San Jose, CA – Dozens of San Jose community members attended San Jose Against War’s educational mini-series for Black August, honoring Black resistance and liberation struggles around the world. The series consisted of two educational programs, one focusing on Haiti and the other focusing on the Confederation of Sahel States.

The educational event about Haiti was on August 24. Guest speakers from Haiti Action Committee gave a presentation covering an extensive history of Haiti from its colonial exploitation by Spain and France, to the current role that the U.S. has played in toppling progressive governments.

“[Haiti] is poor, but like many countries, it’s been made poor,” said Judith Mirkinson from Haiti Action Committee. “At the time when they overthrew the French, it was France’s richest colony in itself. It generated more wealth than all the other colonies. It’s estimated that like 20% of the French economy came from Haiti.”

“When we look at the situation in Haiti today, it has its genesis in the long history of colonialism, but specifically it has its genesis in the 2004 coup,” said Mirkinson, referring to the coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

“This was the most progressive government that Haiti ever had,” Mirkinson stated about Aristide’s time in office. “More schools were built in Haiti than in its entire history. He did literacy campaigns; he introduced hospitals and clinics.”

“Aristide was overthrown and a U.S.-UN occupation came in,” said Mirkinson. “The U.S., Britain, France, and Canada have bankrolled paramilitary death squads. This is a strategy to destroy society. They want the gold, they want minerals. They just want people to leave or die or whatever.”

On August 27, over two dozen community members gathered for the educational event about the Confederation of Sahel States, an anti-imperialist alliance between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The event featured guest speakers Inem Richardson of the All-African Women’s Revolutionary Union and the Thomas Sankara Center, and Akubundu Amazu Lott of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party.

“The first coup that led to the Alliance of Sahel States happened in Mali in 2021,” said Richardson. “For several years before the coup happened there was this emerging budding anti-imperialist movement that kept growing. The people first called for the alliance. In July of last year, the three countries became the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States.”

“For the first time in a long time Burkina Faso is nationalizing its gold reserves,” stated Richardson. “Niger is nationalizing its uranium deposits. Africa’s largest solar power field is being built right now in Mali. It’s this massive transformation.”

“These countries ended a lot of different forms of collaboration with countries in the NATO bloc and started to move towards collaborating more with countries like Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela and Cuba,” Richardson continued. “Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger share a lot in common with these countries in terms of how they’ve been targeted by imperialists.”

“There are U.S. sanctions on Mali right now. The European Union is sanctioning Mali and Niger,” Richardson said. “The propaganda war is enormous, adding that Western media “has come down really hard against these three countries.”

“There’s been reports stating that AFRICOM, the U.S. military, now that it’s been chased out of Niger, is working to create a drone base in the Ivory Coast. The U.S. is trying to move to the border of the Alliance of Sahel States,” stated Richardson. “In this moment, we really need to focus on protecting and defending these revolutions.”

#SanJoseCA #CA #International #Haiti #Sahel #Africa #OppressedNationalities #HAC #AAWRU #AAPRP

St. Paul, MN – On February 8, in honor of Black History Month, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) presented an educational panel titled “Black Against Empire: Perspectives On Liberation In Haiti, Congo, Sudan, and the U.S.A.”

The panel was held at Macalester College in Saint Paul. Experts, activists and community leaders spoke about the timelines, struggles and victories of African people throughout history against imperialist oppression.

The panelists included Frank Chapman, head of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR); Nick Tolliver, member of the AWC; Mohammed Farah, member of Healthcare Workers For Palestine, along with a written statement submitted by Ruben Joanem of the Haiti Justice Committee. Facilitating the event were Liz Bolsoni from the AWC and Trahern Crews from Black Lives Matter Minnesota.

“The bottom line is, we have to fight our way out of this. We can’t analyze our way out of it. We can’t pray our way out of it. We’ve got to fight our way out of it,” Chapman said. “We’re building a mass movement, and we’ve got to build even greater.” Chapman is the Executive Director of NAARPR, field organizer of its Chicago chapter, the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and sits on the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

“The exploitation of the Congo is the beating heart of the global capitalist system and our collective liberation from imperialism and capitalism is bound together with the liberation of the Congo,” said Tolliver, who provided a history of liberation struggles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tolliver is an anti-war activist and self-proclaimed “Black history nerd” who is passionate about Congo solidarity and African liberation.

Farah was born and raised in Khartoum, Sudan, and works as a hospital pharmacist in Minnesota while pursuing a graduate degree in public health. Farah expanded on the cultural foundation of Sudan found in art and poetry. He said, “Poets are the embodiment of the soul of a nation. It creates the spirit of Sudanese nationalism.”

As presentations and speeches concluded, a dialogue was opened between the panelists and the audience to further discuss issues that Black people have historically faced and how they tie in with modern struggles connected with capitalism and imperialism.

The final question asked was about the future of community organizing around Black liberation, to which Chapman closed with the statement, “Well, the future is always now. And the future belongs to those who are willing to fight for it.”

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #BlackHistoryMonth #International #Africa #Sudan #Congo #StudentMovement #NAARPR #MNAWC #BLM

Chicago, IL – “We are busy building a new nation out of the embers of apartheid, and if we had sanctions and American companies withdrawing from South Africa it would devastate our country and create a total disaster,” said Naledi Pandor, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Pandor is visiting the United States and speaking out against the U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Bill, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 36-13. The bill accuses South Africa of having a “history of siding with malign actors,” namely Hamas, Russia and China. It further says South Africa’s international relations policies “undermine United States national security and foreign policy interests.”

Pandor spoke during a meeting on Sunday with representatives of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

“We have become a target because we have been so prominent in our steadfast support of the just cause of the Palestinian people,” Pandor explained. The bill is being pushed through the U.S. Congress in retaliation for South Africa charging Israel with genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Israel has killed over 36,000 Palestinians in the six months since October 7, 2023, with the help of billions of U.S. tax dollars sent by President Joe Biden and the U.S. government

“For decades South Africa has been one of the strongest supporters of Palestinian liberation,” Hatem Abudayyeh, National Chair of USPCN elaborated after the meeting. “We condemn the U.S. government’s attempt to punish South Africa for opposing the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” and noted “the millions who have stood for a free Palestine will also defend South Africa.”

The bill was introduced by Republican John James from Michigan and Democrat Jared Moskowitz from Florida. It will now face a vote in the House of Representatives. If it passes, South Africa could face the kind of sanctions that attempt to destroy economies and starve millions in countries like Venezuela, Iraq, Syria and Zimbabwe.

“This bill is an attack on a sovereign nation for exercising its right to self-determination,” commented Frank Chapman, NAARPR executive director. Chapman and other members of NAARPR and USPCN discussed the importance of Black and Palestinian solidarity in ensuring the success of both liberation struggles.

“Those of us who've been in the movement for a long time have seen plenty of attacks like this. We've never been confused about supporting Palestine, South Africa or anyone who's fighting against imperialism,” Chapman said.

The next night Pandor spoke at a reception dinner at the DuSable Museum of African American History alongside Reverend Otis Moss of Trinity United Church of Christ and Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter. She saluted veterans of the anti-apartheid solidarity movement and uplifted the history of solidarity between oppressed people.

“Black people in South Africa and the U.S. share a common history and stand united against apartheid wherever it might be,” Pandor declared.

“South Africa is very near and dear to our hearts, so I will be on the phone tonight calling my congressman,” Senator Hunter said.

#ChicagoIL #IL #International #Africa #SouthAfrica #USPCN #CAARPR

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, September 16, around 45 community members gathered at Knowledge for Living in the Parramore district for an educational forum on U.S. and Western intervention in Haiti and West Africa. The event was hosted by the Revolutionary Education and Action League (REAL) and the Florida chapter of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP).

The presentation began by highlighting the connection between imperialism abroad and political repression and police violence domestically. For example, the Department of Defense’s 1033 Program allows state and local police forces to acquire surplus military equipment including weapons, tanks, drones, and more for next to