(BALTIMORE – August 2, 2025) – Greetings. 你好. Namaste. Hola. Bonjour. Salaam alaikum. Nomoshkar. Olá. Shalom. Здравствуйте.

I come to you humbly and respectfully to say this: most of the people I know and live among are nothing like President Donald Trump.

From where I stand, I imagine much of the world watches in disbelief as this man — and those aligned with him — continue to dismantle civil rights protections, gut healthcare programs like Medicaid, and insult global allies without remorse. It’s disheartening, shameful, and dangerous.

And yet, here we are.

Even after years of evidence — his public misogyny, the racism, the cruelty, the lies — millions still voted for him. Only now, with democracy in crisis and global trust fractured, are some Americans having what we call a “come-to-Jesus moment.”

That’s what we call cognitive dissonance: when someone knows the truth but refuses to fully accept its consequences.

Around the world, cultures may differ, but many share a basic value: respect. It costs nothing — but means everything.

I felt that truth in my bones when I watched Vice President J.D. Vance berate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the global press. I was sickened. The disrespect was not only unnecessary — it was classless.

I wasn’t raised like that. And neither were many of the good people I know across this country.

To be honest, I think the group most manipulated in all this were white women voters. They knew who Trump was. The video clips, the criminal allegations, the “grab ‘em” tape — it was all out there. But still, many chose him over Kamala Harris, a competent and qualified leader.

Was it the trauma of having had a Black president for eight years that made the idea of a Black woman too much to bear? Maybe. But it’s worth asking.

America has never truly reconciled with its original sin: slavery and the structural racism that followed. And now we have a president who canceled MLK Day, who mocked a teenage climate activist on the world stage, and whose wife often appears unwilling to even fake a smile beside him.

Let us not forget: this is the man who incited a violent insurrection on January 6th, 2021.

Dear world, please know this: America is better than what you’re seeing right now.

As my mother always said, “Nobody is better than you, and you are no better than anyone else.” That’s the kind of America I believe in — not one built on ego and profit, but on humility and shared dignity.

Still, we live in a society where your bank account defines your worth, where kindness is seasonal, and where too often, decency gets buried under division.

But where I come from — Baltimore — we still learn respect. At home, in the streets, in school. You give it, you get it. You don’t give it, you learn the hard way.

That’s the American spirit I stand for. That’s the America I want the world to know.

So no, we are not all like Trump. And many of us are doing everything we can to keep our country from falling deeper into that abyss.

Wishing you peace in the midst of this storm.

‘Til next time,
Doni Glover

(BALTIMORE – August 2, 2025) – In December 2020, right in the thick of COVID, everything was turned upside down. Interviewing people became nearly impossible — folks weren’t coming outside, Fauci was in everyone’s ear, and Trump was out here talking about drinking bleach. It was chaos.

But through the madness, we found a way forward. We embraced streaming.

Special thanks to Peggy Morris of Sisters4Sisters Network. She introduced me to StreamYard.com, and the rest is history. That connection helped birth BlackUSA.News — the national arm of BMORENews.com. It wasn’t the first time Peggy and her network showed up for us, and it likely won’t be the last.

From there, the movement grew.

On the West Coast, De’Von Walker and Troy Rawlings have been pillars. Troy — a Baltimore native — brings heat from Los Angeles, while De’Von’s Black Wall Street Board Game reminds us of Monopoly with a mission: to uplift Black-owned businesses.

In Oakland, Doug Blacksher has been a home-run-hitting host. His show consistently breaks reach records, diving deep into politics and business — his two favorite lanes.

Up in New York, our go-to is Tasemere Gathers of The DM Firm. She’s solid, dependable, and visionary. And we’d be remiss not to shout out Walter Edwards, Regina Smith, and Vito Jones in Harlem, as well as Makonen of the Harlem Business Alliance — each of them pushing the needle forward.

In Atlanta, Robert Scott and Bou Kahn have not only supported the news but have helped us successfully host the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards over the years.

And then there’s Lee Vaughan, our National President. Thanks to Lee, we’ve expanded from 6 to 9 cities — adding Mobile, Las Vegas, and Tulsa to the fold. One of his honorees? None other than D.L. Hughley.

Let me not forget Dr. Eric Kelly, a brilliant connector introduced to us by the illustrious Marsha Jews, our resident anchor and a national treasure.

We stream live on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
This is our rebirth.
This is BlackUSA.News.
Check us out — and spread the word.

(BALTIMORE – August 1, 2025) – As I pen this column, names like Martin Delaney, Marcus Garvey—with Bob Marley’s “War” playing in the background—come to mind. So do W. E. B. Du Bois and Kwame Nkrumah. “One God. One Aim. One Destiny.” Those words have echoed on signs and posters for decades. We cannot forget J. A. Rogers or Dr. Carter G. Woodson, author of The Miseducation of the Negro. These historians have schooled us for over a century on who we, the people of darker hue, truly are. Some identify us as Moors, others as Indigenous peoples, and still others as the Lost Tribe of Judah—as referenced in Deuteronomy 28. Whatever the case, the history of Black people in America did not start nor end with slavery. Our story is far more layered, rich with legacy.

Since childhood, I’ve marveled at Africa. At 15, I had a map on my wall showing all the continent’s presidents and leaders at the time. One name that stuck was General Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, a key figure who led his nation through significant political and economic shifts from the late 1970s into the early 2000s. I also remember Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and, vividly, the movie about Idi Amin. That film was an early lesson in the power—and danger—of media narratives. As Malcolm X said, media can make the innocent appear guilty and the guilty innocent. Add in portrayals like Tarzan, The Birth of a Nation, and The Lone Ranger, and it’s clear Hollywood never intended to make Black people, Africa, or anything remotely related popular or respected. Blackness is routinely demonized, marginalized, and disrespected. The Black person in movies is often either the comic relief or the first to be killed—what I call a “Crispus Attucks loop.”

I disliked the Idi Amin movie not because of the man himself—I knew little then—but because I intuitively understood that Western stories about African leaders are rarely positive unless those leaders serve Western interests. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with alliances or relationships that include Western powers, when such ties lead to a less developed Africa and a more developed outsider, the relationship is unbalanced—and that’s a problem.

This dynamic has played out in Africa for far too long. The 1960s independence movements replaced colonialism with neo-colonialism. Recall that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, European powers carved up Africa in what’s called “The Scramble for Africa.” The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, convened by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, was pivotal. No Africans were invited as Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and Spain divided the continent to avoid conflict amongst themselves.

Between the 1870s and 1914, European colonizers rapidly seized African lands. By World War I’s outbreak, nearly 90% of Africa was under foreign control. Britain and France claimed the largest shares, while Belgium, Germany, Portugal, and Italy imposed brutal and exploitative regimes. The colonial borders, drawn without regard for ethnic or cultural realities, planted the seeds of many future conflicts.

Europe benefited from this colonial relationship, but Africa did not. Change was inevitable—you can’t keep kicking a man while he’s down. Sooner or later, the bully gets his day. The African independence movement was a continent-wide effort in the mid-20th century to end European colonial rule and reclaim sovereignty. After World War II, weakened colonial powers and rising anti-imperialist sentiment created fertile ground for resistance.

The movement gained real momentum in the late 1940s and 1950s, with Ghana becoming the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence in 1957 under Kwame Nkrumah. The 1960s saw explosive change; 17 countries gained independence in 1960 alone, earning that year the moniker “The Year of Africa.” By the mid-1970s, most African nations had cast off colonial rule, though Zimbabwe (1980), Namibia (1990), and South Africa (1994) achieved theirs later.

This sweeping transformation was driven by Pan-Africanism, nationalist movements, Cold War geopolitics, and grassroots resistance—strikes, protests, and armed rebellions. Leaders like Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba, and Thomas Sankara helped shape Africa’s post-colonial vision. Though political freedom was won, new challenges arose: economic dependency, internal strife, and instability rooted in colonial-era borders. Still, the independence movement sparked cultural and intellectual renewal and laid the foundation for the African Union and ongoing efforts toward unity and development.

Here’s a snapshot of independence dates and key leaders across Africa:

West Africa:

• Ghana (1957) — Kwame Nkrumah

• Nigeria (1960) — Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa

• Senegal (1960) — Léopold Sédar Senghor

• Guinea (1958) — Ahmed Sékou Touré

• Ivory Coast (1960) — Félix Houphouët-Boigny

• Mali (1960) — Modibo Keïta

• Burkina Faso (1960) — Maurice Yaméogo

• Togo (1960) — Sylvanus Olympio

• Benin (1960) — Hubert Maga

• Niger (1960) — Hamani Diori

Central Africa:

• Cameroon (1960) — Ahmadou Ahidjo

• Chad (1960) — François Tombalbaye

• Central African Republic (1960) — David Dacko

• Congo-Brazzaville (1960) — Fulbert Youlou

• Gabon (1960) — Léon M’ba

• Democratic Republic of the Congo (1960) — Patrice Lumumba

East Africa:

• Kenya (1963) — Jomo Kenyatta

• Tanzania (1961) — Julius Nyerere

• Uganda (1962) — Milton Obote

• Somalia (1960) — Aden Abdullah Osman Daar

• Ethiopia — Never colonized (Emperor Haile Selassie)

• Eritrea (1993) — Isaias Afwerki (after war with Ethiopia)

North Africa:

• Egypt (1953) — Gamal Abdel Nasser

• Algeria (1962) — Ahmed Ben Bella, FLN

• Morocco (1956) — King Mohammed V

• Tunisia (1956) — Habib Bourguiba

• Libya (1951) — King Idris

• Sudan (1956) — Ismail al-Azhari

Southern Africa:

• Zimbabwe (1980) — Robert Mugabe

• Namibia (1990) — Sam Nujoma

• South Africa (1994) — Nelson Mandela (end of apartheid)

• Angola (1975) — Agostinho Neto (MPLA)

• Mozambique (1975) — Samora Machel (FRELIMO)

Ethiopia’s story deserves special mention. It stands as one of the few African nations never formally colonized. Ethiopia defended its sovereignty by defeating Italy at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 under Emperor Menelik II—a powerful symbol of African resistance. Though Italy briefly occupied Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 under Mussolini, this was a military occupation, not formal colonization. Emperor Haile Selassie returned to power with Allied support, maintaining Ethiopia’s independent status alongside Liberia.

Today, Pan-Africanism is experiencing a resurgence, sparked by leaders like Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso. He has faced multiple assassination attempts by French interests because he demanded France remove its grip from Burkina Faso’s neck. France resisted but eventually retreated. Every Black person with good sense should take pride in Traoré’s stance.

In recent years, France has withdrawn its military presence from Mali (2022), Burkina Faso (2023), Niger (2023), and others amid rising anti-French sentiment and shifting geopolitics. These former French colonies in West Africa had been part of Operation Barkhane, France’s counterterrorism mission in the Sahel. Yet frustrations over neocolonial influence, lack of security improvements, and political meddling fueled demands for French exit.

This marks a broader decline of French influence as African nations seek new alliances with global powers like Russia and China. While France still maintains bases in Djibouti, Chad, and Côte d’Ivoire, its role is being reevaluated. These developments reflect a growing trend of African countries asserting autonomy and reconsidering post-colonial relationships with Europe—signaling a new chapter in Africa’s ongoing journey toward true self-determination and respect on the world stage.