Ancestors Speak

Steve Biko stands and speaks while smiling

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." – Steve Biko

a man in a purple suit is dancing on a red stage ALT: a man in a purple suit is dancing on a red stage

"When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty." – Thomas Jefferson

"Power concedes nothing without a demand." – Frederick Douglass

African American Museums Explore African American museums in the U.S. and discover rich history, culture, and contributions on BlackPast.org.

BlackPast has a comprehensive list of Black history museums across the country:

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." – Desmond Tutu

"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." - President Lyndon B. Johnson

Why? Why would we listen to this?

MAGA math: Education + Dissent = Violence

Excellent news. This is the only branch of government that seems to be (kind of) working.

"Democracy is not a state. It is an act." – John Lewis

They keep out-crazying the crazy. It's unbelievable.

YouTube video by Ancestors Speak Who Is the Modern-Day John Lewis? #goodtrouble

Who’s carrying the legacy of John Lewis in 2025?🤔
youtube.com/shorts/7uDUZ...

Downfall and origin.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." – Martin Luther King Jr.

description from Huntington library: "A lithograph printed on heavy paper. Satirical "death certificate" issued for the Southern Confederacy. Mourning border, each line in different typeface, with: Died, Near the South-Side Rail Road, / on Sunday, April 9th, 1865, / The Southern Confederacy, / Aged Four Years, / Conceived in Sin, Born in iniquity, Nurtured by Tyranny, Died of / a Chronic Attack of Punch. / Abraham Lincoln, Attending Physician. / U.S. Grant, Undertaker. / Jeff Davis, Chief Mourner. Below in smaller print an epitaph that ends with: And this one line shall grace your grave-- / Your death gave freedom to the slave." https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll6/id/5033

to all who celebrate...

Literally every Black person who comes to DC visits the NMAAHC and it’s a big source of pride among a very broad swathe of people. Censoring the work there won’t be as frictionless as people imagine.

I wish people hated fascism half as much as they hate feminism

For folks who don’t know, ethnic studies programs like African American/Africana Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicano Studies and the like come directly from civil right era campus activism. Attempts to disempower such programs should be framed as attacks on civil rights same as much else rn.

YouTube video by Ancestors Speak What Would OCTAVIA BUTLER Say About Trump's America? | Ancestors Speak

She'd probably say, "I told you so!" But what lessons would Octavia Butler share to help us...survive?
youtu.be/J19rAuCocVA

If you could commission one fictional character to fix the current US political problems, who would it be?

Keep this in mind: The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was carried out by executive order—from the President of the United States.
🧵

An excellent map of pre-colonial Africa in 1880
(just 5 years before the Berlin conference)

*zoom in for details!

For journalists, writers, artists, historians, photographers and cultural workers -- it's going to be so, so important that we document and bear witness to this moment in history.

It's going to be hard, and many of us will have to move differently. But we must try.

Choose freely but know that, if you aren’t with us, then by definition, you are against us.

YouTube video by Ancestors Speak Mandela Has Advice for Ukraine (and Russia) | Ancestors Speak

Mandela has some advice from his approach to life and politics. We've pulled some ideas from his speeches that relate directly to current events.

Roll out the red carpet.....

Donald. Trump. Is. A. Russian. Asset.

Sighhhh. I miss her and the feelings of hope.