The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #61:Take Back the Dome! Reparations Now!

Reparations is a hot topic in many political topics.  Numerous colleges and universities have implemented reparations plans in response to legacy of colonial slavery that funded their institutions and the stolen and enslaved African labor that built their schools.  

Some cities have begun to draft reparations plans as well.  One that has received a lot of attention is the plan in Evanston, Illinois that has made housing grants available to some members of the African community of the Chicago suburb. 

This has not come out of nowhere. It is the result of the revolutionary upsurge of the African Working Class.  

Today we talk with two organizers, Chimurenga Selembao and Akile Anai, of the Reparations Now! Take Back the Dome! campaign from St. Petersburg, Florida to discuss a truly African Working Class-led campaign for reparations, "just economic compensation," for the devastation that the construction of Tropicana Field and gentrification have caused the black community of St. Petersburg.

Together they discuss:

• The Reparations Now! Take Back the Dome Campaign!
• The history of the Reparations struggle and the leadership of the Uhuru Movement in that struggle.
• The economic, social, and political devastation that the Dome  and gentrification, have caused on the African community.
• The 2001 Durban World Conference Against Racism, 9/11 and the impact on the Reparations struggle 20 years ago.
• The 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre and the similar colonial violence against Africans in St. Pete and Florida.
• The proposed solutions to the problem including the creation of a land reparations authority.

Chimurenga Selembao has been in the struggle for reparations to African people, his entire political life.  Chimurenga is the National Director of Organization for the African People’s Socialist Party USA.  Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Chimurenga is a lifelong member of the Uhuru Movement.  Chimurenga oversees the work of Uhuru Movement organizations in the United States.

Akilé Anai is editor of The Burning Spear newspaper, a monthly black power journal in continuous publication since the height of the Black Revolution of the Sixties. Four years ago, in 2017, at age 21, and again in 2019, she ran for St Petersburg City Council, the first candidate of any election internationally to run on the platform of reparations.

 

The People's War radio show is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Muambi Tangu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.