Rejecting the Spectacle That Cleanses Empire

Rejecting the Spectacle That Cleanses Empire

The full, bloody arc of 250 years of U.S. history’s contradictions is foundational, not accidental. Domestically, the United States was built by brutalizing and extracting from colonized and enslaved communities. From the Middle Passage to the plantation, from the massacre of Indigenous nations to the co

nvict leasing system, from Jim Crow to mass incarceration, from redlining to Flint’s poisoned water, the U.S. has never known a peace not purchased by Black, Brown, and Indigenous flesh. Internationally, the same logic applies. The country that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; that carpet-bombed Southeast Asia; that trained death squads throughout the Caribbean and Latin America; that bombed and sanctioned Iraq into ruin; that armed apartheid Israel while leveling Gaza; that drones Somalia and Yemen – this is not a nation that holds a moral license to host a "world" celebration.

To host the World Cup in the U.S is to ask the world to look away. To attend is to accept the fiction that sport exists outside politics. But the politics of the World Cup are the politics of displacement, where stadiums are built on stolen land or razed neighborhoods, migrants and the unhoused swept from city centers, and local budgets gutted for security apparatus that will later be turned against protesters. The 2026 World Cup will be no exception. The July 19th final match in New Jersey will take place less than 10 miles from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility Delaney Hall, where a hunger strike, popular resistance from the outside, and violent state repression are currently colliding.

We therefore have called for a boycott of the 2026 World Cup. This is a political refusal, not to be confused with a symbolic gesture. Boycott is the weapon of the colonized, the sanctioned, the dispossessed. It says, “we will not applaud your stadiums while you bomb our homes. We will not sing your anthems while you starve our children. We will not provide the spectacle that cleanses your empire.”

As we honored Haitian Flag Day, we remember that a small island of revolutionaries brought the entire slaveholding world to its knees. As we honored African Liberation Day, we remember that the continent once vowed to rid itself of colonialism entirely, and that vow remains unfulfilled. As we honor the self-determination of Black/African peoples in the U.S., we remember that this legacy is one of constant resistance to empire domestically and globally. A consistent, coherent critique, therefore, demands that the spirit of defiant self-determination cannot become conspicuously absent when we uncritically cheer for a World Cup built on migrant labor exploitation, greenwashing, and sportswashing. To reject the contradictions of 250 years of U.S. imperialism is to understand that the same hands that hold flags at a World Cup could instead hold signs, blockades, and mutual aid in the struggle for human dignity and collective liberation.

We refuse to be spectators to our own subjugation. We will continue to build our resistance.

Boycott the World Cup,
Boycott the U.S.

On May 16, 2026, the BAP South Miami Cluster organized a Haitian Flag Day celebration in Miami Shores alongside community partners, bringing together residents for food, music, cultural activities, and political education. The event was co-sponsored with Black Men Build Miami and commemorated Haiti’s revolutionary history and the significance of the Haitian flag as a symbol of anti-colonial struggle, self-determination, and Black liberation. BAP members engaged attendees around ongoing local and international campaigns, including solidarity with Haiti and concerns regarding the impacts of World Cup-related development in Miami.

On May 3rd, BAP Mid-Atlantic members tabled at a regional soccer tournament held in Gaithersburg, Maryland, hosted by MD2Palestine and University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine. Over 200 people gathered to play, compete, and raise funds for Palestine as members talked to players, families, and vendors about the Campaign to Move the Games, Boycott the World Cup, and Boycott the U.S.

On Friday, May 29th, BAP-DC endorsed an in-person book talk for "Laundering Black Rage" hosted by Sankofa Books with one of the authors, BAP Midwest Co-coordinator, Too Black, featuring a discussion and Q&A led by Evan, BAP DC Co-coordinator. The event connected central themes from the book and related BAP and member organization campaigns, emphasizing aspects of No Compromise, No Retreat, Zone of Peace, Shutdown AFRICOM, Community Control DC, and the Boycott World Cup Campaign to the current material conditions of DC residents. The talk was livestreamed on Sankofa's YouTube page.

Throughout May, the BAP Wilmington Cluster co-hosted and attended several events focused on Malcolm X and African Liberation. On May 18, members participated in CMB-DE’s Monthly session and uplifted Haitian Flag Day activities. Also, on 5/23, members co-facilitated a popular education session and panel featuring representatives from MXGM, CMB-Newark, BAP NYC/NJ, and BAP Mid-Atlantic Solidarity Network. Members emphasized BAP’s objectives in re-centering people(s)-centered movements, raised contradictions of a World Cup on U.S. soil, and making connections between revolutionary history and culture to the masses’ efforts and critical work today. Additional photos here.

No Compromise No Retreat: Defeat the War Against Africans / Black People in the U.S. and Abroad

BAP-Baltimore co-organized a May Day mobilization and organization fair at Druid Hill Park. Members conducted outreach, marched through the streets, and read BAP’s May Day statement, which received immense crowd support. They continued to push the Demilitarize Baltimore petition and distribute literature developed by the citywide alliance.

For International Workers Day, the BAP Wilmington Cluster participated in the First Friday free food program, organized by Humbly Assisting Humanity. This program operates regularly outside of member organization CMB-Delaware’s local hub headquarters. Members distributed and discussed BAP’s statement: “Not One Drop of Blood from the Working Classes for Capitalist Interests,” using the opportunity to canvas and demonstrate with neighbors on the connection between exploited Black communities as domestic colonies and the fight for Community Control and a Zone of Peace.

Zone of Peace in Our Americas:
Haitian Flag Day & Cuba Solidarity against U.S. War

On Sunday, May 24th, BAP-DC hosted a film screening and discussion on “The Forgotten Occupation: Jim Crow Goes to Haiti” to draw connections between historical and present instances of U.S. intervention and invasion in Haiti, across the Caribbean, and the world at large.

On May 30, 2026, BAP Philadelphia organized a live musical performance, a DJ set, a poetry reading, and a speakout in solidarity with Cuba against the accelerating U.S. War on the country. Speakers from Philly4Cuba, Anakbayan Philadelphia, and el Colectivo Unido de Resistencia y Autodefensa (CURA) provided messages as well.

On May 22, 2026, BAP Philadelphia co-hosted a Haitian Film Night in observance of Haitian Flag Day and Haitian Heritage Month. At the film night, BAP’s Haiti/Americas Team read their Haitian Flag Day statement, and participants discussed Haiti’s struggle for popular governance against imperialism, created their own Drapo (Haitian Flag), and watched films connecting Haitian culture across the island and diaspora. The event was co-hosted with Kolektivo Sin Nombre. Photos here.

U.S. Out of Africa: African Liberation Day

BAP-Baltimore and the All-African People's Revolutionary Party conducted the second annual African Liberation Day Symposium held at Payne Memorial AME church. Organizations such as the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and People’s Power  Assembly (PPA) were also participants in the event. They discussed this year’s theme, “Revolutionary Pan Africanism Fights In Solidarity With All Oppressed People Our Struggle is One,”  in a set of panels featuring youth organizers and women. They conducted community outreach and handed out BAP literature and materials.

The BAP-Atlanta gathered in Washington Park to honor African Liberation Day with the theme “Revolutionary Pan-Africanism Fights in Solidarity with Oppressed Peoples Everywhere; Our Struggle is One!” They gathered together for political education and a keynote address by Baba Mukasa Dada, and celebrated culture with a poet open mic.

International Solidarity & Delegations

From May 11-13, a delegation of four BAP Africa Team members attended the Pan-Africanism Summit Against Imperialism, the people's counter-summit to the France–Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. The delegation strengthened ties with revolutionary Kenyan activists and organizers on the ground, as well as with international student, labor, and political party organizations that had delegates in attendance.

On May 31, 2026, the BAP South Miami Cluster participated in the Protest Against U.S. Escalation Toward Cuba and the Fuel Blockade at Miami International Airport, calling for an end to U.S. threats against Cuba and the intensified sanctions regime targeting the island’s fuel sector. The action was organized by the Miami Coalition to End the U.S. Blockade of Cuba and brought together local anti-imperialist, labor, solidarity, and community organizations. Demonstrators denounced measures restricting Cuba’s access to fuel and other essential resources, highlighting the humanitarian impact of U.S. sanctions on the Cuban people. The protest called for an end to economic warfare against Cuba and affirmed international solidarity with Cuban sovereignty and self-determination.

On May 31, 2026, the BAP South Miami Cluster participated in the Protest Against U.S. Escalation Toward Cuba and the Fuel Blockade at Miami International Airport, calling for an end to U.S. threats against Cuba and the intensified sanctions regime targeting the island’s fuel sector. The action was organized by the Miami Coalition to End the U.S. Blockade of Cuba and brought together local anti-imperialist, labor, solidarity, and community organizations. Demonstrators denounced measures restricting Cuba’s access to fuel and other essential resources, highlighting the humanitarian impact of U.S. sanctions on the Cuban people. The protest called for an end to economic warfare against Cuba and affirmed international solidarity with Cuban sovereignty and self-determination.

Member Organization Activity

PACA’s People's Pan-African Wellness Front (PPWF) continues to confront health disparities impacting African/Black working-class communities in Southeast D.C. PACA was invited to table and conduct blood pressure screenings at the Nanny Hellen Burroughs March on May 9, and the Black Mother’s March on May 10. On May 24th, at the PPWF pop-up, PACA held community high blood pressure and glucose testing, where they handed out hygiene kits and educational materials on revolutionary health alternatives and preventative health. There was a special 30-minute PACA supporter-led yoga session.

April 11th, PACA held a “Hands Off DC’s Black Youth Rally and Speak Out”. They countered the messaging of teen takeovers being chaos, as they are simply what rebellion looks like when basic needs go unmet. When the system abandons them, they create their own spaces to be seen, heard, and together. Four PACA members gave speeches, and local organizations were in attendance.

Individual Member Activities

Erica Caines, BAP National Co-coordinator, was the recipient of the Mawina Kouyate Daughters of Africa award presented by the All African Peoples Revolutionary Party and All African Women’s Revolutionary Union on African Liberation Day. Other recipients include Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitweh (President of Namibia/ SWAPO leadership) and Ana Maria Gomes Soares (formerly served as Political Commissioner of the People's Revolutionary Armed Forces and currently serves on PAIGC Veterans Council and is a member of Democratic Union of Guinean Women - UDEMU)

Political Education and Resources

BAP’s Research & Archive Team releases “No Compromise No Retreat: Black Alliance for Peace’s Annotated Edition of the U.S. National 'Security' Strategy (Nov 2025)”. This is a tool for clarity and collective political education to further illuminate the tactics deployed by our enemy, U.S. imperialism and the interests of the capitalist class; and to sharpen our strategies in connection to BAP’s core campaign: No Compromise, No Retreat. 

BAP’s Haiti/Americas Team developed an updated toolkit for Haitian Flag Day 2026, including a one-pager on the history and significance of Haitian Flag Day. This year, BAP aimed to re-center the people(s)-centered movements and struggles of the Haitian masses for popular sovereignty, connect that struggle to the Black/African working class in the U.S., and heighten the contradictions of Haiti’s historic qualification for the World Cup hosted within the borders of the U.S. empire. Resources here: BAP Haitian Flag Day Toolkit - 2026 and Haitian Flag Day 1-pager.

BAP’s Climate, Environment & Militarism Working Group published a one-pager fact sheet, “Take Action Against Data Centers,” to support local, regional, and national struggles against the proliferation of data centers

Margaret Kimberley, Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report and BAP Africa Team Co-coordinator, interviewed Ajamu Baraka, Director of the North-South Project for People(s)-Centered Human Rights for Black Agenda Radio on YouTube to discuss the campaign, Move the Games: Take the FIFA World Cup Out of the U.S. and Boycott the Host Country Itself. Margaret also interviewed Abraham Paulos of Black Alliance for Just Immigration to discuss settler colonialism, immigration, and mass incarceration.

KPFA's Hard Knock Radio interviewed Netfa Freeman, BAP Africa Team Co-coordinator, on May 7, Breaking Down U.S. Pressure on Zambia. On May 21, Netfa was also interviewed on Rising With Sonali to discuss the U.S. escalation against Cuba. 

BAP member organization PACA garnered local corporate media coverage in such outlets as CBS WUSA9, Fox News, Daily Mail, and NBC4, from their challenges to the DC curfew laws that are criminalizing Black youth in response to so-called “teen takeovers”. They were also featured on Washington Informer TV for the 2nd Malcolm X Day. Check out all PACA media hits here.

While attending the Pan-Africanism Summit Against Imperialism in Nairobi, Kenya, the BAP Africa Team delegation gave this cutting-edge interview to Sovereign Media, a socialist and anti-imperialist news outlet based there.  

On Revolutionary African Perspectives, BAP- Atlanta members  Dan, Steven, and engineer Leyla expose how surveillance, state repression, and corporate power collide in Atlanta—from a police chief accused of stalking with Flock cameras, to new indictments against Stop Cop City activists, to AI surveillance targeting Black neighborhoods as “Cop City” nears completion. Then, Rafiki Morris, of the All- African People’s Revolutionary Party, and BAP Climate, Environment and Militarism Working Group co- lead, Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, discuss boycotting the FIFA World Cup, linking mega-events to repression in Gaza and beyond, and how to fight for sports justice.

Austin Cole, BAP National Co-Coordinator, appeared on Venezuela Analysis’ podcast episode 45: “International Solidarity in the Belly of the Beast” alongside Michela Martinazzi of Brooklyn Against War to discuss the role and importance of international solidarity in the context of the U.S. War on Venezuela and Cuba, in particular, as well as the difficulties social movements face in building meaningful solidarity and broad coalitions.

On May 22, Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective members Layla Brown, Charisse Burden-Stelly, and Navid Farnia discussed Pan-Africanism, its history, and its contemporary significance amid annual African Liberation Day celebrations with BAP National Co-Coordinator, Erica Caines, reemphasizing connecting struggles against the primary contradiction of U.S.- led imperialism. 

Erica Caines, BAP National Co-Coordinator, appeared on the opening interview of WPFW’s Voices with Vision to discuss BAP’s call to “Boycott the World Cup, Boycott the U.S.”, and the significance of an African formation making that call within the belly of the beast.

As part of the “Boycott the Games” campaign, Director of the North-South Project for People(s)-Centered Human Rights, Ajamu Baraka, spoke with a wide range of journalists and media outlets to explain the significance of the campaign and why the US is unsuitable to host the World Cup. In May, Ajamu joined Darker Than Blue on Black Liberation Media, Jamarl Thomas, and  Black Agenda Radio to discuss the political conditions in the US and how it is a dangerous nation for players and attendees. In April, he discussed the reason why sports should be a site of Anti-Fascist resistance on Edge of Sports.

BAP National Co-coordinator, Austin Cole, and Climate, Environment & Militarism Working Group Co-Lead, Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, joined The Remix Morning Show to talk about the impact of data center proliferation and US militarization on our environment.

BAP Coordinating Committee Chair, Jacqueline Luqman, BAP National Co- Coordinator, Erica Caines, and member of the Anti-Fascist Football Coalition, Clau O’Brien Moscoso, appeared alongside Kim Brown for a Women’s Wednesday ‘Boycott The World Cup, Boycott the U.S” Takeover of The Remix Morning Show on Black Liberation Media.