On May 9, 2025, Ras Baraka, the 40th mayor of Newark, was arrested by ICE after he got into an argument with them at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center. He was charged with trespassing on federal property and released from jail the same day. Reactions were wide-ranging—from outpourings of sympathy to social media posts by white nationalists suggesting that Ras Baraka should be deported because he has an African name. At least one post called for Newark to be placed under military rule.
Ras Baraka’s protest in front of ICE Detention Center
While the public had various reactions to Ras Baraka’s seemingly spur-of-the-moment action, the Democratic party’s solicitation of donations for his campaign indicates otherwise. The protest was not born out of genuine concern for those impacted by mass deportations but appeared to be a calculated political move. The timing of the protest conveniently aligned with Ras Baraka’s run for governor. Some are even saying that he might be eyeing a run for the U.S. presidential seat. This appears to be a ploy to keep Black people voting for the Democratic party.
The nature of the protest revealed
Despite the public appearance, Baraka’s protest, coinciding with his political campaign, raises questions about sincerity. The fact that the Democratic party immediately used it as a fundraising tool suggests the action was less about the lives of migrants and more about galvanizing support during election season. Baraka’s record as mayor has not aligned with radical opposition to ICE or genuine defense of colonized peoples. This move seems more aligned with the party’s long-term strategy of maintaining its base among African voters without addressing their material conditions.
Ras Baraka doesn’t care about migrants or the black community in Newark
While white nationalists attempt to frame Ras Baraka as overly favorable toward migrants, others argue that he had the opportunity to shut down Delaney Hall and stop ICE operations—but chose not to. Instead, he welcomed Brazilian businesses and developers into Newark—entities aligned with Jair Bolsonaro, who is friendly with U.S. president Trump. These developers have been instrumental in gentrifying Newark. So Ras Baraka is favorable toward migrants only when they contribute to gentrification and displace African people from their communities.
Ras Baraka’s poor track record
Ras Baraka is the 40th mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is the son of the poet Amiri Baraka and holds credentials from Howard University. Yet Ras Baraka has never done anything for the Black community. He is a loyal servant of the Democratic party—an anti-Black and pro-genocide party.
In 2024, Baraka disrupted the Rutgers University anti-genocide encampment in New Jersey by sending in the police—the same police who brutalize the Black community every day. The same police who killed Carl Dorsey, an unarmed African man, in 2021. In 2023, after Carl’s family demanded an investigation, a state grand jury failed to indict the cop who killed him.
Baraka has also allowed lead to remain in the water supply in Black communities in Newark. Considering he has been re-elected twice, one would think he’d had enough time to address this crisis. But he hasn’t.
Neocolonialism
Ras Baraka is a textbook representative of neocolonialism. Chairman Omali Yeshitela defines neocolonialism as “white power in Black face.” Originally perfected by the British in eastern Africa, neocolonialism is used when colonizers realize they can’t continue ruling in the same overt ways. In many speeches on The Burning Spear TV YouTube channel, Chairman Omali discusses the “colonial contradiction,” which describes how colonizers preach democracy while maintaining that democracy through systems of slavery and domination.
Under this system, colonized people do not have rights. It is during periods of increased brutality—crackdowns on protests, mass deportations, and the stripping away of supposedly inalienable rights—that people begin to recognize they are colonized subjects. That’s when the colonial contradiction becomes sharpest.
In every African community across the U.S., officials like Ras Baraka are willing to carry out the bidding of the colonial State. They are elected and re-elected, and yet nothing improves for the Black community.
#AfricansChargeGenocide
The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) has circulated the #AfricansChargeGenocide petition, which charges the U.S. with genocide against the African community. Genocide is defined as the attempt to eliminate a group, in whole or in part. Gentrification—which pushes African people onto the streets—is life-threatening and therefore a form of genocide. So is allowing lead to contaminate the water supply.
In a photo from the #AfricansChargeGenocide campaign, a sign bearing the hashtag appears on a tent in a Black tent city—illustrating that homelessness, caused by gentrification, is also part of the genocidal strategy.
Using electoral system to work for black people
Organizations like the Black is Back Coalition—a group of progressive Black organizations—work together on issues such as reparations, anti-colonial healthcare, and political education. They teach the Black community how to use electoral tools for liberation, such as running for local water board seats or using the recall process to remove officials who act against the community’s interests.
ICE and the police, two sides of the colonial coin
While Baraka has taken a mild stance against ICE, he has no issue deploying local police—and does not protest their actions. But ICE and the police are both instruments of the colonial State, used to maintain control over African, Indigenous, and other colonized people. Chairman Omali Yeshitela refers to this system as the “colonial mode of production.”
This is why the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement demands Black Community Control of the Police. Outsiders with no stake in the well-being of the community are allowed to patrol African neighborhoods. The African community must have the power to hire and fire these officers, who enforce the laws of colonizers against us.
By criticizing ICE but remaining silent on local police violence, Ras Baraka presents a false choice—implying that one must choose between standing with migrants or standing with the Black community. But an anti-colonial stance makes it clear: there is no need to choose between opposing ICE and opposing police terror.
An anti-colonial stance allows us to stand against all forces of colonial State violence. It means standing for the total liberation of African, Indigenous, and other colonized and oppressed peoples.
Take an anti-colonial stance! Join InPDUM! Fight for the democratic rights of African, Indigenous, and other colonized and oppressed people!
