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This discussion addresses the intersection between radical politics and advancing an agenda of economic justice from a lens of Black Liberation.

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The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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In the Black radical tradition, critiques of Nationalism as inherently violent have clashed with recognition of the importance of national liberation movements and the desire for self-determination of oppressed people. Ta-Nehisi Coats grapples with this in his book The Message, grappling with being raised in a Pan-Africanist household and have an emotional return to Africa with the reality that nationalist abstractions have been a tool for violent conquest of land by the Zionist political regime in Israel.

In this episode Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, Director of Public Policy Dayvon Love and Director of Research Lawrence Grandpre look at the theme's of nationalism and Zionism in The Message, arguing that in addition to Pan African emotional attachments to Africa, there are material cultural and political systems that studying adds to the concrete liberation work for Black people. Using examples from material and public health in ancient African civilizations, they show that study of the African past reveals practices that address the problems of Black communities in the here and now. Pan Africanism gives lessons we can use to Far from Black Nationalism replicating the flaws of Zionism, they look at the theory and practice of Pan-Africanism to reveal its consistent anti-Zionist work, rejecting academic and liberal caricatures of Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism as an immature and inherently violent ideology.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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This year marks the 15-year anniversary of the first publication of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow.

The text was praised as challenging the post-racial ethos that rose after the election of Obama by presenting a compelling analysis of mass incarceration driven by anti-black racism creating a permanent under caste in American, akin to the Jim Crow system of the South. While praised as a bible for liberal criminal justice reform advocates, many have questioned the book's limitations and the limited result of the criminal justice reform movement the text spawned.

In the episode, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle director of public policy Dayvon Love and Director of Research Lawrence Grandpre reflect on the legacy of the New Jim Crow, arguing that despite the author intention, the text has been used to focus reform on non-violent drug offenders and cost savings because the Left's inability to directly address their own anxieties around working class Black communities. Despite the book's argument around negative perceptions of Black communities being at the heart of mass incarceration and Democratic Party acquiescence to these super predator stereotypes, the failure of the text to use the lessons of Black radical tradition and indict the left anxieties around the rational decision some Black folk make to carry guns and the reality of violence as part of the realty of white supremacy has led to movement to allow long sentence for minor violent crime counteract the limited progress of releasing folks convicted for drug possession. This has allowed largely symbolic reforms, technocratic, non-profit driven reform like communing sentences for cannabis possession to trade off with policies which would actually empower the communities most impacted by mass incarceration to actively get the resources they need to control the origins that produce public safety in community.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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April 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the #BaltimoreUprising, a series of protests sparked by Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore Police custody in 2015.

Baltimore has long reflected America’s racial and political anxieties, making the Uprising a frequent subject of academic analysis. In this episode, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle’s Lawrence Grandpre and Dayvon Love critique two books: Beyond Black Lives Matter by Cedric Johnson and Invisible Weapons by Marcus Board Jr.

While Johnson critiques BLM and Board affirms it, both argue that Baltimore’s working-class grassroots were misled by neoliberalism, rendering their responses to Freddie Gray ineffective. This view overlooks successful grassroots political interventions by groups like LBS, which led protests during the Uprising and continues to advance community-driven agendas. By oversimplifying Black identity as manipulation by elites—whether through neoliberalism (Johnson) or patriarchy (Board)—both books fail to capture the political and ideological complexity of Baltimore’s working-class Black communities. They also neglect to examine how academic detachment can distort analyses of Baltimore, Black life, and Black politics.

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The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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Despite media fearmongering about crime in cities, violent crimes like shootings and murders have declined nationwide in 2024. In Baltimore, murders have dropped even as police departments claim to be understaffed and demoralized, yet many still credit the police for the decline.

Dayvon and Lawrence reveal that grassroots community organizations, not police or the nonprofit industrial complex, have driven this change. By reallocating funds from traditional nonprofit channels to grassroots efforts, these groups have addressed conflicts upstream. However, public health nonprofits and pro-police entities have tried to take credit for this work while perpetuating narratives that pathologize Black communities.

They argue that framing Black-on-Black violence as a product of internalized self-hatred and anti-Blackness, combined with traditional public health and policing strategies, risks worsening the problem. Instead, culturally affirming programs that redirect anger into pro-community action are key to long-term violence prevention.

Finally, they critique the Left’s generic “defund the police, fund public health approaches” rhetoric, which undermines grassroots violence prevention efforts. They assert this reflects the Left’s discomfort with engaging working-class Black communities and politics.

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The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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In his book The Squad, journalist Ryan Grim provides an account of the experiences of “The Squad,” a group of progressive legislators elected to the House of Representatives, as they attempted to govern. Their journey—from election victories to struggles with Republicans and Democratic leadership—is widely praised for its detailed investigation of the electoral and political “inside baseball” of the left. Grim’s role as a critical figure in independent left media, through appearances on shows like Breaking Points and his publication Drop Site, further enhances the book’s value as a vantage point for those interested in evaluating the rising establishment “Left” as a tool for advancing the interests of Black people and the Black community. It helps readers take stock of where the Left stands, where it might be going, and whether it can serve as a vehicle for achieving the Black community’s goals.

In conversation with Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle Director of Research Lawrence Grandpre, LBS Director of Public Policy Dayvon Love examines The Squad to uncover critical insights about both the Left and media analysis. Love highlights how the book reveals that, despite high-profile victories over Democratic Party establishment figures, the political Left suffers from a stunning lack of infrastructure. He links this to the Left’s general failure to prioritize building political machinery and institutions. Grim’s analysis of the Left’s frustration with concepts like Tema Okun’s “white supremacy culture” reflects the frustrations of grassroots advocates, who have seen anti-racism abstracts used by some to center conversations on personal feelings rather than delivering political outcomes for the communities they claim to serve.

However, Love also critiques Grim’s analysis, particularly his dismissal of cultural frameworks. In addressing Okun’s “white supremacy culture,” Grim, like many on the Left, overcorrects by rejecting tools like African-centered analysis for political work. This is evident in his dismissal of Leonard Jeffries, the uncle of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whom Grim labels an “antisemite.” This overlooks valid concerns Black community advocates have raised about white advocates monopolizing resources intended for the Black community under the guise of representing their interests. By dismissing such critiques as “antisemitism,” Grim ironically mirrors the tactics he criticizes liberals for using—employing blanket accusations to sideline political conversations that challenge entrenched interests.

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The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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Over the past decade, reparations have shifted from a fringe issue championed by Black nationalists to a mainstream topic in Democratic and nonprofit circles.

In Baltimore, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS) has advanced a reparations agenda rooted in Black community control, challenging assumptions of the broader movement. LBS Director of Research, Lawrence Grandpre, interviews Director of Public Policy, Dayvon Love, about his Nonprofit Quarterly article advocating for reparations centered on building Black institutional capacity and political power, inspired by John Henrik Clarke’s concept of “nation management.”

Dayvon connects this approach to LBS’s work using cannabis tax revenue in Maryland to pursue reparations for the War on Drugs. They critique the national focus on cash payments and nonprofit-led efforts, arguing these reflect both racist fears of Black public money management and an internalized belief that Black advancement requires white validation. This stance, they assert, contradicts the Black nationalist reparations tradition aimed at transferring power to Black communities.

Finally, they highlight political victories in Baltimore as evidence that Black communities can achieve meaningful reparations without sacrificing community control.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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In the conclusion of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle's Post-Election Analysis, we share a panel discussion hosted by Baltimore Racial Justice Action (BRJA), held the week after the election.

Moderated by Julia Scott, the panel featured:

• Lawrence Grandpre, Director of Research at Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle
• Andy Ellis, Chairman of Baltimore for Democracy and 2026 Green Party candidate for Governor of Maryland
• Charlie Carter, long-time Baltimore community and political activist

Discussion topics included:

• The Left's anxiety around wielding power and the emotional toll of politics and criticism
• Likely outcomes of the 2024 election
• Using third parties to gain leverage over the Democratic Party
• The tension between class-first political models and the legacy of Black community activism

While the panel focused on Baltimore and Maryland, its insights offer valuable lessons for progressives nationwide, especially as they pivot to state and local politics after Republicans took control of all three branches of the federal government.

For additional resources, visit the BRJA website at bmoreantiracist.org, including a library of 13th of the Month videos on anti-racism and anti-oppression topics.

Support the show

In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)