Upholding Black Radical Internationalism

A wise person said being attacked by one’s enemies means you have become effective. Events over the last weekend at the Left Forum in New York City prove the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is now seen as a threat, making our 1-year-old organization a target.

It started with an article circulated against BAP’s national organizer, Ajamu Baraka, calling him an “Assadist” and a Trump supporter for opposing U.S. imperialist intervention in Syria. The weekend ended with a demonstration organized by an obscure group during Ajamu’s presentation at the closing plenary.

We welcome the attacks because we understand why they would see an independent, politically clear formation like BAP as a threat. But we also know that we need to be ready for even more attacks.

A revolutionary formation that upholds peace, social justice, and the struggle against war and militarism within the context of an anti-imperialist frame is a deep threat. But when you consider the base we are attempting to politicize and organize is African/Black working class-oriented activists and organizers, why, that is just too much for the system to handle.

Here are the recorded livestreams of panels we spoke at:

1. A joint UNAC/BAP panel, “Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad”
2. A Black Agenda Report panel, “Russiagate: Muzzling the Black Left and the March to War”
3. “Venezuela Resists the U.S. Empire: Task Force on the Americas”
4. Ajamu’s statement at Sunday’s closing plenary

BAP in Venezuela

BAP member Efia Nwangaza represented BAP as an election observer in the Venezuelan presidential election, which was closely observed around the world as the revolutionary Latin American state faces pressure from the United States to yield to transnational capitalist forces. Efia reported on her trip last week on a national call.


African Liberation Day

BAP commemorated African Liberation Day on May 25 with a statement demanding the United States get out of Africa. We followed up with a call for the Congressional Black Caucus and leaders of the Poor People’s Campaign to demand AFRICOM be dismantled.


Action Teams

We thank our research and Africa teams for meeting and moving the campaign development work forward. If you’d like to join these teams, apply to be a member or supporter.

Research Team:
Work collaboratively with BAP action teams and National Organizer to provide relevant information and analysis related to BAP programmatic work. Team will analyze data and write research findings for BAP public educational and advocacy materials, including policy briefs, blogs, toolkits, petitions and special issue reports. If you are interested, send a message to info@blackallianceforpeace.com with the subject line “Research Team”.

Social Media and Communications Team:
Provide support for press and social media work. Coordinate with staff to develop and maintain press list and update press sections of website. Press component of team will assist with producing press releases and pitch BAP actions, spokespersons and events to press, with special emphasis on developing contacts and pitching to alternative press. Social media component of team will gather news links for circulation, work with communications consultant to maintain our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts. If you are interested, send a message to info@blackallianceforpeace.com with the subject line “Social Media and Communications Team”.

We are only able to do this revolutionary work with support from anti-imperialist folks like yourself. Can we count on you to keep building the Black anti-war movement in the United States?

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret, Netfa, Paul and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Help us re-build the Black anti-war movement in the tradition of Black internationalism by contributing today.

Black Left Unity and Venezuela's Election

Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) members and member organizations from Baltimore, New York City and Washington, D.C., attended the National Assembly for Black Liberation in Durham, North Carolina, this past weekend—they made a significant impact on the historic proceedings to develop a unified Black left in the United States. Below are just some of our members who were in attendance.

BAP introduced a resolution to include anti-militarism and anti-imperialism as part of the reinvigorated effort’s demands. Other resolutions presented by members of the Black left include one censuring the Zionist, genocidal settler-colonial state of Israel, which is armed with nuclear weapons with the help of the United States.

BAP was recognized for bringing a strong presence to the assembly and for leading the discussion during a breakout session called “End All Wars.” The assembly also agreed to abide by BAP’s Principles of Unity.

Sending a delegation of about a dozen people to the assembly cost BAP $3,000. We have already raised close to $1,000.

Can we count on you to help BAP cover the cost of this historic trip to re-build the Black anti-war movement?


BAP in Venezuela

BAP member Efia Nwangaza took a detour this past weekend. Instead of joining us for the assembly in Durham, she got on a plane to Caracas to represent BAP as an election observer in a presidential election being closely observed around the world as the revolutionary Latin American state faces pressure from the United States to yield to transnational capitalist forces.

Register for a call to hear Efia’s reportback and ask her questions at 7 p.m., Eastern Time, on Tuesday, May 29.

Folks in Venezuela have long admired BAP’s work, having also invited BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka as a BAP representative to another historic gathering in March.

Ajamu also recently explained the racist pattern that has helped the pan-European colonial project loot the world’s resources and oppress peoples of the world in this CounterPunch article.

BAP member Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture delivered a statement on behalf of BAP on May 14 at a demonstration against the Philadelphia Orchestra, which has chosen to perform in Israel despite great opposition from the community. The campaign to stop the orchestra is called Philly Don’t Orchestrate Apartheid and it is now in its eighth week. You can watch the video of Asantewaa on this page.

BAP member Netfa Freeman interviewed Ajamu on the “Blue Lives Matter” bill on Netfa’s radio program “Voices with Vision”. Watch the video here.


Join BAP’s Action Teams

This is an opportunity for both members and supporters to build BAP’s body of work to combat militarism and imperialism. You can become a member or a supporter by applying here.

Research Team:
Work collaboratively with BAP action teams and National Organizer to provide relevant information and analysis related to BAP programmatic work. Team will analyze data and write research findings for BAP public educational and advocacy materials, including policy briefs, blogs, toolkits, petitions and special issue reports. If you are interested, send a message to info@blackallianceforpeace.com with the subject line “Research Team”.

Social Media and Communications Team:
Provide support for press and social media work. Coordinate with staff to develop and maintain press list and update press sections of website. Press component of team will assist with producing press releases and pitch BAP actions, spokespersons and events to press, with special emphasis on developing contacts and pitching to alternative press. Social media component of team will gather news links for circulation, work with communications consultant to maintain our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts. If you are interested, send a message to info@blackallianceforpeace.com with the subject line “Social Media and Communications Team”.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret, Netfa, Paul and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Help us re-build the Black anti-war movement in the tradition of Black internationalism by contributing today.

The Ugly Face of Racist Settler-Colonialism

During this historic week, we remained in solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza, who so valiantly resisted Israel’s U.S.-subsidized military might to re-claim their right of return to their homeland. Although they weren’t able to pass through the fence and fend off Israeli snipers, their noble efforts to do so once again revealed the reality of the Israeli settler-colonial project.

The Black Alliance for Peace says the United States is just as complicit in the murders of more than 50 Palestinians during the 70th anniversary of the Nakba. “The systematic violence of ethnic cleansing, house demolitions, exile, assassinations, land thefts, bombings, and the denial of water and other vital services that provide basic dignity could not have occurred without ongoing support from the United States, as well as both major political parties in the United States, the corporate press and every major institution of U.S. society, including many churches.” Read our complete statement.

We also say the United States has no one to blame but itself for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) refusing to now meet with the Republic of Korea (RoK). Why, you ask? Because the United States continues to arrogantly pursue its goal of conducting joint military exercises with the vassal state of RoK, right on its border with the DPRK. Imagine a so-called “war game” against you happening right outside your house. That’s what is being done here. Read our complete statement on this matter.

This week, BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka spoke to Black Agenda Radio about how peace is unattainable without an anti-imperialist position. Indeed, the United States is so arrogant, it can lose up to $21 trillion (mind you, the U.S. GDP is $18 trillion) with little public uproar.

This is your last chance to register for the National Assembly for Black Liberation, being held May 18-20 in Durham, North Carolina. A delegation of a dozen radical Black activists from BAP will attend. If successful, this historic gathering will unify and strengthen the Black left in the United States. BAP is introducing a resolution at the assembly to include anti-militarism and anti-imperialism as part of the reinvigorated effort’s demands. We have already raised close to $1,000 toward partial support for our delegation. But we really need $3,000 to be able to provide partial support to these BAP members.

Can we count on you to help re-build the Black anti-war movement?

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret, Netfa, Paul and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. We’re sending 12 radical Black activists to the National Assembly for Black Liberation. Help us re-build the Black anti-war movement in the tradition of Black internationalism by contributing today.

Photo credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP-Getty Images

Trump Destroyed the Iran Deal

In pulling the United States out of the Iran deal, we can say the only ones happy are the neocons, liberal interventionists, Israel and Saudi Arabia. This is a clear move toward war. After President Donald Trump’s irresponsible announcement, revealing the United States again cannot be trusted to keep its word, he took it further and threatened Iran not to build nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia renewed its threat that it would build a bomb if Iran did so. Meanwhile, Israel attacked Iranian positions in Syria as the world reeled from Trump’s immature move.

At the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), we remain steadfast internationalists. We will continue to defend the right of oppressed peoples and states under attack by U.S. imperialism. It is not our place to get into the weeds and critique other states’ business. It is for us to stand to dismantle the U.S. empire.

May Day just passed, and we will continue to stress workers of the world must include anti-militarism and anti-imperialism in their demands. It might sound cliché to say we are living in dangerous times. But with the Iran deal ripped up and Korean peace and re-unification in jeopardy as the U.S. empire insists on keeping its military bases on the peninsula, it is up to the workers to take down this oppressive global structure.

We also wanted to bring your attention to our friend, former CIA agent-turned-activist Ray McGovern, who was brutalized while being arrested for protesting at the U.S. Senate hearing of Gina Haspel. Haspel had authorized the black site in Thailand where CIA detainees from the around the world had been tortured. The United States being in such a weak geopolitical position has decided to let its civilized mask fall and is now unleashing every weapon against humanity.

BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka also spoke with progressive journalist Tim Black about the dangerous game the United States is playing around the world and how the struggles of the African diaspora around the world and on the continent are connected to the struggles of Blacks in the United States.

As you’ve seen in previous weekly updates, BAP is preparing to send a delegation of a dozen radical Black activists to Durham, North Carolina, to attend the National Assembly for Black Liberation, being held May 18-20. If successful, this historic gathering will unify and strengthen left Black forces in the United States. BAP is introducing a resolution at the assembly to include anti-militarism and anti-imperialism as part of the reinvigorated effort’s demands. We must raise $3,000 to be able to provide partial support to these BAP members. Can we count on you to help re-build the Black anti-war movement?

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. We’re sending 12 radical Black activists to the National Assembly for Black Liberation. Help us re-build the Black anti-war movement in the tradition of Black internationalism by contributing today.

War Is a Working-Class Issue

Workers from around the world took to the streets on May 1—International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day—to proclaim on their day they were not going to surrender to the logic of capitalist dehumanization and plunder that the ruling class imposes on the peoples of the world.

Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) joined in by declaring our solidarity with those workers because we are those workers. In our statement, we reminded everyone that it is the working class and poor who end up being the cannon fodder for imperialist wars. We repeated once again what is now becoming our slogan: “Not one drop of blood from the working class and poor in defense of the gangsterism of the capitalist ruling class.”


Read our May Day statement here.


Imperialist wars abroad are linked to capitalist-induced class repression on the stolen, occupied land called the United States. On May Day in 2008, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) proved labor strikes can stop these attacks on humanity.

The people of the U.S. colony of Puerto Rico have suffered since September due to a lack of electricity that is a direct consequence of colonial destruction and austerity measures. On May Day, they faced further violence at the hands of goons who work for the colonial overseer when Puerto Ricans rightfully expressed their indignation in the streets.

In France, the neoliberal policies of President Emmanuel Macron sparked massive demonstrations on May 1. Thousands of workers poured into the streets in opposition to his support for an even more militarized agenda than what his predecessors had proposed. This includes a plan to re-introduce a military draft.

Meanwhile, people in the Cuban socialist state 90 miles from the U.S. imperial core say they don’t need to demand their rights as workers because they already have them in place.


Black Activists Still Imprisoned

Afro-Colombians fear for the lives of two leaders of the Black Communities Process, or PCN, the main organization defending the collective land rights of descendants of African slaves. Sara Quiñonez and her mother, Tulia Maris Valencia, were detained on false charges of collaborating with the ELN guerilla group—an allegation that could mark them for assassination. But the PCN is an organization that “promotes peace and peaceful struggle,” said PCN organizer and BAP member Charo Mina-Rojas, who called on leftists everywhere to demand the two women’s release during an interview with BAP member Glen Ford on Black Agenda Report Radio.

You can find information on how you can support these two freedom fighters here.


Upcoming Event

War, revolution and organizing the Black left is on the agenda for the National Assembly for Black Liberation. We encourage Black left forces to participate. Information on the conference can be found here.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. The oppressors won’t dismantle the U.S. war machine—that’s our job. Contribute today!

The People Confronted U.S. Gangsterism

The United States led forces including the United Kingdom and France to attack Syria in pre-dawn hours Saturday over what they say is a chemical-weapons attack.

This brought out activists and organizers of many stripes over the past weekend, including Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) members.

And we were clear: Not one drop of blood from the working class and poor in defense of the gangsterism of the capitalist ruling class.

BAP members spoke and participated at Spring Action 2018 events across the United States at the following locations:

1. Atlanta: Efia Nwangaza from the Malcolm X Center for Self Determination of Greenville, S.C., a BAP member organization
2. Baltimore: BAP members Mekdes Ferguson and Vanessa Beck
3. Greenwich, Connecticut:  Maurice Carney from Friends of the Congo, a BAP member organization
4. Washington, D.C.: Netfa Freeman from Pan-African Community Action, a BAP member organization
5. New York City: BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka and BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley

Watch videos of their talks.

Check out photos from the day.

The Black Is Back Coalition (BiBC) for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations, of which BAP is a member, also released a searing statement connecting the recent U.S.-led attack on Syria to the U.S. state’s violence against Black bodies. It starts: “The Black is Back Coalition is accustomed to the lies of the U.S. government and its several police agencies every time they murder unarmed black men, women and children throughout the U.S.”

BAP had also released a statement last week before the attack took place.

State sanctioned violence in the colonized Black and Brown zones of non-being by the domestic military force referred to as "the police" and state violence in the form of interventions, proxy wars, sanctions, destabilization campaigns and support for anti-democratic brutal regimes in Israel, Saudi Arabia and Honduras, are two sides of the same white supremacist colonial/capitalist coin. The objective is the same—maintain the dominance of the oppressive Western imperial project against all challenges, both foreign and domestic.

Young people who formed a new group in Baltimore called Youth Against War and Fascism recently blocked the entrance of a CIA recruiting event at Johns Hopkins University. It’s vitally important we keep the police, military and state agents out of our schools.
 

Upcoming Events

What’s normally left out of the bio circulated about physicist Albert Einstein was that he was tracked by the FBI because of his political views. If you’re in New York City, you can hear Ajamu speak about the foreword he wrote about McCarthyism—past and current—for author Fred Jerome’s new book, “The Einstein File: The FBI’s Secret War Against the World’s Most Famous Scientist”. Get details and RSVP for tonight’s event.

BAP member organization Pan-African Community Action and other organizations will host a screening of the film, “Black Cop,” and lead a discussion afterward. RSVP for this April 23 Washington, D.C. event.

Join us in taking a conscious step to unite the battlefronts of the Black working class into a national movement for Black liberation and radical transformation of the capitalist system—a system that oppresses and exploits multitudes throughout the world and threatens the sustainability of the Earth. Register for the National Assembly for Black Liberation, May 18-20 in Durham, North Carolina.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,

Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande

Coordinating Committee

Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Only your support can help beat the U.S. war machine.

Photo credit: AP/Hassan Ammar

Say No to U.S. Gangsterism

What power has given the U.S. gangster state the right to unilaterally attack any nation on this planet?

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) answered that question in a statement we released Tuesday.

That some who call themselves radicals can remain silent about the consequences of a possible U.S. military intervention into Syria is a reflection of the bankruptcy of the imperial left that continues to collaborate with the Western and U.S. white supremacist, colonial/capitalist patriarchy.

The children of Yemen have been starving and the U.S.-supported apartheid state of Israel murdered two dozen Palestinians. Yet, we heard nothing in response from the ruling class and its collaborators in the corporate media.

We are now supposed to believe the racist Trump administration is so committed to Syrian Arab life that it feels morally compelled to intervene. Do you see the obscenity? Some Westerners apparently don’t, hence the race to war.

We would laugh, but this is a matter of life and death. And we’re on the side of justice. That’s why we don’t accept the imperialist nonsense coming out corporate-media outlets.

In fact, warmongering Democrats are on a quest to start World War III, using former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s book tour to rationalize “humanitarian intervention.” Thankfully, a few anti-imperialists who organize in the center of the empire made sure she would not get to spread that propaganda in peace. Check out the five times Albright was disrupted during her New York City event on Tuesday. It warms our hearts that a few brave humans continue to speak out under the weight of imperial propaganda.

The sentiment seems to be spreading beyond political circles. More than 3,000 Google employees demanded the technology company cease its drone project for the Pentagon.

Now for once, it would be fantastic if the United States acted with decency. But based on its history, we don't expect that to happen without exceptional public pressure. That’s why we ask you to show up this weekend in your city for a Spring Action to demand the United States exit Syria and other oppressed nations, and end its slaughter of innocents abroad as well as right here in the belly of the empire: springaction2018.org

Although Spring Actions are occurring across the United States, BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka can only be in one place at one time. Catch him at the New York City demonstration, which will include a march to Trump Tower.

We say not one drop of working-class blood for the capitalist oligarchy!


Upcoming Events

BAP member organization Pan-African Community Action and other organizations will host a screening of the film, “Black Cop,” and lead a discussion afterward. RSVP for this April 23 Washington, D.C. event.

Did you know physicist Albert Einstein was tracked by the FBI because of his political views? If you’re in New York City, you can hear Ajamu speak about the foreward he wrote about McCarthyism—past and current—for the new book, “The Einstein File: The FBI’s Secret War Against the World’s Most Famous Scientist”. Get details and RSVP for the April 19 event.

LeftRoots Cadres & Compas will report back on a recent delegation that went to Vietnam. Register for this April 19 event that takes place online.

Join us in taking a conscious step to unite the battlefronts of the Black working class into a national movement for Black liberation and radical transformation of the capitalist system—a system that oppresses and exploits multitudes throughout the world and threatens the sustainability of the Earth. Register today for the National Assembly for Black Liberation, May 18-20 in Durham, North Carolina.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. The oppressors won’t dismantle the U.S. war machine—that’s our job.

Photo credit: AFP/STR

MLK, Winnie and More

Yesterday was the Black Alliance for Peace’s first anniversary as well as the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We began this people(s)-centered human-rights project recognizing just as he did that the largest human empire to ever exist—subjugating millions of people across the globe with its brute, military force—was and is unsustainable.

In his memory, we have set out to accomplish a few things, one of which is to educate folks on the U.S. invasion of Africa. We have dedicated ourselves to developing an organizer’s toolkit on AFRICOM. We will soon hold regular national calls for the public. And our members are speaking to inspire acts of human liberation, as our National Organizer Ajamu Baraka did yesterday in Colorado to commemorate the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination.

Would you be willing—for BAP’s first anniversary—to contribute what you can to help support this vital work?


Free Palestine

In a recent statement, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) condemned Israel in the murder of 18 Palestinians and attempted murder of about 1,500 Palestinians as 30,000 peacefully marched on Land Day (March 30). The Israeli government even bragged about the killing in a now-deleted message posted on Twitter, proclaiming they "know where every bullet landed." Israel has no reason to fear retribution. As a client state of the United States, it acts with complete impunity. Every gun, bullet, bomb and tank in Israel is paid for by our government. The United States uses its seat on the United Nations Security Council to protect Israel and to defend it against the international law it violates on a daily basis.

BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley writes, “Israel would not exist at all without U.S. support. But its supporters have turned the dependency upside down.”

The killings in Gaza occurred as people across the United States continued to demand justice for Stephon Clark, the Sacramento, California, man killed by police in that city. He is one of over 1,000 people in the United States who die at the hands of police every year. Police departments across the country are trained by the Israelis, who are expert at subjugating and terrorizing their colonized population.

That violence is what Black students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students were murdered by a gunman a few weeks ago, demanded must be addressed.

Unfortunately, as Ajamu writes, “The opportunism of the Democrats made these students and their pain easy targets.”


National Assembly for Black Liberation

Join us in taking a conscious step to unite the battlefronts of the Black working class into a national movement for Black liberation and radical transformation of the capitalist system—a system that oppresses and exploits multitudes throughout the world and threatens the sustainability of the Earth.

Register today for the National Assembly for Black Liberation, May 18-20.


R.I.P., Winnie Mandela

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela died Monday. The same liberals who are silent in the face of the barbarism in Gaza, who tell you that Barack Obama was a godsend, who supported the white supremacists Bill and Hillary, are the same ones now telling us how problematic our dear revolutionary sister Winnie Mandela was. Winnie Mandela was our mother, the mother of our nations yet to be born. Our sister, Mother Winnie, was a freedom fighter who paid with her blood, her reputation, her life for standing with the masses of the oppressed. And for that, liberals—white and Black—turned on her. But for us who struggle, who will never surrender our dignity, we say we love you and we will continue the fight until we defeat the 500 year-old dominance of the white supremacist, colonial/capitalist patriarchy—and liberate the world.

No compromise.

No retreat.

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. BAP is now 1 year old. Contribute today to keep the struggle for human liberation going!

MLK's Assassination and BAP's Anniversary

April 4 marks 50 years since the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated.

The Black Alliance for Peace also launched last year on the 50th anniversary of his 1967 Riverside Church speech. It was then that Dr. King announced his opposition to the Vietnam War, connecting it to the domestic war on Black and poor peoples.

He said in his opening, “I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice.”

Similarly, we at BAP say we are doing this work because we have no other choice as we see our kinfolk murdered domestically and in Africa, while other oppressed peoples bear unimaginable burdens.

Our common enemy? Imperialism.


Spring Actions

In honor of Dr. King’s call to defend oppressed peoples, we invite you to join us in demonstrating against war and against the empire April 14-15. Spring Actions will be held nationwide. If you are part of a group, we invite you to endorse and organize events. If you’re in or near New York City, you’ll see BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka speaking at that demonstration, which includes a march to Trump Tower.
 

Upcoming Events

“The Black liberation movement is still fragmented in various alignments whose programs and demands have much in common,” according to the Labor Fightback Network Steering Committee. To build toward unity, the National Assembly for Black Liberation will be held May 18-20 at North Carolina Central University in Durham. There, participants will discuss the Draft Freedom Manifesto as a unity document, along with resolutions submitted by battlefront committees, so a program of action can be drafted. Register for the National Assembly for Black Liberation.

Ajamu will speak at the Black is Back Coalition Electoral School being held April 7-8, in St. Louis, Missouri. The theme is “Can Electoral Politics be a Path Towards Black Self-Determination?” Register today.


Afro-Colombians Need International Support

Consider signing on in your individual organizational capacities to a letter by Proceso de Comunidades Negras (a coalition of Black organizations in Colombia). The letter asks the Geneva-based NGO, UPR-INFO, to allow an Afro-Colombian representative to address a briefing to members of the United Nations Human Rights Council in advance of its UPR review of Colombia. Right now, UPR-INFO has slated someone who is not from the Afro-Colombian community to include talking points on Afro-Colombian issues in their speech.

As Black internationalists, we say Afro-Colombians must have the opportunity to speak for themselves about the lack of human rights in Colombia. To sign on, please send an email with your organization's complete name, city and country to advocacy@madre.org.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Only your support can help beat the U.S. war machine. Contribute today.

Fifteen Years in Iraq

Monday marked the 15th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. “Humanitarian intervention” to depose a “dictator” was the excuse. Now Iraq—home to a major civilization—is littered with military waste that has caused birth defects in Iraqi infants and has been a breeding ground for armed, right-wing Islamic groups. The bill for re-constructing Iraq is estimated at $100 billion. The United States says it will not pay a cent. Keeping Iraq in ruins allows the United States to control the oil Iraq produces and keep that crucial resource out of the hands of China and Russia, both of which have been demonized by the ruling class with the help of the Western press.

Voices from around the world lamented the anniversary. Here’s journalist Ben Norton on Twitter:

Iraqi Sami Ramadani mourned the destruction of his homeland:

Close to a half-million people (civilians and combatants) have been documented as casualties, according to the Iraq Body Count. Although many people associate the Iraq War with U.S. President George W. Bush, it was under Barack Obama’s reign that most deaths took place.

Here’s then-FBI director Robert Mueller lying about weapons of mass destruction being detected in Iraq. He’s now Special Counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections—basically, he’s helping concoct another lie to mislead the U.S. public into what could be another war to maintain Full Spectrum Dominance and loot resources, as the United States is doing in Afghanistan.



Oppose U.S. Imperialism—in Washington, D.C.

Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is supporting an action as part of the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases at the Japanese Embassy this Friday to oppose the repressive sentence handed down by the court against Okinawan activists fighting for Okinawa’s self-determination and demanding the closure of toxic U.S. military bases.

Join the action in Washington, D.C., 1-3 p.m., March 23, at 2520 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. Bring your signs and banners.



Say Her Name: Marielle Franco

A number of Black communities are under military occupation in Brazil because of the U.S.-supported right-wing government that is also persecuting a revolutionary candidate for president. Black human-rights activists organizing opposition have been targeted. This is not isolated. It is happening in Honduras, a nation where the United States—under Obama—gave a green light to a coup and is imposing a terroristic government on the people now. This is also the reality that the United States wishes for Venezuela, as it supports an opposition that has burnt alive Black people because they assumed the victims were supporters of the government. The latest fatality is Marielle Franco, a lesbian, Black Brazilian woman raised in a favela (Brazilian shanty town) who fought police brutality against the Black community. Thousands of Brazilians have since marched in the streets, protesting her state-sponsored murder.

Everywhere the people are resisting the dying—but dangerous—racist, Western, colonial/capitalist patriarchy, women are emerging in the leadership and paying a price as a consequence. From the racist apartheid state of Israel to Brazil, Colombia and South Africa, to the streets of the South Side of Chicago and Detroit, they have struck a rock as revolutionary women are assuming their rightful place at the center of our global resistance. Palestine’s Ahed Tamimi has been offered a plea deal of eight months in prison for bravely fighting Israel.

And here in the United States, Black folks are resisting the same white-supremacist apparatus that has been oppressing our people since we were stolen from Africa.

The Intercept reported the FBI tracked an activist who was involved with Black Lives Matter as that person traveled across the United States.

Radio program Law and Disorder interviewed BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka on these issues on a recent episode.



Free Herman Bell

The New York State Board of Parole granted parole for Black political prisoner Herman Bell, who has been imprisoned for 45 years. Since the Board’s decision, right-wing forces, including the Police Benevolent Association, have been angered.

It is important politicians and policymakers know public support exists for the release of Black political prisoners, many of whom have been jailed for over four decades.

Herman has a community of friends, family and loved ones eagerly awaiting his return. At 70, after decades inside, it is time for Herman to come home.

Here are three things you can do right now to support Herman Bell:

1. CALL New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office: 518.474.8390
2. EMAIL Governor Cuomo’s office here
3. TWEET at Governor Cuomo using the following sample tweet: “.@NYGovCuomo: stand by the Parole Board’s lawful & just decision to release Herman Bell. At 70 years old and after more than 40 years of incarceration, his release is overdue. #BringHermanHome”

Gun Control and Militarism

While the U.S. public tries to figure out why gun violence is so prevalent, Ajamu placed that discussion in a larger context: That we need to make deeper connections between violence and weapons in the United States and U.S. imperialism around the world.

If you’d like to say no to militarism, get involved in opposing Trump’s military parade, a brash show of imperialist power.

You can also join a Spring Action near you. These events for April 14-15 were called by the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases—which BAP helped found—and are being endorsed by dozens of organizations across the country.

Twitter has been blocking the use of the Spring Action website. Help get the website unblocked by tweeting:

Hey, @Twitter. Stop blocking the revolution and unblock our website. In the meantime, head to springaction2018 DOT org if you’d like to get involved in taking down the empire. #SpringAgainstWar

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Only your support can help beat the U.S. war machine. Contribute today.

Defending the Bolivarian Process

BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka represented the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) at a gathering in Caracas, Venezuela, March 5 to 7. It marked the fifth anniversary of the passing of Bolivarian revolutionary Hugo Chavez.

Bringing together grassroots activists from 116 nation-states, the gathering produced the “Caracas Declaration,” a document that forcefully asserts revolutionary peoples from around the world will stand with the Venezuelan people to defend their sovereignty and revolutionary process. Here is a piece that captures the spirit of the gathering.

Below, you see Ajamu sitting in the front row, second from right, while Venezuela's current president, Nicolás Maduro, addresses an audience.
 

Trump’s Military Parade

BAP was one of the lead formations that met on February 28, 2018, to collaborate on actions to oppose the Trump administration’s plan to hold a $22 million military parade. Meeting participants were united in opposition to the military parade and intent to mobilize people to Washington, D.C., or to any location if plans for the military parade change. For now, Trump wants the parade to take place on Veterans’ Day. Our plan is to outnumber parade supporters. However, it is important BAP determine the best way we respond as an organization to this provocation, which is an attempt to normalize war on the part of the Trump administration. In the meantime, for more information, you can go to http://notrumpmilitaryparade.us.


Upcoming Events

BAP is a member of the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations. It will hold its second electoral school from April 7 through April 9 in Saint Louis, Missouri. The electoral school is a means by which the coalition opens up a new front in the struggle for Black self-determination in the United States and elsewhere. It challenges the monopoly on the electoral arena by a select sector of our community with special ties to capitalist white power. You can register here.

Planning is heating up for the Spring Actions to oppose all wars scheduled to take place in the Bay Area, Chicago and New York City. Dozens of organizations have signed on to endorse this national call for regional actions. Check springaction2018.org or how to get involved in organizing before April 14-15, to get your organization signed on as an endorser and to download flyers.


Monitoring the World
BAP members and activists should closely follow the situation in Syria. Unlike others who might have the luxury of being confused about the world, we must at all times be crystal clear on global events. While the attention of the U.S. public was diverted to the Syrian Army battle with insurgents in East Ghouta, Turkey has busily recruited right-wing Islamic extremists and deployed them against the population in the Afrin region of Syria, with the result being a massive ethnic cleansing. Patrick Cockburn captures some of the horror of the latest assault on collective human rights in Syria.

BAP member Margaret Kimberley reminds us we need to continue to monitor the situation with North Korea. But she also points out the bi-partisan reality of militarism in the United States, as Democrats appear to be opposed to any efforts to de-escalate the situation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

BAP member Mekdes Amare wrote a piece on the devastating impact of war on people of color around the world, making connections the Western media and many Western leftists don’t.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. The oppressors won’t dismantle the U.S. war machine—that’s our job. Contribute today!

Venezuela Needs Your Help

This week, BAP has been on the move to defend the Global South.

National Organizer Ajamu Baraka has been at a historic conference in Venezuela with organizers from all over the world. In the photo below, you see him meeting with Manuel Zelaya, former president of Honduras and a friend of the Left.

Folks, Venezuela needs people living in the belly of the U.S. empire to demand the predatory United States end its interventions and bullying in Latin America and around the world.

Being in revolutionary spaces outside of the United States is vitally important for activists of color. The revolutionary centers left Europe and the United States years ago.

Our collective responsibility must not be forgotten: It is to the struggling peoples of the world and must not be influenced by the class collaborationist, pro-imperialist, arrogant faux-left.

But if you are in the United States, you must join BAP and other anti-war organizations that are planning mass actions against Trump’s military parade. We also hope demonstrations take place at U.S. embassies around the world. You can learn more about this parade by reading this interview with one of the organizers, Margaret Flowers.

And we need these mass organizing efforts because as this piece in Foreign Policy notes, the U.S. empire is in a perpetual state of war over money and power.

One of the places the United States has been invading and militarizing for the past decade is the African continent. Download BAP’s four-page fact sheet on the U.S. Africa Command, aka AFRICOM. Use it to educate your people.

Finally, BAP member Maurice Carney spoke at the 60th anniversary celebration of the All African People’s Conference in Washington, D.C. Check out the Q&A discussion that followed.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Only your support can help beat the U.S. war machine. Contribute today.

The Gun Debate and Military Parades: A Culture Gone Mad

Is it really possible to debate gun control and the violence that is supposedly the result of unregulated guns without connecting it to the public’s acceptance of the global U.S. arms industry and the normalization of war? Certainly, Donald Trump believes the two are not connected. Judging from the absence of any real opposition to the U.S. war machine over the last few decades, one might think he is correct.

BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley provides one of the few analyses that links the gun debate to militarism in U.S. culture.

BAP was part of a national call Wednesday night to strategize on how the people can reject Trump's mad call for a military parade. Look out today for a media statement from the anti-war and peace community in the United States.

Beyond mobilizing to stop the latest madness, we continue pushing out the work with our meager resources and volunteer labor.


National Actions Against Guantanamo Occupation

February 23, BAP along with dozens of other organizations that are part of the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases organized public educational events across the country calling for the closure of the U.S. base and torture dungeon in Guantanamo, Cuba, and its return back to the rightful owners of that land—the Cuban people.  

BAP conducted a national conference call on the topic that can be heard here.


Divest from the War Machine

We encourage members and supporters to support the Divest from the War Machine campaign, of which BAP is a co-sponsor.

The campaign seeks to educate the public on the incestuous relationships that make up the military-industrial complex (MIC). CODEPINK is providing materials and direct support for organizations that want to target the corporations, Congress, colleges and universities, churches, and local and municipal governments that generate their profits from the war industry.

With more resources, BAP would target city governments run by Black folks, members of the Congressional Black Caucus who are supported by the MIC, and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that are invested in the war industry.


Korea

While the contradictions between the economic and social systems of the two Koreas are real, it is clear that absent the colonialist interventions and agitation of the United States the two Koreas might be able to reduce some of the tensions that are providing pretext for U.S. intervention.

BAP supports South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s efforts to avoid military conflict by attempting to encourage talks between the United States and North Korea. The Trump administration demanded North Korea disarm itself before entering talks, which means no discussion will take place at this point.

We say no war with the peoples of Korea.


Venezuela

The United States continues to make moves that indicate it is committed to a policy of armed intervention against the government of Venezuela. BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka provided a critical analysis of the efforts by the Obama and Trump administrations to undermine the Venezuelan experiment at socialist construction.

The work is only getting more difficult and BAP is stretched to our limits. We would really appreciate it if you were able to help us with a generous donation. This is our first ask of the new year but it won’t be the last because we are depending on the people to support our work.

No compromise.

No retreat.

Struggle to win.

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Only your support can help beat the U.S. war machine. Contribute today.

Keeping the Focus on Real-World Oppression

“Only in the world of comic-book fantasies is the United States a friend to the oppressed in Africa or anywhere else on the planet. In the real world, the U.S. is a predator, colonial/capitalist nation.”

We don’t have luxury of mindless diversions while the United States is aggressively using the awesome power of its military and financial weight to subvert, destabilize and destroy nations and people’s movements around the world.

Our responsibility—as we always emphasize—is to remain clear that we, the members and supporters of BAP, stand in fundamental solidarity with peoples and nations of the world against U.S. imperialism and aggression.

Here are a few efforts we would like you to support this week.


U.S. Out of Guantanamo!

BAP is organizing a national teleconference call 7 p.m. tomorrow (February 23) to commemorate the 115th anniversary of the capture of Cuba and Guantanamo. On this call, we will discuss efforts to close the torture chamber being run by the U.S. state on the island, as well as the militarization of the Caribbean and Latin America. You can register here. Speakers will include BAP member Netfa Freeman of the International Committee for Peace, Justice & Dignity and Pan-African Community Action (PACA) and James Patrick Jordan from the Alliance for Global Justice.


Defend Venezuela, No to U.S. Destabilization and Military Intervention!

The United States has openly called for a coup in Venezuela and has encouraged neighboring countries to move military equipment and troops to the border of Venezuela. Popular Resistance, one of BAP’s organizational supporters, developed actions that we should support.


New York Regional Planning Meeting for a Spring Action

Thursday, February 22, 2018, 7-9 p.m.
CWA Local 1180, 6 Harrison Street, New York, NY 10013

If you are a member of an organization with members in the New York City area, please ask them to attend this meeting to plan for a massive anti-war action to be held this spring.

For more information on the New York meeting, email springactions@gmail.com.


Reject AFRICOM

BAP’s Africa Team is working hard to develop our campaign to counter the military recolonization by the U.S./EU/NATO axis of domination. BAP already has a factsheet for you on the AFRICOM encroachment. We are also seeing disturbing reports that Germany has returned to Africa as part of the expanding European presence in Africa. Stay tuned for more information from the team.

Read BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka’s take on the impending crisis in Venezuela as a result of U.S. intervention in the region.

Rolling Stone published an article that makes the connection between gun violence in the U.S. and militarism. This is one of just a few articles in the media that draws the link.

No retreat.

No compromise.

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Only your support can help beat the U.S. war machine. Contribute today.

We Stand in Solidarity with a Venezuela in Crisis

Friends,

The Black Alliance for Peace has received troubling news of an impending military assault on the sovereign nation of Venezuela by states and forces allied with the United States.

The objective is to remove the elected government of Venezuela and turn over the country to the right-wing oligarchy. This move is in line with the strategic objective of the last two U.S. administrations that identified Venezuela as a threat to U.S. national interests, which means the Venezuelan process is seen as a threat to the interest of the Euro-American colonial/capitalist project.

We are calling on folks to closely monitor this situation. We will provide as much information on this as possible. Please alert the forces you work with about the situation as you receive it from us or acquire it for yourself, and let’s assist in raising the level of awareness on this situation. We are all part of the “Americas” and as our BAP principles reflect, we stand in solidarity with the struggling peoples of the global South who are resisting U.S. imperialism.

The Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases—which BAP helped found—is organizing actions Feb. 16-23 for the 115th anniversary of the United States occupying Guantanamo. We demand the United States return Guantanamo to Cuba.

If you or your organization coordinate an action next week, please reply to this message with that information so we can include it in the weekly blast and on our event page.

As for BAP, we are organizing a national teleconference call for 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Feb. 23 on the U.S. presence in Guantanamo. We will announce our featured speakers in the next email blast. Tap this link to register for the call.

You will find value in this podcast episode of “Clearing the Fog Radio” that discusses amped up U.S. militarism—going from targeting so-called “terrorists” to outright war with nations. Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, founders of Popular Resistance, also interviewed BAP members Margaret Kimberley and Maurice Carney about the significance of the U.S. military invasion of Africa and what you can do about it.

BAP recently co-sponsored an event in New York City called “Militarization of African Communities at Home and Abroad.” Get insights you won’t hear in the corporate Western media in Part 1 and Part 2 of the recorded livestreams.

If you’re in Washington, D.C., join BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka and BAP member Maurice Carney on Saturday for the “All African Peoples Conference 60th Anniversary”. This event was coordinated by BAP member Netfa Freeman.

Finally, we appreciate the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) recognizing BAP’s work as part of the larger radical Black anti-war movement.

No retreat.

No compromise.

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Help BAP bring together Black organizers and organizations to beat the U.S. war machine. Contribute today.

Militarized Police... Everywhere

Trump’s new idea for a $22 million military march is a big, flashy way to normalize militarization.

However, let’s not be fooled.

We see more militarized police and soldiers in airports, train stations and bus stations. We see videos like this one of people on an Amtrak train being asked to produce “papers.”

That’s why it’s all the more important you join us in opposing the increased show of militarization.

The Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases—which BAP helped found—is organizing actions Feb. 16-23 to demand the United States return Guantanamo to Cuba as well as a national action April 14-15 to demand the United States end all of its illegal wars abroad. A national conference call held Saturday attracted dozens of organizers who are ready to coordinate massive events.

Now onto domestic concerns: The FBI set itself up for a snarky comeback.

 

And here’s a piece on the federally subsidized terror group’s “Black-Identity Extremist”  program. Now, we had mentioned Rakem Balogun's arrest in December. Any Black person who thinks the FBI is working in their best interest is delusional. That's why we rail against the Congressional Black Caucus as much as we do. The CBC is the Black mis-leadership class that votes in favor of illegal wars on Black and Brown people and fawns over the FBI.

Speaking of totalitarianism, read what BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka has to say in his latest illuminating piece about the ruling class using Trump as a diversion.

Now, onto another racist, settler-colonial state: Israel. It is merely fulfilling its mission of creating an ethno-state by placing a bounty on African migrants.

Take a moment to read about the linked oppressions of the Vietnamese and Blacks in the United States in this piece by our friend, Abayomi Azikiwe of the Pan-African Newswire.

You can find many events being held around the country on our Events page, including a talk by BAP member organization Friends of the Congo titled, “Militarization of African Communities at Home and Abroad” at 7 p.m. today in New York City.

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Help BAP organize its national gathering to bring together key Black organizers and organizations. Contribute today!

Image credit: Brian Smialowski/Getty

The Truth About Cuba and North Korea

If you had watched the U.S. president’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, you would have noticed one thing: Victim blaming.

Trump has done what U.S. presidents have engaged in since the 1950s.

After attacking the Korean peninsula until millions of people were killed and the landscape decimated, the United States continued to wage war in the form of sanctions on imports and exports, and simulated invasions on North Korea’s border.

Meanwhile, Cuba is being attacked for successfully resisting U.S. imperialism. While folks in the United States struggle to pay hospital bills, Cuba provides free, comprehensive healthcare and trains doctors from around the world. Again, Cuba exists while facing pressure to keep its people free from U.S. harm.

That is why the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) stands in firm opposition to Trump’s announcement to keep the Guantanamo dungeon open on captured Cuba land. As a founding member organization of the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases, we say the United States must get out of Cuba, close the inhumane prison and return the land back to the Cuban people.

BAP invites those of you in the New York City area to attend an emergency demonstration organized by Witness Against Torture and Justice for Muslims Collective at 12 p.m. today in Grand Central Terminal.

We at BAP—being Black internationalists—understand we must stand with oppressed peoples around the world, particularly those who are facing the horror of being attacked and exploited by the U.S. ruling class and its state.

Our coalition against U.S. foreign military bases is organizing actions Feb. 16-23 to demand the United States return Guantanamo to Cuba as well as a national action April 14-15 to demand the United States end all of its illegal wars abroad. Register for this conference call to learn how your organization can get involved.

While we’re on the subject of military bases, the anti-bases movement is strong in Latin America, according to James Patrick Jordan.

A few weeks ago, the United States Africa Command—better known as AFRICOM—blacklisted journalist Nick Turse. He’s been a major source of coverage on the U.S. military invasion of Africa. This is a predictable response from the empire, given its time as a superpower is coming close to an end in this multi-polar world. So of course, now he’s not a “legitimate journalist.”

Take a moment to sign up for World Socialist Web Site’s newsletter. It and many left-leaning websites have seen their website visits tumble since Google began collaborating with the U.S. ruling class.

Another Black activist, Luis Fernando Ramos Carabali, was murdered recently in the nation of Colombia, which has been rocked by racial and gender violence for years. This brother was a member of Proceso de Comunidades Negras (Black Communities Process).

Caribbean nations are demanding European nations pay reparations for centuries of enslavement, genocide and exploitation. A declaration was authored by Pan-Africanist and socialist popular forces in Barbados January 13 and submitted to the people and civil society organizations of the Caribbean for their endorsement and adoption.

Congo expert and BAP member Maurice Carney will present a talk titled “Militarization of African Communities at Home and Abroad” on February 8 in New York City.

BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka will be interviewed live by Real Progressives tomorrow at 9 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on Facebook. Sign up to be reminded to watch the show.

Of course, you can find events held by other organizations on our Events page.

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

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. Help re-build the Black anti-war movement. Contribute today!

U.S. Out of Africa!

We don’t know if we made it clear in last week’s message, but we’d like to thank you for supporting the Black Alliance for Peace. Your financial contributions helped us cover the cost of transporting several BAP members to the Conference Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases. Here’s a photo of us at our dinner that weekend!

Folks attending our conference plenary on AFRICOM say it was perhaps the best plenary of the weekend (we’re merely reporting their enthusiasm!). In fact, we were able to successfully follow through on our organizational mission: Help re-develop and re-capture the anti-war, anti-imperialist position of the Black radical tradition. That includes bringing a Black internationalist perspective to these conversations about the U.S. empire.

Independent journalist Eva Bartlett interviewed BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka on the impact of the conference. This week, BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley’s plenary talk on U.S. involvement in Africa and the so-called resistance propped up by the Democratic Party was featured on Black Agenda Radio.

Here’s a great piece in The Nation that covers the conference. KPFA in Berkeley, California, reported on the conference, too. You also can check out our Twitter moment, a compilation of tweets about our presence there.

In case you were looking for videos of all conference speakers, our friend Will Griffin at The Peace Report has got you.

Moving on from the conference, on the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration, Ajamu said it is a mistake to only focus on Trump’s behavior in critiquing him and the U.S. state in this segment of “Loud & Clear with Brian Becker.”

In case you couldn’t get enough of Congo expert and BAP member Maurice Carney, he will present a talk titled “Militarization of African Communities at Home and Abroad” on February 8 in New York City. Make sure to notify your friends.

We’d like to invite you to take a look at Black4Palestine’s year-end newsletter and follow this revolutionary, intersectional formation. And check out the U.S. Human Rights Network’s “2017 Status Report on Human Rights in the United States.”

You may have noticed Telesur English’s Facebook page was missing early yesterday morning. It suddenly re-appeared after enormous outcry on social media. We must remain vigilant as various corporate players collaborate with the state to limit the amount of information we can access. Being in the center of this empire, it’s on us to do the work of decolonizing this land and stopping the U.S. war machine.

As a reminder: If you’re not a BAP member and you are of African descent, you can apply here for membership. Being a BAP member means you can participate on one of the following action teams.

Social Media and Communications Team
Provide support for BAP press and social media work. Coordinate with staff to develop and maintain press list, update media sections of website. Press component of team will assist with producing press releases and pitch BAP actions, spokespersons and events to press, with special emphasis on developing contacts and pitching to alternative press. Social media component of team will gather news links for circulation, work with Communications Advisor to maintain our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts, and coordinate BAP livestreaming.  

Web Team
Maintain BAP webpage and develop creative ways to optimize the site to support BAP work. Other duties will be determined in consultation with Communications Advisor.  

Research Team
Work collaboratively with BAP action teams and National Organizer to provide relevant information and analysis related to BAP programmatic work. Team will analyze data and write research findings for BAP public educational and advocacy materials, including policy briefs, blogs, toolkits, petitions and special issue reports.

Conference Organizing Team
Work with National Organizer and BAP Coordinating Committee to plan, coordinate and implement all aspects of the BAP national gathering. Specific technical responsibilities will include assisting with travel/lodging logistics, menu and meal process, volunteer recruitment and management, developing monitoring & implementing conference organizing plan and timeline, and registration process. Will be looking for individuals with experience with a web-based registration process and political experience with democratic, participatory decision-making processes.

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

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. The people cannot depend on the oppressors for quality information. That’s where BAP comes in. Contribute today!

AFRICOM and the Invasion of Africa

This past weekend was epic.

Several BAP members attended the Conference Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases, bringing a Black internationalist perspective that has long been absent in the anti-war movement.

You can watch a conference plenary on AFRICOM and the invasion of Africa featuring three BAP members—Maurice Carney, Netfa Freeman and Margaret Kimberley—and National Organizer Ajamu Baraka. In fact, Maurice Carney’s talk on the Democratic Republic of Congo came at a good time: Yesterday marked the 57th anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected prime minister of the DRC.

Other BAP members such as Nellie Bailey, Mekdes Ferguson, Asantewaa Mawusi Nkrumah-Ture and Efia Nwangaza offered insights from the audience that shed light on the antiquated mentality still present in this space. The conference marked a significant departure point for building the anti-war, anti-imperialist movement and makes clear the importance of focusing on Africa, especially as the Trump administration expands the work of the U.S. empire in exploiting the continent of our ancestors. It is our responsibility—being in the center of this empire—to do the work of decolonizing movement spaces and stop the U.S. war machine.

We invite you to watch videos of other plenaries from this past weekend on YouTube. Below you’ll find links to articles that discuss the conference. You also can find insights from the conference by searching for the #NoForeignBases hashtag on Twitter.

Be on the look out in an upcoming edition of these email blasts for a call for volunteers to join a committee. Take note that only BAP members can do this kind of work. If you’re not a BAP member and you are of African descent, you can apply here for membership.

If you’ve been to our website lately, you’ll notice we’ve posted videos of our members providing the Black internationalist perspective at various events. We also invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we are organizing our media interviews and other videos into playlists for easy perusal.


NEWS

1. "War is an instrument of class rule,” BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka said in his keynote address at the Conference Against U.S. Foreign Military Base. Listen to his talk.
2. Ajamu writes the people of the world have a right to protect themselves… from the United States. Read the article.
3. A new poll shows the U.S. public is overwhelmingly opposed to endless U.S. military interventions. Read the article.
4. “The United States cannot be a moral or ethical country until it faces up to the realities of US empire and the destruction it causes around the world,” writes Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese in Popular Resistance. Read the article.
5. Ann Garrison writes about the United States’ “full-spectrum arrogance,” a play on “full-spectrum dominance.” Read the article.
6. United Nations-backed police kill Haitians with impunity. Read the article.
7. The urge to dominate Haiti dates back to its founding in a mass slave revolt. In fact, the United States refused to recognize Haiti as a nation from its independence in 1804 until 1862 because U.S. leaders worried a Black republic run by former slaves would inspire its own slave population. Then from 1915 to 1934, the United States enforced a violent and bloody military occupation on Haiti. Read the article.

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

In struggle,
Ajamu, Ana, Jaribu, Kali, Lamont, Lukata, Margaret and Yolande
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. The oppressors won’t dismantle the U.S. war machine—that’s our job. Contribute today!

$11,111—thanks to you!

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) raised $11,111 during our year-end fundraiser—all because of you!

We also welcomed 22 new monthly sustainers.

BAP is planning to make huge strides this year—co-hosting a conference a week from tomorrow to close U.S. foreign military bases, continuing our organizing work as a co-sponsor of CODEPINK’s war-divestment campaign and hosting our first national gathering in April.

This is an ambitious agenda.

It can only happen if justice-seeking people like yourself continue to support this effort.

Please help us start 2018 strong by making a tax-exempt contribution or sign up to be a monthly sustainer.


EVENTS

1. January 12-14, Baltimore: Conference on U.S. Foreign Military Bases. BAP co-founded this new coalition.

NEWS

1. BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley asks “Who killed Erica Garner?” Read more.
2. Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal desperately needs medical care at a hospital. Find out how to take action to help him.
3. CNN was caught covering for U.S. imperialists in a piece that doesn’t link to a report it claims to cite. In fact, CNN twisted what a Wired article exposed—the United States is the prime source of weapons being used in West Asia and North Africa. Read the propaganda.
4. The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is asking the United States to denounce Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas’ recent remarks insinuating the majority of human-rights defenders and social leaders in Colombia are targeted and killed because of issues in their personal lives, instead of their activism. WOLA would like the United States to ask Colombia to protect activists. Read more.
5. Coups and history: An interview on Zimbabwe. Read more.

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

In struggle,
Coordinating Committee
Black Alliance for Peace

P.S. The oppressors won’t fund our liberation. Help us start 2018 strong. Contribute today!