“… Somebody must say to America, America if you have contempt for life, if you exploit human beings by seeing them as less than human, if you will treat human beings as a means to an end, you thingafy those human beings. And if you will thingafy persons, you will exploit them economically. And if you will exploit persons economically, you will abuse your military power to protect your economic investments and your economic exploitations.” —Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Where Do We Go From Here?” (1967)


In the United States, a liberal or a self-identified radical can rationalize supporting a candidate who throws Palestinians under the bus in order to get elected to the U.S. Senate. These same people can remain silent on murderous U.S. economic sanctions. They also can avoid any comment on U.S. imperialist aggression. They can do all of these things and their “progressive” or “radical” credentials would not be questioned.

That is why Joe Biden can 1) fill his cabinet with neoliberal war hawks, 2) signal obscene spending on the U.S. military will continue, and 3) tell the rulers they can rest assured knowing he is committed to the imperialist agenda of “Full Spectrum Dominance” that has been the U.S. state’s bipartisan-supported national security policy for the last two decades—and what amounts to “the left” shrugs its shoulders.

But the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) will not be silent and we will not collaborate. When Biden and the right-wing neoliberal Democrats say they will re-assert U.S. leadership of the white, Western imperialist alliance to wage war against the global South in the name of protecting human rights, we say no to imperialist subterfuge. We will continue to expose both parties’ real agenda of advancing the interests of U.S. and European capital by slinging back into their collective faces the reality of their capitalist crimes and the systematic violations of the human rights of people in the United States.

We will not let go unchallenged any U.S. official, including the newly appointed mouthpiece of U.S. anti-people policies (the “U.S. ambassador to the United Nations”), standing in any international forum to twist up their mouths to talk about human rights and democracy.

The cruel joke of the United States being concerned for human rights is reflected in its policies on the African continent, which we will be exposing in webinars taking place over the next few days. Today, the International Committee of the National Lawyers Guild and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers have joined BAP’s work on AFRICOM by hosting a webinar on the subject. And on December 4, BAP is co-sponsoring an international webinar on AFRICOM with the Women’s International League on Peace and Freedom (WILPF). We hope you support both events and join and/or support BAP’s U.S. Out of Africa Network and our campaign to shut down AFRICOM.

Samora Machel (1933-1986), leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and the first president of Mozambique, said, “International solidarity is not an act of charity: It is an act of unity between allies fighting on different terrains toward the same objective. The foremost of these objectives is to aid the development of humanity to the highest level possible.”

That is the task BAP has taken on. We hope, in your own way, you assume this awesome historical obligation.

PRESS AND MEDIA


On the November 24 episode of WPFW’s “Voices With Vision”, Netfa Freeman, who represents Pan-African Community Action (PACA) on BAP’s Coordinating Committee, and co-host Craig Hall, featured talented youth using their music to protest, and wake people up to the struggle for justice. Brother Craig interviewed Onrae La Teal of Freedom Futures Collective about their soon-to-be released visual album, “We Keep Us Safe”. Then Netfa went in depth with Eritrean political experts, Michael Seium and Amanuel Biedemariam, author of The History of the USA In Eritrea: From Franklin D Roosevelt to Barack Obama and How Donald Trump Changed the Course of History. They spoke about the current conflict between the Ethiopian government forces and the leadership of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, how it is affecting all countries in the horn of Africa, and the hidden hand the United States is playing.

BAP member Mark Fancher wrote in Black Agenda Report the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) is “designed to do only one thing well, and that is to kill Africans.”

Meanwhile, BAP member Jacqueline Luqman interviewed BAP’s U.S. Out of Africa Network Coordinator Tunde Osazua 30 minutes into Radio Sputnik’s “By Any Means Necessary” about an #EndSARS solidarity action BAP took part in November 20 in front of the Nigerian embassy in Washington, D.C. Jacqueline also interviewed Abiodun Aremu, secretary of Nigeria-based Joint Action Front on The Real News Network. Aremu broke down the connections between the U.S. neocolonialism and the police violence ordinary Nigerians have been facing.

Netfa joined By Any Means Necessary co-hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacqueline to discuss the elections slated for next year in Libya and the role the United States and the European Union played in destabilizing the once-prosperous country.

Tunde, Netfa and BAP Coordinating Committee member YahNé Ndgo participated November 22 in “Pan-African Activist Sunday School: Black Radical Tradition and Defunding Police in US”, a session of an intergenerational, Pan-African, popular education series designed for young activists in Nigeria and the African Diaspora, an outcome of the #EndSARS solidarity efforts.

On Radio Sputnik’s The Critical Hour, Netfa discussed the foundational issues of the ongoing military conflict in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.

BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka and BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley reviewed several news stories on Radio Sputnik’s The Critical Hour, including that the Trump administration is reportedly planning to designate Yemen's Houthi movement as a terrorist group in a move that may increase suffering in the war-torn, impoverished country.

Margaret also appeared on a No Cold War webinar to answer the question, “Will the U.S. Election Change the New Cold War?”

Meanwhile, Margaret and BAP Supporter Network Co-Coordinator Danny Haiphong will livestream a discussion at 7 p.m., EST, on December 1 about Barack Obama’s legacy and its impact on the struggle for peace, justice and liberation.

Black Agenda Radio re-aired a panel Netfa participated in at Bowie State University in Maryland, where he explained why Community Control of Police is the revolutionary alternative. In that segment, Dhoruba Bin Wahad, who spent 19 years as a Black Panther Party political prisoner, was heard urging the creation of a national front of organizations demanding community control of police. “Unless we abolish policing as it’s presently constituted, we are not going to get anywhere,” said Bin Wahad.

YahNé and BLM Philly member Krystal Strong were featured in a Philadelphia magazine article on the struggle for the abolition of police.

Banned football quarterback Colin Kaepernick spoke out on behalf of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, saying, if Black lives truly matter, “then Mumia’s life and legacy matter. Free Mumia!” Check out his talk on Black Agenda Radio.

Then after 49 years as a Black Panther Party political prisoner, Jalil Muntaqim was released on parole, only to be re-arrested for attempting to register to vote in his hometown of Rochester, New York. Hear what happened on Black Agenda Radio.

BAP member Erica Caines co-hosted on the Groundings podcast to discuss with BAP member Dr. Jared Ball his new book, “The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power” and the propaganda used to perpetuate the trillion-dollar "buying power" myth, Black capitalism and the Black misleadership class of rappers.

EVENTS


November 30: The Claudia Jones School for Political Education is hosting a webinar, “The Legacy of Jack O’Dell in the Black Freedom Movement.” BAP member Luci Murphy will be on a panel to discuss. Register here.

November 30: The National Lawyers Guild International Committee and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers is hosting a webinar to unpack AFRICOM. Register here.

December 1: BAP member Erica Caines will host an online event for “left/radical/revolutionary Black women to engage in a guided discussion on the liberal misuse of Black women as ‘leaders’, the liberal co-option of radicalism and advancing the class struggle” on Rosa Parks Human Rights Day. Register here.

December 4: BAP is co-sponsoring a Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom webinar on AFRICOM and human rights that will feature speakers from international women’s associations and Margaret. Register here.

December 4: BAP-NYC is hosting a webinar, “Black Power in New York City: What Is the Black Alliance for Peace?” Register here.

December 4: BAP member Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture will speak on an online panel, “Resisting Repression From Kingston to Palestine”. Register here.

December 4: BAP member Charisse Burden-Stelly is participating in a webinar hosted by BAP member organization We Charge Genocide. Register here.

December 6: Multiple organizations are hosting the final installation of the Pan-African Activist Sunday School called “South Africa, #RhodesMustFall & Anti-Apartheid”. RSVP here.

TAKE ACTION

  • 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.


And we close with this poem:

"A woman’s going to send the bombs”

by El Jones

A woman’s going to send the drones
So ready the covers of your Vogues
The food bank lines are now miles long
But a woman’s the one who sends the bombs
Liberal feminism can’t be wrong
When a woman’s the one who sends the bombs.
Can’t get workers PPE
But you go girl Nancy Pelosi
All hail the bipartisan war parties
Now Trump is gone we all agree
George W. Bush has been redeemed
The war criminals are on our team
And there’s a Black woman on my TV screen
And when she bombs I’ll yell yasss Queen
We’ll force your countries to be free
And little Black girls can finally see
Themselves in drones and F-16s
And this is MLK Jrs dream
Brought to you by Wall Street
Brought to you by the elites
We’ll never ever give you peace
Fund military and police
But a woman could be commander in chief
See what can happen when you believe?
This is gender equality
So everybody take a knee
The resistance heroes hip hip hooray
The FBI and CIA
The generals and NSA
So please enjoy your new air base
We’ve all forgot Abu Ghraib
We all forgot Guantanamo Bay
And none of them will see the Hague
The Patriot Act’s so yesterday
Centrist neoliberal’s all the rage
Kids still living in a cage

The war party is here to stay
And let’s lock Julian Assange away.
We can’t let him expose the truth
We’re never bringing home the troops
Obama’s so cool shooting hoops
You’ll all be crushed under the boot
We’re plotting out another coup
Billionaires we won’t prosecute
We save that for moms of truant youth
Those Timberlands were looking cute
So let the oil companies pollute
Hell put them in the cabinet
Add bankers to make up the set
We’ll regulate the internet
Corporate news is all you’ll get
But a woman’s going to send the jets
Are Yemeni women happy yet?
This moment gives me all the feels
A woman’s making weapons deals
A woman’s making refugees
A woman’s going to rob and steal
Last week we were environmentalists
But now wars for oil are feminist
And history will reminisce
How all the donors benefit
Orange man is out the door
Things can go back to how they were before
Biden voted for the Iraq War
How dare you ask for any more
Your kids still super predators
And his kid’s on strike number four
But prison’s just for you and yours
And really the crime bill’s all your fault
This is the time for unity
Bow down to oil and energy
And let’s be friends with GOP
And white suburban families
There’s no more white supremacy

Black woman deliver us the vote
We’ll still be kneeling on your throat
But a woman’s going to send the drones
So volunteer to work those phones
So we can bomb some woman’s home
And probably waterboard her son
They’re back in fashion neo cons
So four more years of settlements
War parties are in agreement
And let’s hashtag Black excellence
Kamala is Vice President
The ladies join the gentlemen
In sword, famine, wild beast, pestilence
The four horse persons of apocalypse
These days we call that feminist
Is this the dream of suffragists?
And I heard her bombs never miss
And don’t forget to call her Ms.
Madame, her honour, she or ma’am
Get ready those detainment camps
Muster the troops line up the ranks
A woman’s going to send the tanks
And all of us will give her thanks
Especially weapons manufacturers, banks
And thanks to those suburban moms
A woman’s going to send the bombs
I’m glad a woman is so strong
To send our countries all those bombs.

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: Gerry Broome/AP