African American History

Aretha Franklin and former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
Domestic News

Aretha Franklin and the Counterintelligence Program

October 2, 2022 fwstaff
By Abayomi Azikiwe On August 16, 2018, Aretha Franklin, popularly known as the “Queen of Soul”, passed away at her home in Detroit, Michigan at the age of 76. Born in Memphis, Tennessee on March […]
Julia Wright, elder daughter of Richard Wright.
International News

Mr. Blinken’s Blinders

September 11, 2022 fwstaff
By Julia Wright Last month, another chapter of U.S domination in Africa was written, a chapter of such hubris and arrogance towards independent and sovereign African countries that we begin to wonder if there is […]
Nehanda Abiodun 1950-2019
Domestic News

Nehanda Abiodun and the Legacy of Resistance to the Prison-Industrial Complex – Black August Series #4

August 28, 2022 fwstaff
By Abayomi Azikiwe Since the early 1980s, the prison population in the United States has grown exponentially with African Americans, Latin Americans and other working class people making up the majority of those incarcerated in […]
Assata Shakur
Domestic News

Assata Shakur, Black Liberation Struggles and the Cuban Revolution – Black August Series #3

August 18, 2022 fwstaff
By Abayomi Azikiwe As far back in history as the period of enslavement of African people in North America, resistance and rebellion has been met with retaliatory repression from the ruling interests. Freedom fighters such […]
The great union leader, Moranda Smith
Domestic News

Moranda Smith: An African American Revolutionary Trade Union Leader (1915-1950)

August 15, 2022 fwstaff
By Gerry Scoppettuolo On a hot dusty day in September 1949, 34-year-old Moranda Smith strode bravely down the main street of Apopka, Florida. The Klan was after her and she knew it. The night before, […]
Community members hold a sign commemorating the 1967 Newark Rebellion in front of a memorial plaque engraved with the names of those killed.
Domestic News

Newark Activists Commemorate the 1967 Newark Rebellion

August 3, 2022 fwstaff
  By Terri Kay On July 12, 2022 the People’s Organization for Progress, along with other activists and allies, commemorated the 55th anniversary of the Newark Rebellion on Springfield Ave at a triangle plot of […]
Detroit Gateway to Freedom Monument at the Riverfront looking towards Canada, June 18, 2022
Domestic News

Juneteenth Commemorated While Total Freedom for Americans Remains Elusive

June 27, 2022 fwstaff
By Abayomi Azikiwe Juneteenth was designated as a federal holiday during 2021 by the United States administration of President Joe Biden. This act of recognition came in the aftermath of an upsurge in mass demonstrations […]
National Black Political Convention delegates, March 1972
Domestic News

Independent Politics and the Legacy of the Gary Convention Fifty Years On

March 1, 2022 fwstaff
By Abayomi Azikiwe From March 10-12, 1972, an estimated 7,000-10,000 African Americans gathered in Gary, Indiana for the National Black Political Convention (NBPC). The confab was covered extensively in the Black, left and mainstream press […]
Malcolm X speaking to the press
Domestic News

Malcolm X’s Legacy and the Debate Surrounding Critical Race Theory

February 25, 2022 fwstaff
By Abayomi Azikiwe Note: These remarks were prepared for and delivered in part at the African American History Month webinar entitled “Critical Race Theory Forum, Let’s Talk: What is Critical Race Theory and What It […]
New Orleans Battle of Liberty Place, 1874
Domestic News

Disarming the Black Masses Secured the Failure of Reconstruction

February 24, 2022 fwstaff
By Abayomi Azikiwe During the period of the enslavement of African people by Britain and the United States, violence was a key instrument in the maintenance of the exploitative and oppressive system. African people between […]