Black History

COMMENTARY: #CancelKamala: Kamala Harris and Cancel Culture

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Harris, who obviously knows who she is, lived her life as a black woman in America because in America, particularly during her childhood, you did not have the option of reinvention or all of the privileges of self-identification racial and cultural groups have today. There were no multiple racial categories being checked and personal pronouns being chosen or eschewed.

Published

7 years ago

February 6, 2019

Oakland Post

By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., NNPA Newswire Entertainment and Culture Editor

Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) is running for president of the United States. Harris, a black American who is the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, was born and raised in Oakland, CA and then Toronto, announced her intentions on MLK Day. Many celebrated the announcement. Harris would be standing on the shoulders of Shirley Chisolm, the only other black woman to run for president in the history of the United States. However, others immediately went into default mode – tearing down this dynamic black woman before she could even get started.

Some questioned her race suggesting she wasn’t really black because of her biracial and global heritage. This critique sounded similar to the critique made of then Senator Barack Obama, the child of a white woman from Kansas and a father from Kenya. In both cases, daddy left, and the children were raised by mothers who aren’t black women.

Both mothers understood that, in the context of the United States, their children would be seen and treated as black Americans. So they did what black mothers have been doing for centuries here, prepared them socially and culturally for survival in the United States.

In fact, Harris’ mother, a scientist and civil rights activist, adopted black American culture, immersing herself and her children in what she found to be a rich, energetic and welcoming culture.

Harris, who obviously knows who she is, lived her life as a black woman in America because in America, particularly during her childhood, you did not have the option of reinvention or all of the privileges of self-identification racial and cultural groups have today. There were no multiple racial categories being checked and personal pronouns being chosen or eschewed.

Having the option of attending a college or university in the United States or Canada, Harris chose Howard University, one of the premiere HBCUs in the United States and quite possibly the world.

Now, before you tweet, yes there were schools exclusively for blacks in other countries during segregation and apartheid, which was worldwide. Harris, who could have attended a myriad of competitive universities, specifically chose this competitive university because of its legacy of educating and influencing black Americans and thus American culture.

Where did Harris make her announcement? On the steps of Howard University, her alma mater, where she let the world know it was her duty to try to gain the Democratic nomination in a political climate run amok and a White House in dangerous hands. And still, folks on social media used terms like “slick,” “calculating” and “untrustworthy” to describe this woman, beaming with pride, as something other than a proud HU alum.

The words used to describe Harris in social media dovetailed nicely into the Jezebel stereotype, often lobbed at black women who are painted as secretive, seductive, beguiling and alluring in literature and film. This stereotype emerged during slavery to justify the rape of black women by their white owners – men and women included.

Mainstream media picked up where Black Twitter left off, delighting in her relationship with San Francisco’s iconic mayor Willie Brown. Brown, who is still separated from his legal wife, and had been separated for 25 years at the time of his and Harris’ coupling, refuses to comment on the relationship today, because it is what reality television stars call a non-factor.

Apparently, a relationship that was very public at the time, was made into something secretive and dirty because Harris was on the other end. I chuckled to myself as I read Facebook posts of men and women currently or formerly engaged in “secret” affairs with married folk, who actually go home at night, gossiping about Senator Harris, but they are not running for political office, so I guess their indiscretions don’t matter.

Of course, mainstream media suggested her professional accolades happened because of her association with Brown — not her upbringing, university and law degrees from competitive institutions, professional experience as a lawyer or professional networks.

Nah, none of that had anything to do with it.

Those same people who attributed her success to Brown, failed to attribute the success of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Senator Dianne Feinstein or Congresswoman Maxine Waters to Brown, who also played a major role in their rise in the political world, among others.

Perhaps the one valid concern stemming from her former career as a California prosecutor is her role as a part of California’s prison industrial complex, which has been decontextualized and used to paint her as a monster in this era of people actually paying attention to mass incarceration.

The prison industrial complex has been researched, documented and protested against — mainly by black women and black women scholars for decades. In fact, Chinonye Chukwu, who just won the top award at Sundance for her film “Clemency,” is a justice reform activist and professor at Wright State University. I guess her work doesn’t count because she’s a Nigerian-born, Alaskan bred black woman living in America? See how silly that sounds?

Which leads me back to Harris. Perhaps if people actually knew the history behind blacks being banned from serving as prosecutors and judges in our courtrooms, then they could take a more nuanced perspective on black women prosecutors like Harris.

Even today, 90 percent of prosecutors are white and more than 80 percent are male which means Harris had to perform what writer German Lopez calls a “delicate balancing act” while working as a prosecutor. While we’re combing through her record (which we absolutely should be doing), scores of prosecutors are going unchecked mainly because they fit the status quo.

For all of those who fail to recognize her “Jobs Instead of Prison” program and the first-of-its-kind mandatory anti-racial bias training for police officers, what might have happened had she taken a stronger stand against the death penalty or held police officers more accountable in controversial cases? Marilyn Mosby would have happened.

Folks were all in when Mosby attempted to bring Baltimore police officers to justice over the death of Freddie Gray. However, when the powerful police union rallied and turned on her and literally tried to bankrupt and fire her, where was the black community in support of Mosby? Radio silence — except for black women scholars, influencers and activists who wrote public letters of support for Mosby.

You can say that, “Harris shoulda…, coulda…, woulda…” all you want, but the reality is who would have stood with her in the “tough on crime” era in which she was one of the few black women prosecutors in the country? I’ll wait.

Which leads me back to my main point. Cancel culture is going to get black folks canceled out of this country. We are literally laying on our backs while white supremacists are march up and down our black bodies with impunity.

To rail against a black woman before she even has an opportunity to address or respond in real time to the many questions we should have is ridiculous, just like some of these lame “critiques.”

Who would think a black woman educated at Howard University would have to prove her intellect to other black people? Who would think a woman who pledged Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first chapter of the first black collegiate sorority in the country, would have to prove her love for black women and culture to black people? Who would think a black woman with one black parent would have to prove her blackness to black people who will throw out the “one drop” rule when caping for white folk we like, as if black people actually invented that ridiculous criteria?

Bill Clinton is the nation’s first black president but Kamala Harris ain’t black? Who would think black folk would accuse Harris of being “suspicious” for being biracial and married to a white man with all of the influential black men – some biracial- married to white women and non-black women getting to keep their black cards?

We have a current president who has been accused of rape and sexual assault — to which he admitted on tape — and is on his third marriage, but we’re worried about Harris’ choice of husband?

All of this vitriol aimed at Harris is wrapped in misogyny, sexism, racism and xenophobia and I’m not here for it. Cory Booker announced his run for president and maybe I missed it, but I have yet to see any discussion of his problematic views on homophobia and sexual assault, Wall Street connections, education reform and dare I say it, close friendship with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law.

I literally just saw a brother on Facebook who refuses to #muteRKelly but has already canceled Kamala. Really? We literally have a modern day Al Jolson in the Virginia Governor’s office, the White House looks like an advertisement for Barnum and Bailey and folks are cutting off Harris at the knees because her mama is Indian?

As voters, we have got to do better in terms of candidate selection. We need all of the information – not just sound bites from pundits, hashtags from social media influencers and revisionist think pieces on who she was 30 years ago.

Harris is running for president and should be critiqued. She should also have the opportunity to speak for herself and answer questions about her record as a candidate in the present day.

Personally, I’d rather see Harris on the Supreme Court than in the White House, but I’m open to hearing what she has to say during this presidential run whether or not she gets the Democratic nomination.

I don’t know who I’m voting for or voting against yet. It’s too early to tell, but I do know I want to know who Harris is in her words and on her terms. No, I’m not going to #CancelKamala or #CancelCory or #CancelWarren or #CancelCastro because they have had complicated lives and careers.

I find it fascinating how swift the calls for canceling these non-traditional candidates came relative to the enthusiasm for white male candidates who haven’t even announced their candidacies like Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke.

We only need to look at our recent history to see how this happens. Black folks were suspicious of then Senator Obama for many of the same reasons as Harris at the beginning of his candidacy. You can’t even form your lips to critique his policies now without being called a sellout – that is how beloved he is now to many in our community.

What might have happened had we cut the brother off at the knees the same way we’re slicing and dicing Harris? As it relates to Harris and the black women candidates who will follow in her footsteps, they deserve the same chance to be president as those who have come before them. They also deserve to be heard. #listentoblackwomen and give Kamala Harris a chance.

Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. is entertainment and culture editor for NNPA/BlackPressUSA. A film and media scholar, Dr. Burton is founder and editor-in-chief of the award-winning news blog The Burton Wire, which covers news of the African diaspora. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual or @TheBurtonWire.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 22 – 28, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 22 – 28, 2026

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21 minutes ago

July 27, 2026

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Black History

Fed Court to Decide Landmark First Amendment Case

CHICAGO DEFENDER — Three federal judges in Atlanta heard oral arguments in July regarding the appeal of the 2024 conspiracy conviction of the Uhuru 3. This appeal challenges the conviction of Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess, and Jesse Nevel, who were found guilty of conspiracy to be secret agents of Russia. This verdict followed their acquittal on charges of serving as secret Russian agents.

Published

3 hours ago

July 27, 2026

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On July 22, 2026 three federal judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta – Chief Judge William Pryor, Judge Jill Pryor and Judge Andrew Brasher – heard oral arguments in the appeal of the 2024 unconstitutional conspiracy conviction of the Uhuru 3.

A Tampa jury had acquitted 84-year-old veteran African liberation fighter Chairman Omali Yeshitela and two white reparations organizers Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel of serving as secret agents of Russia, but contradictorily convicted them on the secondary false charge of conspiracy to be secret agents of Russia – all because they had expressed opinions opposing the U.S. support for Ukraine along with advocating for reparations to African people and charging the U.S. with genocide in its treatment of Black people.

This precedent-setting anti-colonial free speech fightback has won international and national support from First Amendment defenders and social justice activists from across the political spectrum, including the National Lawyers Guild, the Civil Liberties Defense Center, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the Center for Political Innovation, the U.S. Peace Council, U.S. Hands Off Cuba Committee, former NYC Councilman Charles Barron, Dr. Cornel West, Jimmy Dore, Max Blumenthal, Dr. Gerald Horne and Tucker Carlson.

During the 2024 trial, the Uhuru 3’s legal team convinced the jury that the opinions expressed by Yeshitela were his own and not directed by the Russian government by showing print and video evidence of Yeshitela’s activism spanning decades.

Chairman Omali’s published writings, showing a consistent worldview of African Internationalism and anti-colonialism, can be read in 58 years of The Burning Spear newspaper, freely available in the University of Florida’s digital newspaper collection.

In the past five decades he has traveled to seventeen countries to speak to audiences, including in 2019 as the winning presenter at the Oxford Union’s “Africa Debate”. He has been interviewed and featured on platforms such as CNN, Democracy Now, Al Mayadeen, Press TV and countless national and international radio stations, podcasts and newspapers.

The DOJ had argued that the Uhuru 3 are engaged in spreading disinformation “even if the information is true but it makes the government look bad.”

In their earlier Motion to Dismiss, attorneys for the Uhuru 3 argued, “The government here is using a federal criminal statute to prosecute members of an activist group for political speech and activism in opposition to U.S. foreign policy. In so doing, this prosecution strikes at the heart of the First Amendment.”

“This is the first case in which the government has used the statute that criminalizes unregistered foreign agents (18 USC §951) to target political or dissenting speech. In short, if this case is allowed to go forward, it will reverse more than eight decades of Supreme Court precedent that prohibits the government from targeting dissenting political speech and dissent.”

The appeal of the Uhuru 3’s false conviction on the lesser charge of conspiracy was filed a year ago on June 16, 2025. It argues three points, that:

The lower court’s finding that lawful political speech loses its First Amendment protections when the speaker is alleged to be a Russian agent, should be reversed.
The government presented insufficient evidence of a conspiracy as it presented no evidence, as conceded by the government’s own case agents, that the APSP defendants 1) acted or agreed to act under the direction or control of Ioniv or the AGMR, or 2) knew of the registration requirement, essential elements of a conspiracy.
The jury was misled to believe that it could convict the defendants on the conspiracy charge despite the absence of evidence as to the underlying crime.

More than 80 Uhuru 3 supporters packed the Atlanta courtroom again on July 22, spilling into an overflow room where attendees watched the proceedings on closed circuit TV.

Notable figures attending the hearing included Attorney Mawuli Davis, National Co-Chair of the National Coalition of Black Lawyers; Belinda Parker Brown of Louisiana United International; Efia Nwangaza, veteran of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Malcolm X Center for Self-Determination; John McCarthy of the Center for Political Innovation; Mark Friedman of the U.S. Hands off Cuba Committee and Paulette Dauteuil of the Jericho Movement and Leonard Peltier Ad Hoc Defense Committee.

Not a “content neutral” prosecution

The oral argument hearing took less than thirty minutes. Uhuru 3 Attorney Leonard Goodman began: “This is a novel case. It’s the first time that Section 951 has been used to directly target speech. The indictment does not allege that any of these defendants conspired to commit espionage or destroy property. Rather the indictment charges a conspiracy to disseminate pro-Russian political speech, which is described in the indictment as Russian “propaganda and disinformation”.

Chief Judge Pryor interjected, “This indictment seems to be necessarily to implicate speech, but the real question is whether the offense, that is, the failure to register for acting as an agent of a foreign government, is content neutral? It seems to me that it is. It may be that the speech activities on behalf of that foreign state would be evidence that you are an agent that hasn’t registered.

He went on to ask, “imagine for me a hypothetical where the individual was acting as an agent on behalf of the state of Israel and was advocating the attack on Iran, which the United States government was involved in as well and was supportive of the United States activities as well. It seems to me that would be an offense under this statute in that situation just as much as in this situation.”

Attorney Goodman tried to expose the fallacy of “content neutrality” by citing the think tanks in Washington D.C. that receive millions of dollars from U.S. allies who are not indicted as unregistered foreign agents, but he was cut off by the judges.

Some court observers were concerned that the judges’ comments appeared to favor the prosecution. But speaking to reporters as the Uhuru 3 and supporters emerged from the Atlanta Federal Courthouse, Chairman Omali said, “The court recognized there are some issues that need resolution. Attorney Leonard Goodman did an extraordinary job. The prosecution did not have a reasonable explanation about why we were facing conspiracy charges when the jury had found us not guilty on the foundational charge.”

He went on to say, “Nobody in this country has a connection to the struggle for free speech more than Black people. When the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791, African people were property. We had no rights. There was no assumption it was for us. This is what I’m hoping that, particularly white people, would come to understand. When they came for us around free speech issues that we never had, it’s not us they’re coming for, they’re coming for you. They’re coming for everyone.”

Chairman Yeshitela’s lawyer, Attorney Ade Griffin declared, “We’re here today to change the law for generations to come. And that’s an extremely hard thing to do.”

At the Debrief

Uhuru 3 supporters then walked to the nearby Georgia State University College of Law for a debrief discussion forum and lunch co-sponsored by the Black Law Students Association and the Davis Bozeman Johnson Law group.

Attorney Leonard Goodman shared his reflections on the hearing. “When federal prosecutors want to prosecute some poor old lady for a drug conspiracy because her son was selling drugs in the house and she was ignoring the signs, they ask for what’s called an ‘ostrich instruction’ which is you can’t put your head in the sand and not see what’s going on around you.

“Well, it should have been applied to the judges as well because it was a little shocking to hear them suggest that we are going to find that this was a content-neutral prosecution. ‘We weren’t going after these people because they are pro-Russia and it just so happens that we raided their home three months after Russia invaded Ukraine and Omali started giving speeches saying we shouldn’t be fueling this war by sending bombs to Ukraine. It’s just a coincidence.’”

“President Trump took how many millions from Miriam Adelson, a dual citizen, who was born in Israel and a direct quid pro quo. And I say this as an American Jew, bar mitzvah’d in Chicago. If the decision goes against us, we’ll be filing a petition for rehearing and if that’s denied we will go to the Supreme Court.”

Angela Reaney agreed, “If we lose today, it just means that we have an opportunity to make a bigger impact in the Supreme Court.”

Attorney Mutaqee Akbar, legal counsel for Uhuru 3 member Jesse Nevel, is the son of legendary African psychologist Na’im Akbar. He agreed that, “It’s clear that you all were targeted because of what you were saying. But the same doesn’t apply when people advocate on behalf of Israel. Think about AIPAC. They don’t say the same thing when people advocate for other European nations that go along with what the United States says, that go along with colonialism. It’s only when you speak against what this government says you shouldn’t speak against. The fact that it’s not right just means we need to keep fighting. The struggle continues.”

Chairman Omali discussed the vanguard role of the African anti-colonial struggle in keeping democratic space open for everyone. “It was not the struggle against facism that destroyed McCarthyism or kept society open. It was the struggle of Black people against colonialism that kept the society open.”

Some supporters who attended the court hearing expressed frustration and asked why the judges were allowed to interrupt and take up the time that was supposed to be allotted to the defense lawyers.

Attorney Goodman replied, “They have the power. We don’t.”

Chairman Yeshitela added, “Yet.”

More info at www.handsoffuhuru.org

The post Fed court to decide landmark First Amendment case appeared first on Chicago Defender.

Based on reporting by Chicago Defender.

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Black History

Jordan Walker Leads Call for More Black Youth in Baseball

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN — St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker recently won the Home Run Derby final. Following his win, Walker emphasized his desire to be a role model for Black youth and to encourage more Black participation in baseball, noting that many currently play basketball or football.

Published

7 hours ago

July 27, 2026

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CJ Abrams and James Wood, Washington Nationals teammates and National League All-Stars, join Jordan Walker in pushing for more Black participation in baseball. Photo courtesy of NBC San Diego

Shortly after Jordan Walker’s 12th and clinching blast of the Home Run Derby final against hometown hero Kyle Schwarber had landed among bitter fans at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the St. Louis Cardinals right fielder spoke of the importance of his achievement.

“I hope it means a lot to [Black kids],” Walker told reporters. “I want to be a role model for the Black kids, and I want more Black kids in baseball. Hopefully this raises some awareness. I know a lot of them are playing basketball [and] football.

“I want them to know the baseball route is open to them, too. There are a lot of kids that are athletic enough and mentally strong enough — Black kids that can play this game — and I want to see them do it.”

As for Walker, he has become a rarity — a Black star in baseball. They have been few and far between at Busch Stadium since the days of Bob Gibson, Curt Flood and Lou Brock.

Walker, who grew up in suburban Atlanta, said Braves third baseman “Chipper” Jones was his favorite player until Jason Heyward made his debut with the team.

“For Black kids, I want to kind of be a role model for them,” Walker said, “like [Heyward] was for me.”

The 2026 All-Star Game rosters featured several Black players, who shared their hopes on inspiring more Black participation in baseball.

“I think once kids see more people to look up to, the more kids will get back into baseball,” said Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood.

Modest gains

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge and Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton missed the game because of injuries, but were voted in as American League All-Star starters. Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams joined teammate Wood on the NL squad. And, of course, there was Walker, who stole the show in the Home Run Derby.

“I feel like there’s been like a little surge in getting more Black players in the game,” Wood said.

“We’ve got four [Black players] on our team right now. Last year at one point, we had five..”

The Cardinals’ opening day roster featured three Black players: outfielder Victor Scott II, shortstop Masyn Winn and Walker. After struggling offensively the first months of the season, Scott was sent down to Triple-A Memphis.

When the St. Louis trio took the field on opening day, Major League Baseball reported that 6.8% of players on rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black.

That was up slightly from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season. It marked a two-year increase from a 6% rate at the beginning of 2024. It was the largest increase in a season since a 0.7% rise from 2017 to 2018.

MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred, who to his credit has ignored criticism of baseball diversity programs, sees progress and hopes for more.

“[Y]ou have to continue to invest, grind it out, do that grassroots work to attract more people to the game and then nurture them in a way that gets them into this elite pipeline,” Manfred said.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns, who was named to the NL All-Star team and just signed a seven-year, $105 million contract extension, said he is perplexed by the low number of Black baseball participants.

“You don’t see a lot of Black athletes in baseball. I don’t know why that is,” Burns said. “I think it’s great for guys like me and [Walker] to strive to get Black athletes into the game of baseball, whether it’s talking about it or doing stuff in the community. I think it’s great he pointed it out.”

As for Walker, he has become a rarity — a Black star in baseball. They have been few and far between at Busch Stadium since the days of Bob Gibson, Curt Flood and Lou Brock.

Hopefully Cardinal Nation will appreciate Walker’s stardom, and the team will reward him with a lucrative contract extension soon.

The post Jordan Walker leads call for more Black youth in baseball appeared first on St. Louis American.

Based on reporting by St. Louis American.