A New Leadership, A New Generation, An Ongoing Struggle
We are up to the task. We have been preparing for this moment since BAP was launched in 2017, and some of us for most of our adult lives. And we are ready. That is why when others are paralyzed with fear, uncertainty, and despondency, the Black Alliance for Peace confronts the dynamics and complexities of this period with confidence and enthusiasm. We know that despite the immediate dangers and challenges, victory – the transformation of the people and the conditions they face – is possible if we believe in ourselves and the potential of the people.
On March 1st, new leadership will assume the awesome responsibility that history has chosen for them. On that day, Erica Caines, Austin Cole, and Tunde Osazua will assume the positions of National Co-Coordinators. On the membership side, Jacqueline Luqman will assume the position of Chair of the Coordinating Committee, with Jaribu Hill as Vice Chair.
We are excited to work with this leadership and know instinctively that with the revolutionary experience, values, and principles they bring to their positions, BAP is posed to not only continue the historic work it has spearheaded over the last seven years but will be positioned to rise to the challenge that bipartisan fascism presents in the U.S. and globally.
Below, you will see just some examples of the incredible work that BAP activists and organizers are engaged in. While others have fallen silent on the fascist assault on the fundamental human rights of asylum seekers and migrant workers, BAP has not hesitated in reminding the public and even members of the African/Black communities in the U.S. that “the parasitic relationship between U.S. capital and the peoples and nations of our region created the conditions that have compelled millions to desperately attempt to get to the North just to live.” Like asylum seekers, “migrants also have human rights that are codified in law.”
From the new North-South Project on People(s)-Centered Human Rights to the ongoing work on making our region a “Zone of Peace” and agitating and organizing against the repressive apparatus represented by the uninterrupted militarization of the police and training of police forces by the Israeli fascist defense forces, BAP will continue to live up to its responsibilities to our people and the people of the world.
Join us, and support us if you can,
No compromise.
No retreat!
BAP Coordinating Committee
Up to 90 attendees joined BAP Baltimore citywide alliance, Diáspora Pa’lante Collective DMV, and the DMV chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement for our final Town Hall of 2024, BAP Baltimore's City Wide Alliance Townhall: People's Centered Human Rights to engage in community discussions around our collective struggle for People’s Centered Human Rights; a fight for dignity, self-determination, and the liberation of all humanity.
In January, BAP Dallas participated in the Joint Struggle Panel: How to build self-reliant communities. This was a generative panel conversation featuring speakers from BAP Dallas, PYM Dallas, ICE Out of Tarrant, SJP UT Dallas, and Waste Wakpa Grassroots. We grounded the conversation in community defense and control and offered concrete examples and analysis on how we can move our communities towards self-reliance and collective governance. Following the panel, there was a community social where attendees were encouraged to get to know the Dallas-Forth Worth organizations present and get involved.
On Sunday, January 19, BAP NYC/NJ hosted a watch party for the Haiti/Americas Team webinar, Combating Imperialism Defending Sovereignty: Zone of Peace in Haiti and the Americas, held at the Bridgefield Civic League in the Bronx. Following the webinar, attendees stuck around to discuss key takeaways. The conversation even drifted into the connections between the insidious and overt modes of imperialism in the region and the rest of the world in places like Palestine—and what the future of organizing against this looks like.
BAP NYC/NJ was invited to table at the Bridgefield Civic League in the Bronx, NY, for their Black History Month program. BAP NYC/NJ member Maddison performed an original poem during the program. The attendees were cautiously interested in the BAP political message, signaling the potential for more organizing in this neighborhood.
On January 18, 2025, BAP-Atlanta hosted “Inaugurating Resistance: Fighting Back Against the War on Black Communities” at the Little 5 Points Community Center. The event brought together local organizers, community members, and allied organizations to engage in political education, skill-building, and collective strategizing against state repression and militarized policing.
BAP-DC and PACA were invited to table at Howard University's second Radical Org Fair hosted by student comrades in the Howard Revolutionary Community.
From January 17-19, comrades Ky (BAP-DC) and Ace (A-APRP DMV) attended Malcolm X Grassroots Movement’s National Convention held in Southern Roots - Georgia, as representatives of the MXGM-DC chapter. The annual convening brought membership together from throughout the organization for the purposes of internal development and training, positional clarity, as well as mutual comradeship. Among the learnings were emphases on continued opportunities for solidarity networks and strategic alliances to further jointly-led political education and community defenses building towards A People(s)-Centered Human Rights Project and Zone of Peace in Our Americas."
BAP Baltimore/Midatlantic Region hosted a watch party for the BAP Haiti/Americas Team’s kick-off webinar for the year: Combating Imperialism, Defending Sovereignty—Zone of Peace in Haiti and the Americas. Members and attendees watch and engage in discussions on the multifaceted tools of imperialism and their impact on the Americas.
The BAP Mid-Atlantic Region held its quarterly regional kickback and hosted the Coordinating Committee for the night as they were in DC for their annual meeting.
BAP and member organization Friends of the Congo answered the call for demonstration and march calling for Rwanda to get out of The Congo by participating in simultaneous February 1st demonstrations in Atlanta, GA, and Washington, D.C., where representatives of BAP’s Africa Team, Tunde Ozasua and Netfa Freeman read our statement on the issue exposing the puppeteer role of United States imperialism.
Black Agenda Radio interviewed Netfa Freeman about his experience at the National Program Against Racism and Racial Discrimination International Conference held in Havana, Cuba, as part of its closing of the UN-declared International Decade of People of African Descent.
On Sunday, January 5, 2025, Netfa joined KPFK's Cut to the Chase with Sylvester Rivers to talk about the Alliance of Sahel States, AFRICOM, and the broader struggle for self-determination across the continent. Later in the month, Press TV spoke with Netfa on Inauguration Day about Donald Trump's return as the 47th president of the United States amid protest rallies against his policies. On January 21, TeleSur interviewed Netfa about the movement's response to a second Trump administration.
PACA's analysis, "The DC Bus Fare Evasion Crackdown: Targeting, Detaining, and Surveilling the Black Working Class," was published in Black Agenda Report.
Margaret Kimberley, Africa Team Co-Coordinator, interviewed Maurice Carney of Friends of the Congo on Black Agenda Radio. They discussed the roots of the current crisis and the U.S. role in destabilizing the Democratic Republic of Congo. Margaret provided analysis as a guest on the Beirut-based network Al Mayadeen, discussing USAID and its role as a U.S. regime change agent. Trump will continue that work by reorganizing that agency.
Take Action to Free the Pendleton 2 on the 40th Anniversary of the Indiana State Reformatory Uprising! The Defense Committee to Free the Pendleton 2 calls for actions in solidarity with the Pendleton 2 on or around the 40th Anniversary of the Uprising, which started on February 1, 1985. Solidarity actions can include a screening of the documentary “The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up”, an event to write letters to the P2 to keep their spirits up and keep the pigs off their backs, a banner drop, or a rally! Reach out to us if your organization or group is putting on an action for the Pendleton 2, and we will feature it on our website and social media! Email us about your action at thependleton2@gmail.com.
February 23, 2025 | Beyond Black History: Building Pathways to Liberation in Atlanta will bring together Atlantans for a powerful evening of education, culture, and community building. The event will feature dynamic performances, including live music, drumming, capoeira, and an open mic poetry reading, alongside discussions on the struggle to combat the manifold forms of colonization and oppression. The event is free and open to all. Time: 2:00 - 4:30 pm | Location: Little 5 Points Community Center, 1083 Austin Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA, 30307. Please register.
February 26, 2025 | Pan-African Community Action (PACA)’s next Assata Shakur Study Group is a screening and discussion of “The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up”. Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET. | Location: In-person at Black Workers & Wellness Center, 2500 Martin Luther King, Jr., Ave., SE, Washington, D.C. or for online, register here.
February 28, 2025 | The Black Alliance for Peace Baltimore Citywide Alliance Presents From Enslavement to Internal Colonies: The Ongoing Struggle for African Liberation in the U.S. Join BAP Baltimore as we explore the historical and current conditions of Africans in Baltimore, the broader global connections and how we collectively struggle for liberation. Time: 6:00 pm | Location: 709 N Howard St., Baltimore, MD 21201. Please register.