Dayvon and Lawrence discuss why grassroots community organizations, not police or the nonprofit industrial complex, have driven the decline in murders seen over the past year. Despite mainstream public health nonprofits and police both taking credit, they argue 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, arguing it gets co-opted by pro-police forces and undermines grassroots violence prevention efforts.

LBS’s Dayvon Love and Lawrence Grandpre review Ryan Grim’s book “The Squad” to uncover critical insights about both Left politics and Left Media. The text highlights the Left’s lack of infrastructure and failure to prioritize building political machinery, and the Left’s overreliance on weaponizing identity politics. However, they also argue Grim overcorrects by rejecting African-centered analysis as a tool for political work and overlooks valid concerns Black community advocates have about white advocates monopolizing resources intended for the Black community under the guise of universalist class-based economic redistribution. Finally, by critiquing black nationalists as reflecting “legitimate antisemitism,” Grim ironically mirrors the tactics he criticizes liberals for using—employing blanket accusations to sideline political conversations that challenge entrenched interests.

Over the past decade, reparations have moved from a fringe issue to a mainstream topic. In Baltimore, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS) advocates for reparations rooted in Black community control, emphasizing institutional capacity and political power over cash payments. Dayvon Love critiques the national focus on nonprofits and white validation, arguing for reparations that transfer real power to Black communities. LBS’s successes in Maryland, including using cannabis tax revenue for reparations, show that Black communities can achieve meaningful gains without sacrificing self-determination.

On this special episode, Lawrence Grandpre hosts a discussion on how the Black community should process the results of the 2022 Midterm Election.

Dr. Jared Ball discusses his work on “The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power” and addresses the folly of Black capitalism.

Dr Jared Ball lays out the ways that mass media and propaganda are used against struggles for Black Liberation.