April 4 marks 50 years since the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated.

The Black Alliance for Peace also launched last year on the 50th anniversary of his 1967 Riverside Church speech. It was then that Dr. King announced his opposition to the Vietnam War, connecting it to the domestic war on Black and poor peoples.

He said in his opening, “I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice.”

Similarly, we at BAP say we are doing this work because we have no other choice as we see our kinfolk murdered domestically and in Africa, while other oppressed peoples bear unimaginable burdens.

Our common enemy? Imperialism.


Spring Actions

In honor of Dr. King’s call to defend oppressed peoples, we invite you to join us in demonstrating against war and against the empire April 14-15. Spring Actions will be held nationwide. If you are part of a group, we invite you to endorse and organize events. If you’re in or near New York City, you’ll see BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka speaking at that demonstration, which includes a march to Trump Tower.
 

Upcoming Events

“The Black liberation movement is still fragmented in various alignments whose programs and demands have much in common,” according to the Labor Fightback Network Steering Committee. To build toward unity, the National Assembly for Black Liberation will be held May 18-20 at North Carolina Central University in Durham. There, participants will discuss the Draft Freedom Manifesto as a unity document, along with resolutions submitted by battlefront committees, so a program of action can be drafted. Register for the National Assembly for Black Liberation.

Ajamu will speak at the Black is Back Coalition Electoral School being held April 7-8, in St. Louis, Missouri. The theme is “Can Electoral Politics be a Path Towards Black Self-Determination?” Register today.


Afro-Colombians Need International Support

Consider signing on in your individual organizational capacities to a letter by Proceso de Comunidades Negras (a coalition of Black organizations in Colombia). The letter asks the Geneva-based NGO, UPR-INFO, to allow an Afro-Colombian representative to address a briefing to members of the United Nations Human Rights Council in advance of its UPR review of Colombia. Right now, UPR-INFO has slated someone who is not from the Afro-Colombian community to include talking points on Afro-Colombian issues in their speech.

As Black internationalists, we say Afro-Colombians must have the opportunity to speak for themselves about the lack of human rights in Colombia. To sign on, please send an email with your organization's complete name, city and country to advocacy@madre.org.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Only your support can help beat the U.S. war machine. Contribute today.