Memory Matters
We should remember the Civil War and Reconstruction for what they were: periods of liberation that were snuffed out by white elites.
20406 Article(s) by: Enver Motala
Enver Motala is an associate of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation (CERT) at the University of Johannesburg and of the Centre for Integrated Post-School Education and Training at the Nelson Mandela University.
Today, We Celebrate the Carnation Revolution
On April 25, 1974, a mutiny in the Portuguese army put an end to five decades of dictatorship. The revolution that followed showed how working people can take a modern economy into their own hands.
Joe Biden Is a Disaster Waiting to Happen
Joe Biden just announced his candidacy for president. Of all the terrible candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, he is the worst.
There’s Still Power in a Strike
If workers refuse to work, the bosses can’t produce anything. If soldiers refuse to fight, the generals can’t wage wars. That’s the power of a strike.
A Comedian in a Drama
In Sunday’s election Ukrainian voters dealt a decisive rebuttal to the post-Maidan establishment. Yet well-organized nationalist forces represent a time bomb under the new president-elect.
The Military Budget Is a Disgrace
The United States is spending $750 billion on its war machine. That money should be going to food, education, health care, and shelter for working people.
The Nowhere Man
Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez styles himself as the main barrier to Spain’s rising far right. Yet his record as prime minister shows how little he is doing to stop it.
Remembering the Battle of Wood Green
Forty-two years ago today, antifascists beat back a violent, far-right mob that had descended on a diverse neighborhood of North London. Among the antifascist organizers was a young Labour councillor named Jeremy Corbyn.
Defend Your Class
Harvard students weren’t big fans of Bernie Sanders in last night’s CNN town hall. Of course they weren’t. Elite Ivy Leaguers know which side they’re on — and it’s not Bernie’s.
Elizabeth Warren Takes the Lead On Student Debt
Elizabeth Warren’s proposal to cancel student debt isn’t perfect, but it’s the boldest so far. Bernie Sanders should take notice.
Rebelling Against Climate Death
For all its flaws, Extinction Rebellion’s direct actions against climate change are growing in popularity and pissing off the right people. We should support them.
Not In Labor
With meager public support for parents, US women are having fewer children than ever. Raising the next generation is work — and American women seem to be on strike.
No Silver Bullets
Grassroots organizing has pushed the Green New Deal from a leftist pipe dream to the center of US politics in just a few months. That activist energy is key to ensuring strong climate legislation doesn’t get watered down on its way to implementation.
“How Much Greedier Can You Get?”
Stop & Shop workers returned to work today after eleven days on strike. We talked to two strikers, a meat cutter from Connecticut and a deli worker from Massachusetts, about why they walked off the job.
Palestinians Built Israel
Palestinians were not simply displaced and occupied by Israel — Palestinian workers’ superior skills and cheap labor has always been central to the building the physical environment of Israel.
Peterloo Is a Hard Movie to Like
Mike Leigh had plenty of material to make an exciting and historically accurate film about the Peterloo massacre. He made a boring one instead.
An Ode to Sanitation Workers
Without them, the factories would stop, the cities would empty, and civilization itself would collapse. An appreciation of sanitation workers — our whole lives depend on them.
Teachers Are Striking in Poland, Too
A nationwide teachers strike is underway in Poland. It’s challenging the authority of the church and forging links with the country’s resurgent feminist movement — while radicalizing a growing number of students.
The End of Absurdity in Algeria
By taking to the streets in mass numbers, Algerians have unseated Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the country’s president since 1999. Can they take those protests further?
The Fool and the Madman
Last night, Jordan Peterson spouted nonsense about Marxism. And Slavoj Žižek reminded us of how deep into liberal pessimism he’s fallen.