In Germany’s federal elections, the AFD (Alternative for Germany) became the second largest party. Researcher and unionist Ellie Koch talked about the elections with Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer. She discussed the growth of fascism and how the AFD is organized in terrorizing and using the immigrant community in Germany to build its xenophobic and racist campaign.
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Gabriel Prawl, the former president of Seattle’s ILWU Local 52, serves on the union’s Juneteenth Committee. He spoke with Pacifica’s Steve Zeltzer at the Workers Strike Back Conference in Seattle.
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Andrée Blouin was a Congolese political activist, anti-colonial leader, and women’s rights advocate. Born in 1921 in what is now the Central African Republic to a French father and an African mother, she was raised in a Catholic orphanage, where she was denied connection to her African heritage.
Blouin became a prominent figure in the fight against colonialism, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she was a close advisor to Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. As the director of the women’s wing of his party, she mobilized grassroots support and was one of the few women involved at high levels in African liberation politics.
Following Lumumba’s assassination in 1961, Blouin was forced into exile, but she continued her advocacy for decolonization and women’s rights internationally. She later wrote her autobiography, My Country, Africa: The Autobiography of the Black Pasionaria, detailing her experiences in the independence struggles. Andree Blouin’s daughter, writer and documentarian Eve Blouin, spoke to Block Report’s JR Valrey.
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We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the Capitalism, Race & Democracy collective, with contributions from Steve Zeltzer and JR Valrey.
You can find this and all previous episodes at our website “capitalism race and democracy dot ORG”. Make sure you click the subscribe button. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @PacificaCRD. Thanks for listening!
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