Our weekly analysis of philosophy, history and current events through the life and works of W.E.B. Du Bois, James Baldwin, and Martin Luther King, Jr. The Saturday Free School is committed to the political and ideological education of the people. In thi
We discuss our upcoming symposium titled "Seizing Our Future: The Revolutionary Music of Ellington, Mingus, Sun Ra and Bootsy", to be held on May 10th and 11th at the Church of the Crucifixion, Philadelphia.
We discuss the significance of recent attacks on the universities by the Trump administration. We also discuss the upcoming music symposium, and the upcoming Issue 4 of Avant-Garde: A Journal of Peace, Democracy and Science.
We discuss the effects of the ongoing policies of the Trump administration and the fate of the U. S. empire.
We continue our discussion of W.E.B. Du Bois as the original thinker of a new movement of world thought.
We discuss W. E. B. Du Bois and a new world movement of thought, and its relationship to the disintegration of the American Empire.
We discuss our preparations for the closing of, and the significance of, the Year of James Baldwin, titled 'Celebrating Our Forever Revolutionary James Baldwin', which commenced at 2.30 pm on March 8th.
We discuss the epistemologies of prominent thinkers such as Noam Chomsky, Jeffrey Sachs and others, and its significance in understanding this moment of beginning of the end of the American Empire.
We discuss the significance of the Trump administration's role in ending war in Europe, and the new ideological moment for humanity and the American People.
We continue our discussion on a new Theory of the State, and examine the epistemology of opposite political actors Steve Bannon and Chris Hedges.
We discuss the struggle for a new and revolutionary democracy, which requires an updated theory of the State.
We discuss DeepSeek, the Chinese A.I. system that challenges our assumptions of technology and scientific capacities of the U.S. and the rest of the world, and what this tells us about the Chinese and U.S. social systems.
We discuss the inauguration of Donald Trump and what are the possible futures for the United States.
We discuss the crisis of the two-party system in the US and what this means for governance and the rule of the ruling elite.
We discuss this topic: "Is the US People's struggle for democracy a geostrategic force in the global struggle for peace?"
We assess the first 10 months of the Year of James Baldwin and what the last seven weeks will look like. Then we discuss an all humanity struggle of a new type in this moment of civilizational crisis.
We discuss: Can the American ruling elite survive the civilizational crisis that the West is engulfed in?
We discuss what the capacities of the ruling elite are. Are they weaker than they've been in close to 100 years?
We discuss the election 10 days out. We also speak about the BRICS conference in Russia.
We discuss chaos and nihilism in the final days of Biden administration.
We discuss the Lucien Blackwell Library reading group for the Year of Baldwin, including a discussion on Baldwin's essay "Freaks and the American Ideal of Manhood." Then we discuss the political system crisis of disintegration and what are the possible ways forward.
We discuss the US state in the throes of the ideological crisis of the state. We examine some theories including John Rawls's theory of justice.
We discuss the US state and its ideology in a time of mass discontent and the overturning of the liberal consensus. We explore the FDR redistributive/progressive state and Trump's retribution/revenge state.
We discuss liberalism and the history of modernity.
We sum up the 2024 election and the activist future for the U.S. people and working class. We also discuss reading James Baldwin in these times.
We analyze the Nobel prizes in physics, chemistry and economics and what they say about knowledge and science. We also discuss W.E.B. DuBois's "The Souls of Black Folk" in the Year of James Baldwin, the presidential election, and wars.
We discuss the Black social system and the realization of the world's colored modernity.
We discuss the white supremacist social system, the Democratic Party, and the 2024 election. We begin with a presentation of the thesis and questions presented on the white supremacist social system and the Marxian concept mode of production.
We discuss why James Baldwin is the mountain upon which we must fight.
We discuss the white supremacist social system, the Democratic Party, and the enduring poverty of Black people.
We discuss James Baldwin and the state in his essay, "This Far and No Further." We also discuss the Democratic Party and the poor.
We discuss James Baldwin and Antonio Gramsci, the interregnum, and the American crisis.
We reviewed and discussed our livestream event on the Democratic Party National Convention called "Breaking Free from the House of Bondage: James Baldwin Speaks to the 2024 Election". Lastly, we further discussed how the Saturday Free School will go forward and our future.
Day 2 is entitled "James Baldwin and the Creation of the New American People" and raises the question of what moral consistency looks like vis a vis the 2024 election, and whether moral inconsistency can lead to political consistency. As always, we are trying to generate more and better theory to arm the American people with.
Day 1 is entitled "James Baldwin as a Theorist of Crisis" and discusses how Baldwin's formulations of the crumbling of empire, safety and whiteness can help understand the current moment, engaging with Antonio Gramsci's concept of an interregnum.
We continue our review and discussion of our three-day celebration of James Baldwin's 100th birthday and where we go from here. We also report on our upcoming livestream event on the Democratic Party National Convention. Lastly, we report on what is going on in Bangladesh and its impact upon South Asia.
We discuss the three-day celebration of James Baldwin's 100th birthday. We also briefly discuss the upcoming Democratic Party Convention.
We discuss the deepening political crisis: assassinations, coups, and the US State. Finally, we discuss preparations for the upcoming Baldwin birthday celebration.
We respond to the recent New York Times article " Donald Trump, Man of Destiny" and use Karl Marx's concept of tragedy and farce to discuss Martin Luther King Jr. as the man of destiny. We also discuss Oren Cass's interviews and the political crisis in the U.S.
We discuss African Americans and the labor movement in the midst of the existential crisis of the Democratic Party. Alice reports back on her trip to China. Finally, we provide an update on August events celebrating James Baldwin's birthday.
We discuss the crisis of Biden and the Democratic Party.
Note to Audience: We have resolved our recent technical issues with Spotify and are currently uploading our previous recordings. We assess our recent Year of Baldwin symposium on the crisis of knowledge and discuss how it sets up the ideological direction and revolutionary political imperative of the Year of Baldwin moving forward. We also have a brief discussion of the presidential debate between Trump and Biden and its implications.
Note to Audience: We have resolved our recent technical issues with Spotify and are currently uploading our previous recordings. We discuss the white supremacist social system, war, and the case of China.
Note to Audience: We have resolved our recent technical issues with Spotify and are currently uploading our previous recordings. We discuss Reverend James Lawson, the Civil Rights Movement leader and friend who recently passed away, and his legacy. We return to discussion of the black social system and what it tells us about the trajectory of the struggle for a people's democracy and peace. We also discuss how James Baldwin's writing assumes it and explains it.
Note to Audience: We have resolved our recent technical issues with Spotify and are currently uploading our previous recordings. We talk about the Black family gender and the Black social system, as well as the failures of contemporary gender and social theory to understand it. We also report on our recent symposium, "The Crisis of Knowledge and the American University: James Baldwin and the Struggle for Our Human Future."
Note to Audience: We have resolved our recent technical issues with Spotify and are currently uploading our previous recordings. Kathie Jiang will report on her observations of New China based on her recent trip. We provide an update on our upcoming Symposium on the crisis of knowledge and the American university.
Note to Audience: We have resolved our recent technical issues with Spotify and are currently uploading our previous recordings. We give updates on our June 1st and 2nd Year of James Baldwin symposium on science. Then we discuss poetry and art. Finally, we discuss recent polls on the 2024 presidential election.
We discuss "April 4, 1967 to April 2024: Where do we go from here and what is the next stage of struggle." Also, we report on our June 1st and June 2nd symposium on the crisis of science and the struggle of a revolutionary epistemology. Finally, we discuss the Penn Gaza solidarity encampment.
We discuss the student protests and the political crisis of the 2024 election. We discuss how these demonstrations compare to the 1968 anti-Vietnam War protests.
We discuss the article "Why We Must Inherit the Third American Revolution," in the second issue of Avant-Garde. We also discuss the moment of national and world transition to a new democracy, peace, and anti-imperialism. Lastly, we discuss the recent Tagore event and its coverage in Chinese and Indian media.
We report on the recent Rabindranath Tagore event that took place in Bangalore celebrating the hundredth anniversary of his trip to China. We also discuss the genocide in Gaza, Iran's missile attacks on Israel, and the existential crisis of Israel and whether it will continue to exist.
We assess our recent event "America's Revolutionary Future and Martin Luther King's Vision for Peace," as well as the second issue of Avant-Garde and the journal's future. We also discuss the Vatican's statement about human dignity and gender theory, and Judith Butler's response.