The reactionary character of U.S. politics is on full display as the corporate media—in alignment with the military-industrial complex—the lunatic elements of the foreign policy community and right-wing neoliberal Democrats seem committed to conditioning the public to accept yet another insane military confrontation. This time, with a real opponent—China!
What makes this situation even more absurd is the public voted for Biden and the Democrats because they were led to believe the United States and the world would be a safer place with them in charge. This comes even though the historical evidence has always demonstrated the opposite. Outside the disastrous decision by the Bush administration to attempt to wage imperialist war in two theaters, almost every other major and minor conflict that the United States engaged in since the end of the Second World War took place during a Democrat Party administration.
That is why we say again that it is imperative the anti-war, pro-peace and anti-imperialist movements not allow the public to be manipulated into conflict just because the Democrats are more polished criminals. And criminality is exactly what it is when you impose illegal sanctions, subvert nations, arm opposition groups, stay in countries like Iraq after its government demands you leave, and support right-wing brutal regimes in Haiti and Israel.
Over the last few weeks, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) has, with our meager resources and still growing organization, taken up the call to end the war in Afghanistan and to demand the Biden administration abolish the 1033 program and end its support for the neocolonial dictatorship in Haiti.
The work continues and you will see here the outstanding contributions our membership and allies have made to stop the madness of U.S. aggression. Help us. We must not let the administration gut the peace process in Afghanistan. If we, the people, don’t stop the bipartisan madness—who will?
PRESS AND MEDIA
On the March 9 episode of “Voices with Vision” on WPFW (89.3 FM in Washington, D.C.), Netfa Freeman, who represents BAP member organization Pan-African Community Action (PACA) on BAP’s Coordinating Committee, and co-host Craig Hall, spoke with Ahjamu Umi, a long-time Pan-Africanist organizer with BAP member organization All-African People’s Revolutionary Party and co-editor of Hood Communist about his recently published book, "A Guide For Defense Against White Supremacist, Patriarchal and Fascist Violence." The book details how to organize neighborhoods for independent political empowerment. Because the show aired the day after International Working Women’s Day, Voices with Vision re-aired a creative mix of African, Palestinian, Irish and Indigenous women's voices coming from the frontlines of the struggle for women’s liberation and liberation for all exploited and oppressed peoples around the world.
The March 16 episode of “Voices with Vision” featured a commentary by BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley on how Biden is following the same playbook as Donald Trump when it comes to U.S. imperialist policies around the globe. The episode also presented voices from an emergency demonstration outside of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office demanding political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal’s immediate release, as he suffers from congestive heart failure and a COVID-19 infection, as well as other serious medical conditions. This is followed by coverage of the BAP-led demonstration outside of the Organization of American States (OAS) in solidarity with the Haitian people’s uprising for democracy and the end of foreign domination. Netfa and Craig ended with an interview with radical scholar and BAP Coordinating Committee member Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly, who gave a dense and intense historical and radical Black look at International Working Women's Day/Month mixed with the song “Ladies First” by Queen Latifah and featuring Monie Love. The show also included the song “Immortal Dub” by Jah Shaka.
Netfa joined Radio Sputnik’s “The Critical Hour” at the 29:06 mark to report on the March 15 BAP-led protest at the OAS regarding the organization’s participation in U.S. State Department regime-change operations throughout the Global South, and in particular their support for Haitian dictator Jovenel Moïse. Haitian-born Rebecca Bonhomme, also a member of PACA, promoted BAP's Haiti action in the first quarter of the hour on WPFW's “Konbit Lakay”, hosted by Haitian-born Eugenia Charles. If you missed it, you can check out Black Power Media’s livestream of our March 15 Haiti solidarity rally in Washington, D.C. BAP member Dr. Jemima Pierre was interviewed on the “TrueAnon” podcast about the uprisings in Haiti and the long history of foreign interference.
BAP members held rallies March 15 to oppose the U.S./UN/OAS intervention in Haiti. BAP-DC (pictured above) rallied at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C., while BAP-Chicago (pictured below) spoke out at the Haitian Consulate. BAP-Chicago's statement, read aloud by Charisse, was later published in Black Agenda Report.
BAP member organization Horn of Africa Pan Africans for Liberation and Solidarity (HOA PALS) organizing member Filmon Zerai gave an interview on Black Agenda Report titled, “Prominent Black Lives Matter Activists Stand in Solidarity with Deposed Tigrayan Puppets for U.S. Imperialism.”
Mohammed Abdukadir, a Somali journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa, and member of HOA PALS joined hosts Sean Blackmon and BAP member Jacqueline Luqman on Radio Sputnik's "By Any Means Necessary" to discuss the ongoing U.S. campaign of covert warfare being carried out in Somalia, the political crisis playing out as U.S.-backed President Mohamed Farmaajo clings to power and the impacts of the devastating drought that continues to plague the country.
Netfa was featured in Press TV's “Africa Today” story on Biden's military strategy in Africa. Meanwhile, Tunde Osazua, coordinator of BAP’s U.S. Out of Africa Network (USOAN), notes in a CovertAction Magazine article that the Africa Center for Strategic Studies—a Pentagon research institution—found that “militant Islamist group activity in Africa has doubled since 2012,” as AFRICOM’s presence on the continent deepened. Washington’s nominal counter-terrorism, in other words, has empowered terrorists.
Netfa and Jemima published an article titled, “Movements Not Saviors: Lessons from Bobi Wine’s Tweet for Juan Guaido.” in Black Agenda Report. Then they joined “The Critical Hour” 31:09 minutes into the show to discuss their article, which argues Uganda's Bobi Wine is auditioning for a position as an imperial puppet. They maintain the move is a reminder we must support movements—not individual politicians—in the quest for freedom from oppressive imperial rule.
For International Working Women's History Month, Salome Ayuak of HOA PALS moderated a conversation with Dr. Joy James titled, “Radicalizing + Decolonizing Feminism: A Celebration of International Women’s Day.” Then HOA PALS organizing member Yolian Ogbu gave an interview on Charisse’s Black Power Media podcast, “The Last Dope Intellectual,” in an episode titled “Radical Women, Celebrity Suffering, The Horn of Africa, Marx to Rodneyism: LDI #6.” PACA organizer Kimberly Monroe was interviewed by a Spanish-language publication, The Network in Defense of Humanity. Kimberly is quoted as saying, “…I want to encourage all oppressed and marginalized women around the world to keep their sights on victory.”
Netfa joined Sean and Jacqueline on Radio Sputnik’s "By Any Means Necessary" to discuss the opening of the murder trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, efforts to reign in the notorious 1033 program that transfers military hardware into the hands of local, state and federal police agencies, and protests against the U.S.-backed government of Jovenel Moïse in Haiti.
Netfa was interviewed on Black Agenda Radio on a segment titled, “Community Control is Best Route to Abolishing Policing As We Know It.” He discussed why Community Control of Police advocates in the Washington, D.C., region say their approach is the best and most democratic way to achieve both defunding and total abolition of policing as it exists in the United States.
BAP member Toussaint Losier recently gave an interview to the Antifada podcast on the “Judas and the Black Messiah” film with Illinois Black Panther Party chapter veteran Bradley Green. You can listen to the full interview and an extended segment.
BAP members turned out for rallies this past weekend in solidarity with Amazon workers in Alabama fighting to unionize. BAP member YahNé Ndgo spoke at a Philadelphia rally organized by Support Alabama Amazon Workers.
BAP member Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture (pictured above on the mic) spoke 26:25 minutes into the livestream.
Members of BAP-DC (pictured above)—representing BAP member organizations Friends of the Congo and PACA, as well as independent Black media outlet Luqman Nation—turned up at the Whole Foods on P Street in Washington, D.C., to educate the public on Amazon workers' struggle to unionize in Bessemer, Alabama. Check out photos from the action on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
BAP member organization Ujima People's Progress Party (pictured above) held a rally at an Amazon facility located at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).
A March 16 webinar with Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley, author of "Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression," spoke in support of Bessemer, Alabama Amazon workers. Asantewaa participated in this conversation. Here's the livestream.
EVENTS
March 24: PACA’s next Assata Shakur Study Group will discuss "Women and Anti-Colonial Struggle in Africa." What was the role of African women in the anti-colonial struggle? In what ways has their leadership been overlooked? Register here.
March 24: The Claudia Jones School for Political Education is holding a webinar titled, “Black Women, Black Radicalism and the Black Midwest,” where Dr. Melissa Ford of Slippery Rock University will discuss the role of Black women and the Communist Party in the Midwest. Register here.
April 4: Co-editors of Hood Communist including BAP members Mack Wallace and Erica Caines will be discussing member organization All-African People's Revolutionary Party member Ahjamu Umi’s book, "A Guide for Organizing Defense Against White Supremacist, Patriarchal and Fascist Violence," with him and his daughter. Watch on facebook.com/ahjamu.umi or the UmiFam YouTube channel or contact abetterworld.me for the Zoom link.
March 27-29: March 29 is the anniversary of the 1987 Haitian Constitution, written after the overthrow of Jean-Claude “Papa Doc” Duvalier. We encourage you to rally at Haitian embassies or consulates (located in Chicago, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami) or at federal buildings or places that are highly visible. Submit your action using this form. Find an action here.
March 25-31: Join CODEPINK for an online exhibit to express solidarity with the people in Haiti who are in struggle for democracy, justice and reparations. Find information on how to participate here.
TAKE ACTION
Sign BAP petitions calling for an end to the 1033 program and peace in Afghanistan.
Dedan Waciuri, who represents Black Workers for Justice on BAP’s Coordinating Committee, is being charged for inciting a riot and damaging government property. Sign this petition to demand charges be dropped.
Our brother, former political prisoner Jalil Muntaqim, faces the possibility of re-incarceration for filling out a voter registration form. Sign this petition to demand charges be dropped.
The Black Latina Girls and Women Fund was created by BAP member organization 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.
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, Charisse, Dedan, Erica, Jaribu, Margaret, Netfa, Nnamdi, Paul, Rafiki
P.S. Freedom isn’t free. Consider giving today.
Banner photo: Joe Biden speaks with U.S. Marine generals before a meeting between Iraqi and U.S government officials and Sunni sheikhs September 6, 2007 in Ramadi, Iraq. (John Moore/Getty Images)