Episode 241: Unshackling History: Embracing Black Liberation Through Learning
Dive into a revolutionary journey with Espresso Talk Today's special episode for Black History Month.
Host Ama-Robin takes you through an empowering exploration of learning Black history as an act of radical liberation. This episode highlights the pivotal roles of figures like W.E.B. Du Bois and Angela Davis in reshaping the narrative of Black empowerment. Uncover the untold stories of resilience and excellence that form the foundation of our fight against systemic racism.
Join Ama-Robin in this powerful call to action, emphasizing that learning Black history is more than education—it's a rebellion and a path to true liberation. Tune in for an inspiring journey of discovery and empowerment, where our history becomes our strength.
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Hujambo! and Welcome to Espresso Talk today!
I'm your host, Ama-Robin, and this is a special episode to Oakland Black History Month. Today, we are diving into a radical and empowering concept, learning black history as an act of black liberation. So let's shake off the dust, and the forgotten history and reclaim our narrative.
Wait, wait. Black Liberation. I thought we were talking about black history. Okay, I get it, but stay with me for a minute. Black history and black liberation are interconnected and interdependent.
Black liberation is the quest to free black people from white supremacists, cultural norms, ideologies, and systems, basically from white supremacy.
Black liberation means dismantling the structures that have held us back. And it's more than seeking equality. It's about transcending it. We have been living like fish in water surrounded by a white patriarchal supremacy and like fish in the sea, failing to see that we are drinking in the white supremacist thought, culture and norms. Black liberation helps us to wake up to see the sea that we have been living in and drinking from, and to see how blackness has been dehumanized, degraded, denounced, and interiorized. Yet we've been drinking all this in. When we can see this and understand it, then we'll see and understand liberation and experience true freedom.
Well, y'all might not be ready to hear this, but black culture and innovation and art and excellence and genius are real. They are stone cold real. And if you haven't heard this before, it's because we were told over and over and over that the opposite is true. And even worse, that white culture has always been the dominant force that's uplifted the world while black people have just been along for the ride. We've been living in that sea of white supremacy and drinking in the lies and distortions. Learning our history can be a big step towards changing all that and a huge step towards black liberation.
We will understand that the history taught to us and often distorted and incomplete and sometimes outright lies, has been a tool in maintaining this system of oppression. And it is time to break free, and that's what we're talking about on today's show. But before we dive in, hit that subscribe button if you haven't already. And if you're feeling this show, and I hope you are, share it with your fam, your crew, your circle, everyone in your community.
Now grab that espresso or tea if that's your preference, and close the door behind you. We're going to get deep and we're gonna get real. I hope y'all are ready for this.
Akwaba! Welcome, my dear brothers and sisters and beloved gender neutral folks to the Espresso Talk Today show. So yes, our show today is about learning black history as an act of black liberation. I'm gonna say a few names and you're gonna tell me what these people have in common. Marcus Garvey, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, or Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Patrice Lumumba, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Huey Newton, Thomas Sankara, Fred Hampton, Khalid Muhammad, Muhammad Ali.
What do these people have in common?
Okay, I'm gonna tell you in a minute, but I'm sure that you already have some ideas. Have you heard of them Have some of them, most of them all or none Well, this is why we need to learn black history, why we need to control the narrative about who we honor, who we talk about, who we think about, who we examine and about our experience in America and abroad.
The people that I mentioned earlier, I'm sure you've already guessed, they all fought for black liberation. One is still alive, Assata Shakur. And yes, she is related to our brother Tupac, but the rest are now ancestors. And I believe that they are still fighting for black liberation.
And this is why we haven't heard of them. Ron DeSantis and Trump and others, and the whole actually the white supremacist educational system. They don't want us to know these people. But there are more. There are more than more. Many, many more. And there are these people fighting for black liberation right now, today here and alive. And we can't support and honor them too right now today. But we're gonna discuss that in just a minute. Right now though, let's remember some of the powerhouses of black liberation thought and we're going to hear some of their thoughts on black liberation and black history. As I said, they are connected. They are dependent. I like to begin, I know I talked about him a lot, but he's just one of my favorites with Frederick Douglas. Mr. Douglas was born enslaved. Then after he escaped, he became a great abolitionist, a writer order and philosopher, he learned to read and write, and he spent his entire life fighting against slavery.
He's quoted, he said, “I prayed for freedom for 20 years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” What do you think he means there? And that's right - He was referring to escaping and how that freedom, freed him.
But we know that his mind was freed long before his body was, and this still applies today. We have to take action to claim our liberation. What kind of actions? Great question. And we're gonna discuss that a little bit later too. Now, one of my favorite quotes from Frederick Douglass, you know this great man in this great Freedom fighter is “once you learn to read, you will be forever free” facts. Just facts.
Well, my next liberation fighter, W.E.B Du Bois, who believed in the power of education and the talented 10th to lead and uplift the community, of course, you know that he wrote, he wrote the, this changes everything, book the Souls of Black Folk in 1903, that's right.
Dr. Du Bois was a scholar and a visionary who had been fighting for black liberation for decades. I love this quote from him. Here we go. “The south believed an educated negro to be a dangerous negro. And the south wasn't wholly wrong for education among all kinds of men, has always had and always will have an element of danger and revolution of dissatisfaction and discontent.”
That's what we're talking about. This is what leads to liberation. The fight for liberation. Being content and satisfied and comfortable is not the way to liberation, but feeling that dissatisfaction and discontent, that's when you know things gotta change. Then there's the incomparable Angela Davis, her activism and scholarship challenge, systemic injustices head on. She said, “we have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” And this captures the crucial idea that true freedom extends beyond the mere existence of political and social rights. True liberation begins within. If our minds aren't liberated, then neither are we.
And I hope y'all know this Next man, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the father of black history. In 1929, he published the still Relevant book, The Miseducation of the Negro. Dr. Woodson highlights the significance of emancipating oneself from the mindset of oppression to truly achieve freedom. And like Angela Davis, he has asserted the importance of liberating one's mind. Dr. Woodson said just one of my favorite quotes from him too,
“If you can't control a man's thinking, you do not have to worry about his actions. When you determine that a man, what a man shall think, you do not have to concern yourself with what he will do. If you make a man feel that he's inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status. He will seek it for himself. “
And again, facts, facts, facts.
So let's, let me just pose to you, and I hope this isn't offensive 'cause I consider this for about myself too. How long have we accepted feeling inferior or feeling less than?
Why have we accepted feeling inferior or feeling less than?
My answer? Because we are living in a sea of white supremacist thought that has taught this to us and reinforces it every single day until it just doesn't need to be reinforced anymore. The machinery just kept running and feeding us the lies and we accepted them. But these great liberators dare to see something different and teach us something different too.
One of my favorites was Brother Malcolm, Malcolm X, also found liberation in education and learning history was one of his great passions. And he was a real autodidact. Someone who was self-taught and his curiosity and love of learning were his path to liberation. He said, “My alma mater was books, A good library I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.”
Honestly, I could too. Y'all know how much I love to read and learn. I love the classroom though it had its limitations. But a good library is my salvation. And I thank my parents for helping me develop my love of libraries and books.
Finally, and this definitely not last or least. Finally, we come to the Reverend James Cone. If you haven't heard of this great man, this amazing man and great thinker, then I strongly encourage you to visit our black empowerment bookshop on the website. He takes liberation to a new level, both higher and deeper. Reverend James cone rooted the fight for liberation in the power of faith and theology. He draw draws on how we've been fed lies like Dr. Woodson said, mised miseducated about our history.
Reverend Cone said, “Our survival and liberation depend on our recognition of the truth when it is spoken and lived by the people. If we cannot recognize the truth, then it cannot liberate us from the untruth.”
These are the black liberation fighters that I wanna discuss in today's show. And as I said, there were so, so, so many more really more than more. No disrespect to anyone that I didn't mention here. In fact, I would love to read and learn more. Send me your favorite black, black liberation fighter by email. Or you know, contact me on Instagram and I'll post or read out your message. Don't hold back, don't be shy. Send them the Espresso Talk today. Community wants to hear from you. I wanna hear from you.
That's been a lot. Let's take a short breather break here. And this gives us both a chance to breathe for a minute. And when things get intense, we have a lot to think about. I like to breathe. I hope you do too. I will see you in a minute trying to get a lot. And y'all know how much I love this song.
-Song Break -
Welcome back.
Glad you stayed here with me. We have a lot to talk about. So learning history is an act of liberation. Learning our history is a radical act. But why Why is learning history a radical act Glad you asked me that because for centuries it was punished. It was a punishable offense, it was criminalized. Enslaved Africans were denied education, reading and writing. Post emancipation, Jim Crow laws continue this suppression and oppression. And even today, even today, the full richness of black history is often sidelined and diminished and diluted in mainstream education.
So we have to learn our true history, not the history that the enslavers or colonizers taught. The history that is still being taught. Yes, that's right. It is still in textbooks. A lot of this distorted and untrue history. It's taught in movies, it's accepted as facts. Our reeducation is the most powerful way to overcome our miseducation.
And this is a huge step towards liberating our minds and liberating our bodies comes next.
So white American society has hid the truth from us and they distorted it and then they diminished it. The stuff that did leak out that was really positive and showed our contributions was diminished.
Black liberation cannot happen without knowledge of our history. And this has been the same for colonized and enslaved people around the world. Black South Africans weren't allowed to learn their own history. They weren't allowed to learn the language in schools. They were only taught of their inferiority and of white superiority. Same with native and indigenous peoples around the world. Same with the Palestinians colonized by Israel.
This is important because they too have fought for or are fighting for their liberation. And that's why solidarity is so important to be, to have solidarity with their liberation movements. And that's why actually we're deliberately kept apart. You know, there is so much that I wanna say about this, but I promise we will discuss this in much more depth in another show. I also promise that espresso talk today stands with the Palestinians in their struggle for liberation and self-determination.
As a younger woman, as a, as a student, I stood with Black South Africans against apartheid, and I stand with native and indigenous peoples everywhere in their struggle for liberation and self-determination. Their struggle is our struggle.
Let's take another breather break here. We can breathe, you can think, we can stretch, we can do pushups. Whatever makes you feel better. This is some deep stuff and it's not easy to deal with. I'm gonna see you in a minute. Be right back.
-Song Break-
Well, we're back. And let's come back to Black American history. Let's talk about some of the figures, some of the people who are not commonly celebrated, but have every reason to be celebrated and honored. People like Fannie Lou Hamer, a courageous civil rights activist who champion voting rights and economic equality, or Bayard Rustin, the strategic mind behind many of the civil rights movements, and key campaigns.
And we also have scholars like Bell Hooks and Audrey Lorde, whose writings on intersectionality and feminism are critical. Audrey Lorde reminds us that the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. In other words, the entire structure is based on white supremacy in that we need to take bold and radical steps to dismantle that racist structure.
Bell Hooks reminds us that developing a sense of authentic belonging is essential to building strong communities and strong individuals and families within those communities.
And here's a fact, y'all learning our history is not just about knowing facts, it's about understanding the depth of our resilience and our excellence. It's about seeing the full spectrum of what we have been and what we can be and what we truly are already. It's an awakening to the truth that we're not just survivors of a painful history, but creators and innovators who have shaped and continue to shape the world. And this knowledge arms us with the foundation of our fight against white supremacy. And it fuels our pursuit of true liberation. It's is our tool to challenge narratives that seek to diminish our worth and our contributions.
So what can we do? You know, I always say that everything begins with awareness. Awareness of anti-blackness, awareness of patriarchy, awareness of white supremacy, awareness of messina, mess noir, , that's a hard word for me to say. Awareness of the ideologies that are aimed at the continued oppression of the descendants of enslaved people. What else can we do We can be bold and seeking knowledge just like Malcolm X did. We can dive into books that are written by black authors. We can engage with the arts and narratives created by our people. We can talk to our elders, hear their stories, listen to them, and remember to always share what you learn. Each fact, each story, each piece of history that you share is a strike against the change of oppression. And, and I'm gonna throw this in here 'cause this is pretty big. And I don't know if y'all are ready for this, but here it comes.
Recognize and support black liberation fighters today. Who are they I'm just gonna mention one. The Black Lives Matter movement is one such fighter from black liberation. It has been attacked from all angles and all sides, but we gotta stand up for and support black liberation fighters on the front lines today, there are environmental activists, black radicals artists, black LGBTQ+ activists, black historians, black scientists, and so many others who are working towards black liberation. They should never stand alone. We should stand with them. And along those lines, we practice solidarity.
And I'm talking, yes, with these groups, but also global solidarity. I've briefly mentioned the liberation movements by the Palestinians as well as native and indigenous peoples. But we must remember that their struggles are our struggles and vice versa. We can't let white supremacy and colonize mindsets divide us or separate us because that will disempower us. These solidarity movements highlight the interconnectedness of struggles against racism, colonialism, and oppression worldwide. They also underscore the importance of global alliances in promoting and protecting human rights and economic and social justice. Whew. Wow. So there's a lot we can do, A lot we can do. But let's take one last breather break here, then we're gonna wind it down. And I got some information that I think y'all are gonna wanna know. And I hope that y'all are ready for this.
-Song break-
We are winding it down now, but let me just say that learning black history is not just an educational act. It is an act of rebellion, an act of self-affirmation. It's an act of liberation.
As we move through Black History Month, let's commit to this journey of discovery and empowerment. Our history is our strength. And remember, learning our history is not just for black history month, but for every month, every year, and everyone.
And now we're gonna take this one step farther. I spent this entire time talking about how learning history is one important step towards black liberation because it rejects the lies, the half truths and interiorization of black people. Learning history also changes the mindset of people mindset that black people haven't contributed anything to this planet.
Actually, learning history teaches me that black people were at the center of civilization, scholarship, art, music, science and spirituality. And that fills me up. And black liberation is one way of freeing my mind and body. It's both an individual and collective act. Black liberation connects the past and the future with the present.
Now it's your turn, it is your turn. Tell me what black liberation means to you and what role does history play in black liberation.
Do you feel that history has a role in fighting for black liberation?
I wanna hear your thoughts about your fight or your quest, your journey for black liberation.
Share your thoughts and your stories using the #BlackLiberation. Together,we're gonna keep this important conversation going. We're gonna think about and talk about how we can work together for our liberation, and that's what we'll be talking about. I will buy the espresso.
So thank you for being a part of Espresso talk today, and I look forward to continuing these important conversations with you as we strive for liberation for all oppressed people, not just for some, but for all.
Espresso talk today stands for the Liberation of black and brown people.
Espresso talk today stands in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.
Espresso talk today stands in the truth that if one black person is oppressed, we all are oppressed. And if one black person is suffering, we all are suffering.
Liberation is for each and every one of us.
So remember, my fellow warriors know this, deep in your soul, you are powerful, and together we are invincible and liberation is our right.
Asana to all the black liberation fighters past and present who keep the vision of a powerful black future asana to you for being in the building and showing the courage to talk about these issues and the fight for black liberation. And also remember the words Angela Davis, that we have to liberate our minds as well as our society.
If you wanna keep discussing or just reading about these issues, then you should definitely subscribe to my weekly Black Empowerment newsletter, the Normal Beat. We discuss lots of different issues there. You can get your dose of black empowerment and black liberation every single week. Never a dull moment, but lots of powerful, uplifting, and liberating moments.
You can subscribe at the Espresso Talk Today website at espressotalktoday.com or on Instagram at @ama_robin_L.
Join us on Instagram to discuss these issues, share your thoughts, and just find an uplifting and safe space where you are valued and heard.
Again, I'm Ama-Robin for Espresso Talk today.
And remember now more than ever, strength, soul, and reparations Aasha community.
