That time Malcolm X received Fidel Castro in Harlem in 1960. (A thread)
A year after the Cuban Revolution, Castro and his delegation came to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, but the management of the Manhattan hotel the delegation booked now refused to house them after the US government already pressured other hotels to reject the Cubans.
Upon learning of their situation, Malcolm X invited them to come uptown to Harlem, to stay at the Black-owned Hotel Theresa, where Malcolm X said he would be greeted with open arms.
"We had two choices: one was the patio in the United Nations; when I told this to the Secretary-General he was horrified at the thought of a delegation camping in tents there;"...
... "and then we received Malcolm X's offer, he had talked to one of our comrades, and I said: "That is the place, Hotel Theresa." And there we went," said Castro.
People from Harlem received the 34-year-old Cuban revolutionary leader by the thousands, with masses huddling round-the-clock in front of the hotel.
Castro was to them that bearded revolutionary who had told the white America to go to hell and his stay there was an important acknowledgment of the struggle African Americans shared with the rest of the Third World in resisting racism, colonialism and imperialism.
When the 35-year-old Malcolm X received Castro they talked about the incredible inhospitality the Cuban party had experienced at the Shelburne, ...
... the insulting demand made upon them for a $10,000 deposit against damage to be expected from Cuban "barbarians" after a racist slander campaign in the press that included baseless charges of plucking live chickens at the hotel.
But above all, Fidel spoke of Harlem. "I always wanted to come to Harlem," said Castro, "but I was not sure of what kind of welcome I would get. When I got the news that I would be welcome in Harlem, I was happy."
The Black people of the United States were not as brainwashed by the government's anti-Cuban propaganda as whites, he continued. Revolutionary Cuba, a majority Black nation, was wiping out racial discrimination.
Cubans, Africans and the Black people of the United States were all in the same boat. "I feel as if I were in Cuba now. I feel very warm here."
Malcolm X responded that it was indeed true that, "We in Harlem are not addicted to all the propaganda the U.S. government puts out." And then they embraced.
"As long as Uncle Sam is against you, you know you're a good man," Malcolm X told Castro.
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27 years ago today the Zapatista Uprising began when the EZLN declared war on the Mexican government from the Lacandona jungle in Chiapas, Mexico.
The 1994 uprising was programmed to coincide with the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Zapatistas aimed to regain land and wealth from the most privileged and redistribute it among the oppressed.
Led by the figurehead of the movement known as subcomandante Marcos, the Zapatistas were considered a grave danger by the Mexican government for their actions & grabbing international media attention. In 2006 the EZLN became a political organization, leaving the armed insurgency.
Dog of the decade: Negro Matapacos, Chile's cop-biting riot dog.
Matapacos was a famous stray dog who showed up at student protests for free education in 2010, defying tear gas and water cannons and accompanying the students in their struggle, only attacking or barking at the "pacos" (Chilean slang for "cops") and never at protesters.
The image of the black dog in a red bandana appears throughout Chile today and artwork of the canine has been shared all over social media, as people pay tribute to the dog who marched with the people and stood by them when facing state violence.
From Chile to Palestine, from Haiti to Indonesia the last decade has been marked by mass protests, riots and uprisings.
Here are some of the most iconic protest and riot photos from around the world of 2011 - 2020 #decadeinreview
First tweet clockwise:
Chile 2019, Palestine 2018, United States 2014
This tweet clockwise:
Chile 2019, Egypt 2011, Burkina Faso 2014, Haiti 2018
Clockwise: Catalonia 2018, Chile 2019, Indonesia 2019, Greece 2010
Diego Maradona, anti-imperialist, socialist and arguably the greatest football player of all time passed away today at the age of 60.
Maradona was a leftist on the football fields and also in politics. As a football player he tirelessly fought against corruption in the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), which he compared to a mafia.
He struggled to unionize football players and in the late 90s, Maradona, with other prominent stars, formed the International Association of Professional Football Players to defend players' rights.
This International Day against #ViolenceAgainstWomen, we honor the women who have heroically resisted patriarchy, capitalism, imperialism, fascism and colonialism and have sacrificed their lives to fight for a better and just world.
From Cuba to Vietnam, from Palestine to the Philippines and all over the world.
Clockwise above:
Cuba, Chiapas, Kurdistan, Soviet Union
Clockwise below:
Spain, Vietnam, United States, India