Secret Military Operations in Africa

After U.S. troops were killed in Niger, Black activists and the public raised critical questions the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is uniquely placed to respond to.

In fact, working to expose U.S. operations in Africa (AFRICOM) has been our priority.

But to do that, we must develop the capacity of our alliance. BAP’s Coordinating Committee will share plans to do so over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, please send information to be included in these BAP weekly updates.


EVENTS

1. October 30, Boston, Ma.: Suffolk University’s Students for Justice in Palestine is hosting BAP national organizer Ajamu Baraka to discuss the state of human rights in the contested region.
2. November 4-5, Washington, D.C.: Eighth-annual Black Is Back Coalition rally, march and conference.

VIDEO

1. Ajamu spoke at CODEPINK’s summit in Washington, D.C., about why BAP endorsed CODEPINK's campaign on divesting from war profiteers.

BOOK

1. Ajamu wrote a piece in a new book, “Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi”.

ARTICLES

1. U.S. Army General Donald Bolduc shamelessly told NBC News: “America is not at war in Africa. But its partner forces are.” But even a soldier can recognize the farce.
2. State repression, once only leveled on rebellious working people and racialized groups, has been extended to the entire population.
3. Charo Mina-Rojas, of Black Communities Process (Proceso Comunidades de Negras, PCN) and Black Alliance for Peace, says the Colombian government has no intention of making sure Black and indigenous peoples’ right to collective land ownership will be protected under the peace agreement with FARC rebels.
4. Unrest in Togo is taking place alongside other developments in West Africa, including the secessionist movements in South Cameroon and Southeast Nigeria, and the killing of several U.S. Special Forces troops in Niger.
5. U.S. troops think white nationalism is a larger national security threat than Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
6. The Black elite’s job is to keep the lid on Black protest, so the dispersal, disempowerment and demoralization of Black communities can be accomplished with as little disruption as possible.
7. Obama skirting human rights enabled Trump to be all the more brutal.
8. The debate about colonial symbols heats up across the African continent, much like it has here in the belly of the U.S. empire.

Let’s continue to build the resistance we have been waiting for!

In struggle,
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

Photo credit: U.S. Army photo/Sgt. 1st Class Christopher C. Klutts

Our First Conference Is Coming Up

We’re organizing our first national gathering for April 2018.

As you know, booking the venue, printing conference materials, catering food and transporting folks will add up.

Chip in today—we will need all of the resources we can get!

Now here are articles and events to help you tackle the crises we face:

 
EVENTS

1. October 21, Washington, D.C.: BAP national organizer Ajamu Baraka will discuss the connection between the wars abroad and the wars at home at CODEPINK’s summit to launch its campaign to divest from the war profiteers, of which BAP is a co-sponsor.

 
ARTICLES

1. BAP member and long-time Afro-Colombian activist Charo Mina-Rojas will speak to the United Nations Security Council on the Colombia peace process.
2. Modern-day slavery for Black, Brown and poor folks.
3. The 158th anniversary of the Harper’s Ferry raid that kicked off the liberation of Black slaves.
4. The Black Panther Party celebrated its 51st birthday this week.
5. The Supreme Court rules in favor of government transparency regarding private prisons.
6. The real reason the U.S. wants to remain in Afghanistan.
7. Two doctors who designed the torture program in Afghanistan were paid $80M. The greed for big money drives U.S. wars.
8. U.S. troop deaths in Niger reflect growing Africa mission creep.
9. Too many white leftists ignore their own community's history of betraying Black and Brown folks.
10. European governments return nearly 10,000 Afghans to risk of death and torture. Folks, this is genocide.
11. Here's another profit-generating opportunity for U.S. warmongers. Is the next front Lebanon?

Let’s continue to build the resistance we all have been waiting for!

In struggle,
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

Photo credit: Reuters/Joe Penney

The FBI Targets the Black Resistance

The state is growing more desperate and dangerous.

It faces a crisis, one where its own legitimacy is being questioned.

In a re-play of the repression faced by Black liberation forces in the 1960s and ‘70s, news broke that the Black resistance movement is in the cross hairs of the state. So-called “Black-identity extremists” are now the new FBI targets, a category that can include anyone who believes Black people have the right to resist and deserve self-determination, one of BAP’s grounding principles.

But we will not be intimidated. We will intensify our organizing and educational work and meet this challenge as we have met challenges in the past.

Now don’t forget to give—we need all of the resources we can get!

The struggle continues and we will win. Here are articles, videos and events to help you tackle the crises we face:


EVENTS

1. October 14, Washington, D.C.: BAP member Pan-African Community Action is organizing the sixth-annual Thomas Sankara conference in Washington, D.C., to help develop pan-African strategies.
2. October 14, Columbus, Ohio: Meet BAP national organizer Ajamu Baraka in Columbus, Ohio! You can also hear him speak at a second event about resistance and Black liberation in the age of Trump.
3. October 17, Decatur, Georgia: The Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition is hosting Ajamu to discuss the history of the U.S.-Korea conflict.

VIDEO

1. Despite Trump's bluster, nothing has really changed with how the United States deals with the world, said Margaret Kimberley, BAP Coordinating Committee member, at the United National Antiwar Coalition's rally on Saturday to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan.

ARTICLES

1. BAP member Charo Mina-Rojas discussed the heated Colombian peace process.
2. The state is not playing. Already, a convergence of white opinion exists on the left and on the right in opposition to what they call "identity politics" and what we call racial justice. Now folks are being targeted as “Black identity extremists.”
3. When the social compact is weak, everybody is the 'Other'—and, therefore, a target.
4. In the twisted, racist, profit-seeking minds of U.S. and E.U. leaders, a military buildup mainly using Black and Brown U.S. bodies is designed to create peace.
5. It's important for folks to understand the United States funds terrorists when it wants to take control of a country.
6. Are Russians collaborating with or influencing U.S. Blacks? This allegation is not new.

Let’s continue to build the resistance we all have been waiting for!

In struggle,
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

Your weekly BAP update

As we build and consolidate our community of resistance, we must arm ourselves with the necessary tools.

Every Thursday, the Black Alliance for Peace will provide members and supporters with information from BAP, as well as from the broader movement. This is to revitalize an intersectional, Black-led and -centered movement against war, repression and U.S. imperialism.

Did you know this week marks 16 years of the U.S. war in Afghanistan? Don’t forget to take action to oppose its escalation.

Now here are articles, videos and events to educate you on the crises we face:

BAP CO-SPONSORS LETTER IN SUPPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

BAP, along with dozens of international organizations and human rights activists, signed this letter to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, demanding he provide healthcare and infrastructure improvements to Afro-Colombians and Indigenous peoples.
 

EVENTS

• Join BAP at the United National Antiwar Coalition’s October 7 rally in New York City to oppose the escalation of the war in Afghanistan as well as the 16th anniversary of the longest war in U.S. history.
• Meet Ajamu in Columbus, Ohio!
• Join BAP and several peace organizations that founded the Coalition to Close U.S. Foreign Military Bases at the coalition’s first conference, January 12-14, 2018.

VIDEOS

• Combining movements requires multi-lingualism and oppressed peoples at the table, BAP Coordinating Committee member Rev. Lukata Mjumbe said at World Beyond War's No War 2017 conference.
• BAP attended a welcome party for political prisoner Rev. Edward Pinkney at The Solidarity Center in New York City. Watch the video of his talk.

ARTICLES

• U.S. imperialism continues war in Afghanistan and the destabilization of Africa.
• The U.S. interest in Myanmar is multi-faceted, based on its ever-growing demand for fossil fuels and its ruthless push to re-assert political dominance in Asia at China’s expense.
• The United States shows why it’s really in Syria.
• BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka appeared on Black Agenda Radio to discuss the Congressional Black Caucus backing Pres. Donald Trump’s war budget.
• The irony of Israel seeking a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
• White journalists in Saint Louis experienced police violence Black and Brown folks normally confront.

Let’s continue to build the resistance we all have been waiting for!

In struggle,
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

Photo credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

A Killer Cop Walks Free

It’s been a trying week.

Here's a run down:

• Another killer cop walks free in Saint Louis,
• Democrats and Republicans voted overwhelmingly to pass a $75 billion increase in the military budget, and
• Trump threatened to “destroy” North Korea in his address to the United Nations.

It is clear war and repression is at the center of the Empire’s strategy to maintain its oppressive dominance.

And so we must resist with everything we have.

That’s why I come to you again, asking for your support to help us build a resistance movement with the capacity to check the systematic violence that we and the people of the world are subjected to.

Spending more on wars only means more Black, Brown and poor bodies will be sent to the front lines to kill other Black, Brown and poor bodies.

Meanwhile, Black and Brown people will continue to die at the hands of the domestic military referred to as the police.

That’s why it’s crucial you support BAP today.

BAP has already begun educating the public on the war machine:

• We campaigned against the increase in military spending,
• helped develop a coalition to close U.S. foreign military bases, and
• co-sponsored CodePink’s campaign to divest from war profiteers.

Building the capacity of our members and activist community to resist is how we’ll defend against state repression.

Your financial support in the form of a one-time donation or by joining our monthly sustainer program can help us expand our public education program.

Will you contribute today?

Thanks so much for being part of our journey toward peace and social justice.

In solidarity,
Ajamu Baraka
National Organizer
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Let’s build a public education program. Become a contributor today.

Photo credit: Scott Olson/Getty

Your Congresspeople Love War

“I rise today to oppose unauthorized, undeclared and unconstitutional war. What we have today is basically unlimited war, anywhere, anytime, any place upon the globe.”

With these words, libertarian Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has become one of the few voices to oppose the obscenity otherwise known as U.S. war policies.

Only two other Senators joined him: Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden.

The legislation that Paul is referring to is the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

It was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and includes a $75 billion increase in the military budget—well over the $54 billion that the President Donald Trump had originally proposed.

But here is the wrinkle: Paul is not concerned with the size of the military budget. He's pointing his finger at the continuation of the Authorization to Use Military Force Act of 2001, which was the “legal” basis for the U.S. global “war on terror.” He wants Congress to re-assess this legislation that has prompted our endless wars abroad.

BAP supports this position.

Yet, we are not just concerned about the AUMF, but also with the obscene theft of almost $700 billion of the people’s money.

But the two parties aren’t concerned with that.

In fact, 117 Democrats—including most of the Congressional Black Caucus—voted in favor of the spending increase.

And of course, the corporate press would rather focus on the issue of undocumented immigrants than military spending because—like the Democrats and most of the ruling class—they support U.S. militarism and war.

That is why BAP is so important. We have a historic responsibility to oppose the game being played on the people. But to do so, we must organize, we must build, and we must educate our people and the general public.

Here are articles we think you would appreciate reading:

From Ferguson to Palestine: Palestinian Women Connect with Struggling Communities in the United States

United States Threatens World Peace

America’s Wars for Peace

U.S. Imperialism: Militarism and Superexploitation in Africa

We'd also love for you to join us for the Week of Action to oppose the escalation of the war in Afghanistan.

Thanks again for supporting BAP!

In solidarity,
Ajamu Baraka
National Organizer
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. If you are opposed to the rise in war spending, become a monthly sustainer today.

Photo credit: saddahaq.com

How we’re resisting the drive to war

We are facing an intensifying crisis in the United States.

That’s all as a result of the bi-partisan drive to use military force to prop up the declining power of the empire.

We must be clear and resolute in our opposition to these moves by redoubling our organizing and public educational activities.

Some of the work BAP has taken on over last few weeks includes:


BAP demands U.S. hands off North Korea
The increased aggression toward North Korea is dangerous. We say no justification exists for U.S. government interference on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump’s assault on Black lives
Did you hear President Donald Trump wants to unleash more military grade gear to local and state police? This means the war on Black lives is ramping up.


End the war in Afghanistan
Trump announced the longest war in U.S. history will continue. We ask that the United States admit defeat and end this war and that you join us in organizing local actions in the week of the 16th anniversary.


BAP joins CodePink in divestment program
BAP has co-sponsored CodePink’s initiative to punish those who profit from the war machine. BAP will join CodePink and other organizations during its October 21-22 Launch Summit to kick off the campaign and celebrate the national U.S. television release of “Shadow World,” a film about the global arms trade. Learn more.


BAP helped found the coalition to close military bases
Are you aware of the environmental, social and political impact of American military bases around the world? BAP is. That’s why we have joined the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases.


Thanks so much for supporting BAP as it grows and makes strides toward a peaceful future.

In solidarity,
Ajamu Baraka
BAP National Organizer

P.S. The Black anti-war movement cannot grow without your support. Become a monthly sustainer!

Photo credit: HBO.com

You wouldn't believe it

We can’t keep up with the demand.

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) has been inundated with speaking opportunities, and requests that we support actions and participate in community-based discussions.

In order to respond to public demand, support the needs of our member organizations and meet our capacity building objectives, BAP needs to raise $120,000 to develop its organizational and programmatic infrastructure.

Please consider committing to revitalize the Black anti-war movement.

BAP plans to:

• produce educational materials for our members as well as the general public,
• revamp our website to support more direct advocacy and public education,
• purchase a communication platform for our member calls and quarterly public educational calls, and
• create and support a training team.

In the short term, we are opposing Trump’s military expansion proposal while mobilizing against the growing threat of war with North Korea and the expansion of U.S. forces in Syria.

If we meet our fundraising goal, BAP will host its first national gathering on April 4, 2018 in Jackson, Mississippi.

But as you already know, reviving the Black anti-war movement can only occur if we remain financially independent. In fact, we hope 2,000 people commit to sustaining BAP by the end of the year.

Will you join BAP as a monthly sustainer?

As the irrational calls for more war, militarism and domestic repression increase, the mission of BAP becomes even more imperative. But we cannot meet our historic responsibility to resist this madness right here in the belly of the empire without your support. Not only can morality and rationality win, they can help us restore sanity and the rule of the people.

In solidarity,
Ajamu Baraka
National Organizer
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. The Black anti-war movement is counting on your monthly support.

Here's what went down at UNAC

We’re back and we’re fired up.
 
Because of your support, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) was able to use the $2,915 raised in only two weeks’ time to register, transport and house at least seven BAP members who attended the United National Antiwar Coalition’s conference June 16-18 in Richmond, Virginia.
 
As we promised, we stretched every dollar by carpooling and room sharing—even yours truly slept on the floor.

I can honestly say we made huge strides for our Black-led anti-war movement on that weekend.

• BAP members appeared on UNAC plenaries. BAP National Coordinating Committee member and UNAC Administrative Committee member Margaret Kimberley and I spoke on the opening plenary and I also had the honor of being on the closing plenary.
• We consistently promoted UNAC’s position. The immediate priority of the anti-war movement must be to oppose the Trump administration’s proposal to increase the military budget and the moves being made by administration to deepen U.S. involvement in Syria.
• BAP held a well attended and productive workshop that helped participants’ better understand the mission and program of BAP—that resulted in most of the over two dozen attendees committing to become active members and supporters of BAP.
• Conference attendees also expressed support and enthusiasm for BAP’s mission.

It was a great success for an organization that launched a little more than two months ago.
 
Just so you know, we are developing BAP’s infrastructure so we can more easily support our members and get the word out when the corporate media fails us—doesn’t it always? We’re looking at revamping our modest website, building organizing and advocacy support for BAP members and allies, strengthening research and material development, and investing in strategic communications.
 
Your commitment to this movement keeps it alive, so thanks very much for all you have done.
 
In solidarity,
Ajamu Baraka
National Organizer
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. If you love BAP’s mission, become a monthly sustainer by choosing the recurring donor option.

Thank you!

We pulled through!

Generous people like you helped us generate $2,915 (at an average of $40 per contributor) to send several Black activists to the United National Antiwar Coalition’s conference.

Folks, we will be stretching every dollar to make sure we can get as many deserving members of the radical Black left to UNAC this weekend.
 
Between carpooling, room sharing and sleeping on the floor, we’re going to make this work.
 
And we’re doing this because we’re building a force to contend with. I know from my study of our radical past that no anti-war movement can be effective without Black folks at its center.

If you are interested in keeping our work going, consider becoming a monthly sustainer.
 
Thanks again for your generous contribution and your commitment to this movement!
 
In solidarity,
Ajamu Baraka
National Organizer
Black Alliance for Peace
 
P.S. Energized by BAP’s mission? Become a monthly sustainer by choosing the recurring donor option.