during their time of challenge, evaluating whether America, the first democracy's experiment in self government would endure. President Lincoln outlines not only this challenge in his Gettysburg Address, but reassures the American people that American democracy by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth.
President Lincoln was not the greatest general in history though he taught himself the rules of war and he certainly was not the greatest statesman though he was a practicing politicians, but he indeed was the greatest humanitarian of the modern era, who through his leadership of the Union and emancipation of slaves, was an impeccable icon of freedom. He played the central and most pivotal role in Americas darkest hour and in doing so made justice triumphant to so many who have been exploited and marginalized. Every generation must give renewed meaning to freedom and justice and in doing so President Lincoln gave America the room to breathe again opening the door to a whole new generation of activists and leaders. Thats why he mattered. -
Over time the legend of President Lincoln has only grown larger. A man, through his very goodness became great by which he represented the true ideals of democratic self government as outlined by the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence. As the Leader of America, he took it upon himself to impress upon his people, political cabinet, and political general his policy, personality, and force of character. Through the navigation of a complex military and political problem of the Civil War, President Lincoln demonstrated not only his diplomatic ability, but also his stern conviction to forgive the bloodshed so America can have a new birth of freedom.
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At the end of the war, President Lincoln, through the establishment of certain stipulations for the Southern Rebels to be brought back into the Confederacy, made the Emancipation of the Slaves the Cornerstone of Reconstruction in the South. Through his determination and personality, Lincoln he had won the affections and popular support of the American people. Moreover, he took a conciliatory route to resolving the war so as to tamper down any vitriol and vengeance on both sides. This was indeed the most costly war in American history. It is clear that Lincoln was wise and prudent with every step he took and through his love of the people on both sides he wanted all Americans to heal from the conflict.
Along with one of the most renowned orators in American history Frederick Douglas and a legacy of freedom fighting abolitionist since the first slaves were brought to the Americas, President Lincoln not only gave meaning to the humanitarian efforts to abolish slavery, he also set the precedent for the true founding of American democracy through the Three Reconstruction Amendments (1865-1870), the 13th abolition of slavery, 14th Equal Protection Clause for all US citizens, and 15th Amendment granting all citizens the right to vote.
To this day we are still fighting for their realization not just politically but socially. - Montre plus
