According to Renault in Toward a Counter-Genealogy of Race: On CLR James, it is argued that James always stressed the fundamental importance of the notion of class struggle, and closely followed developments in revolutionary working-class struggles in Europe and the United States. 

“This did not prevent him, however, from analyzing and taking part in movements for decolonization: In 1938, he authored the famous history of the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins; in the 1940s, he was seen as a specialist on the “Negro Question” within North American Trotskyist movements; he also had ties to African independence leaders – Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, and later, Julius Nyerere in Tanzania – and he became involved in “party politics” himself during the time leading up to Trinidadian independence. James strove to reposition Pan-Africanist struggles within a global revolutionary history, by interpreting them in light of Marxist theory and historiography; the latter, in turn, was reshaped through the lens of the experience of (de)colonization. He foregrounded and thematized the relations between class oppression and racial oppression as well as the connections between struggles for emancipation waged by subaltern groups with their own autonomous demands.”

But does this necessarily mean that as a Marxist, James thinks of race in the same way he thinks class? Does a concept of race exist in his writings, one invested with a specific theoretical and/or political function, beyond the attention he pays to actual instances of racial domination?

In Observing Properly Changing Forms of Spontaneity and Organization: Creative Conflicts in C. L. R. James' Hegelian Dialectics and Political Philosophy, Matthew Quest writes that C. L. R. James argued philosophy must become proletarian, not, importantly, that philosophy must be brought to the proletariat (James, Dunayevskaya and Lee, 1986, 128-132). James suggested he had no interest in teaching, and thought it not productive to teach, popular audiences’ pure epistemology [a theory of history … put other way, what makes up the ways we produce knowledge] or the function of categories of cognition. 

For James, one can think correctly without knowing dialectics (James, 1971a, 27). His Notes on Dialectics are instead grounded in political concerns. James asserted that we must be careful not to be stuck in our principles. Politics, or "the organic life of thought forms," must come "out" of contradictions or one's thought is "no good" (1971a, 20, 40). James tried to use his study of dialectics to figure out the relationship between the spontaneity of ordinary people's self-organization and the tasks of a political party or revolutionary organization whose intention was to "propagate” the destruction of bureaucracy" (1971a, 243). Opposed to further inculcating it or expanding it.

we present Pt. II of the three-part series where we are unpacking CLR James’s thought, paying specific attention to his articulation of notions of direct democracy, worker’s self-emancipation/management, and meditations on autonomy with Matthew Quest.

Matthew Quest has taught African, African American and Caribbean History at universities including Georgia State University in Atlanta, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. 

He is known as a scholar of the legacies of CLR James.

Our show was produced today in solidarity with the Native/Indigenous, African, and Afro Descendant communities at Standing Rock; Venezuela; Cooperation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi; Brazil; the Avalon Village in Detroit; Colombia; Kenya; Palestine; South Africa; Ghana, Ayiti, and other places who are fighting for the protection of our land for the benefit of all peoples!      

Listen intently. Think critically. Act accordingly.

thinking through CLR James w/ Matthew Quest Pt. II

AfricaNow! March 20, 2024 Thinking Through CLR James with Matthew Quest Pt.II

Topic and Guest: According to Renault in Toward a Counter-Genealogy of Race: On CLR James, it is argued that James always stressed the fundamental importance of the notion of class struggle, and closely followed developments in revolutionary working-class struggles in Europe and the United States. 

“This did not prevent him, however, from analyzing and taking part in movements for decolonization: In 1938, he authored the famous history of the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins; in the 1940s, he was seen as a specialist on the “Negro Question” within North American Trotskyist movements; he also had ties to African independence leaders – Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, and later, Julius Nyerere in Tanzania – and he became involved in “party politics” himself during the time leading up to Trinidadian independence. James strove to reposition Pan-Africanist struggles within a global revolutionary history, by interpreting them in light of Marxist theory and historiography; the latter, in turn, was reshaped through the lens of the experience of (de)colonization. He foregrounded and thematized the relations between class oppression and racial oppression as well as the connections between struggles for emancipation waged by subaltern groups with their own autonomous demands.”

But does this necessarily mean that as a Marxist, James thinks of race in the same way he thinks class? Does a concept of race exist in his writings, one invested with a specific theoretical and/or political function, beyond the attention he pays to actual instances of racial domination? 

...In short, this debate is captured in the question still echoing in freedom struggles, specifically in the African world, what is the primary contradiction that must be centered in movement work, race or class?...

...Today, we present Pt. II of the three-part series where we are unpacking CLR James’s thought, paying specific attention to his articulation of notions of direct democracy, worker’s self-emancipation/management, and meditations on autonomy with Matthew Quest. 

We are intentionally exploring CLR James as a frame of reference in the context of current labor struggles, the opportunities, and potential limitations of demands within labor movements [where we think through the limitations of labor demands being divorced from direct critique of imperialism and colonialisms]; and how does CLR James’ conceptualization of autonomy and direct democracy have an important part to play in conceptualization of labor movements today. 

To understand the depth and range of impact of CLR James’s work, I would categorize him as your ‘rappers’ favorite rapper’. Your favorite theorist, revolutionary, radical, Pan Africanist had to or at some point must come to terms with CLR James’s work. His influences are both undeniable and misunderstood. 

Matthew Quest has taught African, African American and Caribbean History at universities including Georgia State University in Atlanta, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  He is known as a scholar of the legacies of CLR James.
 

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro-- “BLUE NILE” BY ALICE COLTRANE; break--“KURIMA” CHIWONISO MARAIRE; sign-off--“NABU CORFA” BY DOROTHY ASHBY; closing song--“SISTERS’ CHANT” BY JUDY MOWATT commemorating Women’s History Month.

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFW write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Mar. 20, 2024 Thinking Through CLR James with Matthew Quest Pt. II

AfricaNow! March 27, 2024 Thinking Through CLR James with Matthew Quest Pt.III

Topic and Guest: Summary--Today, we present part three, the final installment of the three-part series where we are unpacking CLR James’s thought, paying specific attention to his articulation of notions of direct democracy, worker’s self-emancipation/management, and meditations on autonomy with Matthew Quest.  We are intentionally exploring CLR James as a frame of reference in the context of current labor struggles, the opportunities, and potential limitations of demands within labor movements [where we think through the limitations of labor demands being divorced from direct critique of imperialism and colonialisms]; and how does CLR James’s conceptualization of autonomy and direct democracy have an important part to play in conceptualization of labor movements today. 

Matthew Quest is an editor of Clash! a collective of writers who advocate for Caribbean unity from below. He has taught African, African American and Caribbean History at universities in the United States.

Part of Full Intro--Matthew Quest in CLR James and George Padmore: Hidden Disputes in The Black Radical Tradition, examines the collaboration between James and George Padmore since their partnership within the International African Service Bureau in the 1930s. Despite their joint activism in Pan-African affairs, political rifts emerged on democracy, socialism, and revolutionary strategy. 

Quest specifically explores James’ portrayal of Padmore to highlight the political tensions underlying their friendship. James’ and Padmore’s different perspectives on anti-imperialism reveal hidden disputes in the Black radical tradition, disputes that promoted evolution in thought and practice that must be taken up today.

In  London during the 1930s, the era of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, CLR James (1901–1989) and George Padmore (1903–1959) worked together as activists in the International African Service Bureau. 

Quest goes on to highlight that “in 1957 a plan was hatched in Britain for Padmore to become chief of staff of Pan African affairs in Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana, and James to become the editor of The Nation, the organ of Eric Williams’s People’s National Movement (PNM), but also the secretary of the effort to federate the West Indies from 1958–1962. When Padmore passed away CLR James began to write him into history.”...

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“WATER” BY INNA MODJA commemorating World Water Day March 22; intro with CLR James's interview--SPACE BY HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE FEAT. YASIIN BEY; break--“MAI” CHIWONISO MARAIRE commemorating her birthday March 5 (March 5, 1976–July 24, 2013) and Women’s History Month; sign-off--“FORTIFY” BY NUBYA GARCIA; closing song--“THINK” BY ARETHA FRANKLIN commemorating her birthday which is March 25 (March 25, 1942–August 16, 2018) and Women’s History Month.

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFW write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Mar. 27, 2024 Thinking Through CLR James with Matthew Quest Pt. III

AfricaNow! July 3, 2024 Thinking Through CLR James with Matthew Quest Pt. I

Topic and Guest: Today AfricaNow! goes into its archives and plays a show that explores CLR James.  In an article for Insurgent Notes, Matthew Quest asks, What Type of Historian Was CLR James? CLR James, native of Trinidad, was a historian with a speculative philosophy of history. He brought these methods to his narrative of Haiti in The Black Jacobins (1938), and later in his Nkrumah and the Ghana Revolution (1977). James was influenced by historians of the French Revolution, while his approach was shaped by Leon Trotsky’s A History of the Russian Revolution, Oswald Spengler’s Decline of the West, and the Edwardian radicals GK Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, both literary men who wrote polemical histories sympathetic to the social motion of commoners.

...For James, the working classes, be their wages high or low, and the unemployed possessed a hidden depth, a latent understanding, and a creative genius. Ordinary people, not professional leaders of official society, were the chief actors of history....Highlighting another important contribution of CLR James to Black radicalism, Matthew Quest unpacks his political economic analysis. Quest writes that CLR James is recalled as a Pan-African and independent socialist...

Quest goes on to argue that the Black radical tradition, after experimenting with European radicalism and socialism, never developed its own independent political economy. ...For James, there is a connection between state planning and repression of toilers, and he in no way subscribes to classical liberal market economics. We must remember that James’s mature political economy was worked out not just in response to Russia but Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal welfare state, and its repression of self-directed action during the CIO labor movement....

Today, we will explore CLR James’s thought, paying specific attention to his articulation of notions of direct democracy, worker’s self-emancipation, and meditations on autonomy with Matthew Quest.

This conversation will be presented as a three-part series where we specifically explore CLR James as a frame of reference in the context of current labor struggles, the opportunities and potential limitations of demands within labor movements [where we think through the limitations of labor demands being divorced from direct critique of imperialism and colonialisms]; and how does CLR James’ conceptualization of autonomy and direct democracy have an important part to play in conceptualization of labor movements today.

To understand the depth and range of impact of CLR James’s work, I would describe him as your ‘rappers’ favorite rapper’. Your favorite theorist, revolutionary, radical, Pan Africanist had to or at some point must come to terms with CLR James’s work. His influences are both undeniable and misunderstood.

Matthew Quest has taught African, African American and Caribbean History at universities including Georgia State University in Atlanta, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is known as a scholar of the legacies of CLR James.

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“THE AWAKENING” BY AHMAD JAMAL commemorating his birthday on July 2 (July 2, 1930— April 16, 2023); break--“KURIMA” CHIWONISO MARAIRE; sign-off--“JARABI” BY SONA JOBARTEH; closing song--“LIZOBUYA” BY MBOGENI NGEMA.

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW. Donate online visit pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Jul. 3, 2024 Thinking Through CLR James with Matthew Quest Pt. I

AfricaNow! January 15, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. II

Topic and Guest: Follwing up from our show last week, today we will listen to part two of a four-part series where we explore direct democracy, autonomy, marronage, Black anarchism, and atheism with Modibo Kadalie.  Dr. Modibo Kadalie is a social ecologist, academic and lifelong radical activist within the Civil Rights, Black Power and Pan-Africanist movements and the Founding Convener of the Autonomous Research Institute for Direct Democracy and Social Ecology (ARIDDSE). He is the author of Pan-African Social Ecology: Speeches, Conversations and Essays (2019); Internationalism, Pan-Africanism and the Struggle of Social Classes; Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Human Quest for Freedom (2022) and a number of other articles.

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“UHURU” BY OSIBISA as we remember Osibisa’s founder/leader Teddy Osei who joined the ancestors yesterday January 14, 2025 (December 1, 1937—January 14, 2025); break--“KURIMA” BY CHIWONISO MARAIRE; sign-off--“WE WILL WIN” BY EZRA NGCUKANA; closing--“FLYING BIRD (ANOMA)” BY OSIBISA as we remember Osibisa’s founder/leader Teddy Osei who joined the ancestors yesterday January 14, 2025 (December 1, 1937—January 14, 2025).

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online: visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFWFM write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Jan. 15, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democ. & Marronage w Modibo Kadalie Pt. II

AfricaNow! January 22, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. III & Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Internationalism

Topics and Guests: Following up from our show last week, today, we will listen to Pt. III of a four-part series where we explore direct democracy, autonomy, marronage, Black anarchism, and atheism with Modibo Kadalie. Dr. Modibo Kadalie is a social ecologist, academic and lifelong radical activist within the Civil Rights, Black Power and Pan-Africanist movements and the Founding Convener of the Autonomous Research Institute for Direct Democracy and Social Ecology (ARIDDSE). He is the author of Pan-African Social Ecology: Speeches, Conversations and Essays (2019); Internationalism, Pan-Africanism and the Struggle of Social Classes; Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Human Quest for Freedom (2022) and a number of other articles.

January 20 was Martin Luther King Day commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—he would have turned 96 on January 15.  AfricaNow! goes into its archives with a program in which we explored Dr. King's internationalism—its historical and contemporary impact. That program featured Dr. Clayborne Carson, who was then the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History and Ronnie Lott Founding Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Currently Dr. Clayborne Carson is Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor Emeritus of History at Stanford University. Dr. Carson has devoted his professional life to the study of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the human rights movements inspired by King. His numerous publications include his award-winning book, In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s. Full bio is available at fsi.stanford.edu/people/clayborne-carson.  We join the original archived show (from https://soundcloud.com/africanowonline/africanow-jan-17-2024-dr-kings-internationalismhistorical-contemporary-impact) after the presentation of a portion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech of April 7, 1957, entitled Birth of a New Nation presented soon after attending Ghana’s Independence Day celebration on March 6, 1957.

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“THE MESSAGE CONTINUES” BY NUBYA GARCIA; break--“FREEDOM SOUNDS” BY THE SKATALITES; sign-off--“HYMN TO FREEDOM” BY OSCAR PETERSON; closing--“FREE” BY STEVIE WONDER.

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online: visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFWFM write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

AfricaNow! Jan. 22, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democ. & Marronage w Modibo Kadalie Pt. III

AfricaNow! January 29, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. IV & Update on the Situation in Goma, DRC

Topics and Guests: The show begins with an update on the attack on the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.  Featured in the conversation is   Congolese journalist Akilimali Chomachoma and Nils Kinuani, Board Director, and Immigration Coordinator for the Congolese Community of Washington Metropolitan (CCWM).

Following up from our show last week, today, we will listen to Pt. IV of a four-part series where we explore direct democracy, autonomy, marronage, Black anarchism, and atheism with Modibo Kadalie. 

Dr. Modibo Kadalie is a social ecologist, academic and lifelong radical activist within the Civil Rights, Black Power and Pan-Africanist movements and the Founding Convener of the Autonomous Research Institute for Direct Democracy and Social Ecology (ARIDDSE). He is the author of Pan-African Social Ecology: Speeches, Conversations and Essays (2019); Internationalism, Pan-Africanism and the Struggle of Social Classes; Intimate Direct Democracy: Fort Mose, the Great Dismal Swamp, and the Human Quest for Freedom (2022) and a number of other articles.  

MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro--“TRÈS IMPOLI” BY FRANCO & T.P.O.K. JAZZ; intro segment two--“ELMINA” BY KOFI; break--“KURIMA” BY CHIWONISO MARAIRE;  sign-off--“JARABI” BY SONA JOBARTEH; closing--“FOUR” BY SONNY STITT remembering his birthday which February 2 (February 2, 1924–July 22, 1982).

Support AfricaNow! and your community station WPFW.  Donate online: visit https://pledge.wpfwfm.org/index.php and then on Step 1: Contribution scroll down to AfricaNow! to make your donation to the show. Or on our CashApp, which is $WPFWFM write it is for AfricaNow! and include your email address. Thank you.

Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).


AfricaNow! Jan. 29, 2025 Reflections on Autonomy, Direct Democracy & Marronage with Modibo Kadalie Pt. IV, & Update on the Situation in Goma, DRC

In a world where Black People are so divided based on where they are born, the first step to unity among Black People is to regain and acknowledge our African identity. We are not just Black People. We are an African People. It's time to stop letting others divide us under the illusion that we are not African so that they can reap the resources of Africa and build their wealth. It is time for Black People to unite. Whether you were born on the continent of Africa or whether you were born outside of the continent of Africa, we are one People. We are African!

YOU ARE AFRICAN

You Are African (Raw Version)

El Jones via Halifax joins us to fundraise for Diasporic Music and Black Power 96. https://blackpower96.org/DM, and El updates current situation in Halifax upcoming Reunion in Afriville, Rocky Jones, Emancipation Day and Black August, Beyonce and Buffalo Solder, troublesome FBA/ADOS popping up in Canada, Norman mentions John Henry Clarke Pan-Africanism came out of the Trinidadian mind.

On YouTube: @diasporicmusic  https://youtu.be/Gm58nnVTrAk
On Spotify: Diasporic Music’s Special Guest and Radio Documentaries.  https://spti.fi/rjvOWyP
On ApplePodcasts: Diasporic Music’s Special Guest and Radio Documentaries. https://bit.ly/4kHkudm
Website Page: https://bit.ly/46ic7RS

2025-07-13 Special Guest El Jones 230pm

Live recording @ Bossa Nova Civic Club in NYC for pride - LaFHomme's first dj set in the city and many more to come. Bookings: lafhomme.mgmt@gmail.com <3

TMT 07/19/25 on n10.as: Bossa Nova NYC

Bookings: lafhomme.mgmt@gmail.com

https://linktr.ee/lafhomme

Africa World Now Project is a multimedia educational project that produces knowledge about the African world through a series of methods that include: radio, podcast, publishing, film festivals, webinars, social media, etc.

Africa World Now Project is, in essence, a multimedia open-access 'classroom' that provides actionable information which explores continuities and discontinuities in the history, culture, and politics of the entire African world.

AWNP does this by engaging in organic discussions with scholars, artists, journalists, activists, organizers and others who are intentionally disruptive in assessing the various issues that exist in the entire African world.

Tired of singing the same ol bull$#it like evey other artist, ZeeWasNeverLast decided to join forces and make music that actually was worth being made. We've been entertaining for a long time. Now it's time to teach.

Diasporic Music is made in the West, but is not of the West. Norman (Otis) Richmond aka Jalali provides an All-African mix of music and politics.  Co-Host Mali aka Docuvixen, and on the Buttons Lisa Watson. On The dial 96.3FM in St.Petersburg Florida and worldwide Stream on Blackpower96.org 2-4pm EST Weekly, we have Jalali's Playlist 2pm, Special Guests and Radio Documentaries 2:30pm, Jazz Zone with Tien Providence 3pm and Horne Report, with Historical and Political analysis with Dr.Gerald Horne at 3:30pm.

New tracks tagged #PanAfricanism