A year before the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered, he declared the United States was the greatest purveyor of violence on the planet.
Some people today focus on the moral implications of this statement, disconnected from the groundings Dr. King also provided that helped to explain why the United States was addicted to war and violence. He correctly connected the drive for profit and capitalist exploitation—materialism—with the means to enforce individual and national plunder—militarism—and the racialization of the peoples of the Global South that historically has been used to dehumanize them and thereby justify the seizure of their lands, lives and independence.
On October 1, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) will highlight the latest expression of colonial hubris and white supremacist arrogance by organizing an International Day of Action on AFRICOM.
Officially launched on October 1, 2008, AFRICOM (the U.S. Africa Command) is just one part of the U.S. global command that covers the planet—and as of 2019, the United States has colonized outer space, too, with the U.S. Space Force.
However, very few ordinary people in the United States know about AFRICOM or the other command structures.
This lack of knowledge about what the U.S. state is up to outside its borders extends even to Congress. When four U.S. military personnel were killed in Niger last year, members of Congress were shocked to learn the extent of U.S. military involvement in Africa. Even in this election season, almost no attention has been given to U.S. foreign policies and global activities. The lack of conversation stems primarily from this fact: No real, fundamental differences exist between the two major political parties because both are firmly committed to the U.S. imperial project.
This is why BAP focused on AFRICOM as part of our work as a member organization of the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases, which BAP helped co-found.
BAP’s Africa Team explains in the call for support for the International Day of Action on AFRICOM: “The U.S. Out of Africa!: Shut Down AFRICOM campaign is demanding the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Africa and the demilitarization of the African continent. The campaign is an integral element of the Black Alliance for Peace’s general opposition to U.S. global militarization, with its offensive command structures, approximately 800 to 1,000 overseas bases, and the United States’ status as the number one arms merchant on the planet. The International Day of Action on AFRICOM (October 1, 2020) aims to raise the public’s awareness about the U.S. military’s existence in Africa, and how the presence of U.S. forces exacerbates violence and instability throughout the continent.”
BAP launched on April 4, 2017, the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's famous speech, in which he broke his silence so he could come out in opposition to the Vietnam War. With our launch, we pledged to fearlessly take up the fight to end the scourge of racism, materialism and militarism against what remains to be the greatest purveyor of violence on the planet.
Organizations are invited to endorse the International Day of Action on AFRICOM.
PRESS AND MEDIA
BAP member Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture, pictured above with the bullhorn, spoke out at a rally in Philadelphia organized in support of the three Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) activists who were recently scooped up by Denver police and railroaded with draconian charges for participating in a protest after the murder of a Black man at the hands of police. Netfa Freeman, who represents BAP member organization Pan-African Community Action (PACA), interviewed PSL organizer Eugene Puryear on WPFW’s “Voices With Vision”. All three activists have been released since this interview took place.
BAP member Erica Caines participated on a panel with the Albuquerque Anti-War Coalition to discuss Operation Relentless Pursuit in Baltimore, the militarization of police and the importance of internationalism. The panel was organized to address the increasing presence of federal agents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the 2019 launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit and the recent launch of Operation LeGend. These operations connect the violence police and federal agents bring to neighborhoods with the violence the U.S. empire deploys around the world.
BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley moderated BAP’s webinar, Full Spectrum Dominance: From AFRICOM to Indo-Pacific Command. It featured among several activists, BAP Supporter Network Co-Coordinator Danny Haiphong.
Margaret also participated in a few webinars this week: She can be heard 76 minutes into the No Cold War International Peace Forum, 24 minutes into Pivot to Peace’s Standing Against Racism and War—the Only Road to Peace, and the In Defense of Julian Assange webinar.
In Black Agenda Report, Danny wrote Joe Biden and the Democrats have no plan to stop the bleeding in the United States and around the world. Meanwhile, Black Agenda Report Executive Editor Glen Ford wrote, “...the guardians of corporate hegemony at the New York Times seek to divert attention from the real root of the nation and world’s problems—the Dictatorship of (white) Capital—by narrowing the definition of ‘power’ to what can be achieved by climbing the corporate (or corporate party) ladder.”
Plus, Margaret provided analysis on defense spending and COVID-19 budget negotiations 75 minutes into Radio Sputnik’s “The Critical Hour”.
EVENTS
September 28: The Claudia Jones School for Political Education will host a webinar, Worker Cooperatives and the Movement for Socialism.
September 30: BAP member organization AfroResistance is hosting an anti-oppression workshop, “Dominant Culture: A Virtual Anti-Oppression Workshop.” Registration is required.
October 1: BAP is organizing an International Day of Action on AFRICOM. Find out how to take action.
October 1: The African Great Lakes Action Network and Africans Rising along with BAP member organization Friends of the Congo will host a webinar, In Pursuit of Justice in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. It will be a discussion on peace and justice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes Region on the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Mapping Exercise Report. Panelists will discuss the measures needed from the international community to address questions of impunity, lack of accountability and justice in the Congo and the Great Lakes Region of Africa. This discussion is of particular importance in the wake of the Rwandan government's illegal rendition and jailing of Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of Hotel Rwanda and the death threats levelled against Congolese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Denis Mukwege.
October 14: PACA's Assata Shakur Study Group will be held online at 7 p.m., EST. PACA requests non-Africans who wish to attend bring an African.
October 18-24: BAP member organization Friends of the Congo is commemorating Congo Week XIII by hosting a series of virtual events this year with special presentations from the Andree Blouin Center in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
October 22: Stand with thousands across the country for National Day of Protest to express our collective outrage, creativity and resistance in response to the crimes of this system. Uphold the tens of thousands of lives stolen by U.S. law enforcement over the past quarter century. Join a National Day of Protest event in your area. Create one if you are in an area where no one is organizing. On October 22, “WEAR BLACK, FIGHT BACK!” To endorse this call, complete this form. For more information, visit october22.org. Provide details of an action by emailing oct22national@gmail.com.
October 22: Join "A Call for Unity of the National Black Liberation Movement in the Age of Capitalist Decline,” at 7 p.m., EST. This first in a series of national webinars will open a national dialogue on the state of the National Black Liberation Movement, how to establish national unity of all forces seeking Black Liberation, and how to rebuild a national movement that has earned the trust and support of the African American people in our 400-year historic struggle to end oppression. This webinar is sponsored by BAP, BAP member organization Black Workers for Justice, Cooperation Jackson and Community Movement Builders. More information will be available in an upcoming newsletter.
November 7-8: The Black Is Back Coalition calls on all to march, rally and convene in Washington, D.C., during the “Black People's March On White House.” Registration is required. Read their article in Black Agenda Report.
TAKE ACTION
Ask your local, state and federal candidates to sign BAP’s 2020 Candidate Accountability Pledge. If you are a candidate, distinguish yourself from the other corporate warmongering candidates by signing the pledge.
The Black Latina Girls and Women Fund was created by AfroResistance, a Black Latina women-led organization in the service of Black Latinx women in the Americas. This fund offers financial support by giving money directly to Black Latin womxn, girls and femmes who are experiencing severe financial need across the region, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether in Brazil, Colombia, United States or Panama, Black Latina girls, women, and femmes are organizing in their local communities in the fight against several forms of state violence. You can donate here and people are encouraged to use the hashtag #BlackLatinaGWFund.
BAP is raising $30,000 to help expand our membership support capacity and revamp our website. Donate and share our GoFundMe campaign with your networks today.
Sign up to join BAP’s U.S. Out of Africa Network to receive the bi-weekly AFRICOM Watch Bulletin in your inbox.
Make sure you keep up with us throughout the week by subscribing to our YouTube channel, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Instagram and Twitter.
No Compromise, No Retreat!
Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Dedan, Jaribu, Margaret, Netfa, Nnamdi, Paul, Vanessa, YahNé
P.S. Freedom isn’t free. Consider giving today.
Photo credit: Takisha Miller