Hello to my friends, family, and audience in America, India, and abroad please stay tuned for a wonderful and eye-opening political discussion from a very involved political organizer who I worked with in the Movement for a People’s Party in Georgia. If you enjoyed this podcast please take a look into my podcast on several platforms called “India Insight with Sunny Sharma.” I will be posting this discussion to that podcast as well as my YouTube channel“SunnySharma@IndiaInsightMovement.”

David Meadows is my guest: he was a phone banker for Bernie Sanders, was the head organizer for the Movement for a People’s Party’s Georgia Chapter, and subsequently worked as an organizer to petition to get Dr. Cornell West on the ballot in Georgia for the 2024 presidential election. We discuss the role and relationship of government with mediating institutions and how this effects freedom of speech especially protesting as well as a host of other political issues such as the relevance and place of different political parties including the Democrats. We also discuss the need for a united left, the potential space for a new party to galvanize the public behind a leader and a set of issues, the importance of trade unions to remain independent and democratic, and heeding the warnings of Ralph Nader concerning how we use language such as tackling corporatism rather than capitalism and being precise about how we talk about the left and a new coalition to offer a public policy agenda to tackle the myriad of problems our society faces.

Although we differ slightly on our perspective of the democrat party (he feels they have lost track of their message and role as a party of the working class and I support them and feel they still can and will be reformed and reoriented in their stance with enough leadership and imagination) this was a very fruitful discussion where I learned a whole lot from David’s organizing and political education experience. We conclude that we need both grassroots reform and politicians in power to foster meaningful change and reform in Washington and locally in the communities of American citizens. I hope this discussion is just as elucidating for you as it was for me.

In this podcast I summarize some of the main ideas from my 10 part examination of Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology while describing briefly why America needs a new left or must form a new coalition, like it did in the past, to confront the political and economic crisis it is facing today. If you are interested in a particular period please refer to the 10 part series including an introduction and conclusion remarks in my playlist "Black History Month February 2025- Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology (10 part series)"

Black History Month February: The 10 part podcast on Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology

Join me in my ten part series on YouTube, my channel is Sunny Sharma@IndiaInsightMovement (and coming to my audio podcast soon called “India Insight with Sunny Sharma”) to examine the history of black intellectual, social and political thought since 1768, around the founding of the American Republic in 1776, through 5 periods of history outlined below extending all the way up to the seminal election of Barack Obama, who boasted a rainbow coalition, to the presidency in 2008.

1. Introduction

2. Section 1- Foundations: Slavery and Abolitionism, 1768-1861

3. Section 2- Reconstruction and Reaction: The Aftermath of Slavery and the Dawn of Segregation, 1861-1915

4. Section 3- From Plantation to Ghetto: The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War, 1915-1954 Part 1 and Part 2

5. Section 4 Monday February 24- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 1 and Part 2

6. Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present Part 1 and Part 2

7. Part 10 Concluding Remarks on Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology

8. Bonus: Major Themes and Lessons from Black History and President Barack Obama

YouTube channel: Sunny Sharma‪@IndiaInsightMovement‬, podcast: India insight with Sunny Sharma.

I briefly discuss President Barack Obama’s legacy at the end!

The contemporary era 1975-the present is characterized by an explosion of the black middle class, black electoral politics, the bourgeoisie, and black academic scholarship. Even with the proclivity towards capitalist entrepreneurship and the gospel of wealth of Booker T. Washington gaining precedent in this era, there were still some critical Marxist perspectives concerning the problems of black crime as expressed by Jarvis Tyner, who also ran for president two times under the Communist ticket in the 1970s. Moreover, despite critical condemnation of wasteful spending of the criminal justice system there was an inability to stop these developments. There was a consensus that Americans needed schools, healthcare, and infrastructure development not more prisons. Furthermore, there was still immense discrimination in the judicial system towards African Americans especially former Black panther members who were considered to be political prisoners. The Sing Sing prison acknowledged along with Dr. Cornell West that prisons are easier to build than to give hope (it is easier to incarcerate than to rehabilitate and educate). However, these were not the only essential organizations to reform America, change world perception, and alter political structures.

The Black Radical Congress (BRC) sought such provisions as public education improvements, economic justice, and the realization of political democracy for all Americans. The Racial Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001 sought not only to connect class oppression, racial discrimination, and xenophobia, but also to make critical research into black history and why reparations are a necessity for the descendants of slaves. On the other hand, Michael Dyson realized prisons and the history of lynching of the later 1800s and early 1900s was politicized in many ways most blacks don’t understand. The consequences of the Iraq War, the disaster of the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina which marginalized primarily black people, and a need to transcend political divides for the realization of a higher politic resulted in the ascendency of Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008.

President Barack Obama’s ascendency to the presidency in 2008 and 2012 was not just an explosion of hope, it was characterized by a resounding defeat of his critics through his ability and example of navigating complex difficulties in which he shaped public opinion in favor of his perspective and agenda. He was certainly criticized for certain actions and rhetoric, but it was shown through his genuine compassion and communication of the fundamental issues American were facing that he not only cared for the average American, but that he had a plan to respond to their fundamental grievances. President Obama understood the dangers of tribal politics, something he discussed widely at the end of his presidency, but his social media campaign demonstrated that technological advancement can be used in favor of positive political programs rather than become a divisive tool. He advocated peace domestically and abroad in a world in turmoil especially in the Middle East contributing to his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Award. More than anything, President Obama not only boasted a very progressive, radical, and transformative agenda, he stood as a symbol of black excellence and meritocratic success that showed anyone with an education and strong sense of purpose can benefit from the American Dream.

Tune in for my summary of these 9 episodes covering black history since 1768. All these 10 episodes are in my playlist Black History Month February 2025 - Let Nobody Turn Us Around: An African American Anthology (10 part series).

The contemporary era of black intellectual thought 1975 to the present is characterized by a growth in black feminist thought, an expansion of rainbow coalitions by prominent black leaders, an explosion of the black middle class and a black bourgeoisie, and an extension of black political, social, and cultural ideas by influential scholars and academics. In opposition to the New Left Movement, there was a significant rise in conservatism not just in America but throughout the globe. This led to a drastic decrease in liberal welfare programs as well as a decrease in the practical reliance on socialism: Booker T. Washington’s ideology specifically concerning education became the norm in the contemporary era. This period also witnessed the rise of the New Jim Crow: a system of mass incarceration and control of millions of primarily poor black and brown people as evidenced by millions of dollars governmental investment in for-profit prisons throughout America.

The eventual election of President Barack Obama was not only a call to transcend the partisan bickering of Washington, but his presidency stood as a symbol of black excellence against traditional social hierarchies of white supremacy. The feminist Barbara Smith at the 1980 Combahee River Collective argues that world changing revolution don’t have to just redistribute resources, but they also must be pro-feminist and antiracist to be comprehensive enough to include the most historically marginalized people in the modern era, black women. Many feminist and male freedom fighters such as the black panthers, were political prisoners who have garnered immense support for freedom in the modern era. Furthermore, the seminal first black mayor of Chicago Harold Washington through his reform of the segregated city revealed its racist structure and sought to undermine it. Intellectual feminists such as Audre Lorde indicated the necessity of identifying the elements of the oppressor in the oppressed, while Dr. Bell Hooks sought to illustrate the hierarchies of race, class, and gender and how we can overcome them.

This era also saw massive opposition to the South African Apartheid state that lasted for four decades by such black icons such as Randall Robinson and Reverend Jesse Jackson. Jesse Jackson’s rainbow coalition from his run for presidency in the mid 1980s would foreshadow the rise of Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008, 20 years later. However, education perspectives would transform more than politics. Academic scholars would shift the consciousness of minority student towards a greater appreciation of education by moving away from Eurocentric models of learning. What scholars like Dr. West and politicians like President Obama would recognize is that political advancement is more seated in understanding the need for hope, meaning, and purpose rather than identifying elements of subjugation against black America. These ideas would be drawn from many black figures of the past such as academics like W.E.B. Du Bois and social reformers like Dr. King and President Abraham Lincoln.

The rise of such proponents of black nationalism and black power as Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael was seated in deep frustration with the inability to change the fundamental economic conditions of blacks even with the passing of political protections to the vote and legal protections against discrimination. Moreover, there was deep seated opposition to police brutality which resulted in the creation of the Black Panther Party. Along with the rise of Black electoral politics which expressed many of the demands of previous black organization agendas like that of the Marcus’s Garvey’s UNIA, W.E.B. Du Bois’s Niagara Movement, and the Black Panthers 10 point program, the rise of these black nationalist ideologues, cultural nationalism, and black power did not just contribute to creative movements of the future they also sought to regain political ownership of their community. However, even if many agreed on the need for a grassroots approach as a means of forcing political, legal, and economic change, black moderates such as Bayard Rustin felt black nationalism detracted from a unified and strategic effort to overcome inequities and inequality in America. The main nonviolent Civil Disobedience strategists insist that their approach in hindsight led to meaningful change especially as evidenced by the movements to desegregate Alabama in Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham.

Dr. King became much more radical after 1966 sympathizing with Democratic Socialism and a radical proposition called the revolution of values to overcome the evils of racism, militarisms, and racism. This shift in outlook was in many ways inspired by Malcolm X approbation towards capitalist exploitation of black communities. There was also a rise in black electoral politics seeking independent black politics that was person centered and sought to develop political consciousness to overcome the failure of an entrenched system of institutional racism and barriers to political and economic equality.

The Marxist theorist Henry Winston was one of the first people to combine a critique of capitalist inequality undermining race relations with imperialist oppression in such places as South Africa. Like the many organizations and conferences of this periods there were not just strong criticisms of systemic racism, capitalism, and a call for essential rights like health, education, housing, and a decent paying job, there were movements towards a more revolutionary politics seated in the development of class consciousness. What would be witnessed in future periods 1975 to present is a rise in rainbow coalition movements under leaders like Jesse Jackson and Harold Washington paralleling the rise of a black bourgeoisie which would speak to many of the fundamental concerns of the African American community. However, impeccable orators like Louis Farrakhan, though not involved politically, would resonate with the masses due to his fundamental examination of race relations; rhetoric that would mirror that of many past leaders like Malcolm X. There would be an effort to create a social contract that would eventually manifest with the rise of President Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008; a man who would speak to the need for liberal progress, aspirational hope in a changing America, and a rhetoric which would transcend partisan bickering and racial animosity. He would not only lead America out of the worst recession since the Great Depression while speaking to the dangers of inequities in power politically and economically, but he would also provide an ambitious agenda that managed to lead America through an era of great technological advancement while also providing reassurance to the American people that their basic needs would be endorsed and enhanced by governmental support.

Next: Contemporary era- 1975 to the Present Part 1 and Part 2

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My YouTube channel is Sunny Sharma‪@IndiaInsightMovement‬ and my podcast is “India Insight with Sunny Sharma”

This short era of immense change began with the critical case of Brown vs Board of Education in 1954 that established separate but not equal is unconstitutional. This marked a significant constitutional victory in favor of an integrationist approach which led to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement which was launched through the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama in 1955-1956. The revolutionary approach, depending upon who you ask, of active nonviolent Civil Disobedience led by such figures as Rosa Parks, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. King, Ralph Abernathy, Reverend James Lawson, and Bayard Rustin was the leading philosophical and practical approach to integrate public institutions in America including restaurants, schools, and public transportation. This period was characterized by immense grassroots movements led by coalitions of very diverse groups of people welcomed by a more inclusive approach. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded by Dr. King in 1957 revolved around nonviolent civil disobedience as a protest strategy and the goal of achieving full democratic participation through legal protections for the vote.

The young John Lewis and Ella Baker, major leaders in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), demanded not just more radical change and group centered leadership while also endorsing Dr. King’s methods, but they also represented a cognitive and philosophical shift that many leaders such as Dr. King would take after 1966. These shifts occurred due to frustrations from the inability to change the fundamental political and economic conditions of African Americans despite legislative victories such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This tension resulted in the rise of black nationalism, cultural nationalism, and black power movements which influenced many young people to leave the integrationist fold. However, the two most influential black power groups the Black Panthers and partly Black Electoral Politics were not as comprehensive systems compared to the moral tactics and philosophy of Dr. King. Nonetheless, these black power movements, along with Malcolm X who will be discussed in part 2 of We Shall Overcome, have certainly captured the imagination of many young people while inspiring a black artistic and cultural movement to contribute to black expression and excellence even if their approach was somewhat limited when compared to integration.

Still, integration was meant for the meaningful realization of full equality and equity with whites and it was clear that Western civilization not only has structural political and economic barriers to the advancement of colored people, it was also in a crisis. This is why, after 1966, Dr. King viewed that black people were in danger of “integrating into a burning house.” However, his Letter from a Birmingham Jail of 1963 stood the test of time as still relevant today to freedom fighters around the globe of the need to break unjust laws, force the moderates into action against perceived injustice, the reclamation of the social justice function of institutions or to see their degeneration, and so much more. In the next section, I will discuss some of the major movements to shift black consciousness later in the period from 1954-1975 such as Malcolm X, the black panthers, and the movement to elect black political figures many of whom were freedom fighters in the 1970s. The question is why did Malcolm X shift to a black nationalist international perspective and were these movement’s goal to protect, enrich the black community, and form an independent black politics successful in hindsight?

This period is characterized by an intense push for equal occupational opportunities that would yield economic prosperity for all people. This would be realized after World War II where due to the efforts of a variety of labor organizers, many influenced by Marxist theories, America would enter an era of the pinnacle of its union cooperation which would correspond to a great degree of prosperity. However, there was not just a push for jobs through legal and political protections there were efforts to create a variety of new civil rights and educational legislation. Women educator and scholars also became more involved in labor organizing as time went on contributing to the massive membership of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union to 300,000. The involvement of students in this era would foreshadow future involvement of student participation in the Civil Rights movement that would be crucial to ending segregation in the south.

Asa Randolph and others relate a growing global sentiment as countries around the world urged for freedom against the chains of fascism, authoritarianism, and communism that a society is only democratic when the weakest members can exercise not just political rights but has the economic means to fend for themselves. President FDR relates to this global sentiment through his aspirations for greater equity and equality through his 1945 Economic Bill of Rights near the end of his life demanding health care, housing, a decent paying job, and more. As will see at the end of these podcasts, the political agenda of President Barack Obama, especially his passing of Universal Healthcare to provide insurance to millions of poor people and his advocacy against inequality, and efforts to end the 2008 national recession, was in many ways a fruition of this 1945 Economic Bill of Rights.

This period from 1915-1954 saw a significant growth in political consciousness not just of the masses, but also the place of black women whose recognition of the identity of black, woman, and worker is critical in recognizing a heightened political consciousness and achieving rights for all people. Moreover, the rise of Thurgood Marshal saw the translation of the social and moral principles of passed luminaries especially the abolitionists in legislation. The Harlem Renaissance was an immense cultural phenomenon which was an incubator not just for artistic expression, but also for the race question. This would influence future cultural icons like Amiri Baraka and other intellectual who would be entering a more open academic space as the McCarthyism movement subsided, allowing them to influence a whole new generation of young people. The question is what methods, which overlap, would win out not just during the Second Reconstruction of 1954-1975, but also today: nonviolent civil disobedience and the realization of the Beloved Community, conservative black nationalism, cultural nationalism, revolutionary black nationalism, or black electoral politics?

Tune in for the next video podcast to delve more deeply into these ideas.

Next Podcast Monday February 24-

Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 1 of 2

Next Podcast Monday February 25-

Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 2 of 2

Next podcast February 28 Thursday:

Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present Part 1 of 2

Next podcast Finale March 1 Friday:

Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present Part 2 of 2

In Section 3, I discuss some of the prominent movements and themes occurring in between two World Wars, particularly the Great Migration characterized by the movement of millions of blacks from the rural agricultural south to the urban industrial north as well as highlighting some important proponents of the Harlem Renaissance like Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes (the Shakespeare of Harlem), Paul Laurence Dunbar (who inspired the movement after passing away in 1906) and others. The Harlem Renaissance influenced the Great Migration just as the Great Migration influenced the Harlem Renaissance. Not only was there a growth in a black intelligentsia or bourgeoisie, there also was an increase in the black urban worker described in past podcasts. Denied not only political protections and equality but also entry into certain occupations, housing, credit, and capital, there would be immense organization for rights. The Declaration of Rights of the UNIA, established in Harlem, would be spearheaded by perhaps the greatest black organizer in American history Marcus Garvey, who sought not only economic advancement for blacks, but support and self help through his organization for African Americans and the black diaspora around the world. Garvey, heavily influenced by Booker T. Washington yet being way more expansive in his demands for education and political opportunity, would be skeptical of the NAACP and W.E.B Du Bois limited political actualization. However, some community organizers would take it a step further than Garvey, demanding not only a radical redistribution of wealth but world revolution. In part 2 of the Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War 1915-1954, we will see an increased proclivity, prevalence, and sympathy towards communist ideology, influenced by the 1917 Russian Revolution. Not only would blacks recognize race exploitation as tied to wider class exploitation, but in doing so they would seek solidarity with other working class whites in the fight against what Cyril V. Briggs would term "Private Capitalism."

Is such an ideology conducive to accommodating a liberal integrationist perspective of the future Civil Rights movement? In some ways yes and in some ways no. Without a doubt, this period saw not only a bursting of literary creativity and a fundamental critique of white oppression and caste democracy, it would also provide the seeds for marxist theories advocated by future leaders and intellectuals like Fred Hampton, Dr. Angela Davis, and Dr. Cornell West. The failures of the economic system, as evidenced by the Great Depression, only heightened a sentiment towards more radical and alternative economic perspectives. Is the problem corruption, capitalism, or political inequality? This would be a question that many people of this period from 1915-1954 would engage with as American after the Great Depression and World War II would enter an era of immense prosperity. However, within two decades it would be short lived.

Next video and podcast coming out Friday February 21:

Section 3- From Plantation to Ghetto: The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, and World War, 1915-1954 Part 2 of 2

Monday February 24 will come out:

Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 1 of 2

Tuesday February 25 will come out:

Section 4- We Shall Overcome: The Second Reconstruction, 1954-1975 Part 2 of 2

Friday February 28 will come out (either in 1 or 2 parts):

Section 5- The Future in the Present: Contemporary African-American Thought, 1975 to the Present