#haiti stolen wealth
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On January 12, 2010, the Caribbean nation of Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake, which took more than 100,000 lives and left 200,000+ injured and 900,000+ homeless — about 10 percent of the country’s population.
It was one of the Western hemisphere’s greatest natural disasters, and nations like the United States rushed to the aid of Haiti — one of the world’s poorest nations — to help the country’s citizens recover and rebuild.
The Obama administration, working via Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appointed former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush coordinators of U.S. relief efforts. Bill Clinton specifically was put in charge of billions of dollars that flowed from the U.S. and other nations to Haiti.
To date, the U.S. alone has given over $3.1 billion via its United States Agency for International Development (USAID) organization — which works out to more than $300 for each Haitian citizen.
Who benefited from all this aid? Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost no Haitians.
More than six years after the disaster, much damage and ruin from the calamity are still in evidence. Many of those made homeless are still without permanent housing.
Almost none of the money given in aid ended up going to the people who need it the most — instead, it went to foreign governments, private companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Red Cross.
The Red Cross alone took in as much as $486 million for relief efforts yet ended up building a mere six homes in its relief efforts, as a recent audit of that organization’s efforts discovered. (It should be noted that the CEO of the American Red Cross, Gail McGovern, receives a salary of more than $1,000,000 per year.)
One-third of each of the USAID dollars went to reimbursing the U.S. military for its intervention actions. More than $220 million went to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about $150 million went to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and $350 million went straight back to USAID. By some estimates, only one cent of every dollar made it to the government of Haiti.
For other countries helping with relief efforts, the split was similar. After accounting for militaries, civilian entities, NGOs, private contractors and the Red Cross, as little as one percent of the money made it to the Haitian government.
In the wake of the disaster, the government of Haiti set up the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), co-chaired by Bill Clinton and former Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. Nearly 1500 government contracts were awarded to companies providing relief aid.
The U.S. Ambassador to Haiti at the time, Kenneth Merten, sent a cable to Hillary Clinton’s State Department entitled, “The Gold Rush Is On.” Out of the nearly 1500 contracts, just 23 were awarded to Haitian companies — nearly 40 percent of the contracts were awarded to companies in the Washington, D.C. area.
A number of members of the IHRC later wrote a letter saying that it was Clinton and Bellerive who made many of the most important monetary decisions early in the recovery process, effectively shutting them out.
A number of Haitian groups even had trouble getting into the meetings where discussions about the aid were ongoing; most of the meetings were not held or translated into Creole, one of the two national languages of Haiti.
Many claimed that numerous decisions were not made in Haitians’ best interests. Many groups further claimed that the Clintons were closely connected to individuals who benefitted highly from government contracts following the earthquake.
One of those close connections was Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien, the founder of cellphone company Digicel, which set up an emergency method for Haitians to transfer money via their cellphones. Digicel received millions of dollars in money from USAID for this effort.
Clinton appointed O’Brien the chairman of the Haiti Action Network, an outreach program of the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative. In a cover story in Esquire magazine, Bill Clinton was quoted as saying, “Wouldn’t it be great if [Haiti] became the first [100%] wireless nation in the world? They could, I’m telling you; they really could.”
While the former president’s vision did not effectively come to pass, Digicel was able to earn a tidy $50 million from their disaster-recovery efforts in just six months. By 2012, the company had managed to take over 80 percent of the country’s cellphone market and made more money in Haiti than in any of the firm’s other global divisions.
In the meantime, Bill Clinton gave a $225,000 speech at an event Digicel sponsored in Jamaica while O’Brien made multimillion-dollar donations to the Bill and Hillary’s Clinton Foundation.
In an article on the earthquake by reporter Janet Reitman of Rolling Stone, it was reported that another contractor in Haiti was New York-based consulting firm Dalberg Global Development Advisors.
Reitman’s article found that Dalberg’s staff “had never lived overseas, didn’t have any disaster experience or background in urban planning… never carried out any program activities on the ground…” and only one of the team spoke French, the other official language of Haiti. USAID looked at their work and “it became clear that these people may not have even gotten out of their SUVs.”
In Peter Schweizer’s best-selling book-turned-film Clinton Cash, it was revealed that Hillary Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham received one of only two rare gold mining permits granted by the Haitian government in the last 50 years.
Rodham’s tiny company, VCS Mining (which at the time had scant mining experience), had a heavyweight board that included — surprise — Bill Clinton and the IHRC’s Jean-Max Bellerive. VCS received a sweetheart deal from the Haitian government, to whom it would only owe royalties of 2.5 percent, a rate that’s less than half of a standard contract, according to many in the mining industry.
Not only that, but VCS received the right to renew its contract for 25 years. In court testimony published by The New York Times, Rodham was quoted as saying, “I deal through the Clinton Foundation. That gets me in touch with Haitian officials. I hound my brother-in-law [Bill Clinton] because it’s his fund that we’re going to get our money from. And he can’t do it until the Haitian government does it.”
Yet another deal the Clintons made was for a Korean manufacturer named Sae-A to set up factories in a business zone called the Caracol Industrial Park. The opening of Caracol was a splashy event, with both of the Clintons in attendance along with fashion designer Donna Karan and celebrities Ben Stiller and Sean Penn.
As it turns out, Sae-A manufactures apparel for U.S. brands (such as Donna Karan’s) who happen to be big supporters of the Clintons. At the time, the State Department said that Caracol would provide 65,000 jobs to the Haitian community; to date, only 5,000 of those jobs have materialized.
As Schweizer points out, nearly all of the contracts that the Haitian government approved in the wake of the disaster touched the Clintons in some way; without a relationship with the couple, a company or organization was virtually guaranteed to be shut out of being able to provide goods or services.
The Clintons’ eponymous Foundation was one of the first organizations to commit to helping to rebuild in Haiti. However, much of their multimillion-dollar relief efforts amounted to little more than assisting with (and in some cases donating money directly to) the construction of luxury hotels in the country, including at least one Marriott franchise operation owned by the aforementioned owner of Digicel, Denis O’Brien.
Very recently, the former president of the Haitian Senate, Bernard Sansaricq, issued a statement blasting the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation. It reads:
Sadly, when an earthquake rocked the nation of Haiti in 2010, corruption moved in faster than the help so desperately needed. Today, the people of Haiti are still suffering despite the billions of dollars that have flowed into the Clinton Foundation.
The Clintons exploited this terrible disaster to steal billions of dollars from the sick and starving people of Haiti. The world trusted the Clintons to help the Haitian people during their most desperate time of need and they were deceived.
The Clintons and their friends are richer today while millions still live in tents. The world deserves to know where the money went and why help was never sent.
Sansaricq further went on to say that Bill Clinton had attempted to bribe him prior to the 1994 U.S. military invasion of Haiti. Sansaricq was strongly against the planned invasion, and then-President Clinton sent former Congressman Bill Richardson of New Mexico to talk to Sansaricq.
When Sansaricq refused to back down, the American Embassy in Haiti dispatched an anonymous messenger to Sansaricq with a message that if Sansaricq were to side with Bill Clinton, he would be made “the richest man in Haiti.” When Sansaricq refused the bribe, his U.S. visa was revoked.
Sansaricq has subsequently called for an audit of the Clinton Foundations’ efforts in Haiti.
In addition to these operations, the United Nations was also involved early on in the struggle to rebuild Haiti. While much of its work was helpful, the organization’s endeavors were blamed for an outbreak of cholera in October of 2010, nine months after the earthquake.
The cholera plague lasted for years amidst relief and vaccination efforts and ultimately was one of the most horrific outbreaks of the scourge in the last 40 years, infecting more than 780,000 Haitians. To date, nearly 10,000 Haitians are estimated to have died as a direct result of the epidemic.
Initially, the UN denied responsibility, but investigators from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Doctors Without Borders and Harvard University all confirmed the septic waste of the UN mission as the original source of the disease; even Bill Clinton confirmed the UN link.
For its part, the UN tried to downplay the former president’s statements, saying, “In relation to former President Clinton’s reported remarks to the press this week in Haiti, we note that he emphasized the importance of focusing on improving Haiti’s sanitation system and the fact that the United Nations and others are working hard to do this.”
Cholera epidemics such as the one that has afflicted Haiti are often multi-year incidents that do not go away; they resurge and can kill dozens more people year after year without heavy-duty treatment and repairs to an area’s plumbing infrastructure.
It’s essential that this critical infrastructure be repaired or installed, but even prior to the earthquake, only one in five Haitians had access to a real toilet, and two in five did not have access to clean water. After Clinton connected the UN to the cholera outbreak, the Clinton Global Initiative committed to building a multi-billion dollar Permanent Diarrhea Training and Treatment Center for Haiti. As of February 2015, the Center remained unbuilt.
In 2016, a bipartisan committee in Congress led by Republican Representative Mia Love of Utah (who is herself of Haitian descent) wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry criticizing the slow U.S. response to the cholera outbreak. More than 150 members of Congress signed the letter.
In the meantime, the UN has stated it will not pay damages, accept lawsuits or trials for its actions due to the cholera epidemic in Haiti, claiming it is protected under a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) it signed with corrupt and brutal former Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
An examination of the Clinton Foundation’s website today shows no updates on Haiti since July 2015 and the total amount raised for Haiti as just $30 million. Perhaps the Clintons are too busy waiting for the world’s next disaster while Hillary Clinton courts more money for her campaign to be president.
#The Clintons and Haiti: What’s the Real Story?#haiti#clintons#haiti stolen wealth#clinton haiti theft#haitian earthquake#sofa#un#clinton foundation
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Levy Uyeda: All of the U.S., or Turtle Island, is Indigenous land. LANDBACK, or the return of this land, is taking place across the country, interpersonally and at all levels of government. I was thinking about what we might see in the future—beyond returning land when it’s convenient for the U.S. hegemony, or when land is returned out of guilt, or after industry has been allowed to degrade the land. I’m wondering if you might be able to talk about what LANDBACK would look like if it was risking dominant power structures and why it’s imperative to return land not just when it’s easy.
Tilsen: This country talks about democracy, it talks about justice, and yet this entire country was built on the stolen lands of Native people, and the impact of that is extreme humanitarian and human rights issues. Look at the life expectancy of people in my own community of Pine Ridge; it’s 48 for men and 52 for women. That’s the lowest in the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of Haiti. These poverty conditions were directly created by political and economic systems created by the U.S. government and imposed on Indigenous people. If we’re going to reverse those things—create economic inclusion, close the racial wealth gap, and start improving the determinants of health of the most-impacted people, then we need to be looking at structural change. So we can’t just take the easy route. You can’t just take what is most politically possible in the present time. We have to, as a nation, exceed our own expectations in order to rebuild this country in a just and equitable way. We have to push ourselves.
I think one of the big issues is right here in the Black Hills, which is one of the biggest land legal battles throughout the history of the U.S. We have exhausted our remedies. We went all the way to the Supreme Court of the U.S., which said the stealing of the Black Hills and the violation of our treaties was illegal and a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Yet the land hasn’t been returned. We say return the land to make it right.
this is such a good interview, highly recommend. also i haven't listened to it yet, but in the interview they discuss the NDN collective's new podcast LANDBACK For the People
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Live Chat - Jasmine - Why is
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20 Most Corrupt Politicians per ChatGPT:
1. Ferdinand Marcos - Philippines: Ferdinand Marcos served as the President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He and his wife, Imelda Marcos, are widely known for their extravagant lifestyle and massive corruption. They embezzled an estimated $5-10 billion from the Philippine treasury during their regime.
2. Sani Abacha - Nigeria: Sani Abacha was the military dictator of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He is considered one of the most corrupt leaders in Nigerian history, amassing an estimated $4 billion through embezzlement and money laundering.
3. Mobutu Sese Seko - Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo): Mobutu ruled Zaire for over 30 years, from 1965 to 1997. He is known for his extreme corruption, embezzling an estimated $5 billion from the country's treasury. He used the stolen funds to finance his luxurious lifestyle.
4. Alberto Fujimori - Peru: Alberto Fujimori served as the President of Peru from 1990 to 2000. He was convicted of numerous corruption charges, including embezzlement and bribery. He fled to Japan in 2000 but was extradited to Peru in 2007 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
5. Slobodan Milosevic - Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro): Slobodan Milosevic was the President of Yugoslavia from 1989 to 2000. He was charged with numerous war crimes, but his regime was also marked by widespread corruption and embezzlement. He died in 2006 while on trial for his crimes.
6. Silvio Berlusconi - Italy: Silvio Berlusconi served as the Prime Minister of Italy for three non-consecutive terms (1994-1995, 2001-2006, 2008-2011). He faced numerous corruption allegations throughout his political career, including tax fraud, bribery, and abuse of power.
7. Joseph Estrada - Philippines: Joseph Estrada served as the President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001. He was impeached and later convicted of plunder, a form of corruption, for allegedly amassing wealth through illegal means. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but was later pardoned.
8. Thaksin Shinawatra - Thailand: Thaksin Shinawatra served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. He faced allegations of corruption, abuse of power, and conflicts of interest. He was eventually ousted in a military coup in 2006.
9. Carlos Menem - Argentina: Carlos Menem served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. His presidency was marred by numerous corruption scandals, including allegations of illegal arms sales and embezzlement. He faced multiple trials but was never convicted.
10. Jacob Zuma - South Africa: Jacob Zuma served as the President of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He faced multiple corruption allegations, including charges of fraud, racketeering, and money laundering. Zuma's presidency was marked by widespread corruption and state capture.
11. Hosni Mubarak - Egypt: Hosni Mubarak was the President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. His regime was characterized by extensive corruption, with his family and close associates amassing significant wealth through embezzlement and bribery. Mubarak was eventually ousted during the Arab Spring protests.
12. Park Geun-hye - South Korea: Park Geun-hye served as the President of South Korea from 2013 to 2017. She was impeached and later convicted on charges of corruption, abuse of power, and bribery. Park was involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to widespread protests.
13. Vladimir Putin - Russia: Vladimir Putin has been the President of Russia since 1999, with a brief interruption from 2008 to 2012 when he served as Prime Minister. While allegations of corruption surround Putin and his inner circle, concrete evidence is challenging to obtain due to the lack of transparency in Russia's political system.
14. Jean-Claude Duvalier - Haiti: Jean-Claude Duvalier, also known as "Baby Doc," served as the President of Haiti from 1971 to 1986. His regime was characterized by widespread corruption, embezzlement, and human rights abuses. Duvalier and his family amassed an estimated $300-800 million through illicit means.
15. Ehud Olmert - Israel: Ehud Olmert served as the Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009. He was convicted of corruption charges, including bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Olmert was sentenced to prison and served 16 months.
16. Carlos Salinas de Gortari - Mexico: Carlos Salinas de Gortari served as the President of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. His administration was marred by corruption scandals, including the alleged embezzlement of billions of dollars from the Mexican government. Salinas's brother, Raul Salinas, was also involved in corruption and money laundering.
17. Alberto K. Fujimori - Peru: Alberto K. Fujimori, the father of Alberto Fujimori mentioned earlier, served as the President of Peru from 1990 to 2000. He faced numerous corruption charges, including bribery, embezzlement, and human rights abuses. Fujimori fled to Japan in 2000 but was extradited to Peru in 2007 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
18. Carlos Andrés Pérez - Venezuela: Carlos Andrés Pérez served as the President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. He was impeached during his second term on charges of embezzlement and misuse of public funds. Pérez was later convicted and sentenced to prison.
19. Charles Taylor - Liberia: Charles Taylor was the President of Liberia from 1997 to 2003. He was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for war crimes and crimes against humanity, but his regime was also marked by widespread corruption and embezzlement of state resources.
20. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva - Brazil: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula, served as the President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010. He was convicted of corruption charges, including money laundering and bribery. Lula was sentenced to prison but was released in 2019 after spending over a year behind bars.
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Plutocracy examples
Forfeits Over $480 Million Stolen by Former Nigerian Dictator in Largest Forfeiture Ever Obtained Through a Kleptocracy Action.” The United States Department of Justice, August 7, 2014. “Late Nigerian Dictator Looted Nearly $500 Million, Swiss Say.” The New York Times, August 19, 2004.Since plutocracy is not a recognized political philosophy or form of government. A common characteristic of plutocracy is the frequent enactment of government policies that benefit the wealthy, often at the expense of the lower classes. “"Marcos plundered to 'protect' the economy? Makes no economic sense.” Rappler, September 11, 2017. Plutocracy is a term describing a society governed either directly or indirectly by extremely wealthy people. “Philippines still seeks $1 billion in Marcos wealth 30 years after his ouster.” Reuters, February 24, 2016. Sent After Quake.” The New York Times, March 23, 1977. “Nicaraguans Accused of Profiteering on Help the U. “Papa Doc, Baby Doc: Haiti and the Duvaliers.” Blackwell Pub, December 1, 1988, ISBN-10: 0631165797. “Kleptocracy and Anti-Communism: When Mobutu Ruled Zaire.” Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training.“Noriega: A Skilled Dealer With U.S.” The New York Times, February 7, 1988. “The Rise of Kleptocracy: Laundering Cash, Whitewashing Reputations.” Journal of Democracy, January 2018. “Kleptocracy and Divide-and-Rule: A Model of Personal Rule.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Through acts of embezzlement, bribery, or outright misappropriation of public funds, kleptocrats enrich themselves and their families at the expense of the general population. Recent examples of confirmed kleptocracies include Congo under Joseph Mobutu Haiti under “Baby Doc” Duvalier Nicaragua under Anastasio Somoza the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos and Nigeria under Sani Abacha.Ĭoming from the Ancient Greek word “klepto” meaning “theft” and “cracy” meaning “rule,” kleptocracy means “rule by thieves,” and is used to describe governments whose leaders misuse their power to steal from their people.In contrast to plutocracy-government by the wealthy-the leaders of kleptocracies enrich themselves after taking power.Kleptocracy tends to occur in poor countries under authoritarian forms of government where the people lack the political power and financial resources to prevent it.A kleptocracy is a form of government in which the rulers use the power of their positions to steal from the people.
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The mythology of the Siren, Mermaid, Water Spirits & Mami Wata and it’s origins within black feminity.
Today I had to listen to other another black woman rant about how mermaids/sirens/mami wata are evil low key. So this educational post was born in response.
Did you really think the divine essence of the black feminine wouldn’t protect itself ? That energy exists for a reason. Suddenly it’s evil, to have teeth and protect yourself from predators. Water is a precious resource. You will be tested to see if you are deserving of it or not. Also these spirits will defend natural resources so they don’t get fucked up by human greed.
It’s common for some places in Africa for people to offer the Sirens/Mami Wata/Water spirits or make an offerings/contracts with them in order to use the resources on their land. It also keeps the white ppl away too because they cause so much trouble.
Sirens are also associated with being the killers of children and men, but often this is completely misrepresented intentionally.
Men fear the power of the siren because she can override the patriarchy at core and can completely unravel them. The orgins of many water spirits lie in matriachal societies, temples divine feminine and motherhood. This is why temples and sacred magikal knowledge was intentionally destroyed and stolen, especially to empower the white patriarch.
Sirens are also described as thiefs of children and child killers. Sirens have been known to kidnap kids who were being abused or have were murdered near water and take them to their kingdom to restore them.
Sometimes the child returns, sometimes they are not. However in general they are big on kidnapping people, mostly women and giving them powers, if they decide to return. The idea of them eating and killing children, was a lie perpetuated by Greeks to cover up some truly horrific acts. Unfortunate these false accusations have been allowed to continue to perpetuate.
If a siren is acting in a predatory way, there is a reason why as their energy as been disturbed. Sirens are natural guardians.
So the real question is . . . what did you do ? Did you destroy their habitat ? Abuse a child or a person ? Commit an egregious act against a woman ie rape/murder etc ? Disrespect a sacred place, the land, the seas or rivers ? Steal precious resources that weren’t yours to take ?
These sacred traditions are more than just deities, spirits and our ancestors. All forms of ATR are access to our spiritual mind state as an entire community. When you move in Vodou, you can sense the whole of black consciousness and all of our problem spots, specifically areas that need healing.
Oxum-Oshun, Olokun, Yemaya, the Mami Wata, La Baliene, La Siren, Met Agwe, The Simbi - these are all spirits with a connection to waters. Water is life and has always been inherently associated feminine energy. I’m not going into detail about all these cross connections but let’s chat about La Sirene, specifically.
La Sirene, Queen of all Mermaids is more than just a powerful sorceress and queen of song/music and dreams, she is also a keeper of secrets an a guardian of sacred memories & knowledge.
Many of the souls of slaves, from the Transatlantic slave trade that were thrown off the boats into the ocean are her children, citizens and warriors now. She comforts them eternally & they live in paradise. That doesn’t mean all of these souls are at rest, plenty continuously ask their mother if they will be avenged, especially the young children. She also has a close connection with the Indigenous Taino. The isle of Hispaniola also known as Haiti (Ayiti) & the Dominican Republic is her most known domain.
Let’s not act like slavery and colonization was a cake walk. Rape was common place and mermaids, water spirits offered African and Indigenous women protection and power over men. They became demonized overtime for their hypnotic powers and killing men, who often overstepped their boundaries. Women could leave offerings to these spirits, work or commune with them and be quickly avenged or gain great power and wealth. All of this was threatening to the white patriarchal standard.
La Sirene’s presence in Haiti and other merfolk tales that float around the Caribbean/West Indies, is not without purpose. She has ties to many people and many different cultures. Her sacred symbols are global. This is why I speculate she is much older than people think. La Sirene, is a fairly young evolution. She clearly has ties to much older things. Her older names might have been lost but she has evolved, to save her self and also document other forgotten elements of history in the process. There are those who speculate that La Sirene is the embodiment of a cross mixed culture, the evolution of Indigenous & African water spirits combined, due to the excess trauma of colonization and so the Mermaid Queen was born. Others will argue that she is the Orisha Yemaya but a newer avatar of her. I hate to argue semantics but I will say this, she exists and her presence is felt to this day, all around the world.
La Sirene is often depicted as a mulatto woman with eyes like the sea but if you have been blessed to see her in dream state, she does appear sometimes as a brown or dark skinned skinned woman of possibly mixed Indigenous/African ancestry with glowing hypnotic eyes. Alot of her older depictions, deal with colorism and slavery, but as things have grown in the modern world this imagery has begun to change. However mermaids, are known for their shapeshifting powers - to truly behold her true form, is a gift reserved for the rare few.
As a keeper of the mysteries, La Sirene also access to many forgotten things in the black subconscious. The element of water is an intensely psychic sign. Water is her domain, and what is the human body 80% of? WATER! The truth does not hide from her hypnotic eyes. This sacred connection to water and her essence, also means you can track forgotten elements black history and connect to other deities/cultures who’ve had contact with her & her whole court or other black water spirits as a whole. So let’s take a short historical trip down memory lane.
The Greeks & Black women. Sirens, Aphrodite, Sibyls and other Children of Water 🧜🏾♀️
The deity Aphrodite/Venus is of Grecian and Roman legend.
A little known magikal fact is that Aphrodite/Venus is half siren. She is a child of the water, she was literally birthed this way after Uranus got his balls cut off & thrown into the sea. Much of her Venusian influence and powers of love and beauty come from this element. Now my Mambo doesn’t like mentioning it but Aphrodite, is tolerated by the oceanic court of sirens/mermaids. Any child of water, falls under the domain of the queen. La Sirene has a sort of strange fondness for her and so does Aphrodite for her. However this doesn’t mean they are best friends. It’s tentative friendship at best and comes with some perks. Aphrodite works quickly for children of water sirens and often will send mermaids to her devotees who misbehave. She has deliberately placed me around her people have pissed her off, to cause mischief. She’s quite petty but also very generous. I won’t go as far to dare and say she is in the queen’s court, but she does curry favor with the queen. Being born of water, her half siren/mermaid influence has definitely attributed to legends of her beauty in myth but also her treachery with men 🧜🏾♀️😂. She clearly also has some sort of homesickness for the world underneath the water, because many of her offerings are gifts of pearls, kisses, sea shells, beauty products etc. Anyone who serves the Mermaid Queen knows the meaning behind those gifts. If you’re a black gyal with water or siren energy and decide to work with Aphrodite, do it! If you ever irritate her, the least she’ll do is give you pimples and fuck up your skin, she won’t have the full power to completely fuck up your love life like she does with the white girls. And let me tell you, she has completely ruined some white girls lives by giving them terrible lovers or men.
The trident 🔱 is known for its connection in Greek and Hindu cultures. However La Sirene or other African water spirits are depicted carrying it, which is largely ignored in the occult world.
You can track the trident in Hinduism, with the serpent spirits, the nagas or Lord Shiva but let’s focus on it’s Grecian connection. The usage of the trident and Poseidon, even in mainstream society today is associated with him. This lets us know there is a connection between the mermaids, merfolk and La Sirene/African water spirits. Poseidon’s trident was rumored to made in Athens by the Cyclops - this is the city of Athena. So now we can track an element of black history all the way to Poseidon & Athena. Keep that in your thoughts we’ll come back to that later.
Tridents were also used ceremonially in Africa & India as well, as scepters, tribal weapons and religious symbols.
They were also associated with the sea faring people and fishing. It’s highly likely the origins of the trident are cross mixed between these two societies. Indo-African relations, go back to the Bronze age and the Indus Valley civilization. Which means traveling over by sea to reach each other was necessary. There is historical evidence of African millet being found in a Indian city Chanhudaro, including a cemetary or burial ground for African women. Maritime relations between these two groups existed before Grecian & the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasties.
Now of course there are some deranged historians that will try to whitewash history and say the trident has its origins from the labyrs but the Ancient Greeks & Africans/Indians interacted regularly. The trident also looks nothing like a labyrs, which is quite literally a double sided axe. This is one of the more painful obvious pieces of white washing and historical revisionism.
Regardless, the trident is associated with water, ceremonial/religious purposes, fishing, battling in the coliseum and the symbol of power for a few African, Black diasporian an Hindu deities.
🧜🏾♀️ Oracles & Sibyls
Some sibyls/oracles were known to be African prophetesses/Mamissi to the Mami Wata/Sirens in Africa, some were stolen or captured by Greeks or Romans, sold into slavery and made to be oracles, some of whom became quite famous in legend. Their connection to these water spirits, is what gave them their gift of prophecy. Not every sibyl or oracle was African but SOME were. This lead to the sharing and theft of sacred knowledge. It’s likely these women shared this sacred information, with their colleagues, some whom may or may not have been enslaved or kept in these temple and likely this information was traded, for their freedom, power or money etc. This gave way to the usage of sacred spirits and magick being used by men. A great example of this is the snake spirits of the genii, genius spirits (not to be mistaken with genies) and which then evolved into a diluted lesser energy in Greek society being known as daemons (not to be confused with goetic demons) Instead of a woman commanding these specific energies/spirits, the patriarchs decided that these specifics powers were only worthy of being used by men. These spirits were whitewashed, adopted into their religious practices and said to only be given to men at birth. No woman was allowed to possess them anymore.
🧜🏾♀️ The whitewashing of Medusa & Lamia.
In mainstream society these two women stories have been white washed but also to hide a very shameful history and narrative. These two were beautiful women, in older stories of black black mythology were known to be black and they were children of water & daughters of the powerful water spirit/snake/siren divine mother/feminine goddess.
Medusa was raped by the GREECIAN GOD OF THE SEA, POSEIDON and Athena covered it up, refused to avenge her and punished her by making her ugly to everyone. It’s speculated in several magikal circles that the snakes in her hair were actually dreads, due to their lack of understanding of black hair and also allegorically might have been a reference to her devotion to the fish or water snake, great mother goddess. A child of the divine feminine, mother goddess was assaulted in a temple by a man and a woman covered it up & celebrated it.
Let’s start there ... cuz this story says a lot! It’s one of the first historical cases in myth that really documents the issues that surround the black feminine specifically and it was intentionally whitewashed. Then to add insult to injury, Athena made her hideous to all men and her chopped off her head and used as a symbol of protection but also a subtle sign of disrespect to the fullest. This still goes on to this day.
In fact ALGOL, the demon star, which is considered to be strongest protective magick talisman in the occult world today is the HEAD OF MEDUSA. The child of water! BITCH! This energy is invoked constantly and the spirit of medusa is never allowed to rest.
However these egregious acts did not come without a price. Athena at time was a goddess of fertility. However desecrating a child of water or the sirens, is seen as an attack by the divine feminine and can will cause people to be afflicted with fertility and other mental health issues as well. This is speculative but it’s also likely that after this they were constantly visited by droughts, floods or repeating issues with water sanitation & purity after this. Lowered fertility rates and miscarriages might be more prominent, for Athenians and Athena devotees & likely continues to this day.
Devotees of Athena may also develop severe issues when it to their mental health because of this connection. They completely lose touch with their feminine energy and become extremely misogynistic after continued work with her.
Not only did Athena, cause Medusa to be seen as hideous throughout the land but she celebrated when she was murdered and proudly wore Medusa’s decapitated head on her shield. From the feminist eye this virgin deity/woman was extremely male identified and adhered to the patriarchal standard. She was tested by the divine feminine and failed.
Even more strange, Athena’s birth allegorically proclaims her essential character: her wisdom is drawn from the head of a male god; the bond of affection between father and daughter; her championship of heroes and male causes, born as she was from the male, and not from a mother’s womb. A dreaded goddess of war, she remained a virgin and a servant of the patriarchal society and remains so to this day. She is the misogynistic cool girl and very asexual at the core. In fact if you explore more of her mythos, it becomes very clear she hates women. I’m bewildered at how she has become associated with lesbians and the feminine at large, when it’s been very clear that she was intent on transcending her gender from the very beginning, but never managed to escape it.
To top it off, I’ll leave you with this quote from Aeschylus’ Oresteia by Athena:
“There is no mother anywhere who gave me birth, and, but for marriage, I am always for the male with all my heart, and strongly on my father’s side. So, in a case where the wife has killed her husband, lord of the house, her death shall not mean most to me.”
Queen Lamia was a said to incredible beauty who seduced Zeus, (a literal man whore) which as made Hera jealous. Hera cursed Lamia with infertility and insomnia. She went insane and is said to have killed her own children and ate them. Zeus is said to be the one who gifted her prophecy and gave her the ability to take out her eyes, so she would not be irritated at the site of other happy mothers.
She became associated with a child eating monster who was half woman and half snake, which ties into the Libyan snake cults. She was associated with phantoms, the shapshifting laimai or empusai and the daemon spirits.
Medusa and Lamia were Libyan by heritage and came from a place in Africa where temples to the water snake mother goddess & divine feminine were common before they were destroyed by invaders intentionally. These women likely had extreme gifts of seduction, mind control and other abilities etc. It’s highly likely that Queen Lamia used her powers of seduction, at the behest of her people to save them from colonization and was demonized for it. Zeus’s temple was in Cyrene in Lybia, so this is far more than an allegorical story. This may be a real life story that was disguised in mythos. Unfortunately deeper research into this subject has turned up many dead ends for me. It’s highly likely Medusa was a priestess of the the matriarchal Mami Watas or water goddess/snake spirits and was likely raped intentionally in Athena’s temple, as a show loyalty to the rising patriarchy by descrating the symbolism of the great mother and the divine feminine. This was likely an attempt to lessen power and status of the matriachal societies that existed at the time. Rape was common war tactic amongst colonizers and news of such disgrace would likely spread like wildfire. This also solidified Athena’s place amongst the male gods and gaining her their respect. Athena and her devotees went a step further to show their allegiance to the patriarchy, by stripping Medusa of her beauty supposedly and exiling her, then parading her decapitated head on shields, when going into battle likely with Libyan enemies.
This is just a brief explanation of a few horrific acts in history, which were whitewashed & explain why the essence of the black feminine has evolved to become more protective, predatory and fierce. She learned to defend herself. Now she kills those who threaten her.
Fun history tip: Usually anytime you see a snake in Grecian mythology, just know something got whitewashed, because the truth was really fucked up, made them look really bad & a black woman was there.
🧜🏾♀️ The black feminine is capable of more than you know.
Yes, mermaids/sirens/snakes & the mami watas can be scary at times but that’s what stepping into mysticism of deep waters is like. Water is capable of many things, it is one of the most powerful elements on earth. It can nourish you and kill you, and that’s the beauty of it really.
We should all be grateful the black feminine is so beautiful, fierce & scares the living daylights out of everyone.
You would be dead if it wasn’t.
#merwitch#black girl magic#mermaid#hoodoo#medusa#mami wata#libya#yemaya#la sirene#blackbloggers#Libya#trident#Poseidon#Athena#aphrodite#Venus#vodou#haitian vodou#olokun#orisha#african traditional religions#atr#dogon#greek mythology#black femininity#black women#black lesbian#matrichary#patriarchy#intersectional feminism
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Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer receiving Charles X’s decree recognizing Haitian independence on July 11, 1825. Credit: Bibliotheque Nationale de France.
When France Extorted Haiti – the Greatest Heist in History
In the 19th century, the thinking went that the former enslavers of the Haitian people needed to be compensated, rather than the other way around.
The Conversation Marlene Daut
In the wake of George Floyd’s killing, there have been calls for defunding police departments and demands for the removal of statues. The issue of reparations for slavery has also resurfaced.
Much of the reparations debate has revolved around whether the United States and the United Kingdom should finally compensate some of their citizens for the economic and social costs of slavery that still linger today.
But to me, there’s never been a more clear-cut case for reparations than that of Haiti.
I’m a specialist on colonialism and slavery, and what France did to the Haitian people after the Haitian Revolution is a particularly notorious examples of colonial theft. France instituted slavery on the island in the 17th century, but, in the late 18th century, the enslaved population rebelled and eventually declared independence. Yet, somehow, in the 19th century, the thinking went that the former enslavers of the Haitian people needed to be compensated, rather than the other way around.
Just as the legacy of slavery in the United States has created a gross economic disparity between Black and white Americans, the tax on its freedom that France forced Haiti to pay – referred to as an “indemnity” at the time – severely damaged the newly independent country’s ability to prosper.
The Cost of Independence
Haiti officially declared its independence from France in 1804. In October 1806, the country was split into two, with Alexandre Pétion ruling in the south and Henry Christophe ruling in the north.
Despite the fact that both of Haiti’s rulers were veterans of the Haitian Revolution, the French had never quite given up on reconquering their former colony.
In 1814 King Louis XVIII, who had helped overthrow Napoléon earlier that year, sent three commissioners to Haiti to assess the willingness of the country’s rulers to surrender. Christophe, having made himself a king in 1811, remained obstinate in the face of France’s exposed plan to bring back slavery. Threatening war, the most prominent member of Christophe’s cabinet, Baron de Vastey, insisted,“ Our independence will be guaranteed by the tips of our bayonets!”
In contrast, Pétion, the ruler of the south, was willing to negotiate, hoping that the country might be able to pay France for recognition of its independence.
In 1803, Napoléon had sold Louisiana to the United States for 15 million francs. Using this number as his compass, Pétion proposed paying the same amount. Unwilling to compromise with those he viewed as “runaway slaves,” Louis XVIII rejected the offer.
Pétion died suddenly in 1818, but Jean-Pierre Boyer, his successor, kept up the negotiations. Talks, however, continued to stall due to Christophe’s stubborn opposition.
“Any indemnification of the ex-colonists,” Christophe’s government stated, was “inadmissible.”
Once Christophe died in October 1820, Boyer was able to reunify the two sides of the country. However, even with the obstacle of Christophe gone, Boyer repeatedly failed to successfully negotiate France’s recognition of independence. Determined to gain at least suzerainty over the island – which would have made Haiti a protectorate of France – Louis XVIII’s successor, Charles X, rebuked the two commissioners Boyer sent to Paris in 1824 to try to negotiate an indemnity in exchange for recognition.
On April 17, 1825, the French king suddenly changed his mind. He issued a decree stating France would recognize Haitian independence but only at the price of 150 million francs – or 10 times the amount the U.S. had paid for the Louisiana territory. The sum was meant to compensate the French colonists for their lost revenues from slavery.
Baron de Mackau, whom Charles X sent to deliver the ordinance, arrived in Haiti in July, accompanied by a squadron of 14 brigs of war carrying more than 500 cannons.
Rejection of the ordinance almost certainly meant war. This was not diplomacy. It was extortion.
With the threat of violence looming, on July 11, 1825, Boyer signed the fatal document, which stated, “The present inhabitants of the French part of St. Domingue shall pay … in five equal installments … the sum of 150,000,000 francs, destined to indemnify the former colonists.”
French Prosperity Built on Haitian Poverty
Newspaper articles from the period reveal that the French king knew the Haitian government was hardly capable of making these payments, as the total was more than 10 times Haiti’s annual budget. The rest of the world seemed to agree that the amount was absurd. One British journalist noted that the “enormous price” constituted a “sum which few states in Europe could bear to sacrifice.”
Forced to borrow 30 million francs from French banks to make the first two payments, it was hardly a surprise to anyone when Haiti defaulted soon thereafter. Still, the new French king sent another expedition in 1838 with 12 warships to force the Haitian president’s hand. The 1838 revision, inaccurately labeled “Traité d’Amitié” – or “Treaty of Friendship” – reduced the outstanding amount owed to 60 million francs, but the Haitian government was once again ordered to take out crushing loans to pay the balance.
Although the colonists claimed that the indemnity would only cover one-twelfth the value of their lost properties, including the people they claimed as their slaves, the total amount of 90 million francs was actually five times France’s annual budget.
The Haitian people suffered the brunt of the consequences of France’s theft. Boyer levied draconian taxes in order to pay back the loans. And while Christophe had been busy developing a national school system during his reign, under Boyer, and all subsequent presidents, such projects had to be put on hold. Moreover, researchers have found that the independence debt and the resulting drain on the Haitian treasury were directly responsible not only for the underfunding of education in 20th-century Haiti, but also lack of health care and the country’s inability to develop public infrastructure.
Contemporary assessments, furthermore, reveal that with the interest from all the loans, which were not completely paid off until 1947, Haitians ended up paying more than twice the value of the colonists’ claims. Recognizing the gravity of this scandal, French economist Thomas Piketty acknowledged that France should repay at least US$28 billion to Haiti in restitution.
A Debt That’s Both Moral and Material
Former French presidents, from Jacques Chirac, to Nicolas Sarkozy, to François Hollande, have a history of punishing, skirting or downplaying Haitian demands for recompense.
In May 2015, when French President François Hollande became only France’s second head of state to visit Haiti, he admitted that his country needed to “settle the debt.” Later, realizing he had unwittingly provided fuel for the legal claims already prepared by attorney Ira Kurzban on behalf of the Haitian people – former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide had demanded formal recompense in 2002 – Hollande clarified that he meant France’s debt was merely “moral.”
To deny that the consequences of slavery were also material is to deny French history itself. France belatedly abolished slavery in 1848 in its remaining colonies of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guyana, which are still territories of France today. Afterwards, the French government demonstrated once again its understanding of slavery’s relationship to economics when it took it upon itself to financially compensate the former “owners” of enslaved people.
The resulting racial wealth gap is no metaphor. In metropolitan France 14.1% of the population lives below the poverty line. In Martinique and Guadeloupe, in contrast, where more than 80% of the population is of African descent, the poverty rates are 38% and 46%, respectively. The poverty rate in Haiti is even more dire at 59%. And whereas the median annual income of a French family is $31,112, it’s only $450 for a Haitian family.
These discrepancies are the concrete consequence of stolen labor from generations of Africans and their descendants. And because the indemnity Haiti paid to France is the first and only time a formerly enslaved people were forced to compensate those who had once enslaved them, Haiti should be at the center of the global movement for reparations.
Marlene Daut is Professor of African Diaspora Studies at the University of Virginia.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/when-france-extorted-haiti-the-greatest-heist-in-history?utm_source=pocket-newtab
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Haitians in America need to support the rebellion happening in Haiti now. No... it’s not pretty but the people of Haiti have gone without basic infrastructure & resources for too long now while the Government has stolen Billions collected on their behalf . They have hoarded the wealth while keeping the people intentionally impoverished. Neocolonialism, U.S. Policy & Climate injustice are threatening Haiti’s future. None of us will be able to truly enjoy the Country if we don’t begin to tackle the core issues plaguing our beloved Ayiti.
#ayiticherie#ayiti#haitian#haitian revolution#haiti#lunionsuite#lunionfaitlaforce#haitian fuel crisis#jouvnel
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https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/8/16/20806069/slavery-economy-capitalism-violence-cotton-edward-baptist
How Slavery Became America’s First Big Business
Historian and author Edward E. Baptist explains how slavery helped the US go from a “colonial economy to the second biggest industrial power in the world.”
By P.R. Lockhart | Published Aug 16, 2019, 9:00am EDT | Vox | Posted August 16, 2019 |
Of the many myths told about American slavery, one of the biggest is that it was an archaic practice that only enriched a small number of men.
The argument has often been used to diminish the scale of slavery, reducing it to a crime committed by a few Southern planters, one that did not touch the rest of the United States. Slavery, the argument goes, was an inefficient system, and the labor of the enslaved was considered less productive than that of a free worker being paid a wage. The use of enslaved labor has been presented as premodern, a practice that had no ties to the capitalism that allowed America to become — and remain — a leading global economy.
But as with so many stories about slavery, this is untrue. Slavery, particularly the cotton slavery that existed from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the Civil War, was a thoroughly modern business, one that was continuously changing to maximize profits.
To grow the cotton that would clothe the world and fuel global industrialization, thousands of young enslaved men and women — the children of stolen ancestors legally treated as property — were transported from Maryland and Virginia hundreds of miles south, and forcibly retrained to become America’s most efficient laborers. As they were pushed into the expanding territories of Mississippi and Louisiana, sold and bid on at auctions, and resettled onto forced labor camps, they were given a task: to plant and pick thousands of pounds of cotton.
The bodies of the enslaved served as America’s largest financial asset, and they were forced to maintain America’s most exported commodity. In 60 years, from 1801 to 1862, the amount of cotton picked daily by an enslaved person increased 400 percent. The profits from cotton propelled the US into a position as one of the leading economies in the world, and made the South its most prosperous region. The ownership of enslaved people increased wealth for Southern planters so much that by the dawn of the Civil War, the Mississippi River Valley had more millionaires per capita than any other region.
In recent years, a growing field of scholarship has outlined how America — through the country’s geographic growth after the American Revolution and enslavers’ desire for increased cotton production — created a complex system aimed at monetizing and maximizing the labor of the enslaved. In the cotton fields of the Deep South, this system rested on the continuous threat of violence and a meticulous use of record-keeping. The labor of each person was tracked daily, and those who did not meet their assigned picking goals were beaten. The best workers were beaten as well, the whip and other assaults coercing them into doing even more work in even less time.
As overseers and plantation owners managed a forced-labor system aimed at maximizing efficiency, they interacted with a network of bankers and accountants, and took out lines of credit and mortgages, all to manage America’s empire of cotton. An entire industry, America’s first big business, revolved around slavery.
“The slavery economy of the US South is deeply tied financially to the North, to Britain, to the point that we can say that people who were buying financial products in these other places were in effect owning slaves, and were extracting money from the labor of enslaved people,” says Edward E. Baptist, a historian at Cornell University and the author of The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism.
Baptist’s book came out in 2014, the same year that essays like the Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “The Case for Reparations” and protests like the Ferguson Uprising would call attention to injustices in wealth and policing that continue to affect black communities — injustices that Baptist and other academics see as being closely connected to the deprivations of slavery. As America observes 400 years since the 1619 arrival of enslaved Africans to the colony of Virginia, these deprivations are seeing increased attention — and so are the ways America’s economic empire, built on the backs of the enslaved, connects to the present.
I recently spoke with Baptist about how cotton slavery transformed the American economy, how torture, violence, and family separations were used to maximize profits, and how understanding the economic power of slavery impacts current discussions of reparations. A transcript of our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
P.R. Lockhart
When you talk about the sort of myth-making that has been used to create specific narratives about slavery, one of the things you focus on most is the relationship between slavery and the American economy. What are some of the myths that get told when it comes to understanding how slavery is tied to American capitalism?
Edward E. Baptist
One of the myths is that slavery was not fuel for the growth of the American economy, that it actually the brakes put on US growth. There’s a story that claims slavery was less efficient, that wage labor and industrial production wasn’t significant for the massive transformation of the US economy that you see between the time of Independence and the time of the Civil War.
And yet that period is when you see the US go from being a colonial, primarily agricultural economy to being the second biggest industrial power in the world — and well on its way to becoming the largest industrial power in the world.
Another myth is that slavery, in and of itself as an economic system, was unchanging. We fetishize machine and machine production and see it as quintessentially modern — the kinds of improvements in production and efficiency that you see from hooking up a cotton spindle to a set of pulleys, which are in turn pulled by a water wheel or steam engine. That’s seen as more efficient than the old way of someone sitting there and doing it by hand.
But you can also get changes in efficiency if you change the pattern of production and you change the incentives of the labor and the labor process itself. And we still make these sorts of changes today in businesses — the kind of transformations that speed up work to a point where we say that it is modern and dynamic. And we see these types of changes in slavery as well, particularly during cotton slavery in the 19th-century US.
The difference, of course, is that this is not the work of wage workers or professional workers. It is the work of enslaved people. And the incentive is not “do this or you’ll get fired” or “you won’t get a raise.” The incentive is that if you don’t do this you’ll get whipped — or worse.
The third myth about this is that there was not a tight relationship between slavery in the South and what was happening in the North and other parts of the modern Western world in the 19th century. It was a very close relationship: Cotton was the No. 1 export from the US, which was largely an export-driven economy as it was modernizing and shifting into industrialization. And the slavery economy of the US South was deeply tied financially to the North, to Britain, to the point that we can say that people who were buying financial products in these other places were in effect owning slaves and were certainly extracting money from the labor of enslaved people.
So those are the three myths: that slavery did not cause in any significant way the development and transformation of the US economy, that slavery was not a modern or dynamic labor system, and that what was happening in the South was a separate thing from the rest of the US.
P.R. Lockhart
As you detail in your work, the focus on cotton production changes what slavery in the US looks like post-1800. But before we talk about those changes, can you discuss what slavery looks like before the true advent of cotton?
Edward E. Baptist
This is tied to the [aforementioned] myths, but something to remember is that slavery is everywhere in 1776. At the time of the Declaration of Independence, slavery is legal in every one of the newly created 13 states. And for the most part, slavery is associated with the sectors of the economy most closely connected to the Atlantic world: systems of exchanges and markets that linked the new US to Europe, to Africa, to the Caribbean, and to Latin America.
Whether we’re talking about enslaved people working in Virginia tobacco fields, where they produce significant amount of revenue for the British crown, or people in the rice fields in South Carolina and Georgia, or the enslaved people working as dock workers or servants in northern colonies like Boston, slavery is everywhere. But, over the next 20 years, as the US becomes independent and relationships in the Atlantic — transformed by revolutions in Haiti, the revolution in France, and imperial wars associated with those things — several shifts happen.
And largely due to the resistance of enslaved people and some changes in ideologies, you see the beginnings of the gradual end of slavery in the North.
So slavery, on one hand, shifts to become a Southern institution. At the same time, there’s no longer as strong of a market demand for the products made in the South. The food products made for Caribbean sugar colonies, where the enslaved aren’t really given time to make their own basic rations [create one market for goods from the South], but the end of slavery in Saint-Domingue, which becomes Haiti, cuts off that demand from one of those main markets. In rice, there are hits to the market as well. And so much tobacco gets made that it overwhelms the market and the price drops. These are threats to the market strength of products made by enslaved people in the US South.
But right at this same moment, Britain begins its process of industrialization and its focus on cotton textiles. And pretty quickly the price for cotton rises dramatically. Enslavers in the Southern US realize that they can plant particular kinds of cotton inland almost right at the same time that the US is ensuring its power of what will become Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama. There’s a vast new territory that is opening up when enslavers in South Carolina and Georgia are finding out that there is a new product that they can force people to grow and find a new market with.
P.R. Lockhart
And now that Southern enslavers have a new crop that they can force people to grow, how does cotton change what slavery looks like in the American South?
Edward E. Baptist
The first thing we need to do here is pivot from just talking about cotton as a matter of productive labor and think about reproductive labor as well. And reproductive labor is not just women bearing children, but all of the work that goes into raising a child into an adult. This is work largely done by women, but also by family networks, and communities in general.
In the US South, by the late 18th century — and in the case of Virginia and Maryland by the 1730s — what we see is that enslaved families and communities were raising children faster than adults died. So this means that the US, as it becomes independent, no longer relies on the African slave trade, which by the late 18th century is coming under more and more criticism.
Enslavers increasingly shift already enslaved people in the South and West into what would become the new cotton territories of the South. It’s a vast system for producing cotton that is ultimately fueled by the theft of children from their families and communities who created them. And those who defended the Southern slavery regime would say, “Look, these are legal processes — people are bought, they’re sold, that’s the nature of slavery.” But alongside the theft of physical labor, this marks a theft of reproductive labor from enslaved people, and it serves as the crucial engine of the expansion of US slavery.
It is a set of internal slave trades, created by enslavers, financed not just by buyers and sellers in the South but by flows of credit into the region, starting with the land speculation of the late 1790s. And to give a sense of the scale, in the 1780s, as the US becomes independent, there’s something like 800,000 enslaved Africans in the newly formed country.
Through the process of internal natural growth of the enslaved population — the reproductive labor if you will, and the additional importation of roughly 150,000 Africans decades before the international slave trade ended in 1807 — that 800,000 increases to 4 million people by 1860. Almost no enslaved African Americans lived in the Mississippi territory when it became a US territory in around 1800. But by 1860, the cotton regions have around 2 million enslaved people living in them.
The most important development in this shift, the making of this massive cotton-producing engine, is the internal slave trade. Estimates vary, but at least half a million people were directly moved, and they’re mostly young adults reaching the peak of their productive labor capacity who are still young enough to be retrained by force.
And they are retrained by force. In most cases, they seem to have gone through a very disorienting time in which they are forced to pick cotton and also do all the other operations of a slave labor camp. But picking cotton is especially important because it is the bottleneck of production. They are forced to do this kind of labor and learn this kind of labor and this all happens under the threat of violence and punishment if they don’t learn how to do it fast enough.
P.R. Lockhart
Staying with that last point about the threat of violent punishment, you write about how, as the desire to increase cotton profits grows, enslavers focus on how to wring more and more profit from the labor of the enslaved.
And that increased productivity, you note, is largely a response to the threat and actual use of torture and violence. Can you talk about the ways that violence gets used as a means of forcing increasingly productive labor?
Edward E. Baptist
The first form of violence is the violence of the domestic slave trade itself, where people are chained, and forced to march hundreds of miles or are shipped around the cape of Florida. But after that, the violence is really in two forms. One is really a sort of policing violence, something we’re sadly all too familiar with today, that focuses on constraining African American movement — you know, making sure that people don’t leave the labor camp to which they have been sold. And with that, you see patrols and a readiness from whites to question any African Americans they don’t recognize.
And once enslaved people are pretty much fixed in one place and are forced to go out into the cotton fields daily for work, what you see is during the day itself there is an increased level of supervision by whites.
In the South Carolina islands, and in a different way in the Chesapeake, enslaved Africans and African Americans often worked outside immediate white supervision, and often outside direct measurement of their labor output.
So while in South Carolina, there’s a daily task, in contrast to that, the people enslaved on the cotton fields of Mississippi and Alabama and Louisiana are forced to work all day; their work is measured and their labor output is increased over time. So we see that people are forced to work from dawn to dusk, often with direct white supervision, and those who stop working are yelled at to continue to work. At the end of the day, that output is weighed and recorded.
There’s a sort of quintessentially modern idea that “if we enumerate how much people work, we can evaluate that labor better, and then we can demand more labor from them,” and that’s what happens [during cotton slavery]. Quotas for daily cotton picking and minimums that you have to make, or else you will be whipped, clearly increase over time.
There’s a debate about whether or not if they increase because cotton seeds are better, or if because more labor is demanded and people are whipped for not producing enough, or see their quotas increase because they did produce enough. There’s a debate about what is the causal factor in this increase, and I am okay with saying it’s both. But you have a qualitatively different kind of labor which produces a quantifiable result — an increase of 400 percent in the average amount of cotton picked per day from 1800 to 1860.
P.R. Lockhart
I want to shift this conversation a bit, and move away from what’s in your book to the book itself — how it was received after it came out, and what it says about how America actually views and understands these kinds of histories.
One of the things you often highlight is the importance of centering the voices of enslaved men and women in the story of American slavery. And you’ve been criticized for doing that. At a time where the country is having more and more discussions about slavery and its impact on the present, why do you see centering the voices and lived experiences of the enslaved men and women as an important aspect of discussing this history?
Edward E. Baptist
I’ll focus on two reasons. First, those voices are truly the wellspring of a tradition of interpretation. They’ve always been the other half — the true half — of this history [when we talk about “half that has never been told,” mentioned in the title of Baptist’s book].
They’re a set of crucial voices that in the US go from survivors of slavery to people like W.E.B. Du Bois and Cedric Robinson, and moving to the present in the works of economists like Sandy Darity and Darrick Hamilton. But they’re a set of voices who are refusing to accept a story that says that what the survivors of slavery endured in the cotton fields has nothing to do with the wealth of the US today or the disproportion of the wealth between white people in the US on average and the wealth of black people in the US on average.
So on one hand, this is a tradition of people who make a very obvious point which seems clearly true to me. But on the other hand, this is a tradition that has been all too often ignored or downplayed or critiqued. It’s crucial to center the voices of the people talking about their own situation not only because they understood it best and understood the facts of it, they also understood the philosophy of it.
Frederick Douglass gets told after he escapes from slavery that he needs to be charismatic, not intellectual. A white abolitionist tells him “give us the facts, we’ll take care of the philosophy.” And he tells them no.
But I think centering those kinds of voices is crucial, and the interpretations that come from those voices, as a historian, that is the job. It’s also an important thing when we get to my second point: that a huge component of white American identity is a quest for historical innocence and historical exceptionalism. And this depends on having white voices telling the story.
As a white historian, the best thing I can do to disturb that is to bring nonwhite voices to the forefront in how I tell the story. Not just because these voices are correct, but because telling the story in this way helps — to a small extent — to do the work of helping a white reader be able to confront the history of their own identity formation, the history of their own wealth. I won’t say that one book or one historian is going to take care of it, but that’s the work that I can try to do.
P.R. Lockhart
You’re now five years removed from the publication of The Half Has Never Been Told. Going off of your point about doing the work to push their voices to the forefront, in 2019, a year where we’re commemorating 400 years since the arrival of roughly 20 enslaved men and women to what would become the United States (though not all scholars agree on this exact anniversary), do you think the country is more receptive to hearing these voices?
Edward E. Baptist
That’s a tough question in 2019. I wrote the book over a long period of time, and when I started, people were writing different things and in some cases asking different questions about slavery. But there were a number of folks who had started to ask the questions that mine were inspired by, and were pushing the conversation toward — the works of Du Bois, Angela Davis, and the Caribbean tradition of study. I don’t know where the conversation is going to go next.
But what I am happy to see is that because of the work of activists involved in the Movement for Black Lives, and activists in the different reparations movements, some of the questions and critiques that a few of us historians tried to amplify are being amplified far more broadly and effectively by these forces in society. The question of reparations, for instance, comes up every 15 years or so as something that the media engages with, and there’s predictably a backlash as you see a massive white resistance to the idea. And that backlash plays a role in burying these types of questions.
So I hope that whatever the policy outcomes might be, I hope that the conversations don’t get buried by that resistance. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that we’re talking about reparations in a moment where white nationalism is ascendant. And in the past, those kinds of phenomena have had the effect of not only producing violence, but they’ve also suppressed discussions about how we address a question of what is owed after slavery.
And the debt is so great that whites have little claim to say that something is too much to pay. They have no standing to argue that the wealth distribution should remain where it is today. There’s no justifiable way — in my opinion — to make that argument. So I am worried that the violence of our time may suppress any movement toward a better resolution of the arguments implied by calls for reparations.
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Crimes of the US Presidents
CW: mention of sexual abuse, slavery, theft, imperialism, colonialism, war crimes, anti-black/brown/indigenous violence/policies, repression, racism, xenophobia, overthrows, invasions, and police violence.
Hey y’all, I intended to do this list on Presidents Day, but I didn’t. Anyway, I’m going to list every crime that every President did because all Presidents are guilty of crimes. Here’s the list.
1-5) The first five aka The so called founding fathers - Created this nation by enslaving Africans and the theft of Indigenous land. Owned huge number of slaves. Thomas Jefferson owned over 600 slaves, and raped one of them (15 yo Sally Hennings). Some of them supported the colonization of Liberia. They were also horribly capitalist, racist, and sexist.
6) John Quincy Adams - Nothing great about him. Moving on
7) Andrew Jackson - A genodical slave owning fuckface. Responsible for the Trail of Tears, forcing many Native tribes of their land. Got involved in wars that removed Natives from their land, including the Seminole Wars. Owned slaves and supported it.
8. Martin Van Buren - Continued Jackson’s Indian Removal policy and did nothing to stop slavery and owned some slaves.
9) William Henry Harrison - His reign was too damn short. So nothing about him, although he did participate in the Indian Wars before he was president.
10) John Tyler - Theft of Texas from Mexico. Owned slaves and didn’t stop slavery and was okay with it. A forgettable name tho.
11) James K Polk - Continued the theft of Mexico through the Mexican American War. Was a huge slaveowner and supported it and used the territory from Mexico to expand slavery. Asshole.
12) Zachary Taylor - another short run, but was a slaveowner and supported it (the last president to own slaves during his presidency). Also was a General in the Mexican-American War. Nothing great about him. Another forgettable one.
13) Millard Fillmore - Wanted to expand slavery to the new territories stolen from Mexico. Enacted the Fugitive Slave Act that criminalized slaves that escaped from their owners.
14) Franklin Pierce - Continued the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. Wanted to push slavery in Northern territories via the Kansas–Nebraska Act which also pushed Indigenous land off their territories. This caused a violent conflict between pro and anti slavery forces, preceding the Civil War. He continued the theft of Mexican land and tried to steal Cuba to make a slave state.
15) James Buchanan - Did nothing to stop slavery and defended the Dred Scott case. He also wanted Kansas as a slave state. Another forgettable name.
16) Abraham Lincoln - Now here’s some good stuff. But first, the Civil War was fought over slavery, not over that states rights bullshit. Anyway, the so called Great Emancipator was a far cry from what he is seen as. He never gave a damn about freeing slaves, his actions were plain opportunistic. He said he would preserve the Union without freeing a slave and don’t believe in rights for black people. He also planned to put freed black people on Liberia as an attempt to recolonize em. Another thing, the 13th Amendment never fully abolished slavery as slavery could be legal as a crime, which was instrumental in creating mass imprisonment and the influx of private and state prisons. He also ordered the massacre of Dakota Indians after an uprising by them. Racist as hell. The Great Lie. That’s what he is.
17) Andrew Johnson - One of the worst presidents ever, if you can say that as all presidents ain’t shit, Johnson’s incompetence and his attempts to veto any rights for black people got him impeached. He wanted to re-slave and recolonize black people (he tried to vetoed the 13th and 14th Amendment). He also owned slaves, which probably caused his thinking. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
18) Ulysses S Grant - Even though he pushed hard on the Reconstruction, improved rights for black people, Jews, and Natives, and criminalized the KKK, he was a corrupt fool who had a number of corruption cases that weakened the Reconstruction. He also tried to claim Santo Domingo (now Dominican Republic). He was the last president known to own chattel slaves, although he freed his, despite his family still owning slaves.
19) Rutherford B Hayes - He was the final nail to the coffin of the Reconstruction as he pulled troops out of the South, letting the racist as fuck Southern Democrats take over. This intensified racial violence and discrimination against black people such as lynchings and voter suppression. He was the one that created the Dawes Act, that enforced assimilation on Indigenous people and them losing any ownership of their land. He also sent troops crushed a railroad strike (the Great Railroad Strike of 1877). Did nothing about the corruption, labor conditions, and wealth inequality during the Gilded Age.
20) James A Garfield - Another short one. Nothing great. Moving on.
21) Chester A Arthur - Signed a law targeting Chinese immigrants and citizens as they were blamed for low wages and unemployment. Did nothing about the rampant anti-blackness going on. He also continued the assimilation policies of Indigenous people and the theft and blockade of their land. Also did nothing about what’s going on during the Gilded Age.
22 & 24) Grover Cleveland - Did nothing about the poor labor conditions of the workers and let capitalists multiply their wealth while letting workers suffers. Sent troops to quell the Pullman Strike, which resulted in the imprisonment of socialist Eugene Debs. Also did nothing about the anti-blackness in this country. Continued anti-Chinese policies. A fave among libertarians. I can see why.
23) Benjamin Harrison - Let the Wounded Knee Massacre Happened with many Lakota Indians being massacred in order to destroy the Ghost Dance movement. Also supported assimilation of Natives. Supported the colonization of Hawaii after the Kingdom was overthrown by American missionaries and plantation owners. Also did nothing about anti-blackness and the robber barons. Continued anti-immigration policies.
25) William McKinley - Now we’re getting into the big imperialism. Finally colonized Hawaii as a part of the US. Took Puerto Rico, Cuba, Philippines, and Guam from Spain, transitioning power from one colonizer to another one. He also sent troops to China to quell the Boxer Rebellion, which resisted cultural imperialism and colonialism from missionaries and other colonial interests. Also did nothing about anti-blackness.
26) Theodore Roosevelt - Progressives favorite president was a big ass imperialist. But Square Deal, trust busting… yeah he regulated businesses and put out many social reforms, but as an attempt to quell any revolutionary changes. Anyway, increased military presence in the Philippines leading into the Philippine-American War, which was responsible for the deaths of many Filipinos. Expanded the Monroe Doctrine, which the US the right to intervene in Latin America aka imperialism. Took control of Cuba after briefly giving it independence and Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Panama too. Targeted anarchists, socialists, poor and disabled immigrants, and sex workers with another anti-immigration law. He okayed the discharging of black soldiers after they were accused of Brownsville Raid, ya know black people were accused of harming wite people at the time and were killed because of it. Never cared about black people. Hated Natives and once said a good Indian is a dead one. After his presidency, he killed around 11,000 animals that were Indigenous to Africa for a fucking Museum. So much for being progressive.
27) William Howard Taft - Didn’t care about black lives. Sent troops to try to stop the Mexican Revolution as he was a supporter of Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz. He also planned a coup against Nicaragua.
28) Woodrow Wilson - A despicable name who is another fave of progressives. An extremely racist motherfucker. He support segregation, banned black people from Princeton when he was President over there, and was pro-wite supremacist and played the pro KKK film Birth of a Nation in the White House. He also occupied Veracruz, Mexico and tried to quell the Mexican Revolution which also include the attempted capture of revolutionary Pancho Villa. He also invaded Dominican Republic and Haiti, the former led to the rise of DR dictator Rafael Trujillo. He got the country into WWI, getting the country into a war that had nothing to do with it. He started the Espionage Act and the first Red Scare which targeted socialists, anarchists, unionists, and anyone who opposed the war. Continued Teddy’s anti immigration policies. A fucking fascist is what he was.
29) Warren G Harding - Another corrupt motherfucker. Privatization of multiple industries and implemented tax cuts for the rich and corporations. Let wage cuts happened and oil preserves be control by private oil companies. Let corrupt officials in his government. Possible member of the KKK, and barely did anything for black lives. He was a terrible person.
30) Calvin Coolidge - Continued the capitalist policies of Harding. Refused farm subsidies. Didn’t do nothing for the black victims in the Great Mississippi Flood and let em suffer. Signed an anti-immigration bill. Sounds like something familiar that would happen almost 80 years later.
31) Herbert Hoover - While he’s known for his mishandling of the economy which was the final nail to the coffin that led to the Great Depression, he refused to sign any anti-lynching laws, favoring the interests of the Southern whites. He also put black victims of the aforementioned flood in poor conditions in the camp during his Vice-Presidency.
32) Franklin D Roosevelt - Here’s another progressive fave I’m gonna expose. But muh New Deal and Second Bill Rights… I don’t give a shit. The New Deal existed to save capitalism and not to radicalize the country. Most progressive reforms existed to preserve and maintain the capitalist system. Also, black people faced restriction and discrimination from the New Deal programs. Refused to sign an anti-lynching bill. Supported dictatorships in Latin America like Batista (Cuba), Trujillo (DR), and Somoza Sr.(Nicaragua). Let banks finance Hitler. Only went to WW2 after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because he froze trade towards Japan, which was a huge mistake trading with Japan. His administration planned creation for nuclear weapons. Put anyone of Japanese descent into concentration camps. Some progressive.
33) Harry S Truman - Committed one of the worst crimes in history. Nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was responsible for many deaths over there. Help kickstart McCarthyism in America, one of the most repressive eras in America that targeted any radical leftist and even caused the downfall of some of them (ie Paul Robeson). Not only that, he’s instrumental in starting the wide support for brutally oppressive dictators and overthrowing popular leaders that would follow later presidents. He also help form the CIA. Supported Chiang’s repressive KMT government in Manila China and Taiwan (ROC). Helped in trying to stop revolutions in Greece and Turkey. Started the Korean War, which resulted in the death of multiple Koreans, the destabilization of DPRK (North) and the rise of multiple dictators in ROK (South). He also flirted with being a member of the KKK prior to being a president.
34) Dwight D Eisenhower - The OG of hardcore American imperialism. He continued the McCarthyist policies of targeting socialists and communists and let COINTELPRO exist, which was responsible for the repression and destruction of many black and brown revolutionary movements and targeted other black and brown activists. He also used McCarthyist policies against LBGT people. He supported repressive dictators like Francisco Franco (Spain), Chiang Kai Shek (ROC), Ngo Dinh Diem (South Vietnam) and Fulgencio Batista (Cuba). Supported France in maintaining control of their colony of Vietnam, and suppressing the Viet Minh revolution led by Ho Chi Minh, sparking the Vietnam War. Let the CIA plan coups in Iran and Guatemala, resulting in the power of the Shah Reza Pahlavi and the rise of military dictatorships in Guatemala respectively. Ordered the assassination of Congolese prime minister Patrice Lumumba. Tried to overthrow Cuba after Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution. He was too chickenshit to come to Castro after he went to the US. Equally loved by liberals and conservatives and I see why.
35) John F Kennedy - Not good ole JFK! He was set up the USA! But Jack got blood on his hands too. He fully got the country into Vietnam, supporting South Vietnam and continuing one of the most unpopular and deadly wars, a war that existed to maintain colonialism and imperialism in SE Asia. Not only that, he tried to overthrow Castro in the Bay of Pigs invasion, which almost got the country involved in a nuclear war with the USSR and Cuba. Also planned a coup in Iraq, which resulted in the Ba’athists taking. Not only all of this, he let the COINTELPRO spy, target, and harass black activists, including Martin Luther King Jr., who Kennedy pretended to be his friend. He played a lot of civil rights and Black Power activists. Malcolm X saw through his game and critiqued the March of Washington as a farce to control any black activism and radicalism. He’s also instrumental in the long term goal of the Democrats and liberals manipulating black people to support him. So much of him being a good president.
36) Lyndon B Johnson - The fucking manipulator. Continued the repressive policies of the COINTELPRO and Mccarthyism. Even tho they also targeted (via spying, wire tapping, and harassment) anti-war and communists and socialists, their main targets were the black activists and radicals. He targeted MLK after he spoke out against the Vietnam War and caused his breakdown, some friend he was. He also let the COINTELPRO target Malcolm X, SNCC, the Black Panther Party, and other black radical movements. He perfected the manipulation of black people to the Dems and liberals, and said once I’ll have those n***ers voting Democrats for next 200 years. He only passed out Civil Rights Acts and anti-poverty programs to quell any revolutionary movements, like all liberals do. Intensified the Vietnam War by sending more troops over there, resulting in more casualties and massacres over there like the My Lai Massacre. Started the bombing of Cambodia. Aided Israel in their Six Day War against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Let the CIA overthrow democratically elected and revolutionary governments in countries like Indonesia, Congo, Ghana, Greece, and Brazil, replacing them with military dictatorships. Supported repressive dictators around the world, including the aforementioned. Got the CIA to capture popular Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, which resulted in his execution by the Bolivian military. He also increased the power of the police after multiple riots happened as a response against racism and police brutality. A true champion for liberals.
37) Richard Nixon - Oh hell yeah! I got so much dirt on this motherfucker. A legit criminal and tyrant. Continued McCarthyism and the COINTELPRO through violent suppression, harassment, wiretapping, and spying. Suppressed revolutionary and anti-war movements, including Kent State, SNCC, the Chicago Seven, Black Panthers, and Black Liberation Army. The destruction of the BPP by the FBI, CIA, and police happened during his presidency. Started the War of Drugs which criminalized black people (his intention). First president to fully use the Southern Strategy, which appealed to Southern wites by promising state rights to them, which is wite power in smaller steps. Continued the War in Vietnam, which also includes invading and bombing Laos and Cambodia (which also includes a coup) respectively. However, he withdrew troops from Vietnam in 73. Sent arms to Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Let the CIA continue overthrowing democratically elected and revolutionary governments, which includes overthrowing democratically elected Chilean president Salvador Allende and replacing with a repressive military junta led by Augusto Pinochet. He also supported and defended Pakistan in their war against Bangladesh, which includes a genocide against them. He also military supported dictators around the world like the Philippines, Greece, aforementioned Chile, Spain, Congo (Zaire), and Haiti. He got exposed by the Watergate scandal that forced him to resign. Too bad that never got indicted for his crimes.
38) Gerald Ford - Really nothing but a transitional president from Nixon to Carter. However, he did pardon Nixon for his crimes. Along with that, he did got involved in the Angola Civil War, supporting the neo-colonial and right wing forces over there. Supported Indonesia in their war against East Timor. Yeah he was just there.
39) Jimmy Carter - He maybe seen as an incompetent president, but Carter got blood on his hands too and is another one liberals love to praise because of his post-presidency. Anyway, he funded the muhadjeen in Afghanistan, an Islamic fundamentalist paramilitary group that is a predecessor to many Islamist organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, to overthrow communist rule over there. He also stood by the barbaric Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. He said his foreign policy supported human rights, but that was a lie as he supported dictators like Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (Congo), the Shah Pahlavi and Muhammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan. He also didn’t say shit about the repressive nature of the countries he supported. He also expanded the War of Drugs. So much for him being a humanitarian.
40) Ronald Reagan - Beloved by the right, somewhat loved by the liberals, The king of neoliberalism, McCarthyism, and American imperialism. There’s so much I gotta say about this fuckface cuz he got so much blood on his hands. His neoliberal Reaganomics is the most toxic economic system ever. He made cuts to a majority social services, and created a huge fucking wealth gap that increased the wealth of the capitalists and bourgeoisie. Not only this, black and brown suffered the most from Reaganomics as poverty increased in black and brown communities. Cut multiple civil rights bills and acts, and used the Southern Strategy to a tee. Coined the term welfare queen (which is racist, classist, and sexist) to rum up fear and hostility against welfare recipients. Expanded the War of Drugs that continued the constant incarceration of black people. Speaking of that, he let CIA plant drugs (cocaine) in the black neighborhoods, while him and his wife told people to say no to drugs. Went to Bitburg, Germany to celebrate the memory of SS officers. Let thousands of people die from AIDS and didn’t give a damn about gay rights. Also, during his time as Governor of California, he ordered a witch hunt against communists, which included Angela Davis, and worked the NRA and police/FBI to disarm and crush the BPP respectively. Now to his imperialist record. His Reagan Doctrine existed to crush revolutionary movement and replace em with barbaric and despotic governments/extremists. A major example was his increased funding of the muhadjeen, going where Jimmy Carter left off, and y’all know how well that went when they took over Afghanistan. People forget (tbh ignore) that these Islamist extremists were funded by the US (esp the CIA). Not only that, he supported Saddam Hussein (he was an US ally) and gave him military weapons, which he used to kill the Kurds in Iraq. Funded the Contras to quell the Sandista revolution through trafficking cocaine (via the CIA) and selling arms to Iran. Almost got into a war with Lebanon, but got the troops out after he realized he fucked up with his plan. Invaded Grenada to destroy the remnants of the New Jewel Movement and replace with a puppet leader. He also support neocolonial paramilitary forces in countries like Angola, Afghanistan (muhadjeen), Cambodia, Nicaragua (the Contras), and El Salvador. Supported repressive military dictators of the likes of Pinochet (Chile), Mobuto (Zaire/Congo), Baby Doc (Haiti), Suharto (Indonesia), and Rios Montt (Guatemala) like other presidents. He also gave Baby Doc Duvalier and Ferdinand Marcos (the Philippines) refuge after revolts against them happen. Supported and defended apartheid South Africa. Bombed the fucked outta Libya and let a US Navy Ship blow up a plane full of Iranians. Yeah an inspiration of all spectrum of the right and a bit of the center. I see why. Some of this sounds similar to a latter president, more on that later.
41) George HW Bush - Son of a Nazi financier (Prescott Bush’s banks funded Nazis), father of a war criminal, Papa Bush perfectly bridged the gap from one dirty presidency to another. Stood by and supported Reagan during his tenure as VP. His campaign showed a picture of black criminal Willie Horton as a smear campaign against the other presidential candidate as they said that he is soft of crime and oppose the death penalty for criminals like Horton. Yeah, the type of shit that wite ppl pull, using a black face to advocate the death penalty, like they do, and associating blackness with crime, like they always do. Went to war with Iraq over it’s invasion of Kuwait, but it was right thing, the UN… please. It happened because the US sees Kuwait as their oil colony. It was a property war as both the US and Iraq saw Kuwait as theirs and it was responsible for the destruction of Iraq. Invaded Panama for drug trafficking, despite the US (via the CIA) doing the same thing and them knowing of it, and put another puppet leader over there. What’s ironic about this that we supported Panama and Iraq and we have them political/financial support and weapons (in the case of Iraq). When the Cold War ended, we stopped supporting em and stood against him just to look good. Also, put troops in Somalia under the guise of humanitarianism just to attempt to colonize it rather than giving it reparations. The theme of military intervention under the guise of humanitarianism would be a recurring theme for other presidents. Signed the toxic NAFTA which was responsible for horrible labor conditions and environmental violations. Targeted rappers (with his VP) like Ice-T and 2pac because of their content. He eventually lost re-election because he wanted families to be less like the Simpsons, even though his policies made the Simpsons look like the Waltons.
42) Bill Clinton - Ugh. Another Democrat who exist to look good and got blood on his hands. He was also a shitty person. During his time as governor of Arkansas, he and his wife made black prisoners take care of and clean up the governor’s mansion with no compensation. Yes, this is slavery. They essentially owned slaves. He was a disgusting predator who sexually assaulted and harassed a number of women, before and after his presidency. His predatory behavior led to his impeachment, which only limit his power. Now his presidency. Used the Southern Strategy to gain wins. Continued and Oked NAFTA. Continued the neoliberal policies that dawned over America. Signed a 1994 Crime which expanded the power of police and prisons and increased the mass imprisonment of black people. During that time, his wife called black boys superpredators. Killed the remaining remnants of the welfare state by forcing recipients to work for their welfare because muh welfare queen, targeting mainly poor/working/Black women. Was behind multiple corruption scandals like Travelgate and Whitewater. Wanted to target Sister Souljah when her outspoken views was misconstrued by the media, and portrayed her a racist and a pot stirrer. He was the one that enforced the immigration laws that would continue in the country that was responsible for restrictive borders, ridiculous immigration laws, and xenophobic attacks and targeting cuz illegal immigration, despite this country founded by illegal theft. Continued the US intervention in Somalia, but when shit got tough, he got em out. Knew about the Rwandan genocide and blocked any assistance of the country. The only reason he didn’t intervene because Rwanda wasn’t seen as profitable. Expanded the powers of NATO (North Atlantic TERRORIST Organization), which was bad. This expansion led to the 1995 and 1999 bombing of Yugoslavian nations (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Yugoslavia respectively), which was another one under the name of humanitarianism. The bombing did nothing but target civilians and bring damage and they didn’t end the conflict. The US protecting Kosovo was essentially them preying on a vulnerable country and making into a puppet state. Sent missiles to attack Iraq, when it didn’t do anything. Attacked a pharmaceutical company in Sudan. He still prove to be a piece os shit after his presidency when him and his wife exploited funds that was meant for Haiti and decided to went after BLM. And he’s labeled the first black president. Da fuck?! Fuck him (and his wife too).
43) George W Bush - Ol Cowboy George. The notorious war criminal himself. The biggest joke ever. Never forget, most of the whole world hated him because of his actions. Lets begin, but first… let’s talk about 9/11. No conspiracies please, even tho enjoy making jokes about it. What happened on 9/11 wasn’t because they hated our freedoms. That’s Grade A pure bullshit. 9/11 was a result of our toxic foreign policy and the fact that who did was our Frankenstein. What I mean? Never forget, OBL and his Al Qaeda buddies, and the whole fucking Taliban were created by the US. The US (like always, with the help of the CIA) made these people by shipping weapons to them and training/teaching them with a reactionary ideology cuz Cold War and we let em overrun Afghanistan. We also turned against em when the Cold War ended, and they turned against and attacked us when we kept fucking with the Middle East. Therefore, this was a case of chickens roosting. Saddam was also an US ally, but when we found him useless and fucking with our oil colony Kuwait, we turned against him. This led to the War on Terrorism (Afghanistan and Iraq) which was bullshit because it was foolish to wage war against terrorism when we have funded and supported terrorisn, we created these terrorists in the first place, war is terrorism itself, there was no WMD (it was an excuse just to kick out ol Saddam), and the fact that anyone can be a terrorist. Ironically enough, the USA had done nothing about the terrorists in their own country like the KKK (oh wait! They’re wite). These wars are responsible for the death of multiple Afghan and Iraqi lives and this wasn’t a fight for freedom. It was for imperialism. It was for resources, especially oil (in the case of Iraq). The theme of these wars are humanitarianism, and lemme tell you this, there’s nothing humanitarian about war because war is violence and profit. Afghanistan was led by a corrupt puppet leader, while Iraq fell into despair which led to the rise of ISIS. PS, his buddy Dick Cheney’s corporation profit ire from Iraq. Not only all of this, this began the targeting and discrimination of (Black and Brown) Muslims, Africans, (S, SE, and W) Asians, and some Latinos and Sikhs. This included racial profiling, xenophobia, racism, wiretapping, violence/harassment against said groups, and toxic policies such as the Patriot ACT, TSA, and NSA. Targeted dissidents and Started the drone program which would be carried by his successor. Bush was the match that sparked the fire of things like racial profiling, police brutality, anti-immigration policies, xenophobia (ICE started under his rule), racism including anti-blackness, ultra-nationalism/patriotism, McCarthyist/Espionage like acts, imperialism, the rise of US neo-fascism, and neoliberalism. Continued neoliberal policies which would later result into austerity, which would spark the rise of wite supremacist/new fascist groups and increase economic inequality. While he did say it wasn’t his intention to cause all of this, but he let it happen. Let black people (esp in NOLA) drown and suffer under Katrina, and how he dealt with it? Sending the Natl Guard on them out there like a bunch of rabid dogs. Also planned to overthrow Cuba, Iran, Syria, N Korea (DPRK), and Venezuela and was possibly behind the coups of Haiti and Venezuela. Started the No Child Left Behind Act, which pushed more state testing and in schools, that hurted schools, teachers, and student, and it was low key push for school privatization. Now, he has a library, painting pictures, and condemning racism, despite his war/imperialist crimes, sparking racism and xenophobia, and institutional racism. Aye, he was fucking horrible and he (and the libs) are trying so hard to erase that and make himself look good.
44) Barack Obama - (Please refrain from using terms like Uncle Tom if you ain’t nonblack. That’s a black people’s thing) Aye, I use to support him so much, and I will defend him from wite supremacy (his right wing critics were fucking horrible), but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he was a successor to Bush. If Bush was the match, then Obama was the fuel to the flames of neoliberalism and imperialism. He continued the war of Afghanistan and took forever to end Iraq. He started a war with Libya and Syria which contributed to the destruction of them. He also funded terrorists to take care of that, which includes ISIS and Al-Qaeda, that led to Syria almost being taken over by ISIS, and Libya being toppled and overran by extremists and reviving the enslavement of black Africans. Expanded the drone program and drone the shit outta the Middle East and Africa, killing multiple people, including women and children. Also, invaded Mali for its resources and almost backed up the Ukraine coup (which was led by Neo-Nazis). Had thoughts of overthrowing Iran, Venezuela, and DPRK. Let Killary Clinton into his administration and she backed him in the wars of Syria and Libya. She was also behind the coups of Egypt and Honduras and the destabilization of countries like Venezuela and Haiti. Anyway, Obama, like the previous ones, continued neoliberal policies and austerity cuts, which added fuel to wite supremacist/neo-fascist groups and increased economic inequality. Continued the Espionage Act/McCarthyist like policies. While posing as a civil rights president, he didn’t do shit about the massive police violence against black people (especially LBGTQs, women, children, and the underclass) and trans people especially trans women, didn’t do nothing about the continued anti-blackness, racism, anti-LBGTQ-ism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia in this country, and let anti-immigrant policies happen including mass deportations and the ICE. Let the near privatization of public schools happen. Signed a deal with the TPP, which was a continuation of NAFTA. His policies and actions were the final nail in letting the next president. He’s still trying to make himself look good to this day. Another liberal with blood on his hand. However, if McCain won, he would’ve done the same thing as in whatever Bush did, the next person can do better.
45) Donald Trump - The final one for now. Ahhh!!!! What the fuck happened? I shoulda knew this damn bastard would win with how much the previous presidents destabilized this country. Fascism is what happens when the wite cishet patriarchal capitalist structure is in a dire situation. Trump is a fascist, no if, and, or buts. He’s a capitalist trying to appeal to working class as in I’m on your side (populism), like a fascist. He targeted non-Christians and nonwites and planned to take care of him, like a fascist. Ultranationalist and ultra patriotic, like a fascist. Uses racism, sexism, xenophobia, and anti-LBGT-ism, like a fascist. Uses a hell lotta cult of personality, like a fascist. Supports privatization of services and industries, like a fascist. Anyway, Trump in his beginning has done so much. Centers his presidency on racism, sexism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, and let his cult followers attack nonwites. He has been exposed as a sexual predator who has sexually assaulted a number of women, including a 13 yo girl and his ex-wife. He also been exposed of discriminating against black tenants in the 70s, and supported a conviction against four black boys and a Latino one after they were accused of raping a wite woman jogger, ya know the same fucking cases where black men were accused of raping WW. Hires a wite supremacist and someone who’s pro-privatization of public education into his office (Steve Bannon and Betsy DeVos respectively, although the former is gone). He also hired Mike Pence as VP, who’s horribly homophobic and has ties with toxic lobbies like ALEC and the Koch Bros. Plan to privatize and cutting many services and industries. His whole administration was full of capitalists and bigots. Tried to abolish Obamacare and cut funding to it. Dropped a huge bomb on Afghanistan and ordered air strikes at Syria and had thoughts of invading Venezuela and Iran. Defended wite supremacists and Neo-Nazis when they attacked and called em fine SOBs. Ordered a Muslim Ban and amped up anti-immigration legislation, including the rise of the ICE, targeting of brown and black immigrants, deportation of said immigrants, and separation and detainment of immigrant children. Targeted NFL players who kneeled during the Anthem, and attempted to make it illegal. Let police continue with their brutality, and stood by them, and released a Blue Lives Matter Bill, that increased their power. Oked the Keystone Pipeline, which would build through protected and sacred lands, including Indigenous land. Let the FBI target black radicals and BLM, under the excuse of black identity extremists, despite the issue of wite supremacists and Neo-Nazis and their shit. Did nothing about the rampant racism, sexism, anti-LBGTQ-ism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, both individualized and institutional. Also, his cult followers are fucking terrible. I’m gonna stop there for now. Anyway, Trump is a terrible human being and he needs to be off social media. He deserves to be hated, fuck what you say, and I’m tired of his ass kissers making excuses for him. As long he stays, fascism remains, and the libs and conservatives are keeping him there.
So that’s it for now.
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Remembering Slavery and Emancipation: Reparation and Restitution
The Venerable Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Archdeacon of Croydon, writes...
Paul’s words to the Galatians, “For you are all one in Christ Jesus”, reminds us of our common humanity. For many in and of the Caribbean, August is our month of remembrance of the inhumanity of slavery and human trafficking, and the sin of racism. On August 1st, 1834, British slaves were “given” their “freedom” a year after the 1833 Abolition of Slavery Act was passed. Every year in the Caribbean and Canada, August 1st is commemorated as Emancipation Day, and in some countries, there is also a bank holiday on the first Monday in August.
A funny thing happened to me this August. Somehow, I decided that the beginning of August was the same here as it was in the Caribbean, and not only did I mark Emancipation Day, as usual, but I also transposed the bank holiday and took the day off (assisted by the fact that it’s a bank holiday in Scotland and so marked in most UK diaries). I think I have to blame my discombobulation on the pandemic, as I was due to be in Barbados on holiday this year, but due to the exigencies of international travel at this time, I am on staycation in the UK. So, with a clear diary, I spent the day in bittersweet reflection on the past, present and the future challenges which continue on from the legacy of historic slavery and the role the church in its establishment and continuation, as well as in its abolition. I say bittersweet because that August liberation day turned into a four year transitional apprenticeship period in order to give the slaveowners time to adjust to their new circumstances, preserving the planters’ access to a poorly paid labour force while keeping the ex-slaves in subservient conditions.
Since 1998, the United Nations has designated the 23rd of August as the International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its abolition, in recognition of the day on which the Santo Domingo (today the twin island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic) uprising began in 1791, a date that would play a critical role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. Therefore, the whole of august is consecrated as a month of remembering historic slavery and its terrors, celebrating abolition, and acknowledging the substantial changes and challenges in the lives of people of the African diaspora.
I was born in Barbados and have always been aware of my small island’s significance in the history of British Atlantic slave trading. Barbados was the first British “slave society” and the most profitable for 100 years. The British arrived in Barbados in the 1620s, and after first experimenting with indentured white labour planting cotton, indigo and tobacco to no great profit, the colonists and traders hit on the highly profitable crop of sugarcane using the free ‘easily disposed and replaced’ labour of stolen and enslaved Black African people. More than 12 million enslaved African people were transported during the three centuries of the transatlantic slave trade to the Caribbean and North and South America, especially Brazil. Without a doubt, many individuals and companies in the UK amassed great wealth and benefited from the profits of slavery. This was also true of many Christians and the church itself. Despite the work of Christian abolitionists who demonstrated a radical resistance to the institution of slavery and racial bigotry, many Christians supported the institution of slavery and colluded with it until its enforced end. Even the oldest Anglican theological college in the Americas, Codrington College, was founded in 1714 with the profits from the bequest of Christopher Codrington, who in his will left portions of his sugar cane plantations to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts to establish a religious college in Barbados. Over 44 million descendants of African slaves now live in the Caribbean, and countless millions live in the Americas or have migrated worldwide, especially in the former colonial countries of Britain and Europe. Some have even made their way back to Africa. Many of those descendants are now calling for reparations.
Reparation is the act of making amends, and of giving satisfaction for wrongs, injuries, loss, or disadvantages caused. These can involve material and social repayment made in recognition of the harm done. Given its history, it is no surprise that Barbados has been at the centre of the Caribbean debate about reparations, led by Barbadian historian Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor of University of the West Indies. In 2013, Caricom, the Caribbean states’ regional body established the Caribbean Reparation Commission with a focus on reconciliation, truth, and justice for the victims of slavery and their descendants. In the UK, a petition was put to Parliament in summer 2020 calling on the Government to compensate all African and Caribbean descendants to achieve a more equal society. The government response was that while reparations for the transatlantic slave trade are not part of the Government’s approach, they fully recognised the strong sense of injustice and the legacy of slavery.
The debate about reparations for historic slavery is fuelled not only by the fact that African people were stolen, and their labour appropriated but also by the post-abolition injustice perpetrated on slaves and descendants of slaves, where they were required to repay colonists for the “loss” of slave labour after emancipation. Haiti, which achieved emancipation in 1804, had to take out a loan in order to compensate the French colonists. The exorbitant interest from the debt meant it was not paid off until 1947, resulting in impoverished Haitians paying out more than twice the value of the colonists’ claims. In the UK, it took until 2015 for British taxpayers, including those of African and Caribbean descent, to finally pay off the loan of 20 million which is equivalent of billions of pounds in today’s money to former slave owners to compensate them for losing their slaves in 1834. The shocking irony of a formerly enslaved people being forced to compensate those who had enslaved them cannot be underestimated.
Those calling for reparations are drawing on a deep well of social justice, where it is not enough to simply apologize, but to acknowledge a moral duty as such to repair the damage of the wrongs committed. Since the abolition of slavery there has never been a concerted attempt to redress the wrongs of historic slavery or to make reparations for the damage and trauma done to people of African descent and heritage. Two recent examples in calls for reparations demonstrate divergences of responses. In 2019, the University of Glasgow acknowledged the fact that they had gained significant financial benefits in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries through donations and bequests with their roots in slave ownership and the trade in slave-produced goods. They became the first UK university to acknowledge this with the publication of a comprehensive report, Slavery, Abolition, and the University of Glasgow, and have launched a major plan of reparative justice which includes working collaboratively with the University of the West Indies and raising £20 million to establish a Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development Research. However, when in July 2021, protesters in the UK and the Caribbean demanded that a British MP hand over his 621-acre sugar plantation to the people of Barbados as compensation for his family’s 200 years of slave owning and trading on the island the response was very different. Mr Richard Drax, MP for Dorset South, said the while role of his ancestors was “deeply, deeply regrettable” he resisted their demand for reparations. Richard Drax’s family, like many other colonists, had become incredibly rich from their slave plantations and not only continued to hold those Caribbean estates but also purchased large estates in the UK also and continue to benefit from their slave trade accumulated wealth.
The fight for reparations is not new, for reparations are fundamental to a Christian understanding of repentance, where we turn away from past negative actions, showing remorse and commit ourselves to future actions that demonstrate a turning to God, and the promise to walk in his ways. As we turn away from the wrong, we also act to right the wrong. Reparations are simply the biblical principle of restitution taught throughout Scripture. Reparations are a matter of penance, restoration, and reconciliation. As it says in Isaiah 58, Christians must be the “repairers of the breach” between the past and continuing injustice and God’s just future. Reparations should be intentional redemptive actions of the church. The divide and the damage caused by the breech of slavery and racism remains evident in the inequities between communities of different skin colours worldwide, and especially for those of the African diaspora. Many of those calling for reparations or compensation are not calling for one-off payments but rather a strategic response to the injustice of historic slavery. The recently adopted Anti-Racism Charter of the Diocese of Southwark, is one small step along the road to repair, restoration, and restitution.
Find out more about the Southwark Antiracism Charter at southwark.anglican.org/antiracism.
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Bringing Stories Out Of The Shadows With The Artistic Director Of The Sydney Biennale, Brook Andrew
Bringing Stories Out Of The Shadows With The Artistic Director Of The Sydney Biennale, Brook Andrew
Dream Job
Sasha Gattermayr
Brook Andrew is the artistic director of the 2020 Sydney Biennale. Here he is at Cockatoo Island, one of the five venues around Sydney the exhibition is held, next to Lhola Amira’s installation Philisa: Ditaola (To Heal: Divining Bones). Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
Not less expensive than gold by ArTree Nepal. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
Brook surveys ArTree Nepal’s installation, Not less expensive than gold.. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
A glance at ArTree Nepal’s Not less expensive than gold. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
Ibrahim Mahama’s No Friend but the Mountains is made of charcoal jute sacks, sacks, metal tags and scrap metal tarpaulin. Photo – Zan Wimberley
Entering Ibrahim Mahama’s large-scale installation No Friend but the Mountains. The Ghanian artist is renowned for wrapping buildings in these jute sacks! Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
Cockatoo Island is one of five venues across Sydney hosting the biennale. Most of the works here have been made specifically for that site. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
Brook contemplates Lhola Amira’s piece Philisa: Ditaola (To Heal: Divining Bones). Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
Philisa: Ditaola (To Heal: Divining Bones) by South African artist Lhola Amira. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
The industrial scale of Cockatoo Island dramatises the installation pieces exhibited there. The Act of Perseverance by Jose Dávila. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
re(cul)naissance by Dr Léuli Eshrāghi is made from a neon light and fabric hovering over a water pool beside a moving image installation. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
The Act of Perseverance by Jose Dávila is an installation piece made from objects found on Cockatoo Island. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
Healing Land, Remembering Country by Tony Albert on exhibit at Cockatoo Island. The sustainable greenhouse invites its visitors to sit and reflect, and engage in the action of remembering. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.
Retaule dels penjats (Altarpiece of the Hanged People) by Josep Grau-Garriga exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Photo – Zan Wimberley
Brothers (The Prodigal Son) by Tony Albert outside the National Art School. Photo – Zan Wimberley
THERE MIGHT BE NO OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD AS GOOD AS WHERE I AM GOING TO TAKE YOU by Joël Andrianomearisoa exhibited in the Grand Courts at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Photo – Zan Wimberley
Approximation to the Scenes of the Facts by Teresa Margolles exhibited at the National Art School. Photo – Zan Wimberley
Hanging bark paintings by Noŋgirrŋa Marawili at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Photo – Zan Wimberley
Brook Andrew knew he wanted to be an artist when he was growing up, which is good because he is one. ‘I don’t really get asked that question much,’ he admits. ‘But when I was a kid I thought about what I wanted to do, and I suppose it was just make art, and now I do.’ It’s perhaps the most uncomplicated way I’ve heard someone with such an impressive career distil their passion. His frankness is refreshing.
With a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters in Fine Art, Brook has woven an impressive academic career through his artistic achievements, fitting them in somewhere between a photography laureate position in Paris and a survey show at the NGV! He holds a staggering number of professorships and research assistant roles at universities in Australia and the UK. He’s exhibited in the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, held fellowships with the Smithsonian in the USA and a residency in Berlin. In March he received an Australia Council Award for Visual Arts. He is, without a doubt, the most astonishingly accomplished person I have ever interviewed.
But now, as the Artistic Director of the Sydney Biennale, he can weave all these tendrils of his professional life together. Drawing on his Wiradjuri heritage and the focus on community he has centred his artistic practice around, Brook developed an entirely First Nations-led program for the country’s oldest and largest Biennale.
The 2020 Sydney Biennale is titled NIRIN, the Wiradjuri word for ‘edge’. As an artist, Brook has focussed on bringing stories from the margins into the centre, and challenging the traditions that excluded them for so long. As an artistic director, he has the ability to program artists whose art asks the same questions. His groundbreaking program is dominated by First Nations artists from Australia, Alaska, South Africa, New Zealand, and Haiti, as well as artists representing the diasporas from China and Africa. Kylie Kwong even made an appearance discussing the cultural impact of food!
Brook was appointed in 2018, giving him two years to conceptualise, prepare and program over 700 artworks by 101 artists and collectives from around the world. For the Biennale’s 22nd iteration, the free contemporary program occupies five venues across Sydney, including Cockatoo Island – where the photographs accompanying this story were taken. Just 10 days after it opened, the monumental program was forced to close, as the world locked down due to the health crisis. But earlier this week the program re-opened, with extended dates.
It’s Brook’s job to let loose hundreds of potential concepts, and then string them all back together again, catching artists and their work in his net of ideas. It’s a difficult role to pin down, and one that means something different to every person who holds it. But Brook’s programming carries the same intention as his art: to challenge the idea of Australia we have been taught for so long, by bringing new stories out of the shadows.
The most important verb in my get-your-dream-job vocabulary is…
Self-determination. It’s a pretty powerful verb. It’s about the need to control our lives and have control of our lives, and the pathway you set for yourself. Especially being Indigenous and especially being in a place which denies a lot of the history of its own country – there are real issues at stake within the concept of ‘self-determination’ that many Australians don’t understand, especially with what’s going on at the moment with Indigenous Lives Matter. I think for people to determine their own lives is the most powerful thing that anyone can do.
I came to this role by…
Following the pathway of hidden shadowed areas, in histories that often ignore a balanced view of the world.
The process of curating this exhibition has been…
A state of constant engagement and excitement, but also problem solving.
The most rewarding part of my job is…
Seeing the accomplishment in the artists and communities, and also the self of achievement within the staff and volunteers through the development and creation of the works, and the public who finally see parts of themselves in the work, or a sense of new journeys.
Over the years I have learned…
That we constantly learn and change our mind. In our personal lives it’s okay to feel that something is shifting or that you’ve got a different opinion. I think people can get stuck with a particular rhetoric or a particular value through their childhood, or through insecurity or something else, but it’s important not to be stuck.
NIRIN is a groundbreaking program for the Sydney Biennale. As the artistic director, how is this Sydney Biennale different and what are you trying to achieve?
NIRIN is First Nations and artist-led, the trajectory is to present urgent issues of the state of where we are today in the world that is often pushed to the side, these include issues of First Nations sovereignty, working together, healing and the environment.
Biennales are the legacy of the great European exhibitions that exhibited the wealth and collections of often colonised lands, the effects of this heartache is often ignored and the inter-generational cycles of pain, trauma and poverty are greatly misunderstood by the status-quo. Therefore, to create a biennale that focuses on shadow areas due to ignorance is removing the blindspot and opening dialogue for healing and working together.
How does your work as an artist inform your work as an artistic director?
I was really surprised when I got the call to submit a proposal. But the first thing I thought about was how to empower the artists to do their work, especially when the issues [they create around] are often glanced over. Whether you’re a queer artist or an Indigenous artist, I think there needs to be a level playing field on a broader scale of how we look at the visual arts, especially when it’s usually from the European perspective of what art is. I think that because within my practice I work with communities and engage in collaboration and interdisciplinary works constantly, that really gave me those skills to support the artists in the Biennale as much as possible.
I am interested in the power of objects, and this includes historical objects that were often stolen from people’s traditional homelands and placed within international museums. These collections become places of power and voyeurism, and objects often become empty. Empowering these objects through community and ceremony, or alerting the status-quo to these histories is a passion of mine, and there is a sense of this within NIRIN.
The 2020 Sydney Biennale will run until late September. For information on programming, venues, events and a complete list of artists, visit their website here.
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Voodoo:
History: Voodoo refers to "a whole assortment of culture elements: personal creeds and practices, a system of ethics transmitted across generations" -Leslie Desmangles, a Haitian professor at Hartford's Trinity College. Voodoo is bases to the combination of spiritual and ancestral cults and healing traditions that the African slaves brought to the new world and on the form of folk Catholicism of Africa and Europe. It 12 is still practice today, and is extremely common the region of Haiti's where it is said that among 8 million people practice it. It is also practiced in places such as the Bahamas, Miami, New York and Montreal. Voodoo emerge in the 16th century among enslaved African's in the Spanish Caribbean colony of Santo Domingo, which became the republic of Haiti in 1804. Voodoo was first practiced by the Africans and Creole slaves feeling the violence of the Haitian Revolution in 1791-1804. The majority of these settled in New Orleans. "A law created in 1685, prohibited the practice of African religions, and required all masters to Christianize their slaves within 8 days of the arrival in Haiti." From the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century, 800,000 African slaves were brought to Santo Domingo. Catholic missionaries managed little in preaching to slaves beyond giving them the sacrament of baptism. Shortly after, a resilience of the slavery begun, in which Catholic saints and symbols joined spiritual forces with refashioned African traditions. Although African slaves were brought to Haiti and New Orleans about the same time, Voodoo development is quite different in either area. Voodoo in Haiti was used to give strength to the slaves through hardships and suffering. Revolts inspired by practitioners, led the survivors to flee to New Orleans, in which is was greatly suppressed each time if tried to reemerge until the 19th century.
Voodoo neither depends on the teachings of a founder, nor scripture, nor formal concept. There a significant variations around the world. In some parts of Haiti, voodoo is characterized by ancestral relevance. Whereas in other parts of the West Africa, it is cultivated by spirits. The Voodoo place of worship is called a Pantheon, and is divided into to principle rites. These are:
• The Rada: Deities that are 'cool' and serene
• The Petwo: Deities that are 'hot' and feisty
Communication and contact with Voodoo's miste (mysteries) include:
• Prayer
• Praise
• Ablutions
• Offerings
• Spirit possession
• Drum and dance ceremonies
• Divination
• Animal sacrifice
These rituals aims's are to "ensure, establish or reestablish harmony between practitioners and the miste to protect practitioners from sorcery." When bad things happen, consultation of the ritual specialists occurs, who arrange ceremonies to provoke spirit possession, so that communication with the miste can occur in order to discover what the cause of the discord, disease, problem or misfortune is and to determine means of resuming to harmony and healing. Some of the ritual appeasement's that occur for the miste include:
• Artistic communal drum and dance ceremonies
• Animal sacrifices
• Praising and feeding the Iwa
Healing rituals consist of:
• Herbalism
• Ritual baths
• Leaves
• Water
• Song
• Dance
• Blood
• Healing
• Communication the with the sacred
God's of Voodoo: There are many different Gods that voodoo worships. Listed below with a short summary:
• Legba/ Elegba, Eshu, Ellegua: This is the God of crossroads, singer, fighter, fool, and the guardian of the door into the spiritual realm. He appears as a child or a old man with a crutch. This is an expression of his speed and unpredictable behavior. He is believed to be a cheater, but also delivers messages of destiny. The symbolism is a rebellious child, yes also a wise old man. Some myths say he has stolen the secrets of the Gods, and given them to the people. Because he is the guardian at the door, every ritual begins with invoking him and saying goodbye to him, which enables communication with other god to flow better. Those who have died, are able to return back to the world of the living in they obtain Legba's blessing.
• Shango/Xango/Chango: This is the God of fire, fighter, judge and Lord of the lightning and thunder. He is said to be a brave, healthy looking man God. He was initially worshipped by the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. He was born as one of the Earth Gods, and lived as a king in the Oyo land on earth with people. Today he is worshipped as a god of justice. Invocation can help with legal proceedings or it can give more power or courage.
• Oshun/Oxum/Ezili/Erzulie: The Goddess of love and power of creation, abundance and passion. A seductive and beautiful young lady. Oshun: She is beauty, sensuality and love. Erzulia: A lady of visual arts and jewels. Spreader of joy and passion. This goddesses heal diseases with cold water upon which she rules. She feed the hungry with her generosity. She increases universal prosperity so all can enjoy the beauty of creation. She is the mother of witches and colours herself in the blood of her enemies. The ruler of virtue.
• Oya/ Yansa/ Aida-Lenso/Olla: This is the Goddess of wind, fire, water and rainbow. She is the ruler of nature. A fighter who is courageous, beautiful, passionate and unpredictable. She is a goddess of sudden change. She can show her power through paths of destruction such as wind storm, floods and earthquake. Her power stems from her speed and ability to change things instantly.
• Yemaya/ Imanje/ La Balianne: Goddess of the seas and personification of female power. She gives nutrition, food, and takes care of female power. She protect children (unborn and living). She has the power to nurture and destroy. In many places, she is celebrated on the days of a full moon.
• Obatala/ Oxala/ Batala/ Blanc Dani: Goddess of heavens and personification of creative energy. She/ He is old with white hair, kind and powerful. In the Yoruba tribe, she/ he is the goddess of creation. She/ he is both male and female at the same time. She/ he personifies justice, wisdom, abilities and generosity. She/ he bring wealth and well being, heals the most serious and deadly diseases.
• Ogun/ Ogum/ Ogu: A man who is wild of the woods. The God of Iron and smithery. Protector of wealth and work. He is both peaceful and dangerous. He transforms wild forests into new lands for the Gods. He is called 'The one who prepares the way'. He teaches people how to use knives for self defence in the jungle. He teaches people smithcraft so they can build new homes and villages. He is considered the father of civilizations and technology.
• Agwe or Agwe- Taroyo: God of water. Lord of season. He is handsome and proud and like order. Strong in character and in tasks. Protector of animals and places and preserves harmony in nature. He is summoned to calm waves of the sea, and is mainly worshipped by those who fish. People under his protection will never drown and water will never harm them.
• Damballah or Aida-Wedo: Primordial god. God of snakes. He has the form of a snake. Protector of trees and waters, he is vivacious, strict and brave. He is an ancient god. The original creative power.
• Loco: He is the spirit of vegetation and male form of plants. Another primordial god. There is a legend that says he was the first priest that was transformed into a spirit from a human being. He is recognized at ceremonies by a gnarled stick that he always has with him, or by his companion who always smokes a pipe.
• Simbi: The lao of white magic. Depicted as a green snake, and considered to be very wise. He provides a certain connection between people and ghosts.
• Symbol Petro; He represents the aggressive side to voodoo. He has only a dark and negative character. A sacrifice is always given
• Baron Samedie, La Croix, Cemetiere Boumna and Guede: God's of death and cemeteries. Baron Samedie appears as a thin black man wearing a hat and holding a walking stick. Baron La Croix appears as a skeleton, in which he answers all questions sarcastically and has chilling looks. Baron Cemetiere Boumba has a sinister look and his behaviors invoke fear. The colours that represent the barons are black and purple. Rituals to barons are to be done at night-time in a cemetery.
• Marassa: The specialty of voodoo is the worship of twins. Two godly twins: Mawa and Lisa symbolize active male and passive female energy, personify the sun and the moon. Together they create one god that symbolizes inseparable divine unity.
Voodoo Dolls:
Voodoo dolls are mostly identified with a form of African folk magic called "Hoodoo". This is a combination of animism, spiritism, and other religious beliefs and practice at originated in Africa. They have been traditionally made to represent someone that a practitioner is trying to put a spell on or curse. They are made from corn shaft, potatoes, play, branches, roots or clothes stuffed with plants. Fictional movies have extremely is characterized their uses.
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Ethiopia to The World: The Origins of Coffee in Africa
Coffee has come a long way from its birthplace in the hills of Ethiopia. Today, you’ll find it growing and being sipped all over the world.
It has moved many miles, been contested, stolen, and obsessed over. Its roots in Africa help tell the story and serve as a reminder of the changing relationship that Africa has had with the rest of the world.
We’re going to take a look at how Africa plays into the journey of coffee, its popularity, and where it is today.
You may also like Why Rwandan Youth Are Turning Away From Coffee Production
Woman serving coffee brewed the traditional way at a farm in Ethiopia. Credit: Meklit Mersha
The History of Africa’s Coffee Trade
As we trace the roots of the coffee trade, it takes us back to the Horn of Africa, a peninsula with coasts on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Over many centuries, important trade would take place on the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, known as the Gates of Tears, between Ethiopia and the western Arabian Peninsula, particularly Yemen.
An important player in these trading empires was the ancient Kingdom of Aksum. It was believed to have been founded in 150 BCE, centring in what we now know as Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia.
Aksum had the benefit of direct access to both the Upper Nile and the Red Sea during the third to the sixth century and was considered the greatest marketplace in North Africa. Its trade extended to what we know today as Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. Merchants traded agricultural products such as salt, ivory, tortoise shells, gold, emeralds, silk, and spices across the region, bringing power and wealth to the kingdom.
However, they could not hold up against the expanding Islamic Empire, or Caliphate, who gained the upper hand when they seized control of the invaluable Red Sea and most of the Nile. The Islamic Empire then witnessed a century of rapid expansion across much of northern Africa and Spain under the rule of Umayyad Caliphate.
The caliphate would go on to control coffee trading. By the 14th century, however, the Empire grew tired of trading with Ethiopia for their coffee. Instead, they began cultivating their own coffee with plants smuggled out of Ethiopia to Yemen.
These ancient kingdoms in Africa were involved in the same acts as other kingdoms and empires all over the world: conquering, trading, and attempting to maintain their power and monopolies. This is something that would change over time.
A camel caravan, Ethiopia. Credit: ILRI, Apollo Habtamu
The Ottoman Empire’s Rule Over Coffee
Over the next 200 years, qahwa (coffee in Arabic) became widely cultivated across regions in Yemen, which shared a coastline with the Horn of Africa. This was helped by relatively fertile land, rainfall, and high elevations in the surrounding highlands of Mocha.
With coffee becoming an important part of everyday life within the empire, there was a great economic benefit for its growth and trade. By the 16th century, the powerful Ottoman Empire had built a coffee monopoly which they fiercely protected. They even developed the practice of boiling the coffee berries to make the seeds sterile and prevent their theft and cultivation elsewhere.
Yemen also held a strategic location in the region, right on the west of the Arabian Peninsula. Its bustling ports of Mocha and Al-Makha linked the camel caravan trade routes to the Red Sea and were the gateway for coffee exports to Egypt, Syria, and beyond.
The Horn of Africa is integral to the discussion of the beginnings of coffee trading. It was not only the birthplace of Arabica coffee but also where it was first shipped overseas before the expansion of the coffee trade.
You may also like Tracing Coffee’s Roots Back to Al-Mokha, Yemen
Coffee laborer at a coffee nursery in Ethiopia. Credit: Meklit Mersha
Coffee Travels Around The World
Having a monopoly over the coffee trade was a powerful tool: coffee was in demand and lucrative. It was fiercely guarded but also slyly stolen.
The downfall of the Ottoman Empire’s coffee monopoly came when the Dutch stole coffee seeds from Yemen in the late 1600s. From there, they were taken to the island of Java in Indonesia, a Dutch colony, where they established commercial coffee plantations. Using Javaian land and a Javaian workforce, they went on to dominate the world coffee trade.
The colonists played the leading role in the globalisation of coffee. Coffee went from being concentrated in North Africa and the Middle East to being grown worldwide. It was sought after, which made it the perfect crop for colonists to grow in their conquered colonies.
Slavery and the Atlantic Slave Trade played a significant role in shaping the coffee trade. An estimated 11 million Africans were forcibly taken to the Americas over the course of 400 years.
These slaves formed a workforce that directly contributed to the colonies’ economic success through growing items for trade, including coffee. This included British colonies in the West Indies, French colonies in Haiti, and Spanish colonies across modern-day Latin America.
Brazil, which was colonised by Portugal, was the leading producer of coffee by the 1830s. It relied on black and indigenous slave labour to grow 30% of the world’s coffee.
Colonists not only took plants but lives and livelihoods to ensure the significant growth of coffee.
Coffee ceremony in Ethiopia. Credit: ILRI, Apollo Habtamu
The Appreciation of Coffee in Africa
In Ethiopia, there is a longstanding love affair with coffee. As far back as the 10th century, Oromo warriors were believed to have rolled balls of ripe berries in animal fat and carried them on journeys as rations.
Drinking coffee remains part of the daily routine in Ethiopia. Coffee ceremonies, where coffee is roasted and brewed, are an important cultural activity. They’re the largest domestic consumer of coffee on the continent as well as the largest producer of coffee in Africa, too.
European explorers to Africa also documented the importance and appreciation of coffee. John Hanning Speke, an English explorer, described the local practice of picking and chewing the red cherries straight from the bush while he explored Uganda in the mid-1800s. (100 years later, my family did the same on our farm on the slopes of the Zimbabwean Highlands, delighting in the tastes of raspberry, red mulberry, currant, cranberry, cherry, and raisin.)
David Livingstone and John Kirk, two Scottish explorers, famously followed the course of the Zambezi River in the mid-1800s. Their accounts tell stories of great African kings and chiefs aiding European expeditions by gifting coffee. It was intended to nourish and energise the souls, fuel tired and often sick bodies, and provide the stimulus to cross treacherous waterways and tackle challenging routes.
Coffee sample sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Gardens. Credit: Nicole Motteux
Original letters, diaries, journals, maps, photographs, sketches, and even coffee samples from this time detail European exploration across the African continent. They are now carefully preserved in the archives of the Royal Geographical Society, the National Library of Scotland, National Museums of Scotland, Kew Gardens, and many more institutions in Africa.
From the daily coffee ceremonies in Ethiopia to the gifting of coffee to explorers, coffee has been enjoyed and valued on the continent for centuries.
Early coffee beans parcels carried by tribesmen, Royal Botanic Gardens. Credit: Nicole Motteux
Coffee in Africa Today
Coffee still plays a major role in Africa. You’ll find it growing across East Africa, in Zimbabwe, and over in West Africa in the Ivory Coast and Ghana.
In many of these countries, there are embedded problems which make the production and trade of coffee more difficult. Issues relating to farm size, infrastructure, changing political climates as well as climate change can prevent farmers from excelling in their production. This directly affects farmer’s incomes and makes livelihoods more difficult to sustain.
Yet for many countries across the continent, it remains a key contributor to the economy. It makes up approximately 20% of exports from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.
African coffee is recognisable in its own right. It’s applauded for its unique qualities and delicate flavour profiles, from the floral notes of coffee grown at high altitudes to the distinctive bergamot notes in coffee from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia.
Coffee being roasted at a roastery in Ethiopia. Credit: Meklit Mersha
Coffee has travelled from Ethiopia to the otherside of the world (and also to my family’s farm in Zimbabwe). Along the way, it’s captured the imagination of farmers, traders, colonists, and consumers throughout history. It’s transformed economies and remains part of the daily routine of millions’ of people around the world.
Enjoyed this? Check out Tackling The Challenges of Trading Coffee in East Africa
Written by Nicole Motteux with input by Lilani Goonesena. Featured photo caption: Coffee brewed the traditional way being served. Featured photo credit: Meklit Mersha
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