Racist Tropes on Display in The Trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers

Protests Demand The Truth About Ethiopia, Akai Gurley’s Community Comes Together To Remember, Google Workers Fight Back Against Defense Contracting

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Simon Tesfamariam, executive director of the New Africa Institute to discuss massive protests denouncing the actions of the US in the conflict in Ethiopia, why the US is interested in the horn of Africa, and the missing nuance and context in discussions of Ethiopia.

In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Kerbie Joseph, longtime police brutality, mass incarceration and community organizer in Brooklyn, New York with the ANSWER Coalition and SOS coordinator with the Audre Lorde Project to discuss the struggle for justice for Akai Gurley, the policing of public housing by the NYPD that led to Akai’s death, and how the struggle for justice has shaped the community.

In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by technologist Chris Garaffa, the editor of TechforthePeople.org to discuss the use of AI technologies for surveillance in prisons and the potential consequences of its use, Google workers fighting back against the company’s contracts with the defense industry, and Facebook’s refusal to take substantial action against harmful hate speech.

Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Kamau Franklin, Founder and Board President of Community Movement Builders in Atlanta and Co-host of the Renegade Culture podcast to discuss the racist tropes on display in the trial of the killers of Ahmaud Arbery, the disparity in the treatment of Kyle Rittenhouse and Tamir Rice and how white fears of Black revenge factor into that treatment, the death of Malikah Shabazz, the exoneration of two people convicted of killing Malcolm X, and the sanitization and repackaging of Malcolm X’s legacy.

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