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Howard French

@hofrench.bsky.social

6K followers 1.1K following 2.9K posts

Author of the newly released, The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide, and previously of Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World. See: https://about.me/howardwfrench.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · Jun 25

A special moment that never gets old, unboxing a new book after years of work on it. Please help me welcome The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide.

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 4h

Down they go.

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 12h

Reading. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

A quarter of FBI agents are assigned to immigration enforcement, per FBI data

Nearly a quarter of FBI agents are currently reassigned to immigration enforcement, with the number climbing above 40 percent in the bureau’s largest field offices.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 17h

Reading. www.wsj.com/health/pharm...

Trump Wants to Overhaul Drug Sales. A Company Tied to His Son Stands to Benefit.

The family members of President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are poised to benefit from efforts to remake the pharmaceutical industry.

www.wsj.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 1d

This series launched last month and will go into wide release in a few days. I'm excited to listen to it and occupy a minor part as an attendee at Fela's nightclub, The Shrine, and as someone who interviewed him. deadline.com/2025/09/obam...

The Obamas’ Higher Ground Sets Fela Kuti Podcast At Audible

The 12-part series, which launches on September 18, explores the true story of Fela Kuti.

deadline.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 1d

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 1d

The usage by country data here is fascinating. ig.ft.com/ai-personal-...

How AI became our personal assistant

New data shows the ways millions have integrated the technology into their everyday lives

ig.ft.com

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Reposted by Howard French

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 1d

This is great. The absurdity of this moment captured. Make it go viral.

Andy @andyoregon.bsky.social · 2d

Jess Waters recycling the same guy over and over to represent “former” different enemies

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 2d

The New Yorker reviews my new book, The Second Emancipation (about Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism), along with Mahmood Mamdani's Slow Poison (about Idi Amin and Yoweri Museveni). www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Pan-African Dreams, Post-Colonial Realities

Two new books, on Kwame Nkrumah’s promise and Idi Amin’s tyranny, capture the soaring hopes and bitter aftermath of Africa’s age of independence.

www.newyorker.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 2d

Straight from the dictator's playbook. www.ft.com/content/68bf...

‘Enormous fear’: Trump’s threats against George Soros chill US non-profits

Civil society groups funded by billionaire’s charitable foundation feel vulnerable to administration’s attacks

www.ft.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 2d

Reading. www.ft.com/content/6cc8...

America is now one big bet on AI

It’s seen as the magic fix for every threat to the US economy

www.ft.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 3d

Reading. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump plan would limit disability benefits for older Americans

Trump administration officials are considering eliminating age as a factor in deciding whether someone is capable of working.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Howard French

Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 4d

A discussion about my new book, The Second Emancipation, on the PBS program The White House Chronicle, with Adam Clayton Powell III and Llewellyn King: whchronicle.com

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Reposted by Howard French

Diane Brown @dianeberrettbrown.bsky.social · 4d

We screened it at Yale this week, followed by a fantastic (and sobering) Q&A. Howard French, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Raoul Peck—it’s been a remarkable two weeks here!

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 4d

Maybe more than five minutes. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/a...

5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Nina Simone

www.nytimes.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 4d

Reading. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

This billionaire Trump ally and his son are building an unprecedented media empire

Larry and David Ellison’s holdings span movies, TV networks, CBS and soon a stake in TikTok, in a paradigm shifting portfolio with huge influence.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 4d

A discussion about my new book, The Second Emancipation, on the PBS program The White House Chronicle, with Adam Clayton Powell III and Llewellyn King: whchronicle.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 5d

Me too.

Firstname Lastname @ahmadou.bsky.social · 5d

I love Raoul Peck’s work.

Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 5d

Raoul Peck's new documentary. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/m...

Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 5d

Raoul Peck's new documentary. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/m...

‘Orwell: 2+2=5’ Review: How George Came to See the World as Orwellian

www.nytimes.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 6d

Happening now.

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 6d

Excellent essay about a strong new book by @marcusrediker.bsky.social www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

The Underground Railroad’s Stealth Sailors | Eric Foner

The web of Atlantic trading routes and solidarity among maritime workers, many of them Black, meant fugitive slaves’ chances of reaching freedom below deck were better than over land.

www.nybooks.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 7d

Anyone running for mayor who doesn't call this out is disqualified. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/n...

Trump to Withhold $18 Billion for New York-Area Transit Projects

www.nytimes.com

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 7d

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

1 in 5 Americans now regularly get news on TikTok, up sharply from 2020

Among adults under 30, 43% say they regularly get news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.

www.pewresearch.org

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 7d

Here we go again. If Cuomo and Sliwa can't find the words to denounce this, they are in effect, denouncing themselves.

City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · 7d

OMB Director Russell Voight says that US DOT will announce that the federal government is "pausing" funding for both Gateway and the Second Avenue Subway because of "unconstitutional DEI principles" -- x.com/russvought/s...

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Reposted by Howard French

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 7d

We are now in the domain of not just illegal impoundments, but targeted illegal impoundments to punish liberal spaces. Not different from what Trump is doing to to universities.

City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · 7d

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Howard French @hofrench.bsky.social · 7d

Reading, on a new Bruce Lee biography, by Jeff Chang. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/b...

Bruce Lee Died Young, but He Changed the Look of Movies Forever