Editor’s Note: The following commentary by Professor David L. Horne was originally written in September for publication on the Web site of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://www.srdcinternational.org). Due to a number of emergencies and other technical issues (not the least of which was the crash of the SRDC Web site several weeks ago), the commentary was delayed in being published. Even though the raw numbers pertaining to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically increased over the last month, most notably in Europe and the United States, Afrika still confounds observers who had predicted the pandemic would hit especially hard there.

The Politics of the COVID-19 Virus in the Sh**Hole Countries
by David L. Horne, Ph.D

This is not the article I intended to write for this week’s column. I had actually already started on another one that I’ll probably do next week. But this one refused to go away—I could not get it off my mind. As any decent writer knows, when the muse is so insistent, the only response is to give in to it, or face the consequences of possibly never getting another inspiration.

Okay, let’s get to it. As everyone with a brain knows, President Trump infamously called Africa a bunch of sh**hole countries a few months back. Mr. Trump has also been roundly and rightly criticized lately for the very poor leadership he has demonstrated in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just recently, tape recordings have surfaced which let the world know that Mr. Trump said he knew the virus was very bad, but he had done all he could to address it, and he was satisfied with his administration’s overall response.

In a country with far less than 20% of the world’s population, he had shepherded the U.S.A. to over 6,764,598 infections, 4,043,637 recoveries, and 199,571 deaths since February, 2020 in relationship to the COVID virus. [These numbers now stand at over 10 million infections and over 250,000 deaths in the United States as of mid-November–Editor.] These numbers—in the richest country in the world, reportedly, with more spent on healthcare than in any other country— put the U.S.A. into position as the number one worst country in the world in terms of handling the virus. No other country is even close to the U.S.’s totals.

Africa is a collection of 54 countries with a combined 1.4 billion population. Africa—Trump’s sh**hole countries—–at last report on September 14,2020, had 1,359,724 reported cases, with 1,106,991 recoveries and only 32,795 deaths, according to the African Centres for Disease Control. By contrast, two states in the U.S., California and New York combined, had more deaths than the entire African continent (47,097).

Certainly, these numbers were not what the experts predicted or expected. The most common conviction was that the COVID virus would simply decimate Africa. After all, the general healthcare systems throughout the continent are thought to be inadequate and generally backwards. Far too many people continue to live in squalid, overcrowded conditions. Industries are lacking, education is poor, just nothing seems to be going right in the entire land mass, according to western standards. Though publicly, most serious people have decried Trump’s negative name-calling associated with Africa, the general belief was, of course, that he was right, and the virus might clean Africa out, leaving it for re-occupation and re-colonization by Western powers.

But of course, that has not happened, and the “experts” cannot figure out why. Is Africa’s majority youth population the explanation? Is it the residue in Africans of so much prior medicine for HIV, SARS, tuberculosis, malaria, Ebola, etc.? What in the world is saving Africa from COVID extinction?

Of course, there is still the matter of the Madagascar Organic Tonic promoted as a palliative. The origin country Madagascar, of course , is still using it. Although there have been some deaths in the country—211—-so its efficacy in inoculating everybody might be questioned, there have been very few reported cases of infection and very many recoveries in the country. Other African countries, including Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and others, have been distributing the potion to their citizens, from the thousands of free bottles delivered to them from Madagascar.

While that debate is going on, one thing is crystal-clear. The African countries and their leaders have handled the pandemic better than Mr. Trump has handled the problem in the U.S.A. Not one African leader, as bad as he/she may be otherwise, has piloted his ship of state as poorly as has Mr. Trump viz-a-viz the COVID pandemic.

This begs the question: Who’s the real sh**hole now?

David L. Horne, Ph.D. is a tenured professor at California State University at Northridge. He is also the International Facilitator of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC), a Pan Afrikan Diaspora organization dedicated to bringing the voice of the Global Afrikan Diaspora to the World Stage, primarily through interaction with the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), the African Union’s Pan African Parliament (PAP), the United Nations’ Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (WGEPAD) and independent global Afrikan organizations such as the Universal Negro Improvement Association-African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) and the Pan African Federalist Movement (PAFM). The organization’s Web site, https://www.srdcinternational.org, is currently being rebuilt and will re-launch in late November.

More articles on this subject can be found at the following links. The below articles were written between August and November 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Africa
https://guardian.ng/news/why-africa-is-recording-low-covid-19-deaths/
https://allafrica.com/stories/202008160034.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-africa-mortality-i-idUSKBN26K0AI
https://www.theafricareport.com/45557/covid-19-why-are-africas-low-death-rates-low/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-17/south-african-study-puts-covid-deaths-higher-than-official-toll

The November 18, 2020 edition of Africa400 discussed the Umoja Karamu/Unity Feast and its creator, Honored Ancestor Dr. Edward Sims Jr.

Dr. Edward Sims, Sociology Professor (transitioned 1996) Jr. and wife Deanna Jones Sims, Teacher (transitioned 1994)

Show hosts Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty’s Special Guests were Dr. and Mrs. Sims’ sons, Dr. Guy Sims and Dawaud Anyabwile, co-creator/writer and illustrator of Brotherman Comics; and nine-year-old Folasade Shabazz, author of the book Umoja Karamu, A Fun Feast for Family and Friends.

Dr. Guy Sims, Co-Creator and Writer

Dawaud Anyabwile, Illustrator

Folasade Shabazz, Author of Umoja Karamu

For the audio if the show, visit our Media Page or just click below:

The biography of this brilliant young Sista is related as follows in her new book:

Folasade Ramia Aza Shabazz is a homeschooled student who enjoys singing, dancing, cooking and having family and friends over for big parties.  She possesses a female warrior spirit, yet is as sweet as pie.  Umoja Karamu (The Black Family Ritual) is one of the little known holidays that brings Afrikan and Afrikan-American families throughout the diaspora together to remember our story and celebrate our victories.

Folasade writes books so that Afrikan girls and boys can see themselves and celebrate Afrikan/Afrikan-American culture.

This is her first book.  She lives with her parents and siblings in Richmond, Virginia.

For those tuning in who wish to call in to the show, the call-in number is (410) 761-1592.

Africa400 can be heard on the radio every Wednesday afternoon from 2:00-3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on WFBR 1590 AM in Glen Burnie and Baltimore, Maryland.  It can also be heard over the Internet on a variety of platforms, including https://mytuner-radio.com/radio/wfbr-famous-1590-am-426025/, as well as http://streema.com/radios/play/WFBR and https://tunein.com/radio/WFBR-1590AM-Baltimore-s29972/.  After the broadcast, we will post the show in an update of this post as well as on our Media Page.

This Is Your President

• They (Central Park Five) admitted their guilt.  They’re guilty.  The (2002) settlement was a disgrace.
• Barack Hussein Obama was not eligible to be president of the United States.  He is not a citizen of the United States.  He was born in Kenya.  He won’t show us his birth certificate.  My investigators have looked into it, went to Hawai’i to find the records, and what they found is shocking.
• Grab them by the p*$$&.  If you’re a star, they let you do it.
• The election process is rigged.
• Crooked Hillary should be in jail for what she’s done.  Lock her up!
• They’re (Mexican undocumented immigrants) rapists.  They’re bringing drugs.  They’re bringing crime.
• I am the least racist person you will ever meet.
• This was the largest inauguration day crowd in history, period.
• I’m a very stable genius.
• I know nothing about Russia.
• No one has been harder on Russia than me.
• I know nothing about David Duke.
• Crooked Hillary won in 2016 only because of millions of illegal immigrants who voted for her.
• Where is my African-American?
• Barack Obama gave millions of dollars to Iran.
• The Obama Administration spied on my campaign.
• We will repeal and replace Obamacare. We will provide great health care.
• We will protect people with pre-existing conditions.
• Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.
• There is a lot of blame on many sides, on many sides. There were very fine people on both sides.
• Ukraine should investigate the Bidens.  China should investigate the Bidens.
• Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV.
• No one has done as much for Black people as I have.  With the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.
• You never talk about terrorism from the Alt-Left, Antifa and Black Lives Matter.
• This (CoVID) is their new hoax.
• This (CoVID) will decrease to zero, it will just go away.
• You just want to wear that mask so you can be politically correct.
• No one could have known how difficult it was to deal with CoVID.
• I had CoVID, now they say I’m immune.
• No one could have seen this coming.  It’s a situation no one has seen before. It’s unimaginable, unique.  No one could have been prepared or known what to do.
• Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.
• We have won this election.
• We won Florida. No one thought we would win Florida. And then we won Texas.
• If you count the legal votes, we won this election easily.  If you count the illegal votes, the Democrats are trying to steal the election.

The people of the United States of America held an election on Tuesday, November 4.  Because of a combination of the CoVID-19 pandemic and the resultant concerns that sprang from the inevitability of long lines of voters in close proximity and with limited personal protection in a time of a deadly contagion, two key provisions were made: early voting in person (a week or more in most states) and voting by mail.  The result was an unprecedented voter turnout which, through the combination of early voting, mail-in ballots and heavy Election Day voting from the country’s urban centers and moderate-to-liberal enclaves, appears to have turned out the sitting president, Donald J. Trump after five days of frantic ballot tabulation and counting.  While several states were close enough to trigger review and recounts of the votes, and the Electoral College must meet in December to officially declare a winner, the results as of Saturday, November 7 seemed to clearly award 273 electoral votes to Democratic Party nominee Joseph R. Biden to 214 for Trump, with several states still undecided but leaning toward Biden as well.  When the counting is finally complete, Biden could exceed 300 electoral votes, far surpassing the 270 needed to claim the White House.

Trump, predictably, objected to this result, threatening to demand recounts and to file lawsuits against the conduct of the election.  After having claimed victory halfway through the vote count when he was leading in most states but had not yet secured the required 270 Electoral College votes, his boasting turned to angry accusations and rage-tweeting when the urban centers of many of these states, notably Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia, reported their vote counts and his advantages in these states were reversed, insisting that this turn of events must be due to voter fraud, which of course served his purposes since he had accused the entire process of corruption, from the mail-in ballots to alleged computer glitches in these key “battleground” states.  By Saturday, November 7, as the major media outlets were anointing Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President-elects and their backers packed the streets of major cities across the country in jubilant celebration, Trump was fuming in the White House, refusing to make the traditional concession speech, and his son Donald Jr. was urging him to wage “total war”.  Trump backers on the streets, in the press and on social media furiously vented their anger at the corruption of the system in denying this transformative president who was “sent by God” to save the nation from the godless liberals of his rightful place as the Leader of the Free World.  The vote totals were once again, as they had been in 2016, due to the votes of illegal immigrants, or dead people, or votes that were stolen from the rightful recipient, the Heroic President Trump.  Because, who wouldn’t vote for such a Great Man who is Making America Great Again?

But what does one make of a public figure who, as he craves and accumulates power over his perceived subjects, is regularly described (and often documented) as the following …

• serial liar
• tax cheat
• authoritarian
• race-baiter
• misogynist
• xenophobe
• proud ignoramus
• grifter
• science-denier
• anti-environmentalist
• self-dealer
• petulant child and
• apparent sociopath

… who makes a habit of these behaviors?

• takes credit and never takes blame
• demands loyalty and is himself loyal to no one
• uses the official levers of power for his personal promotion and enrichment
• reinforces his negligence in response to the CoVID pandemic (“It will go away, like magic”) with malignant interference (super-spreader rallies) and propaganda (“You’re wearing that mask to be politically correct”) against the advice and efforts of those fighting for people’s lives
• manipulates meteorological data with a sharpie (“The hurricane will strike Alabama”) so he will appear to be factually correct
• pioneered the term “alternative facts” to cover the 20,000-plus lies he has been documented telling in office
• demonizes the press (“the enemy of the people”) in an effort to turn the populace against the last true watchdogs of the powerful
• shoves heads of state aside (Prime Minister of Montenegro) to take a place in the front of a group of world leaders for a photo op
• uses public facilities (White House, Fort McHenry) for partisan campaign rallies
• directs his military to alter their accommodations, at greater expense to them, so they can use his corporate facilities at increased profit for him
• suggested injecting bleach at a coronavirus task force press conference
• hires an unqualified Postmaster General to kneecap the postal service to discredit it as an option during a deadly pandemic
• bullies, threatens and rage-tweets to manipulate others and then whines that no one loves him
• even to this day refuses to admit defeat or that he ever, ever made a mistake (“I take no responsibility”)
• has the nerve to say, to a Black Woman’s face (NBC’s Kristen Welker), that he is “the least racist person in this room”, a claim he has made several times, usually to a person of color
• assails Black Lives Matter and Black protesters as “thugs”, “socialists”, “communists” and “terrorists” while he encourages right wing White vigilantes that run over protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, that gun down protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin and that plot to kidnap, put on trial and execute a sitting Michigan governor for her efforts to stop the spread of CoVID, and
• leads chants of “lock her up” and tells his attorney general to arrest 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former president Barack Obama for treason as more members of his own Cabinet, organization and inner circle are tried, convicted and “locked up” in prison than any president in history, including Nixon.

The tragedy here is that the person I just described is considered by close to half of the voters of the United States (and too many “Melanated Non-Afrikans”) to be a worthy “leader of the free world” and representative of their values in spite of, or perhaps because of, all of the above.

And this point has nothing to do with Biden.  His history as a legislator, which includes a number of bills that, in retrospect, are considered to have done great damage to the Afrikan-American community (the 1994 Crime Bill was a major one, though many Black officials, business and spiritual leaders and voters backed it as well), has been repeatedly cited by his critics and those who still cling to the possibility of a successful Trump challenge to the 2020 election results.  Biden has apologized for those policies that he supported that have caused damage to the Black community, though he has yet to reverse that damage; meanwhile, Trump admits to no mistakes and doubles down on even his most cruel policies.  Trump makes his intent clear with both his words and his deeds.  And close to half of the voters in the United States still want more of the same, and angrily cry foul when the election results seem to deny them four more years of Trumpism.  Regardless whether their post-election vote challenge is successful or not, this is the essential fact of the 2020 presidential campaign.  And it is a damning indictment of the “soul of the nation” the battle for which Biden and Trump have engaged.

America nominally passes the test of “democracy” only because the winner of the popular vote (Biden, by 4.2 million and counting) also appears to have won the slave-era, landowner-centric “Electoral College” (273 electoral votes, and counting) and with it the office of President of the United States.  But in the intelligence test of “American Exceptionalism” and the morality test of being the “greatest country in the history of the world”, the nation that has inspired its harshest critics to call it the “United Snakes of Amerikkka” fails miserably.  Here, regardless who wins the White House in the end, it has brought back the title of Ugly American, and while the election of Biden and Harris may marginally reverse or slow the worst descent into fascism of recent memory and forestall the harsh judgement of history, the voice of some 47% of the electorate clearly shows that too much of this country still embraces that title, and the venal racism and cruel mendacity that go with it, enthusiastically.

Africa400’s Special Guests for Wednesday, November 11 were Shaundretta Boykins, Juana Williams and Michael Young, owners of Culture Market 614, a Black-owned grocery in Columbus, Ohio.  Operating under the slogan “One World, Many Cultures”, their culture-centered, community-oriented store was the first Black-owned grocery in Columbus in 25 years.  They discussed their experience as Black entrepreneurs building a business in today’s economy and their vision for their business with hosts Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty.

Listen to the show by visiting our Media Page or by clicking below:

Videos introducing them to the public can be found on their Facebook page, https://m.facebook.com/theculturemarket614/.

Africa400 can be heard on the radio every Wednesday afternoon from 2:00-3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on WFBR 1590 AM in Glen Burnie and Baltimore, Maryland.  It can also be heard over the Internet on a variety of platforms, including https://mytuner-radio.com/radio/wfbr-famous-1590-am-426025/, as well as http://streema.com/radios/play/WFBR and https://tunein.com/radio/WFBR-1590AM-Baltimore-s29972/.  After the broadcast, we will post the show in an update of this post as well as on our Media Page.

The November 4, 2020 edition of Africa400 featured special guest Bro. Isaiah Jackson, author of the book Bitcoin and Black America.  He discussed the ongoing “Bitcoin Revolution” with hosts Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty.

Check out the show on our Media Page, or just click below:

What is the essential point of bitcoin and Black economics?  Bro. Jackson and bitcoin enthusiasts make the following argument:

Ready for a change in black economics? Join the Bitcoin revolution.

Bitcoin and Black America is a dynamic new book that explores the synergy between black economics, Bitcoin and blockchain technology. The global financial system is changing and the digital revolution will not be televised.

We explore how to incorporate cryptocurrency in your business, job and educational institution. This book also outlines the need for separation from the racist banking system and a comprehensive list of black professionals actively working in the Blockchain industry.

Africa400 can be heard on the radio every Wednesday afternoon from 2:00-3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on WFBR 1590 AM in Glen Burnie and Baltimore, Maryland.  It can also be heard over the Internet on a variety of platforms, including https://mytuner-radio.com/radio/wfbr-famous-1590-am-426025/, as well as http://streema.com/radios/play/WFBR and https://tunein.com/radio/WFBR-1590AM-Baltimore-s29972/.  After the broadcast, we will post the show in an update of this post as well as on our Media Page.

The Wednesday, October 21 edition of Africa400 featured a special tribute to New Ancestor Dr. Patricia Newton (1945-2020).  Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty welcomed special guests Sis. Imani, a close friend of Dr. Newton; Bro. Jabari Natur, founder of Reality Speaks and Conscious Heads Barbershop as well as a Baltimore-area community activist who sponsored several events featuring Dr. Newton; Baba Nati, founder and proprietor of Everyone’s Place Book and Cultural Center in Baltimore, and Mama Vivian of Philadelphia Black Social Workers.

An online tribute to Dr. Newton (“Dr. Patricia Newton, Rest In Power Tribute”, October 1, 2020) has been published and shared by the Web sites of the Institute of the Black World (https://ibw21.org/initiative-posts/bfs-posts/dr-patricia-newton-rest-in-power-tribute/), Black Therapy Central (https://blacktherapycentral.com/dr-patricia-newton-rest-in-power-tribute/), Global Diaspora News (https://www.globaldiasporanews.com/dr-patricia-newton-rest-in-power-tribute/) and other sources.  Videos of Dr. Newton’s lectures and presentations can also be found through a basic Google search.

Africa400 can be heard live every Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 PM (Eastern Time in the United States) on WFBR 1590 AM in Baltimore and Glen Burnie, Maryland.  It can also be streamed live on the Internet on https://tunein.com/radio/WFBR-1590AM-Baltimore-s29972/, as well as http://streema.com/radios/play/WFBR and other sites. 

Listen to this show by visiting our Media Page or clicking below:

The Wednesday, October 14 edition of Africa400 discussed Black Wom(b)Man Justice and the Friday, October 16 Protect Black Women Rally in Washington, DC at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House.

Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty’s special guests were:

• Sis. Shenika Carter, founder of the Caravan 4 Racial Justice (https://www.c4racialjustice.org and https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=140774397735405&id=110270554119123), and
• Sis. Shawnee Renee Benton Gibson, founder of Spirit of a Woman Leadership Development Institute (https://www.sowleadershipdevelopment.org), which is sponsoring the 6th Annual VIRTUAL Mother Wit Conference on Saturday, October 24 (on the Web at https://www.themotherwitconference.com).

This show is dedicated to Shamony Makeba Gibson (1989-2019), daughter of Shawnee Renee Benton Gibson.  Her story can be read on the Web site https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thecity.nyc/platform/amp/health/2020/9/13/21435518/grandparents-day-women-black-maternal-mortality-crisis-brooklyn-new-york-city.

For the audio broadcast, check out our Media Page or click below:

Africa400 can be heard live at 2:00 PM (Eastern Time in the United States) on WFBR 1590 AM in Baltimore and Glen Burnie, Maryland.  It can also be streamed live on the Internet on https://tunein.com/radio/WFBR-1590AM-Baltimore-s29972/, as well as http://streema.com/radios/play/WFBR and other sites.  After the show has aired, it will be made available on this post and on our Media Page.

OCTOBER 7, 2020: ZIMBABWE’s ambassador to Malawi, Hilda Suka-Mafudze, has been appointed the African Union (AU) envoy to Washington, replacing Arikana Chihombori-Quao who was fired last November over alleged abuse of funds.

BY MOSES MATENGA

Suka-Mafudze, who was appointed Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Malawi last year by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, is expected to fly to Washington next week and is currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the AU headquarters.

“I am humbled and appreciative to be able to represent my continent in the US,” said Suka-Mafudze, who served as an MDC legislator for Mhondoro constituency from 2000 to 2005.

“I am certainly going to use this as an African to contribute better to the Africa we want.

“I am a true pan-Africanist and I know what we really need as Africa and where we want to be as Africans, all this is in my heart and on my fingertips.”

She added: “What we want as Africa is to be on the global stage as an equal with others. We have what it takes and no one must, therefore, look down upon us. As Africa, we are at a stage where we know what we want and we obviously cannot, for example, continue to let our resources be taken as raw materials by people who by so doing are taking employment away from us.

“There are challenges on the continent, but we have to look at how to deal with those challenges and this opportunity is one way of finding solutions and I am humbled to be part of that.”

Asked on her vision for the continent, the country’s former envoy to Sudan said: “I will contribute towards the AU vision on the intra-Africa trade and I will be alert to the need to entrench relations with the US. Let us not overlook the need for relations if we are to be competitive on the global space but that does not mean our inability to effectively manage what we have.”

She said as she represents the chairman of the African Union in Washington, Africa must speak with one voice going forward in defining her destiny and harnessing opportunities through relations with the world, the US included.

“I represent the African Union, my chairman (Moussa Faki Mahamat) but I must also say I am humbled by the support I got from my country, Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his entire team,” Suka-Mafudze said.

“I am representing the whole continent and we want to engage the US and agree on issues where we can co-operate. As Africa, we need investment in infrastructure to have investors coming in and when they do come in, it should be on win-win basis.”

She said she would also push for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063 that “represents a critical step in the journey of Africa”.

The October 7, 2020 edition of Africa400 explores the topic “The Black Woman as the God Principle”.  Hosts Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty welcomed back their special guest Grandmother Walks On Water.  She is an Indigenous Healer and the founder and director of Wombworks Productions.  Listen to the audio of the broadcast below:

Africa400 broadcasts live at 2:00 PM every Wednesday (Eastern Time in the United States) over radio station WFBR 1590 AM in Baltimore and Glen Burnie.  The show can also be listened to live over the Internet, most notably on https://tunein.com/radio/WFBR-1590AM-Baltimore-s29972/ and http://streema.com/radios/play/WFBR.  After the show airs every Wednesday, the audio of the show will be made available on this Web site.  Check this post or visit our Media Page a few hours after the broadcast to hear this and previous shows.