Episode #120: The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin surveilled by COINTELPRO for 40 years; the arts are not refuge; African culture workers urged to get involved

Black Power Talks

Just months after the FBI's brutal assault against the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement, a report surfaced showing that the FBI surveilled the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin for four decades.

In today's program, we will turn the spotlight on some of the popular African artists who have been surveilled, harassed and targeted by the FBI and other government police agencies over the decades.

We discuss the surveillance, harassment, and sabotage of the careers of African culture workers and entertainers such as:

• Billie Holiday
• Paul Robeson
• Miriam Makeba
• Hugh Masekela
• Horace Tapscott
• Nina Simone
• Aretha Franklin
• and More

We begin by hearing from Yusef Doucette of the JOKO Collective in Los Angeles, California who addressed the Black is Back Coalition’s Black Power Conference on Sunday November 6, 2022 in Washington DC. Yusef spoke on the long history of US counterinsurgency against African culture workers, a campaign that dates back to the 18th century.

Yusef Doucette is a member of the JOKO Collective, a college professor, and a doctoral candidate. Prof. Doucette ends by underscoring the importance of the arts to liberation struggles.

Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.