Topics

Washington, DC—In a powerful display of African unity, African people from all over the United States convened in Washington D.C. on November 5th for the National Black Political Agenda for Self-Determination Convention.

Led by the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace, and Reparations (BIB), the gathering of the black community––which included mothers whose children have been murdered by police and white vigilantes, members of various organization, and other brothers and sisters––convened at Malcolm X Park at noon.

The purpose of our gathering was to discuss our 19-point Black People’s Agenda, which speaks to many of the pressing issues affecting our communities, from the position of black women to climate change.

Since the violent defeat of the Black Liberation Movement of the Sixties by white power counterinsurgency, where leaders of the movement were murdered or imprisoned and then replaced with neocolonialist puppets, African people throughout the world have been told that voting will set us free.

We’ve heard sentiments like “black people died for us to have the right to vote,” that attempt to strong-arm Africans into voting out of duty or obligation.

In 2016, however, the Black Revolution rejects the notion that voting anywhere on the planet Earth will set us free.

Across the board there is a general sentiment among feminists that selecting Hillary Clinton as president is the best hope to save U.S. democratic process and champion their position that a woman—at the helm of U.S. imperialism—is equality.  

Despite this, Hillary has not escaped criticism from feminists, particularly self-identified black feminists who find it difficult to reconcile their urge to vote for Hillary against her track record of spearheading policy that has had a damaging impact on black people in the U.S. and abroad. 

But even as it is difficult to reconcile these two opposing positions, black feminists overwhelmingly resolve to vote for Hillary Clinton—as the “lesser of the two evils”—thereby casting their lot in with U.S. imperialism.

High school senior Jelani Masozi was forced by a Gibbs High School 9th grade assistant principal, Mrs. Holcombe, who was accompanied by cop, Grace Womack, to remove her headwrap on Thursday, August 25th, 2016.

The intimidating presence of the police, armed to the teeth with a gun, taser, and pepper spray—identical to the police that murder us in the streets—caused Jelani to feel like she had no other option but to remove her headwrap.

This humiliating, demoralizing request caused her to call the African National Women’s Organization (ANWO) who directed her to put her headwrap back on.

It was a nasty, dirty situation that happened. What you have to remember is that Africans were not wanting to leave Africa. Many Africans would literally jump off the ship or throw children off the ship rather than have the children going into slavery.  

And sometimes, when an African got sick on the ship, for fear that this African would make the others sick too, and therefore the persons who owned us would lose money, they would throw that African overboard. 

Schools of sharks literally learned to follow these ships across the Atlantic Ocean knowing that they were going to eat well from Africans who either jumped off or who got sick and died and then were thrown off by their captors. 

The Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM) toured the U.S. to hold the historic Days in Solidarity with African People events of October 2016! 

We completed a seven-city tour across the U.S. to build white solidarity with Black Power and organize members of the white community to unite with the growing demand for reparations to African people.

DSAP 2016 commemorated the 40th anniversary of the founding of the African People’s Solidarity Committee (APSC) in 1976, a groundbreaking move by the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and its Chairman Omali Yeshitela. 

Reparations to African people is the cornerstone of APSC’s work. 

Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson did an interview with the Washington Post on October 25, 2016 where he gave his official endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for president of the U.S.

Deray McKesson became famous after the Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MD rebellions. He was given a platform by colonial media because he gave a watered down and apologetic narrative on the murders of African people by pigs around the country.

He could be seen on CNN and MSNBC talking about body cameras and police reform and has even said that “all cops aren’t bad” when talking about police terror.

The African community of St. Petersburg, FL, led by the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM), claimed and renamed the street where 18-year-old TyRon Lewis was murdered by the pigs exactly 20 years ago to the date on October 24, 2016.

The historic street-naming ceremony commenced as over two dozen Africans of the community, including the family of TyRon Lewis, gathered in front of the Uhuru House in the evening and marched to 18th Ave to rename it “TyRon Lewis Avenue.”

Deborah Danner, a 66-year-old African woman, was shot and killed in her own home by a NY Police Department sergeant, Hugh Barry, in the Bronx on Tuesday.