THIS IS REVOLUTION>podcast Ep.95: Does Marxism Have Value for Black People w/ Dr. Asatar Bair

In the midst of a deadly pandemic that to date has infected a total of 17,314,834[1] people and taken the lives of 311,150 U.S. citizens, we have a governing body that is too busy protecting the interests of capital and not that of its people. Of the 311,000+ dead, Black, Hispanic and Native populations are not just dying at a higher rate, but they are dying YOUNGER[2].   With the contagious virus ripping through cities at an unparalleled rate, a shut down of the economy was in order to try to stop the intense spread and flatten the curve. Without a strong moratorium on rent and mortgages coupled with a one-time payment of $1,200, evictions have already started in many U.S cities. A study from the Aspen Institute this August said we’re looking at possibly 30-40 MILLION people evicted from their homes increasing an ever-growing homeless problem in the richest nation in the world.   With a possibility of another round of one-time payments from the government and no universal healthcare on the horizon, the controlling duopoly is failing the majority of poor and working class Americans. The incoming Biden administration ran on “restoring the soul of America”. With a cabinet filled with firsts (first Native Woman, first openly Gay Man, etc.) trotting out people of various ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations means little when the politics of these incumbents is in line with protecting the empire and capital much like their predecessors.     After watching president elect Joe Biden scream at a panel of leading Civil Rights leaders about the merits of his administration and his record, a record that has done everything from ramp up incarceration in poor and Black and Brown communities, to preventing cash strapped citizens from adding student loan debt in their bankruptcies, Biden might be the most racially tone def president in modern history. He equated racial justice to “mixed race couples in commercials”. Is now the time that we as black people look towards a different economic system? Fred Hampton often spoke to the fact that you can’t fight the scourge of capitalism with “black capitalism”, yet many voices in the Black community are constantly trying to close a racial wealth gap by using the rhetoric of entrepreneurship and bootstrapping uplift. I feel that now is a good a time as any to ask the question, “Does Marxism have any value for Black People?”   [1] These figures are from the WHO as of 12/20/2020 [2] These data support the conclusion that US populations of color die of COVID-19 at younger ages as well as at higher rates than the non-Hispanic White population. Study done by Mary T. Bassett, Jarvis T. Chen, Nancy Krieger   In this episode we're going to ask the question about the usefulness of Marxism for Black people. With the two party system failing we're going to take a deep dive into this question with Professor Asatar Bair. Here's a clip of Dr. Bair on the show:   https://youtu.be/RDeJuEaEwHA     Documentaries/Clips with Black Marxists: Thomas Sankara, "Land of Upright Men" https://youtu.be/G7Vlt41HPUE   Kwame Touré, Angela Davis, Fanny Lou Hammer on Black Journal w/ Tony Brown: https://youtu.be/MojDoeloUTc   Here's a show from my hood, the SF Bay Area "People are Talking" from 1988. Huey Newton/ Ishmael Reed/ Jawanza Kunjufu: https://youtu.be/4IGCyN7esO4   Lorraine Hansberry Documentary: https://youtu.be/1iTJ09klm2w     Thank you guys again for taking the time to check this out.  We appreciate each and everyone of you.  If you have the means, and you feel so inclined, BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron only programing, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH!    Become a patron now : https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents?   Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (specially YouTube!) THANKS Y'ALL   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9WtLyoP9QU8sxuIfxk3eg   Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thisisrevolutionpodcast   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast   Twitter: @TIRShowOakland   Instagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland   Medium: https://medium.com/@jasonmyles/they-dont-really-care-about-us-e2f1703ca39e