The global Pan-European Colonial/Capitalist White Supremacist patriarchy is conspiring against the Bolivarian revolutionary process in Venezuela—and some Black folks are going along with it. Why?

The Black misleadership class and the media also piled onto Virginia politicians for wearing Blackface, yet they aren’t opposing the white supremacy of U.S. interventions. Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) National Organizer Ajamu Baraka writes about this cognitive dissonance in the West.

We at BAP are attempting to re-connect the internationalist position of the Black radical tradition to the Black masses, who represent 90 percent of Black people in the United States. That is what prompted our February 6 statement: Black Working Class Will Never Abandon Venezuela!

BAP Outreach Coordinator YahNé Ndgo read out loud our initial January 26 statement that explains why we oppose U.S. intervention in Venezuela. Watch her here: Hands Off Venezuela!

We encourage BAP members and our allies in the struggle to organize local actions (particularly targeting the district offices of Congressional Black Caucus representatives) as part of the global mobilization in solidarity with the people of Venezuela on February 23.

Mark your calendars for the evening of February 21 to watch a live discussion on Venezuela featuring a special guest. It will air on BAP’s Facebook page. Like us if you haven’t already. We’ll release the exact time and other details on our Facebook page in the coming days.

The Cuban government released a statement February 14 on Venezuela we want to lift up because of its support for abiding international law as well as a regional pact: “What is being defined today is whether the legitimacy of a government emanates from the express and sovereign will of its people, or from the recognition of foreign powers.”

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BAP members: Please await information to register for the next BAP membership call being held February 23. Besides the usual BAP business, we will focus our discussion on Venezuela. Details to come on the member listserv.

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Despite intervention and election interference by the United States, the Haitian people are once again taking to the streets to defend their national sovereignty. We cannot ignore our African diasporic people in the world’s first Black republic of Haiti responding to racist exploitation.

We continue our work to shut down AFRICOM and request that you continue sharing our petition online and circulate the physical version (find it here) in places you organize: schools, workplaces, houses of worship and prisons. Check out BAP member and Black Agenda Report publisher Glen Ford’s public-service announcement on the U.S. Out of Africa! campaign. Feel free to use the PSA in your community-radio programs and podcasts—and tag us online when you do!

BAP also continues our effort to dismantle the global military arm of the Pan-European colonial-imperialist project: NATO. We support the national mobilizations to oppose NATO’s decision to celebrate its 70th anniversary in Washington, D.C., on April 4—the same day as the 51st anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We see this as a desecration of Dr. King and the Black population’s opposition to war and imperialism.

The national mobilizations include:

  1. The No to NATO, War and Racism March, starting at Lafayette Square in front of the White House at 1 p.m., March 30;

  2. A Concert for Peace and to End War, sponsors include the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Concert in Franklin Square in Washington, D.C., 1 p.m.-8 p.m., March 31;

  3. World Peace Council Anti-NATO Conference, St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C., 3 p.m.-7 p.m., March 31;

  4. No to NATO—Yes to Peace and Disarmament Counter Summit, location to be announced, all day April 2;

  5. No to NATO—Yes to Peace Festival, St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church, 12 p.m.-10 p.m., April 3;

  6. Procession from MLK Memorial to rally at Freedom Plaza, Washington, D.C., day time, April 4, details to come;

  7. BAP’s 2nd Anniversary Event: No Compromise, No Retreat in the Fight to End Militarism and War, Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, D.C., 7 p.m.-9 p.m.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Jaribu, Margaret, Netfa, Paul, Vanessa and YahNé
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. We are completely dependent on the people. Contribute to our 2019 fund.

Photo credit: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters