400 Years of Taking the Knee TV - Robert Moore, America: The War Within TV - Bill Maher TV - Richard Wolff - Panorama TV - Donald J Trump - Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America TV - United States of Hate: Muslims Under Attack TV - Simon Reeve TV - CNN online - taibbi.substack online - Covid 19: World in Danger TV - Totally Under Control: Trump and Covid-19 TV - Simon Schama TV -
People all over the world take the knee. But for centuries black resistant to oppression has taken many forms: when the Quarterback Colin Kaepernick first took the knee in 2016, during the national anthem at an NFL game, there was a huge backlash. Ultimately, this act of defiance cost him his livelihood. In the years since, taking the knee has become a powerful symbol of resistance. 400 Years of Taking the Knee I, Dotun Adebayo narrator, History 2020
Queen Nanny – Granny Nanny – aka Granny of the Maroons, is Jamaica’s original national hero. Her face adorns the country’s $500 bill, recording thee story of a freedom fighter who stood up to the might of the British people to win freedom for her enslaved people. ibid.
Toussaint Louverture, St Dominique: emerged as the rebellion’s national leader … and abolished slavery from Hispaniola for ever … Bonaparte’s army suffered huge losses. ibid.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, The African, written by himself: it was far from the last such attempts to discredit the veracity of black suffering. Ibid
Phillis Wheatley: poems on various subjects were published in London in 1773 when she was 19. She was born in Gambia, and like Sancho, was separated from her family for ever when she was snatched. ibid.
Sojourner Truth ... She heard the spirit of God calling on her to tell the truth … She began to preach restlessly … on the abolition of slavery … She came to know other prominent abolitionists. ibid.
Ned Turner was hanged … Fredrick Douglas escaped his enslavement in 1838. He became a great writer and orator … William Still: ibid.
Canada: Harriet Tubman: The Underground Railway had many heroes. Chief amongst them is Harriett Tubman … ‘I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.’ [Tubman made 13 trips to the South and rescued approximately 70 people from bondage]. ibid.
The American Civil War was over. Enslaved people were now free people. Though the chains of physical bondage were gone, new ways were found to restore the pre-war social order to keep black people down and subjugate them. Racist Jim Crow bylaws for example were enacted in the South long before South Africa institutionalised them as Apartheid … Not all men were created equal; in Black America t he struggle continued. 400 Years of Taking the Knee II
William E B Du Bois 1903: condemned Washington’s programme of industrial education, conciliation of the South, and submission and silence at their political rights. ibid.
Marcus Harvey was described by du Bois as, ‘The most dangerous enemy of the Negro in America and in the world.’ ibid.
100 days after Emmett Till was lynched, in December 1955 Rosa Parks was to initiate the year-long Montgomery bus boycott. ibid.
‘We can’t solve this problem through retaliatory violence. We must meet violence with non-violence.’ ibid. King
Rosa Parks’ bus boycott eight years earlier had it parallel in Bristol in the west of England: Paul Stephenson, the city’s first youth black officer … The Bristol Bus Boycott was organised: it took just 60 days to succeed. ibid.
Muhammad Ali’s boxing career took a turn towards social activism in 1966 when he refused to be drafted into the military, publicly declaring his opposition to the Vietnam war. ibid. King
Independence Day is a celebration, an affirmation that the great experiment of American democracy is alive and well. There still endures here a deep love of country, a touch of the frontier, a belief in American exceptionalism. But all this obscures darker elements. There are centrifugal forces at play tearing the country apart. Robert Moore, America: The War Within, ITV 2022
Tens of millions of Americans have lost faith in the voting process. And are bracing for chaos, even for conflict. ibid.
The anger has barely diminished. Donald Trump and many of his supporters across the country still believe the 2020 election was stolen. ibid.
Some day people soon are going to rise up and kill bankers. Poor bankers, they’re not feeling the love these days. Bill Maher: But I’m Not Wrong, Sky Comedy 2010
Don’t you just miss the days when America was just morally bankrupt? ibid.
Ever since they started giving all the money to the top 1%, the roads, the bridges, the infrastructure, the electrical, healthcare, it all went to shit. ibid.
I don’t wish America was stupid. But it is stupid. But those are two thoughts. ibid.
It’s all sentimental … and Tinkerbell’s life goes out and she dies. The love of our troops: the ultimate in fake patriotism. The troops? Are you kidding? We pay them like shit, we fuck them and trick them on deployments, we nickel and dime them on medical care when they get home, not to mention the stupid wars that we send them to. ibid.
They don’t have an army. They have exploding underwear. ibid.
… When their imaginary friend comes back for the rapture: Oh I was in the bathroom and the rapture came … Here’s a frightening statistic: one out of four Americans believe that Jesus will return to Earth in their lifetime. See that’s religion. Ego masquerading as humility. Jesus is coming back: of course he’s going to want to meet me. ‘Hi, Jesus, Bob Flemstein, big fan, I know you’re crazy busy with the rapture and everything but can you just sign … ’ ibid.
But he has kids? What is this – Bonanza? He has a son? God had a son. And he said to him, Jesus, I’m sending you down to Earth on a suicide mission. But don’t worry, they can’t kill you, because you’re really me. ibid.
Did you see that HBO Special on Ted Haggard? … He said he was impacted by homosexuality. ibid.
Here in the United States you see the theatrical buffoonery. Richard Wolff, interview Abby Martin, The Empire Files: How Capitalism is Killing Itself, Youtube 2016
America is reeling from Donald Trump’s stunning victory. His supporters can hardly believe their man pulled it off. Panorama: Trump’s New America, BBC 2016
He had promised to deport eleven million people, now he says he will prioritize two to three million illegals with a criminal past. ibid.
‘We have some bad hombres here and we’re going to get them out.’ ibid.
‘I am the law and order candidate.’ ibid.
Black anger is exploding. ibid.
Will he continue as the firebrand? ‘I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me.’ ibid.
America is heading into the unknown. ibid.
I think if this country gets any kinder or gentler it’s literally going to cease to exist. Donald Trump, cited Playboy March 1990
We will build a great wall along the southern border. Donald J Trump
‘This was a vicious violent system; you could die trying to register to vote.’ Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America, History 2018
‘What we saw as a problem, they saw as a solution.’ ibid.
‘Their courage, their love, transformed the history of this country by affecting the hearts of people thousands of miles away.’ ibid.
Nearly a century after slavery, racial segregation was the law across the South. ibid.
The strategy begins with a single act of defiance. ibid.
The movement also chooses its leader: a 26-year-old minister who is determined to keep the protests going. ibid.
The Civil Rights Act is the most sweeping change in social policy since the Civil War. ibid.
‘We must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.’ ibid. Johnson
Equality is still elusive. ibid.