On March 31, 2023, the Uhuru Movement and the Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa! Committee (HOUHOA) convened in Birmingham, Alabama to protest Regions Bank’s racist attacks on the Uhuru Movement through economic sanctions in collusion with the FBI. The African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and HOUHOA Committee organized comrades to come from Portland, Oregon; St. Louis, Missouri; Huntsville, Alabama and St. Petersburg, Florida.
Through this process we learned about organizations in Birmingham that have been protesting Regions Bank for its funding of private prisons. We were able to get support from churches who united by pulling their resources out of Regions Bank because of the institution’s continued attack on the African community.
The APSP and the HOUHOA Committee organized the protest in front of Regions’ headquarters and a teach-in later in the evening at the Comfort Inn Crossplex. Both events were met with great support and participation from community members and several organizations.
The National Lawyers Guild provided two legal observers to monitor the demonstration and help ensure that the State didn’t attempt to disrupt it. The attack from the State, however, did not come on the ground in Birmingham. It came in the form of preventing HOUHOA Campaign Chairwoman Mwezi Odom from boarding her flight from San Diego to get to the mobilization.
We understand that this is just another instance of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attempting to frustrate the struggle for African liberation. We are clear on our trajectory, and even though they had the power to prevent Chairwoman Mwezi Odom from boarding her flight, it did not prevent her from giving a powerful presentation about the campaign during the teach-in.
People left the teach-in more informed and ready to work to push the FBI back and to pull their money out of Regions Bank. We also did not leave Birmingham “empty-handed,” as a number of attendees joined the campaign as volunteers.
In addition, the APSP now has organizers on the ground who are working to build the Birmingham front of the African revolution.
We call on all African and freedom-loving people to take your money out of Regions Bank.
This is our response to their attack on African programs through economic sanctions on the Uhuru Movement and their funding of private prisons to lock African people up.
We also demand that Regions stops their racist sanctions on the black community. Stop the collusion with the FBI and the police attacks on the Uhuru Movement. Stop financing private prisons.
The people’s money should not fund locking our children up and starving our community of beneficial programs like the Women’s Health Center, the Black Power Vanguard Basketball Court, the “One Africa! One Nation!” Marketplaces, the Gary Brooks Community Garden, the Uhuru Jiko Commerial Kitchens and Bakery Café, Akwaaba Hall events venues, Black Power 96 radio station, Uhuru Furniture & Collectibles stores, Uhuru Food & Pies and Uhuru House black community centers.
Join in our struggle for Freedom! Join the Uhuru Movement!
Go to HandsOffUhuru.org and learn how you can donate and volunteer to stop the Regions Banks and FBI attacks against the African community.
Uhuru!
If you are in the Birmingham area, e-mail us at south@apspuhuru.org to learn about how you can join the African People’s Socialist Party.