Beyond Pan-Africanism: Garveyism, Malcolm X and the end of the colonial nation state

Pan-Africanism is an identifiable movement with its own history and historical and ideological roots. It formally began at the first Pan-African Congress in London in 1900 and has a distinct linage up to the present day African Union. Unfortunately, the movement has not presented a challenge to imperial domination in Africa, rather it has helped continue the exploitation of the continent. Accepting the colonial nation state has prevented any politics of liberation from developing in the movement. It is central to decentre Pan-Africanism from radical histories of resistance because the movement developed in parallel to and rejection of more revolutionary, anti-imperial politics. Garveyism developed a mass movement rooted on the global Black nation, shattering the boundaries of Westphalian sovereignty. Malcolm X picked up the work of Garvey, developing on some of its regressive weakness to form the Organization of Afro-American Unity. By unpicking this tradition from Pan-Africanism we can begin to chart a route to revolutionary concepts and practice of nationalism that can present a challenge to the imperial social order

Towards a Black radical independent education: Black radicalism, independence and the supplementary school movement

Black Radicalism believes in the centrality of racism to Western imperialism and a Diasporic commitment to the liberation of Africa; existing in distinction to Black Nationalism, Marxism and Critical Race Theory. A Black radical critique of schooling is presented and the mischaracterisations of Black radicalism as segregationist and separatist are examined. Black independent education is a necessary feature of Black radicalism and the Black supplementary schools movement in Britain exists as a potential space where such an education can be developed

The Psychosis of Whiteness: The celluloid hallucinations of Amazing Grace and Belle

Critical Whiteness studies has emerged as an academic discipline that has produced a lot of work and garnered attention in the last two decades. Central to this project is the idea that if the processes of Whiteness can be uncovered, then they can be reasoned with and overcome, through rationale dialogue. This article will argue, however, that Whiteness is a process rooted in the social structure, one that induces a form of psychosis framed by its irrationality, which is beyond any rational engagement. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of the two only British big budget movies about transatlantic slavery, Amazing Grace and Belle, the article argues that such films serve as the celluloid hallucinations that reinforce the psychosis of Whiteness. The features of this discourse that arose from the analysis included the lack of Black agency, distancing Britain from the horrors of slavery, and downplaying the role of racism

Burden of disease scenarios for 204 countries and territories, 2022–2050: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Future trends in disease burden and drivers of health are of great interest to policy makers and the public at large. This information can be used for policy and long-term health investment, planning, and prioritisation. We have expanded and improved upon previous forecasts produced as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) and provide a reference forecast (the most likely future), and alternative scenarios assessing disease burden trajectories if selected sets of risk factors were eliminated from current levels by 2050. Methods: Using forecasts of major drivers of health such as the Socio-demographic Index (SDI; a composite measure of lag-distributed income per capita, mean years of education, and total fertility under 25 years of age) and the full set of risk factor exposures captured by GBD, we provide cause-specific forecasts of mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age and sex from 2022 to 2050 for 204 countries and territories, 21 GBD regions, seven super-regions, and the world. All analyses were done at the cause-specific level so that only risk factors deemed causal by the GBD comparative risk assessment influenced future trajectories of mortality for each disease. Cause-specific mortality was modelled using mixed-effects models with SDI and time as the main covariates, and the combined impact of causal risk factors as an offset in the model. At the all-cause mortality level, we captured unexplained variation by modelling residuals with an autoregressive integrated moving average model with drift attenuation. These all-cause forecasts constrained the cause-specific forecasts at successively deeper levels of the GBD cause hierarchy using cascading mortality models, thus ensuring a robust estimate of cause-specific mortality. For non-fatal measures (eg, low back pain), incidence and prevalence were forecasted from mixed-effects models with SDI as the main covariate, and YLDs were computed from the resulting prevalence forecasts and average disability weights from GBD. Alternative future scenarios were constructed by replacing appropriate reference trajectories for risk factors with hypothetical trajectories of gradual elimination of risk factor exposure from current levels to 2050. The scenarios were constructed from various sets of risk factors: environmental risks (Safer Environment scenario), risks associated with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs; Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination scenario), risks associated with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs; Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario), and the combined effects of these three scenarios. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways climate scenarios SSP2-4.5 as reference and SSP1-1.9 as an optimistic alternative in the Safer Environment scenario, we accounted for climate change impact on health by using the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change temperature forecasts and published trajectories of ambient air pollution for the same two scenarios. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were computed using standard methods. The forecasting framework includes computing the age-sex-specific future population for each location and separately for each scenario. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings: In the reference scenario forecast, global and super-regional life expectancy increased from 2022 to 2050, but improvement was at a slower pace than in the three decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (beginning in 2020). Gains in future life expectancy were forecasted to be greatest in super-regions with comparatively low life expectancies (such as sub-Saharan Africa) compared with super-regions with higher life expectancies (such as the high-income super-region), leading to a trend towards convergence in life expectancy across locations between now and 2050. At the super-region level, forecasted healthy life expectancy patterns were similar to those of life expectancies. Forecasts for the reference scenario found that health will improve in the coming decades, with all-cause age-standardised DALY rates decreasing in every GBD super-region. The total DALY burden measured in counts, however, will increase in every super-region, largely a function of population ageing and growth. We also forecasted that both DALY counts and age-standardised DALY rates will continue to shift from CMNNs to NCDs, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (60·1% [95% UI 56·8–63·1] of DALYs were from CMNNs in 2022 compared with 35·8% [31·0–45·0] in 2050) and south Asia (31·7% [29·2–34·1] to 15·5% [13·7–17·5]). This shift is reflected in the leading global causes of DALYs, with the top four causes in 2050 being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with 2022, with ischaemic heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke, and lower respiratory infections at the top. The global proportion of DALYs due to YLDs likewise increased from 33·8% (27·4–40·3) to 41·1% (33·9–48·1) from 2022 to 2050, demonstrating an important shift in overall disease burden towards morbidity and away from premature death. The largest shift of this kind was forecasted for sub-Saharan Africa, from 20·1% (15·6–25·3) of DALYs due to YLDs in 2022 to 35·6% (26·5–43·0) in 2050. In the assessment of alternative future scenarios, the combined effects of the scenarios (Safer Environment, Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination, and Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenarios) demonstrated an important decrease in the global burden of DALYs in 2050 of 15·4% (13·5–17·5) compared with the reference scenario, with decreases across super-regions ranging from 10·4% (9·7–11·3) in the high-income super-region to 23·9% (20·7–27·3) in north Africa and the Middle East. The Safer Environment scenario had its largest decrease in sub-Saharan Africa (5·2% [3·5–6·8]), the Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario in north Africa and the Middle East (23·2% [20·2–26·5]), and the Improved Nutrition and Vaccination scenario in sub-Saharan Africa (2·0% [–0·6 to 3·6]). Interpretation: Globally, life expectancy and age-standardised disease burden were forecasted to improve between 2022 and 2050, with the majority of the burden continuing to shift from CMNNs to NCDs. That said, continued progress on reducing the CMNN disease burden will be dependent on maintaining investment in and policy emphasis on CMNN disease prevention and treatment. Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. By constructing alternative future scenarios wherein certain risk exposures are eliminated by 2050, we have shown that opportunities exist to substantially improve health outcomes in the future through concerted efforts to prevent exposure to well established risk factors and to expand access to key health interventions

BBC Newsnight interview: Retelling black radicalism

Dr Kehinde Andrews has appeared on BBC Newsnight (from 32 mins) to discuss his forthcoming book Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism. In a conversation with presenter Emily Maitlis, Dr Andrews explains the radical significance of the Haitian revolution, pan-Africanism and the politics of civil rights leader Malcolm X

Back to Black: Retelling the politics of Black radicalism for the 21st Century

Back to Black traces the long and eminent history of Black radical politics. Born out of resistance to slavery and colonialism, its rich past encompasses figures such as Marcus Garvey, Angela Davis, the Black Panthers and the Black Lives Matter activists of today. At its core it argues that racism is inexorably embedded in the fabric of society, and that it can never be overcome unless by enacting change outside of this suffocating system. Yet this Black radical tradition has been diluted and moderated over time; wilfully misrepresented and caricatured by others; divested of its legacy, potency, inclusivity and force for global change. Kehinde Andrews explores the true roots of this tradition, and connects the dots to today’s struggles by showing what a renewed politics of Black radicalism might look like in the 21st century

The Post-Racial Princess: Delusions of racial progress and intersectional failures

Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry sparked a global debate about the extent to which the union marked progress in British race relations with the royal family embracing “modern Britain”. Rather than representing progress the furore around the marriage is the perfect example of the delusions of post-racialism, which entrench racial inequality. The royal family is one of the premier symbols of Whiteness, the very idea that the inclusion of Markle changes this demonstrates a lack of understanding of racism. Seeing the marriage as progress is an intersectional failure that ignores the limits of representational change as well as the specific limits of Markle as a representative of Black women, particularly in Britain. Issues of patriarchy, nationality, class and colourism prevent Markle representing the average Black woman in Britain. Embracing a Black feminist standpoint negates the idea of representational change because no individual can ever stand in for the collective

The iconic ghetto on British television: Black representation and Top Boy

The chapter explores the importance of the concept of the iconic ghetto, examining its discursive importance in reproducing racism. It has particular resonance given that the majority of black people live in concentrated areas of urban centres and therefore how they are represented to the broader society through the media has major consequences. The essay develops a critical discourse analysis of Top Boy to understand how the iconic ghetto is reproduced throughout the show. From this analysis, the basis of the iconic ghetto that was portrayed throughout the show becomes apparent and is captured in the number of themes explored including the proliferation of poverty, crime and violence agency, a lack of female and agency and ultimately blaming the black communities for the problems the show exaggerates

The problem of political blackness: lessons from the Black Supplementary School Movement

The Black Supplementary School Movement has a fifty-year tradition of resisting racism in Britain. Central to the movement is a construction of African Diasporic Blackness that is marginalized in British scholarship. 'Political blackness', based on the unity ethnic minority groups, is an important frame of reference in Britain. This article will examine the limitations of 'political blackness' in relation to research carried out in the Black Supplementary School Movement that involved interviews with key activists and an archival analysis of documents at the George Padmore Institute. Political blackness is based on an inaccurate understanding of the relationship between multiculturalism and anti-racism; a misreading of the complex and global nature of racism and a non-strategic essentialism. The concept also creates a form non-whiteism, which disempowers ethnic minority communities and works to delegitimize African Diasporic Blackness, which has a tradition of resisting racist oppression. © 2016 Taylor & Franci