This past weekend was epic.

Several BAP members attended the Conference Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases, bringing a Black internationalist perspective that has long been absent in the anti-war movement.

You can watch a conference plenary on AFRICOM and the invasion of Africa featuring three BAP members—Maurice Carney, Netfa Freeman and Margaret Kimberley—and National Organizer Ajamu Baraka. In fact, Maurice Carney’s talk on the Democratic Republic of Congo came at a good time: Yesterday marked the 57th anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected prime minister of the DRC.

Other BAP members such as Nellie Bailey, Mekdes Ferguson, Asantewaa Mawusi Nkrumah-Ture and Efia Nwangaza offered insights from the audience that shed light on the antiquated mentality still present in this space. The conference marked a significant departure point for building the anti-war, anti-imperialist movement and makes clear the importance of focusing on Africa, especially as the Trump administration expands the work of the U.S. empire in exploiting the continent of our ancestors. It is our responsibility—being in the center of this empire—to do the work of decolonizing movement spaces and stop the U.S. war machine.

We invite you to watch videos of other plenaries from this past weekend on YouTube. Below you’ll find links to articles that discuss the conference. You also can find insights from the conference by searching for the #NoForeignBases hashtag on Twitter.

Be on the look out in an upcoming edition of these email blasts for a call for volunteers to join a committee. Take note that only BAP members can do this kind of work. If you’re not a BAP member and you are of African descent, you can apply here for membership.

If you’ve been to our website lately, you’ll notice we’ve posted videos of our members providing the Black internationalist perspective at various events. We also invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we are organizing our media interviews and other videos into playlists for easy perusal.


NEWS

  1. "War is an instrument of class rule,” BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka said in his keynote address at the Conference Against U.S. Foreign Military Base. Listen to his talk.
  2. Ajamu writes the people of the world have a right to protect themselves… from the United States. Read the article.
  3. A new poll shows the U.S. public is overwhelmingly opposed to endless U.S. military interventions. Read the article.
  4. “The United States cannot be a moral or ethical country until it faces up to the realities of US empire and the destruction it causes around the world,” writes Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese in Popular Resistance. Read the article.
  5. Ann Garrison writes about the United States’ “full-spectrum arrogance,” a play on “full-spectrum dominance.” Read the article.
  6. United Nations-backed police kill Haitians with impunity. Read the article.
  7. The urge to dominate Haiti dates back to its founding in a mass slave revolt. In fact, the United States refused to recognize Haiti as a nation from its independence in 1804 until 1862 because U.S. leaders worried a Black republic run by former slaves would inspire its own slave population. Then from 1915 to 1934, the United States enforced a violent and bloody military occupation on Haiti. Read the article.


Let’s continue to build the resistance we all have been waiting for!

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. The oppressors won’t dismantle the U.S. war machine—that’s our job. Contribute today!