Gerald Horne and Norman (Otis) Richmond on KPFK’s “Freedom Now”
Gerald Horne and Norman (Otis) Richmond a.k.a. Jalali will join Dedon Kamathi, Tuesday, April 20th at 8:00p.m. 11:00p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Kamathi and Richmond will discuss Horne's book, Mau Mau in Harlem? The U.S. and the Liberation of Kenya. It can be heard at http://www.kpfk.org/.
From the inception of the British colony in Kenya in the late 19th century, the United States has been intimately involved in the country’s development. African-Americans were particularly attracted to Kenya from early on, not least because the apparent “black-white” conflict there, while symbolizing Africa’s struggle for freedom from European colonialism, also seemed to mirror what they were experiencing in the U.S. The struggle in Kenya symbolized Africa’s struggle for freedom from European colonialism. It was thought that lessons could be learned from Kenya, as demonstrated when Malcolm X proclaimed a “Mau Mau in Harlem” might be necessary. The Mau Mau, whose correct name was the Land and Freedom Army, put the word Uhuru into the vocabulary of Africans in particular and progressives in general.
To counter Soviet propaganda which suggested the U.S. was supportive of colonialism, John F. Kennedy was one of a number of people who backed a campaign to bring Kenyans to the U.S. for higher education. Included among those foreign students was Barack H. Obama, Sr., who had been brought to the University of Hawaii.
Horne is John and Rebecca Moores Professor of African-American History at the University of Houston. He has published over two dozen books, including From the Barrel of a Gun: The United States and the War against Zimbabwe, 1965-1980. Based upon extensive archival research in the U.S., the U.K., and Kenya, Mau Mau in Harlem? The U.S. and the Liberation of Kenya, not only sheds light on the historical forces that have created a U.S. President, but also the unshakable historical bonds which have conjoined Black America, Africa, and the United States as a whole.
Richmond's radio showgram, Diasporic Music, can be heard every other week on Uhuru Radio, Sunday's at 2 PM. http://uhurunews.com/radio/show?show_id=dm