Following is a presentation we prepared for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) Consultation with Civil Society on police abuse, police brutality and police corruption. This will be edited to a more polished final report:
UNOHCHR Police Brutality Consultation Presentation 2
The United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (UNOCHCR) continues its investigation into police brutality, violence and abuse. After its session at the UN Headquarters in New York in November 2015, in which testimony was presented from, among other witnesses, reporters and experts, Samaria Rice (mother of Tamir Rice), John Crawford II (father of John Crawford III), Alicia Garza (co-founder of Black Lives Matter) and several UN Special Rapporteurs from different parts of the world, the United Nations’ (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) determined the need to continue to monitor the ongoing crisis of police brutality, violence and abuse directed specifically against Black People around the world. For more details of this session, see https://kuumbareport.com/2015/11/10/confronting-the-silence-introduction-to-the-un-session/; and https://kuumbareport.com/2015/12/01/confronting-the-silence-structural-racism-the-view-from-america/.
While international bodies such as the United Nations may be seen (correctly) as excessively bureaucratic bodies and slow to respond to crises such as these in an expeditious or effective manner, the fact is that in many cases they do respond, even if not as quickly as we would like. The UNOHCHR has held periodic discussions and made regular reports on the issue of police brutality, violence and abuse, some of which we discuss below. After a June 2020 “urgent debate” and subsequent oral and written reports from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, a consultative discussion is being held on Thursday, February 18 featuring several civil society organizations, activists and experts from the Diaspora. We will share details on these efforts below.
The “Urgent Debate”
This comes from the UNOHCHR’s Web site (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25971&LangID=E):
Human Rights Council holds an urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests
17 June 2020
Speakers Urge the Council to Establish an International Commission of Inquiry to Investigate Systemic Racism in Law Enforcement in the United States
The Human Right Council this afternoon began an urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests. It heard calls from speakers for the Council to establish an international commission of inquiry to investigate systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States.
In her opening remarks, Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, President of the Human Rights Council, said this urgent debate was being held at the request of Burkina Faso on behalf of the African Group. She bowed to all the victims and kindly requested those present to observe a moment of silence.
Amina Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, via video teleconference, said this was an urgent and necessary debate, given that Afro-descendants still faced poverty and structural racism, causing them to be, for instance, amongst the hardest hit communities by COVID-19.
Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized that the wave of protests since the killing of George Floyd had been truly global. She encouraged the Council to heighten its focus on racism and racial discrimination, going beyond existing recommendations, and reiterated that “Black lives matter”.
Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, said the African Union rejected the continued racial discrimination against black citizens of the United States, urging the international community to ensure the total elimination of all forms of discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion.
E. Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on racism, via video message, on behalf of other mandate holders, urged the Council to create an international commission of inquiry with the necessary authority to investigate systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States.
Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, via video message, reiterated that none of the police officers were fired for his brother’s murder until mass protests took place worldwide, and requested the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate police killings of black people in America and the violence used against peaceful protesters.
In the discussion that followed, speakers thanked the African Group for putting this important topic on the agenda. For some of them, racist acts were not errors of the system in the United States, but rather functions of it, and racism was widespread in the administration of President Donald Trump. Other speakers stressed that racism was present everywhere and, consequently, no country should be singled out. Some endorsed the idea of creating an independent commission of inquiry, urging the Council to take action and not become a passive observer. Others expressed support for the United States’ recent steps to address racism, police brutality and violent responses to peaceful demonstrations, noting, for example, the charging of officers over George Floyd’s death, the removal of others responsible for excessive force, as well as moves towards police reform.
Speakers noted that the responsibility to protect human rights primarily rested with States. National policies should be revisited to better implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and governments should strengthen their dialogues with communities of people of African descent. Acknowledging their countries own histories of racism, some speakers chastised privileges based on race and said it was not enough for leaders to merely express their opposition to racism. “Black lives matter”, several speakers emphasized.
Speaking in the urgent debate were Central African Republic on behalf of the African Group, Indonesia on behalf of a group of countries, Azerbaijan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, Croatia on behalf of the European Union, Mexico on behalf of a group of countries, Marshall Islands, India, Venezuela, Brazil, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Uruguay, Netherlands, Armenia, Indonesia, Australia, Namibia, Nepal, Cameroon, Bahrain, Japan, Senegal, Nigeria, Fiji (video message), Bangladesh (video message), Spain, Togo, Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, UN Women, Jordan, Sweden, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Cuba, Seychelles, Botswana, Sierra Leone, France, Belgium, Liechtenstein, South Africa, Philippines (video message), United Nations Population Fund (video message), Syria, Jamaica, Morocco, United Nations Children’s Fund, Iran, Egypt, Canada, Colombia, State of Palestine, Sri Lanka, Lesotho, Russian Federation, China and Switzerland.
The meetings of the forty-third regular session of the Human Rights Council can be followed on the webcast of UN Web TV.
The Council will next meet on Thursday, 18 June at 10 a.m. to conclude the urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests. It will then continue the interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Mali.
Statement by the President of the Human Rights Council
ELISABETH TICHY-FISSLBERGER, President of the Human Rights Council, recalled that on Friday, 12 June 2020, she had received a letter from Burkina Faso on behalf of the African Group containing the formal request to hold this urgent debate on “the current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality against people of African descent and violence against peaceful protests”. She said she bowed to all the victims and asked those present to observe a moment of silence.
Key-note Statements
AMINA MOHAMMED, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, speaking via video teleconference, said this was an urgent and necessary debate. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shared the Council’s abhorrence of racism. As stated in an op-ed that had recently been published by senior United Nations officials who were African or of African descent: “Not enough can ever be said about the deep trauma and inter-generational suffering that has resulted from the racial injustice perpetrated through centuries, particularly against people of African descent. To merely condemn expressions and acts of racism is not enough. We must go beyond and do more.” Noting that most recent protests against racism had been triggered by the appalling killing of George Floyd, she stressed that racism spanned history and borders across the globe. Today, people were saying enough. The United Nations had a duty to respond to the anguish that racism caused, as equal rights were enshrined in the Charter.
Ms. Mohammed recalled that the crimes and negative impact of the transatlantic slave trade were still being felt today: Afro-descendants still faced poverty and structural racism, causing them to be, for instance, amongst the hardest hit communities by COVID-19. As all recovered from the pandemic, returning to these systems was absolutely out of the question. Calling for a reset of law enforcement, Ms. Mohammed emphasized that the poison of racism still raged and the fight against it must still be waged. The world must fight racism in all its obnoxious forms. On a personal note, she added that she, like Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that her granddaughter may live in a world where she was not judged by the colour of her skin but rather on the strength of her character. The United Nations, its leadership and staff, stood with all those who were pursuing the scourge of racism in all its forms.
MICHELLE BACHELET, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized that the wave of protests since the killing of George Floyd had been truly global. The brutal act had come to symbolise systemic racism and the excessive use of disproportionate force by law enforcement that harmed millions of people of African descent, people of colour, indigenous peoples and racial and ethnic minorities across the globe. Given the transcending public support for a sea change, 20 fellow United Nations leaders of African origin or descent had written this week that the world needed to go beyond merely condemning racism. Decisive action was required to reform institutions and address pervasive racism that corroded them. Ms. Bachelet was heartened to see national and local measures in this regard, such as banning of the use of chokeholds, tear gas, rubber bullets and flash grenades by police forces. Behind today’s racial violence, systemic racism, and discriminatory policing lay the failure to acknowledge and confront the legacy of the slave trade and colonialism. To build a more solid foundation for equality the world needed to better understand the scope of systemic discrimination, with disaggregated data by ethnicity or race. It was also necessary to make amends for centuries of violence and discrimination, including through formal apologies, truth-telling processes, and reparations in various forms. Time was of the essence. Patience had run out. Black lives mattered. Indigenous lives mattered. The lives of people of colour mattered. All human beings were born equal in dignity and rights: that was what this Council, like her Office, stood for.
KWESI QUARTEY, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, welcomed the debate on the important and worrying issue of racial discrimination and human rights. The African Union rejected the continued racial discrimination against black citizens of the United States. This systemic discrimination could only be eradicated if the issues were examined from the roots. This was an opportunity for the international community to do so, and that required considering the transatlantic slave trade and its consequences. Yet images of a black man in London providing assistance to a far-right protester reminded that all were part of the same humanity. Racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia must not be allowed to erase all the achievements and development that humanity had reached. The African Union urged the international community to ensure the total elimination of all forms of discrimination based on race, ethnic or religious origin.
E. TENDAYI ACHIUME, Special Rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, speaking via video message, delivered a joint statement of behalf of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; the Working Group of Experts on people of African descent ; the Special Rapporteur on the rights of freedom of assembly and association ; and the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
In the United States, there could be no question that the problem was not one of isolated incidents of police misconduct, but rather it was one of systemic racism in law enforcement. Furthermore, it was a situation that required urgent and decisive action by the Human Rights Council. Nevertheless, the predominant messages from the President of the United States and his administration had been to deny the existence of systemic racism in law enforcement. Instead, he had inflamed national tensions through racialized divisive rhetoric and called on public authorities to deploy force against protestors. The response of the United States’ Government to the national uprising against systemic racism in law enforcement had re-enacted the very injustices that had driven people into the streets in the first place. Any resolution adopted by the Council at the conclusion of this debate must provide for an international commission of inquiry with the necessary authority to investigate systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States. Failure to establish an international commission of inquiry would signal that black lives do not matter, or that if they do, they do not matter enough to mobilize the Human Rights Council to intervene where it should.
PHILONISE FLOYD, brother of George Floyd, speaking via video message, emphasized that his brother was unarmed when he was killed after being accused of passing a counterfeit $ 20 bill. The Floyd family had had to watch the last moments of his life, as they were captured on camera. Witnesses had begged the officer to take his knee off George Floyd’s neck to save his life for four minutes after he stopped breathing. None of the police officers were fired for this murder until mass protests took place worldwide, highlighting the same lesson yet again: black lives do not matter in the United States. The police had used violence against people peacefully protesting for George Floyd, injuring and killing them by using tear gas, rubber bullets and running them over with police vehicles. The sad truth was that George Floyd’s case was not unique: it represented the way black people were treated by police in the United States. Mr. Floyd emphasized that instead of watching the death of George, they could have witnessed his own death. He concluded his statement by asking the United Nations to help get justice for George Floyd and help all black people in the United States. Specifically, Mr. Floyd requested the Council to establish an independent commission of inquiry to investigate police killings of black people in the United States and the violence used against peaceful protesters.
Urgent Debate
Speakers strongly condemned the murder of George Floyd that was not justified, and all forms of racism, xenophobia and discrimination. The Committee against Torture and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had made multiple recommendations over the years regarding the issues of police brutality and racism. Some of these recommendations went back to 2006 and were still relevant today. It was hoped that this debate would renew the commitment to put in place and implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Speakers strongly condemned racially motivated violence and hatred, as well as attacks on peaceful protests and murders committed by police forces. Police forces played an important role in societies, but complaints of police violence were still common and marginalised people and communities were still unfairly treated by justice systems. Laws and practices must be people-centred in order to combat these problems within police forces.
Speakers expressed concern about the increased use of the mass media to transmit racism, xenophobia and racist discrimination, calling for the promotion of education and mutual understanding between communities. Public policies aimed at fostering a domestic environment of tolerance, respect and peace must be strengthened. Speakers expressed deep concern over structural and systemic racism in all societies affecting minority groups the world over, emphasizing that States had the responsibility to prevent racist-driven crimes and ensure justice and accountability. It was time to unite in a firm, global and collective response.
Speakers thanked the African Group for putting this important topic on the agenda. For some of them, racism was an inherent element of imperialism; it was widespread in the administration of President Donald Trump. Other speakers stressed that racism was present everywhere and, consequently, no country should be singled out. Others expressed support for the United States’ recent steps to address racism, police brutality and violent responses to peaceful demonstrations, noting, for example, the charging of officers over George Floyd’s death, the removal of others responsible for excessive force, as well as moves towards police reform. Speakers stressed that people of African descent continued to face systemic discrimination in many countries. In that regard, the tragedy of the death of George Floyd was both a reminder and a wake-up call.
The challenge remained for nations to foster the necessary will to achieve what had been long promised to black people. The responsibility to protect human rights primarily rested with States. National policies should be revisited to better implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and governments should strengthen their dialogues with communities of people of African descent. Asian people had been subjected to racism in the context of COVID-19, some speakers pointed out. While some speakers stressed the need to ensure the enjoyment of the freedom of expression and related human rights, others emphasized the need for protesters to remain peaceful and refrain from destructing property. In addressing racism, it was paramount to ensure access to due process for all. Some called for a greater involvement of Special Procedure mandate holders. Acknowledging their countries’ own history of racism, some speakers chastised privileges based on race and said it was not enough for leaders to merely express their opposition to racism. “Black lives matter”, several speakers emphasized.
Girls and women of African descent were likely to be poorer and less educated amongst other forms of marginalization, all around the world. Racist acts constituted threats not only to individuals but also to societies and democracies. Speakers said that the timely response of the judiciary, including the latest ruling of the United States Supreme Court on the issue of non-discrimination, was yet another piece of evidence of democratic traditions and equality ideas being deeply rooted within the American society. Others said that racist acts were not errors of the system in the United States, but rather functions of it. The Human Rights Council must be the ultimate defender of the weak and do so particularly for the descendants and the victims of the transatlantic slave trade. All those present had a responsibility not to minimize the issue, not to generalize it and not to diminish it, because that would be a form of racism in itself.
Unequivocal support was reaffirmed for the International Decade for People of African Descent and related activities as designated by the United Nations. This initiative sought to guarantee the full and equal participation of Afro-descendants in all aspects of society; efforts should be redoubled towards its full realisation. Calling George Floyd’s killing an “execution,” some speakers said it reflected a long history of oppression, which dated back to the days of slavery, and was bringing the United States further from Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideal of a “beloved community”. Ascribing certain forms of racism to societal characteristics of “countries of the West,” speakers called for an end of the ideology of racial superiority.
Several speakers endorsed the idea of creating an independent commission of inquiry, urging the Council to take action and not become a passive observer. Some speakers expressed their sincere condolences to the family of George Floyd and deplored the use of social media platforms in inciting racial hatred. There were no easy fixes to racism, and building an equal society “begins with each of us”, speakers said. Racism and other forms of discrimination were still rampant and existed in all societies no matter how rich they were, others noted. No country was immune from the scourge of racism. Speakers urged the United States to take action to resolve the structural issues and economic inequality that had caused the recent events.
Citing race-related challenges they faced in their own countries, speakers said they remained conscious that the fight against racism was not won by words and proclamations alone, and called for all to look inwards to combat the legacies of slavery and colonialism that continued to haunt the world. The singular incident of the brutal death of George Floyd reflected a much wider, global problem of racism and racial discrimination. The Black Lives Matter-led protest movement had shaken the entire world. Quoting Malcom X, speakers said the matter at hand was not a “black problem” nor a “white problem”, but rather one that concerned all of humanity. Some speakers noted that Washington had ignored for decades the fair criticism of the international community and boycotted the work of the Human Rights Council. The confidence of the American administration in its messianic role as well as its impunity had led to the current tragedy.
The UN Human Rights Council Resolution
The UN then followed up with a Resolution, available at their Web site https://undocs.org/A/HRC/RES/43/1:
Human Rights Council, Forty-third session
24 February–13 March and 15–23 June 2020
Agenda item 1, Organizational and procedural matters
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 19 June 2020
43/1. Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers
The Human Rights Council,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all,
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour or national origin,
Recalling also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and bearing in mind the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,
Recalling further its previous resolutions on the comprehensive follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and the International Decade for People of African Descent as proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 68/237 of 23 December 2013,
Recalling the General Assembly resolutions in this regard, in particular Assembly resolution 74/137 of 18 December 2019, and the imperative need for their full and effective implementation,
Alarmed at the resurgence of violence, racial hatred, hate speech, hate crimes, neoNazism, neo-Fascism and violent nationalist ideologies based on racial or national prejudice, including the resurgence of racial superiority ideologies that incite hatred and violence against Africans and people of African descent,
Recognizing that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance have a deep negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights, and therefore require a united and comprehensive response from the international community,
Recalling Human Rights Council resolution 7/34 of 28 March 2008, and all
subsequent resolutions on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including those of the Commission on Human Rights,
Taking note of the historic resolution on racial discrimination in the United States of America adopted at the first ordinary session of the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, held in Cairo from 17 to 24 July 1964, and the statement made by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission which condemned the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota, United States of America, on 25 May 2020,
Taking note also of the statement made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on 8 June 2020 expressing its strong condemnation of the murder of George Floyd and repudiating structural racism, the systemic violence against Afro-Americans, impunity and the disproportionate use of force by law enforcement officers,
Recalling the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic
Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials,
Encouraging States to look into their manuals and guidelines used for training law enforcement officers with a view to identifying the proportionality of measures in the handling of suspects and other persons in custody, with respect to the treatment of Africans and people of African descent,
Reaffirming the importance of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action in advancing racial equality, ensuring equal opportunities for all, guaranteeing equality before the law and promoting social, economic and political inclusion without distinctions based on race, age, sex, disability, descent, national or ethnic origin, religion or economic or other status,
Welcoming all statements made by the special procedures regarding the killing of George Floyd, and in particular their joint statement of 5 June 2020, and the statement made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 3 June 2020,
1. Strongly condemns the continuing racially discriminatory and violent practices perpetrated by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent, in particular which led to the death of George Floyd on 25 May 2020 in Minnesota, as referred to in the ninth preambular paragraph above, and the deaths of other people of African descent,
and also condemns the structural racism in the criminal justice system;
2. Deplores the recent incidents of excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers against peaceful demonstrators defending the rights of Africans and of people of African descent;
3. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the
assistance of relevant special procedure mandate holders, to prepare a report on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims;
4. Also requests the High Commissioner to examine government responses to
anti-racism peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists;
5. Calls upon all States and all relevant stakeholders to cooperate fully with the High Commissioner in the preparation of the report;
6. Requests the High Commissioner to provide an oral update on the preparation of her report to the Human Rights Council at its forty-fifth and forty-sixth sessions, and to present a comprehensive report to the Council at its forty-seventh session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue;
7. Also requests the High Commissioner to include updates on police brutality
against Africans and people of African descent in all her oral updates to the Human Rights Council;
8. Invites all treaty bodies, special procedure mandate holders and international and regional human rights mechanisms, within their respective mandates, to pay due attention to all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including against Africans and people of African descent, and to bring them to the attention of the Human Rights Council;
9. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
44th meeting
19 June 2020
[Adopted without a vote.]
Following Up on Resolution 43/1
This was part of the overall strategy of the Human Rights Council to make practical steps to follow up on these sessions as called for in the aforementioned resolution 43/1 (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/Pages/Implementation-HRC-Resolution-43-1.aspx):
Implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 43/1
Background
On 17 June 2020, the UN Human Rights Council held an urgent debate on “current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests”. On 19 June 2020, the Human Rights Council adopted by consensus resolution 43/1.
As requested by the resolution, on 1 October 2020, the High Commissioner presented her first oral update to the Human Rights Council at its 45th session.
Mandate
The resolution requests the High Commissioner to:
Prepare a comprehensive report, with the assistance of relevant special procedure mandate holders, on “systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and of people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims”. The report will be presented to the Council at its forty-seventh session taking place in June 2021, to be followed by an interactive dialogue.
Examine “government responses to anti-racism peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists”.
Provide an oral update on the preparation of the report to the Human Rights Council at its forty-fifth and forty-sixth sessions, at the September 2020 and March 2021 sessions of the Human Rights Council.
Include updates on “police brutality against Africans and people of African descent” in all of her oral updates to the Council.
Methodology
The High Commissioner established a dedicated team to work towards the effective implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 43/1. In the preparation of the report, the Office will adhere strictly to the principles of independence, impartiality and objectivity, in accordance with our established methodology.
OHCHR is seeking the views of member States, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations, UN entities, and other key stakeholders in response to a Call for Submissions. All stakeholders are requested to reply in writing to the call by 4 December 2020. Please note that unless otherwise indicated, all submissions received through the call for submissions will be posted in full and as received on OHCHR’s public website.
The voices of people of African descent who are victims of human rights violations and their families will be central to the work, which will also include consultations with relevant experts, civil society representatives, and community members and groups. As called for by the Human Rights Council resolution, the Office will also engage with relevant Special Procedures mandate holders.
Contact
For all contributions, please write to antiracism1@ohchr.org and registry@ohchr.org. For any other questions, please write to antiracism1@ohchr.org.
Documentation
Human Rights Council Resolution 43/1 (https://undocs.org/A/HRC/RES/43/1)
Statements and Media releases
1 October 2020: Oral update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on A/HRC/RES/43/1 (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26326&LangID=E)
Webcast: Oral update (http://webtv.un.org/search/item9-general-debate-29th-meeting-45th-regular-session-human-rights-council-/6196386529001/?term=2020-10-01&sort=date&page=6) followed by general debate (http://webtv.un.org/search/item9-general-debate-contd-30th-meeting-45th-regular-session-human-rights-council-/6196464288001/?term=2020-10-01&sort=date&page=5)
17 June 2020: Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Urgent Debate (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25968&LangID=E)
17 June 2020: Human Rights Council holds an urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25968&LangID=E)
3 June 2020: US protests: Deep-seated grievances must be addressed – Bachelet (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25922&LangID=E)
28 May 2020: UN Human Rights Chief urges “serious action” to halt US police killings of unarmed African Americans (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25910)
The High Commissioner’s Oral Updates to the Human Rights Council
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, went on record with several oral reports to the Human Rights Council, this one to the 45th session of the Council (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26326&LangID=E):
Oral update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on A/HRC/RES/43/1: Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers
45th session of the Human Rights Council
1 October 2020
Madam President,
Excellencies,
Thank you for this opportunity to update the Council on our work to implement resolution 43/1, of 17 June, 2020.
For too long, victims of systemic racism and racial discrimination and their families have endured prolonged suffering. Racism and racial discrimination have a devastating impact on victims, impinge upon rule of law and democratic space, and are unacceptable violations of human rights. It is our urgent and collective duty to address these issues – immediately and everywhere.
As I indicated in my opening statement to this Council two weeks ago, we continue to receive reports of police brutality and racism against people of African descent, underscoring the gravity of the crisis. The extent to which these human rights violations go unpunished is a source of concern. Often it appears that investigations are opened only when video footage, shared on social media, creates a wave of public outrage, placing heavy pressure on the authorities to act. The absence of accountability and redress for racially motivated crimes committed by members of security forces against people of African descent is unacceptable.
Law enforcement officials carry out some of the most necessary and challenging work in our societies. They have a duty to perform their functions in line with human rights law, while respecting equality and dignity. In every State where there is rule of law, there must also be oversight – and an absolute commitment to ending impunity.
Madam President,
Following the adoption of resolution 43/1, my Office immediately moved on its implementation, establishing a dedicated team to work towards its effective implementation, in accordance with our established methodology.
Racism affects all countries, as the resolution recognises, and an initial examination of the prevalence, patterns and trends of the issues raised in the resolution will guide the scope of our planned reporting. We will seek out the views of all Member States and other key stakeholders. I look forward to your cooperation and the engagement by States in these processes, including your sharing of good practices.
Central to this work will be the voices of victims of African descent and their families and communities. It is critical for us to hear and learn from their experiences, as we formulate recommendations that seek to bring about genuine and transformative change.
I am also most grateful to the hundreds of civil society organisations that have expressed their support for this work. I appreciate their trust in our Office; we will count on their help.
My Office will also engage with the Council’s Special Procedures mandate holders. In September, I met with the Special Rapporteur on Racism and the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent for an initial discussion, and I am grateful for their offers to contribute their expertise towards the implementation of the resolution.
Madam President,
This Council and its Member States have much to contribute to combatting racism and racial discrimination. Mindful of the profound importance of this mandate, my Office began implementing this resolution even before we received financial resources for it. Our intention, however, is to submit a Statement of programme budget implications that will help us go forward. I count on the Council’s support in this respect.
More broadly, the engagement of the Council and its Member States will be essential to focus efforts on recommendations and actions that deliver results. We cannot let the urgency felt in this Council last June subside. The Human Rights Council can contribute to making this moment a critical turning point in the respect and protection of the human rights of people of African descent.
I look forward to updating you in greater detail at the Council’s next session, in March.
Thank you, Madam President.
The Human Rights Council Calls for Input from Civil Society
This has led to efforts by the Human Rights Council to solicit input from experts and members of civil society on the issue of “excessive use of force and other human rights violations” by police, in this case to prepare for hearings held on December 4, 2020 (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/Pages/Call-Implementation-HRC-Resolution-43-1.aspx):
Call for inputs for the preparation of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 43/1 on the “Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers”
Operative paragraph 3 of Human Rights Council resolution 43/1 requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the assistance of relevant special procedure mandate holders, “to prepare a report on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims.” Operative paragraph 4 of the resolution requests the High Commissioner “to examine government responses to anti-racism peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists”. Operative paragraph 6 requests the High Commissioner “to present a comprehensive report to the Council at its forty-seventh session, followed by an interactive dialogue”. The forty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council is scheduled to take place in June 2021.
In order to inform the preparation of this report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) would welcome information from all States, including independent governmental entities, as well as United Nations entities, inter-governmental and regional organizations, civil society and non-governmental organizations and all other relevant stakeholders, concerning:
⦁ Measures taken to identify, address, reform and remedy systems, institutions, structures, mechanisms, legislation, policies and/or practices that give rise to, perpetuate, entrench and/or reinforce systemic racism, racial discrimination and associated human rights violations against Africans and people of African descent, including those resulting from historical legacies, as relevant.
⦁ The impact of such measures on the enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including, but not limited to, measures, mechanisms and procedures taken to identify, address and provide effective remedy and redress for systemic racism and racial discrimination experienced by Africans and people of African descent within law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Please also identify or include related public reports in this regard.
⦁ Information regarding specific incidents of alleged violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and people of African descent.
⦁ Measures taken to ensure accountability, remedy and redress and address any impunity for human rights violations against Africans and people of African descent, particularly by law enforcement agencies; and the outcomes and effectiveness of such measures. Please also share information about the functioning of accountability mechanisms and associated decision-making processes addressing human rights violations, and identify any patterns or trends in the outcomes of these mechanisms and processes that show or suggest differential experience of Africans and people of African descent with respect to accountability for violations suffered by them. Please also identify or include related public reports in this regard.
⦁ Information concerning laws, regulations, policies and other measures taken to prevent and address alleged human rights violations by law enforcement officials against Africans and people of African descent, as well as contribute to accountability, remedy and redress, and the outcomes and effectiveness of such measures.
⦁ Information concerning Government responses to anti-racism peaceful protests, within the meaning of resolution 43/1, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists, as well as applicable laws, regulations, policies, practices and other measures, and their impact and effectiveness.
⦁ Information regarding systems of collection by State authorities of disaggregated data based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin, and processes for the analysis of such data. In relation to the above-mentioned areas, please provide data disaggregated by race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin; as well as additionally by sex, age, economic and social situation, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, incarceration and other status, where available. Where such information is not available, please indicate reasons why.
⦁ Mechanisms in place to ensure that Africans and people of African descent and their representatives are appropriately, adequately and sufficiently represented in processes to identify, remove and reform any structures, policies and practices of racial discrimination in institutions of law enforcement and the related administration of criminal justice.
⦁ Good practices, challenges and lessons learned regarding measures taken to: (i) combat systemic racism at the national, state/regional and local levels, including as informed by structural and institutional factors; (ii) prevent and address alleged human rights violations against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement officials; (iii) ensure accountability for human rights violations against Africans and people of African descent and access to effective remedies and redress for such victims of contemporary and associated historical human rights violations; and (iv) ensure appropriate Government responses to anti-racism peaceful protests. Please also identify or include related public reports in this regard.
⦁ Specific information pertaining to all other aspects of the mandate set out in resolution 43/1, including regarding the situation and perspectives of African women and children and of women and children of African descent, as well as other relevant gender and intersectional dimensions, including discrimination based on colour, sex/gender, economic and social status, disability, or other status.
Process
Contributions should be sent in Word format by email to: Antiracism1@ohchr.org and Registry@ohchr.org by 4 December 2020. It is kindly suggested to include hyperlinks to relevant websites, documents, statistical data, public regulations and legislation providing more detailed information. Unless otherwise specified, all contributions will be made available in full and as received on the public OHCHR website. It should be noted that not all information shared will necessarily be reflected in the final report and that information falling outside the mandate will not be considered.
The February 18 Consultation with Civil Society
The US Human Rights Network (https://ushrnetwork.org), which regularly interacts with the UNOHCHR on issues of human rights and particularly those issues that impact people of Afrikan descent, has announced the consultation with civil society on this issue to be held Thursday, February 18. Their announcement, with pertinent details for those interested in participating, is presented below:
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) is hosting a Consultation with Civil Society in preparation of the Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights under Human Rights Council Resolution 43/1 on Systemic Racism and Police Violence.
Thursday, February 18, 2021, 11:00-1:00 PM EST
Via Zoom
CSOs Interested in Participating Must FILL OUT THIS SURVEY (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfChW5ZSstSkagMrGoC2QqKDyMjDhgowE2A4cpK6fCxRaqovA/viewform) by Monday, February 15
All Parties Interested in Participating and/or Observing: REGISTER HERE (https://aclu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkf–sqT8jHtd8BS1WjCyElHUgaXUL8l8S)
On 19 June 2020, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 43/1 entitled “Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers” following an urgent debate by the Council’s members.
Resolution 43/1 requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a comprehensive report on “systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and of people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims”; and to examine “government responses to anti-racism peaceful protests, including the alleged use of excessive force against protesters, bystanders and journalists”. The report will be presented to the Human Rights Council at its forty-seventh session in June 2021.
In view of the preparation for the report, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) is organising a consultation to gather further information, updates, views and opinions on the issues raised by Human Rights Council Resolution 43/1.
Note: OHCHR will seek to hear from all participants. If a high number of participants register for the meeting, OHCHR may not be able to accommodate every request but will do its utmost to hear a range of views on the different themes, with priority given to directly impacted people and communities and civil society organisations led by people of African descent. In the interests of hearing as many views as possible, we encourage participants to coordinate your interventions in advance. In the event that some participants are unable to take the floor, they will be invited to send their interventions in writing.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
This is a critical opportunity for affected individuals and organizations to engage directly with international bodies and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). To learn more, please click here (https://2eb10dad-2dc6-4e35-8204-bfad7e9ec875.usrfiles.com/ugd/2eb10d_3fd063ea831441eeba67a63290b30e5a.pdf?emci=a658b595-bb6b-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&emdi=ee71af4d-ef6b-eb11-9889-00155d43c992&ceid=7751878).
In solidarity,
US Human Rights Network Coordinating Center
We will provide a follow-up report on the February 18 Consultation, as well as a presentation we are preparing for possible inclusion in the Consultation.
The Wednesday, February 17 edition of Africa400 explored the topic Black Women, Black Love as Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty continued their observance of Black Love Month. Mama Tomiko interviewed Special Guest Dianne Marie Stewart, author of Black Women, Black Love: America’s War on African American Marriage.
Listen to the show here:
The show airs at 2:00 PM on HandRadio, https://www.handradio.org or on the HANDRadio app. The audio from the show ia made available on this post and on our Media Page after the show airs.
Dianne Marie Stewart is an associate professor of Religion and African American Studies at Emory University specializing in African-heritage religious cultures in the Caribbean and the Americas. She was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Hartford, CT, USA. She obtained her B.A. degree from Colgate University in English and African American Studies, her M.Div. degree from Harvard Divinity School and her Ph.D. degree in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she studied with well-known scholars such as Delores Williams, James Washington and her advisor James Cone. Dr. Stewart joined Emory’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 2001 and teaches courses in the graduate and undergraduate programs. Inspired by her pedagogical investment in Black love studies and her widely celebrated courses, The Power of Black Self-Love, (co-taught with Dr. Donna Troka), Black Love and Black Women, Black Love and the Pursuit of Happiness, Dr. Stewart spent four years research and writing Black Women, Black Love: America’s War on African American Marriage, which was published by Seal Press in 2020. Her public scholarship and interviews on the subject of Black love, partnership and marriage have also been published in The Washington Post and other outlets.
According to the 2010 US census, more than seventy percent of Black women in America are unmarried. Black Women, Black Love reveals how four centuries of laws, policies, and customs have created that crisis.
Dianne Stewart begins in the colonial era, when slave owners denied Blacks the right to marry, divided families, and, in many cases, raped enslaved women and girls. Later, during Reconstruction and the ensuing decades, violence split up couples again as millions embarked on the Great Migration north, where the welfare system mandated that women remain single in order to receive government support. And no institution has forbidden Black love as effectively as the prison-industrial complex, which removes Black men en masse from the pool of marriageable partners.
Prodigiously researched and deeply felt, Black Women, Black Love reveals how white supremacy has systematically broken the heart of Black America, and it proposes strategies for dismantling the structural forces that have plagued Black love and marriage for centuries.
—
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Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty discussed Black Love Day on the Wednesday, February 10 edition of Africa400 with Mama Ayo Handy-Kendi, founder of PositivEnergyWorks (https://www.positivenergyworks.com), as part of Africa400’s Black Love Series for February.
Check out the audio of the program, which was broadcast on HANDRadio (https://www.handradio.org) below:
Below, Mama Ayo briefly explains Black Love Day and some activities that are fitting for the occasion.
We also include below a link to purchase Mama Ayo’s book, The Black Love Book, as an e-book.
What Is Black Love Day (BLD)?
Black Love Day (BLD) is the 3rd nationally commemorative Holiday (wholyday) observance of atonement, reconciliation, and 24 hour demonstration of Black Love through 5 tenets (loving acts):
for The Creator,
for Self,
for the Black Family,
the Black Community,
and the Black Race
Some Traditional Things to Do on Black Love Day:
The Black Love Book 3rd Ed (E-Book) by Ayo Handy-Kendi
Get the Black Love Book to Learn More About Black Love Day and the healing power of Love:
The Black Love Book, 3rd Edition (E-Book) by Ayo Handy-Kendi
$12.00
This is the 3rd edition of this book, an anthology about love and a how-to guide on observing the “wholyday” Black Love Day (BLD) observed annually on February 13th. This revised book includes some new material from the first edition, some corrections and enhanced artwork.
Written as the “definitive guide” on observing BLD, by the founder of the wholyday, Ayo Handy-Kendi, The Breath Sekou, the book explains BLD‟s origin, its symbols, and its rituals. The book further provides concrete suggestions of “love in action” activities that can be initiated on BLD, in Black and White communities to help these communities heal through love in ways that are meaningful, far beyond the 13th.
The history and background of Valentine’s Day, the up-til-now, holiday of love, is also included with an explanation as to why, BLD, is a more spiritual, cultural and wholistic alternative that is needed now by African Americans to rejuvenate and re-bond their relationships through love. As an anthology, the book further offers inspirational, poems, essays and articles that describe love’s many forms and expressions while providing helpful techniques of love’s healing transformational power.
Available through Facebook, Twitter and Google+
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Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty explored the topic “Sexual Alchemy” 
on Africa400, which aired on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 2 PM Eastern Time (United States). This show kicked off Africa400’s Black Love Series to celebrate Black Love Month.
Their Special Guest was Wayne B. Chandler, healer, instructor and author of Ancient Future.
Baba Wayne Chandler studied with researchers like Dr. Runoko Rashidi, T. Owens Moore and others who learned from scholars such as Wade Nobles, Richard King, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima and Dr. Frances Cress Welsing. The Wednesday, February 3 show was a special extended broadcast, running just over an hour and a half. Check it out here:
Africa400 is heard every Wednesday at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (United States) on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org). After the show has aired, it can be accessed in HANDRadio’s Podcasts page as well as in an update of this post and our Media Page.
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Elder Nabeela Uqdah, longtime Pan-Afrikan activist and mother of former SRDC New York Facilitator Sis. Iman Hameen, transitioned to the Honored Ancestors on January 4, 2021. Bro. Cliff had the honor of meeting with her at length when he visited her and Sis. Iman in Connecticut in 2012, and then saw them again in November 2017 when they attended an event at the African Union Mission and delivered a profound statement to the African Union Commission Chair, the Honorable Moussa Faki Mahamat, during a public Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the African Union. Both encounters demonstrated the intellect and fierce commitment to Afrikan people of both Sis, Iman and Mama Nabeela.
Below is a biography and obituary for Mama Nabeela, written by Sis. Iman and her other children. We will miss her wisdom and the family will miss her devotion and compassion, but we know her fire will live on in those who loved her and learned from her.
Obituary: Elder Nabeela Uqdah
Elder Nabeela Uqdah, formerly Betty Rice Roper and Sis. Betty R. X, resident of New Haven, Connecticut, transitioned in her Munson Street home on January 4, 2021 at approximately 5:30am at age 89. She was surrounded by her loving, immediate family with songs from one of her favorite Jazz vocalists, the late Irene Reid, playing in the background. After suffering a stroke in October 2019, dementia gravely and tenaciously altered her life, causing her demise. She was born on January 26, 1931. Her ashes will be scattered in Africa, as she requested.
Childhood
Nabeela was a precocious child and “the baby of the family” being the youngest of eight children. She was predeceased by all her siblings – Catherine R. Arnold, Marion, Dewey (who died of crib death at 3 months), Elsie R. Hoff, Bernard, Marjorie R. Lewis, Elizabeth R. Carter and her parents, Isaac Bronson Rice and Hazel Mae Bush Rice, both of Ohio, nephews Curtis Carter, Jr. and Richard Arnold of New Haven’s own,” The Five Satins” and niece, Gwendolyn “Jay” Hoff.
In her early years in her hometown of Middletown, OH, she was the leader of her neighborhood. She was extremely popular. Her friends would fight over who would hold her hand when they walked down the street. She exhibited strong qualities of leadership, uniqueness, sensitivity and a thirst for education, always asking “why” and “why not” to understand life’s complexities.
Family History
Her life in Middletown was centered around a close knit, low income black community, surrounded by role models, nuclear black families, schools that prepared all children for lifelong high paying careers and plenty of opportunity for development. Unfortunately, due to migration and the promise of jobs in the North, like many other “negro” families, her father Isaac moved his family East, for better financial opportunities.
Connecticut and Stony Creek (Branford) in particular, were sharp, cruel contrasts to her former environment. She was thrown into a world of rich upper class whites, where blacks were few and far between, her Dad, who spoke fluent Greek, worked for rich families in Stony Creek and Pine Orchard as their butler, landscaper, gardener and the like, on a servant’s salary that promised to pay more but never did. The move was a miserable one for the entire Rice family. They yearned for the social life they left in Ohio and found it when they joined Bethel A.M.E. Church on Sperry Street in New Haven, where they swiftly adjusted. They found their new home there.
Nabeela, the more revolutionary one, observing the luxuries attained by whites, and the lack that blacks lived with, concluded early on that the lives of a black man and a white man are seriously and intentionally different. She spent the rest of her life delving into “how” and “why”.
Marriage/Children
She married the late James Roper Sr. and cared for her two children, Reid and Robin, keeping them meticulously dressed, coiffed and raised with perfect manners. Everyone remarked at how well behaved her children always were. She was an exceptional mother who taught them every lesson she learned in life. On the subject of death, she taught them that death is the last rite of passage in the physical realm.
Employment/Education
Like her older sisters, Mama Nabeela was a skilled seamstress. She worked at Schwartz Shirt factory but wanted more. Being a wanderlust, she walked into an airline human resources office to apply for a job as a flight attendant. This was in the early 1950’s. She was told that “no colored” were allowed. Dejected and seldom taking “no” for an answer, she did an about-face and applied for a community nursing program at Yale-Grace New Haven Hospital. She was accepted and graduated with high honors. She exemplified strong qualities of leadership, uniqueness and a thirst for education, always asking “why” and “why not” to understand life’s complexities.
Personal Development
Still seeking, Mama Nabeela, now a certified LPN, became a dedicated, devout member and pioneer of the Nation of Islam (Temple #40) and the Hon. Warith Deen Muhammad community for decades. She made pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) in 1978, earning the distinguished title of “Hajjah”, one of the first in the Islamic African American, New Haven community to do so. Feeling a need for change, she moved to Westchester County in NY. She helped found a masjid in Yonkers, NY, started a food co-op for the Bronx Woodycrest Avenue Masjid to implement “do for self”, Ujima – collective work and responsibility, and Ujamaa – cooperative economics, and conducted a large scale health fair with herbalists, medical doctors, dentists, physical trainers and alternative medicine practitioners.
Mama Nabeela departing for Ghana in 2001, pictured here with her children.
Elder Uqdah later gravitated to the Pan African community and made a lifelong commitment to return to Mother Africa. She traveled to at least 10 African countries and made the decision to permanently repatriate there. At 70 years of age, she packed up all her belongings and life savings to reside in Namibia, Southern Africa and lastly, Ghana, West Africa for at least 13 years. She returned to the US in 2012 for much needed hip surgery and quickly returned to Ghana after recovering, only to return to the US again, in 2014, for a second hip surgery. She aspired to move to Tanzania upon recovering but never returned to the continent of Africa, again. Note: Keep in mind that she did not leave on a whim. She researched each country’s culture, climate, language, people and political history thoroughly for at least 5 years. She travelled to Jamaica on a group trip with Dr. Rahsaan of Sundial Products and visited a Maroon community to learn their ancient history and practices in farming and nutrition. She also lived on a black owned farm in South Carolina, co-run by the family of Nicholas “Ashanti” Bartlett, offering to work on their farm for a full summer so that she could know better how to work the land in Ghana. The families remained lifelong friends.
Community Work
Elder Nabeela was on various committees and was a member of numerous organizations, even starting one of her own, “Sankofa Penny-A-Day”, after hearing about the concept on a WLIB-NY radio program. Her efforts helped raise over $3,000 by saving pennies in the course of one year, all of which were donated to Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, NY. She remained a nationalist and Pan African, always searching for truth, justice and correctness. She lived her life in service to others and worked vehemently to lay the foundation for Reparations for black people which helped to make it the household word that it has become today.
Her commitment to fight injustice, led her to action. She was on the frontline of many demonstrations and protests covering a full range of issues from adequate medical care and saving Sydenham Hospital, establishing a 3rd political party before it was fashionable to ask for one, United Nations protests for the end of apartheid, lifting sanctions against Zimbabwe, freeing Nelson Mandela, Reparations/Repatriation, better public education, a demand for Dr. Adelaide Sanford to be chosen as the 1st black NYC Board of Education Superintendent of Schools, freedom for political prisoners, police brutality, the murders and abuse of innocent blacks – Michael Griffith, Yusef Hawkins, Nicholas “Ashanti” Bartlett, Eleanor Bumpers, Yvonne Smallwood, and the Central Park Five – known today as the Exonerated Five, to name the most heinous. She marched arm-in-arm with 1,000 other warriors at the infamous December 12th Movement’s “Day of Outrage” protest shutting down the Brooklyn Bridge.
Attending every weekly lecture at First World Alliance in Harlem, an esteemed African centered lecture series that was the premiere study group and citadel for learning African history from the top scholars of our time, she became a faithful member of the United African Movement organization and its Sisters Security Committee, founded by Atty. Alton Maddox, attended regular lectures there, as well, to learn the philosophies of noted guest speakers, and co-produced her own public access cable TV show entitled, “In My Opinion” with a format designed to probe solutions and theories with guests who lived their lives as organizers and problem solvers. Elder Uqdah was among the Sharpton 15 who were jailed without protocol, for 15 days, for protesting the cover-up of the rape and kidnapping of then teenager, Tawana Brawley.
When organizing for Reparations was considered pointless, she formed a committee that walked the streets of Harlem, Queens and Brooklyn, every day for a few years, distributing informational flyers about what Reparations is and how to obtain it, accompanied by an information sheet about Willie Lynch. Until that time, the general public vaguely heard of Reparations, nor cared to, and few had heard the name “Willie Lynch”.
Recognizing a need to educate the public further about Reparations, Nabeela organized a major conference, with workshops and guest speakers, the main speaker being Dr. Robert Brock, to dissect Reparations laws and requirements. Dr. Brock is the lawyer and Reparations expert who filed for Reparations at the 11th hour on behalf of the black community eliminating the statue of limitations and making it possible for all Reparations cases to be heard in any court. Today, both Reparations and Willie Lynch are on the lips of politicians, news anchors in the mass media and everyday folk. Mother Uqdah was a woman and warrior of conviction, dedication, nobility and integrity.
Friendships
Throughout her life, she befriended people from all walks of life. Always looking for serious minded people who practiced what they preached, she had no qualms about approaching anyone, from celebrities and Heads of State to ordinary people alike, challenging something she took exception to or needed them to explain, hoping to find like-minded people like herself. In 2019, New Haven (CT) Mayor Toni Harp presented her with a Mayoral Proclamation for her community work and her work for the demand for Reparations at the annual Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green.
Elder Nabeela had a straightforwardness about her that helped her command audiences with anyone she desired to speak with. She met with African presidents, chiefs, kings, and politicians, regularly holding court with the likes of the Mayor of Durban, South Africa and Chokwe Lumumba, Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, activists and celebrities like Kwame Touré (Stokely Carmichael), Danny Glover and Rev. Al Sharpton, who always seemed to spot her in a crowd with ease, Sister Souljah, Serena Williams, Dr. Jewell Pookrum, Dr. Sebi, and Min. Abdul-Hafeez Muhammad, to historians and brilliant scholars such as Drs. Ben Jochannan, John Henrik Clarke, Na’im Akbar, Marimba Dona Ani and Baba James Small to name a few. She confidently explained that,” I can get anybody to do what I want.”
Later Years
Mama Nabeela at her house in Akosombo, Ghana.
The “bucket list” was her way of life. From entering college in her fifties, to scuba diving in Tanzania, to sailing along the Nile, to driving up the narrow roads of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, to entering the Door of No Return in the Ghanaian slave dungeons more than once, to walking through the mighty complex of the Pyramids of Kemet (Egypt), to clearing an acre of forest growth to build her own chalet and private house in the Eastern Region of Ghana, to volunteering her nursing skills in a burn unit at Korlebu Hospital in Accra, Ghana, she followed her passions and beliefs, living her life the way she saw fit, well into her late 70’s. She fulfilled her dream of writing her first book, “The Unfailing Guide” that contains her definitions for words and meanings that others take for granted.
Mama Uqdah was employed at the Jewish Home for the Aged, Yale New Haven Hospital, and Veteran’s Hospital of West Haven. Before retiring at age 62, she shifted to private duty nursing and private practices in mid – Manhattan, Pelham, Dyre Avenue and City Island in the Bronx, and Upper Westchester NY. She was a Harlem resident when she retired.
Descendants
Elder Uqdah was also predeceased by her only son, Reid Dirk Roper (wife Shirley) of Killingworth, CT. Her beloved son who was so much like her, died from COVID-19 after a short hospital stay, exactly one week before she expired. She is cherished and survived by her daughter, Iman T. Uqdah Hameen (aka Robin), her son-in-law, Jesse “Cheese” H. (Kilpatrick) Hameen ll, and grandchildren, Najeeb (wife Erica) of NY and Pittsburgh, Hanan of NY and CT, Jesse Hameen lll, step-grandchild Ameen (William Hatcher) Hameen and great grandchildren Khalil, Idris, Jionn, Amyrhzell, “Little One”, Adeyemi Elam, William Johnny Kilpatrick and the offspring of Reid and Shirley – Charlise (her oldest grandchild) and Reid Jr. and Charlise’s children – the Panzeras (Nicholas, Jasper, Alexander, Ariana and John), numerous devoted nieces, nephews cousins and close local, national and international friends who make up her extended family.
Actualization
Elder Nabeela H. Uqdah fought the good fight. She lived the essence of Christianity, Islam, African Spirituality and the “Nguzo Saba”, the 7 principles of Kwanzaa, every day. The world is a better place because she was in it.
Her family extends a heartfelt “Thank You” for gracing her life. Your prayers, words of support, time, thoughtfulness, generous gifts, cards and moments of reflection are a comfort to us and a testament to her. She loved you all. She honored and thanked the Most High “Omnipotent Intelligence” for her life and every aspect of it every day. She rests in Truth and Power.
“It is so! It is done!”
A Virtual Remembrance was held on Jan. 26, 2021 at 6 pm EST via Zoom on what would have been her 90th birth anniversary, hosted by her grandchildren.
Mama Nabeela Uqdah’s Portait by Pheoris Webb.
Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty explored the topic “Resurrecting the Black Divinity through Diaspora Organization and Solidarity” on Africa400, which aired on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.
Their Special Guest was Francois Ndengwe, Editor of Femmes and Hommes d’Afrique Magazine. For the audio of the broadcast, visit our Media Page or listen below:
Africa400 is heard every Wednesday at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (United States) on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org). After the show has aired, it can be accessed in HANDRadio’s Podcasts page as well as in an update of this post and our Media Page.
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After a short hiatus, Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty are back with Africa400, now on HANDRadio.
Their return to the airwaves was brought to us by https://handradio.org on Wednesday, January 20 at 2:00 PM as they launched Africa400 from their new broadcast home. Mama Tomiko and Baba Ty announced their triumphant return thus:
Please join us on our new Radio Home:
HANDRadio @Wednesdays 2-3 pm
Tune In …
Raise Your Vibration …
Their topic was Decoding the Capitol Insurrection; Opportunity for Diaspora Solidarity with guest Francois Ndengwe, Editor of Femmes and Hommes d’Afrique Magazine. Listen to the show below:
Africa400 can be heard every Wednesday at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (United States) on https://handradio.org. After the show has aired, we will include the audio of the show in that week’s post as well as on our Media Page.
Many people remain stunned at the events of Wednesday, January 6, when thousands of MAGA Maniacs, fresh from a rally on The Mall where their president and Exalted Leader whipped them into a near-frenzy, first descended on the Capitol building, then climbed the walls, then forced their way in during a Congressional hearing, then engaged in looting, pursuit of congressmembers and open warfare against building security and Capitol police. Early speculation that the massive crowd was made up simply of “disaffected regular Americans” who simply feared that they would once again become the country’s “forgotten people” under a Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration have been effectively debunked with the reports that the mob included several dozen known White supremacists and suspected domestic terrorists (The Terrorism and Extremist Violence in the United States (TEVUS) Database | START.umd.edu; Domestic terrorism database of the Trump years shows how the radical right has gone on a rampage (dailykos.com); The Capitol Hill Building Rioters Included White Supremacists and Conspiracy Theorists – The New York Times (nytimes.com)).
We’re compiling some commentaries from a variety of Maryland-area Pan-Afrikan and leftist organizations, as well as links to a number of news pieces that were released in the immediate aftermath of the Capitol Siege. We’re also sharing a couple of commentaries by Atlanta-based organization Justice Initiative about the January 6 riot and some historical perspective. I’ll start with a few observations of my own in this article, and then go on to the weightier analysis of others in a companion piece that should be released in a couple of days.
White Folks Gone Wild
It didn’t take a defenseless citizen being choked to death by a police officer, or being shot while asleep in their bed, or some other act of violence committed against a MAGA Minion. All it took was an unhinged president to address his adoring crowds, who he had taken the last four years to whip into a frenzy with “fake news”, “build the wall”, “enemy of the people”, “COVID hoax” and “impeachment hoax” conspiracy theories and lies, and insist to them that their rights were being violated by “socialist radical left-wingers” who sought to “take away the voice of the people”. After Don Jr. exhorted the crowd to “fight for Trump!!”, representative Mo Brooks said “we’ll be takin’ names and kickin’ ass” and Rudolph Giuliani called for “trial by combat”, Trump reiterated the imperative that the people “fight … you’ve got to show strength, and you’ve got to be strong,” and then announced a massive march to the Capitol to “cheer on” their champions who would (unconstitutionally) overturn the November election results. Armed with flags that read “Trump 2020, Making America Great”, “Don’t Tread On Me”, “Trump 2020, No More Bullshit” and “Come And Take It” under an AR-15 assault rifle with the Stars and Bars as a backdrop, the crowd descended on the Capitol. Some of those flagpoles would be used to assault Capitol police officers who tried to prevent the massive crowd from overrunning the building. Of course, flags were not the only props people brought with them. Two pipe bombs were later found on the premises, and some people were clearly armed.
Meanwhile, Trump, the man who incited this madness, was safely ensconced in his (very temporary) home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, watching the spectacle unfold on television, reportedly celebrating the course of events. As the violence increased, he would release a video statement calling for peace and even criticizing the violence, even as he told his followers “we love you”. He would never accept responsibility for riling up the crowd with his remarks that day or his continued efforts to invalidate the November 2020 election. But soon, his ability to say anything would be abruptly, and for him cruelly, constrained.
The Voice of Unreason Loses Its Bullhorn
Poor Donald Trump. As MSNBC show host Joy Reed said, Twitter “stripped him of The Precious.” His @RealDonaldTrump Twitter account was deleted, and later so were the other accounts he attempted to use to access his MAGA Marauders on the Web. Supporters of course screamed bloody murder, citing the First Amendment and insisting that his sacred Constitutional rights to free speech were being violated. No matter that his frequent anti-masking tweets (“Liberate Michigan!”), public statements which led to armed militias threatening the lives of lawmakers like Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, and the bombastic comments from him, his son Don Jr. and Rudolph Giuliani amounted to incitements to riot and thus were equivalent to yelling “Fire” in a crowded theater, which is still illegal despite the First Amendment.
Add to that the fact that his rallies, culminating in his January 6 pre-riot frenzy at the White House, inspired his zealots to parade to and later inside the Capitol carrying Confederate flags (the flag of those who had declared war against the United States–who else gets away with that?), wearing hoodies emblazoned with genocidal anti-Semitic slogans like “Camp Auschwitz” and “6MWE” (“6 Million Weren’t Enough”) and toting zip ties on an apparent “Congress hunt” that has led to six deaths, threats of further armed assaults on the Capitol and signs at the rally threatening to “bring DC to its knees”, and you have what must be interpreted as a clear and present danger to the public, not just to the government.
So, I Guess Blue Lives Really Don’t Matter?
Aside from the provocateurs who occasionally disrupted the anti-police-brutality protests that roiled the streets of America’s major cities in the summer of 2020, the much-maligned Black Lives Matter protests that stoked so much fear among the White Right consistently emphasized that what they were protesting was unwarranted police violence. The marches for Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Walter Scott and other victims consistently stressed the need for police to root out the violent officers in their midst and to implement procedures based less on fear and more on human concern. Even the calls to “defund the police” did not gain momentum until 2020, when it became apparent with the cases of George Floyd, Laquan McDonald, Breonna Taylor and others that police departments were refusing to moderate the violence they used against unarmed Black civilians, and that prosecutors would decline to press charges against the most egregious offenders, even when those prosecutors were Black, as in the Breonna Taylor case. And yet, defenders of the wanton violence carried out on January 6 have taken to using the “violence” of the Black Lives Matter protests to defend the sacking of the Capitol by their right-wing zealots, and the six deaths that resulted and included a Capitol police officer who was beaten with a fire extinguisher by MAGA Maniacs and later died from his injuries.
It seems tragically ironic that police spend so much energy “fearing for their lives” from unarmed or complying Black motorists, or pedestrians selling loose cigarettes, or teenagers walking down the middle of the street, or 12-year-old boys playing in the park, or middle aged men gasping for breath, or women asleep in their beds, but they wind up being killed by some of the “very fine people” wielding fire extinguishers as they wave Trump flags, chant “Blue Lives Matter” and storm the Capitol building.
Coming Back For Seconds
January 13 saw the US House of Representatives debate the Article of Impeachment against Trump. The end result was that Trump made history by being the only president to ever be impeached twice.
H. RES. ll
Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for highcrimes and misdemeanors.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
RESOLUTION
Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the UnitedStates, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Resolved,
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:
Article of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.
ARTICLE I: INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION
The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ‘‘shall have the sole Power of Impeachment’’ and that the President ‘‘shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors’’. In his conduct of the office of President of the United States—and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed—Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by willfully inciting violence against the Government of the United States, in that:
On January 6, 2021, pursuant to the Twelfth Amendment of the United States Constitution, the Vice President of the United States, the House of Representatives, and the Senate met at the United States Capitol for a Joint Session of Congress to count the votes of the Electoral College. Shortly before the Joint Session commenced, President Trump addressed a crowd of his political supporters nearby. There, he reiterated false claims that ‘‘we won this election, and we won it by a landslide’’.
He also willfully made statements that encouraged—and foreseeably resulted in—imminent lawless action at the Capitol. Incited by President Trump, a mob unlawfully breached the Capitol, injured law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress and the Vice President, interfered with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify the election results, and engaged in violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.
President Trump’s conduct on January 6, 2021 was consistent with his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election. Those prior efforts include, but are not limited to, a phone call on January 2, 2021, in which President Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ‘‘find’’ enough votes to overturn the Georgia presidential election results and threatened Mr. Raffensperger if he failed to do so.
In all of this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coordinate branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.
Wherefore President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.
The debate around this impeachment mirrored the debate that was carried on last year for his first impeachment. Democrats hammered away at the concrete and documented deeds of Trump that, in their view, corruptly sought to force his re-election (in 2020, pressure on foreign heads of state to launch investigations into Joe Biden; in 2021, Trump’s repeated efforts to overturn the November 2020 election results, including pressuring vice president Mike Pence to unilaterally overturn the election result and culminating in the incitement of a group of his supporters on The Mall to march to the Capitol and lay siege). Republicans constantly stressed what they insisted was unfair treatment of the president based on partisan political motives, and repeatedly called for “healing of the wounds” that Trump’s and, often, their own behavior had originally helped stoke. One curious aspect of the debate was regular pronouncements from Republican representatives that the rioting that resulted was a criminal act and that those who participated would be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law”, except, of course, for the person who instigated the behavior through the spreading of repeated lies and in whose name the protest degenerated into a riot inside the Capitol building.
Some of the Republican congressmembers even attempted to draw false comparisons to the anti-police-brutality protests and demonstrations that roiled the nation over the summer. One after another, GOP lawmakers sought to minimize the violence of the January 6 insurrectionists in the Capitol Building, who chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” and “Where’s Nancy?”, by comparing them to the cities that were “on fire” after the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor killings and attempting to discredit Democratic representatives who had described those protests as “mostly peaceful”. (Even in those cases, the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Minneapolis, Kenosha, Washington DC and other cities actually were peaceful until nightfall, when White right-wing provocateurs hit the streets and storefronts became the target of looters, many of whom had come from groups like the Boogaloo Boyz, whose announced intention was to exploit public anger about police brutality to commit acts of mayhem. Still, several Republican lawmakers would use these protests in an effort to minimize the violence of the January 6 rioters.)
In the end, ten Republican congressmembers voted with the Democrats to officially submit the Article of Impeachment to the Senate for trial, even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Tennessee) has stated that the trial itself would not occur until after Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20.
This One Is Gonna Co$t You Money
Becoming the first US president to be impeached twice was not even the unkindest cut for The Donald. The PGA moved its golf championship from his Bedminster Golf Course, and other prestigious tournaments are now leaning toward leaving Trump golf courses around the world. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick chose to decline the Medal of Freedom that Trump had announced would be awarded to him. Deutsche Bank ignited an exodus of international financial institutions that have decided to disassociate themselves from Trump and his money (such as it is). And fans of the “Home Alone” movies have launched a campaign to have his cameo edited out of the “Home Alone 2” sequel.
Trump Loyalists Abandon Ship
Over the last five years, we have been treated to the spectacle of hypocrisy brought to us by such moral stalwarts as former Texas governor Rick Perry, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and others who “warned” the public about the dangers of Trump during the 2015-2016 Republican presidential primaries, but who would go on to kneel at his feet once he won the US presidency.
Some of Trump’s erstwhile allies are now backing away from Trump as a result of the riot he incited at the Capitol. Even some of the most recent strident supporters of Trump, like outgoing Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Georgia), former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos suddenly found religion (of a sort) after Trump’s Mindless MAGA Minions were unleashed in their “Congress Hunt” complete with zip ties (presumably to take hostages) and a gallows (perhaps to “hang Mike Pence” as the crowds repeatedly exhorted) constructed on the Capitol grounds. How long before the remaining believers, such as Representative Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), become rats abandoning the sinking ship of Trump? But not former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, or former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, or Trump quasi-lawyer Sidney Powell, or the Trump children (including Jared Kushner). They are probably a lost cause.
A few GOP lawmakers, however, in the tradition of the late John McCain, have been reasonably consistent critics of Trump. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) seems to have been the first GOP Senator to show guts with his statement during the January 6 session, and that may have inspired some courage from the ten Republican Representatives who voted to impeach Trump again and the GOP Senators who have since spoken out in favor of impeachment, including Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
The Enemy Without, And Within
While social-media chatter makes increasing reference to planned armed protests up to and including the January 20 inauguration of Biden and Harris at perhaps every state capitol in the US, Congressmembers are increasingly reporting the receipt of death threats from White supremacist militia groups and angry Trump supporters for their choice not to support Trump’s attempt to overturn the presidential election (with the most virulent threats apparently aimed at Republican legislators deemed to be “traitors” to Trump).
There is also increasing indication that assistance may have been given to the January 6 rioters by some of the Congressmembers themselves. Reports that unexpected groups of visitors to the Capitol just the day before had been invited by some members of Congress and that these same groups were identified as probable participants in the insurrection have fueled accusations among some of the legislators. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has expressed fears that GOP lawmakers would lead the rioters to her (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she thought she was going to die in Capitol riots and feared GOP would reveal her location – The Washington Post), and the “panic buttons” in the offices of Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) were mysteriously disabled. Some of the more right-wing Republican members, who, like freshman member and QAnon adherent Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado), have bragged about bringing their guns to the Capitol, then refused to pass through the metal detectors that had been placed outside the meeting hall. Combine that with the upcoming impeachment hearings, the threats that have been made against Representatives Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, Rashida Tlaib (D-Mishigan), Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington State), and complaints from Democratic members that several Republicans refused to wear masks while they all sheltered in place together, despite the continuing and increasing danger of infection by COVID-19, and an extremely contentious and even dangerous Congressional session seems to be in the works. Sadly, Michigan lawmakers are not the only ones investing in bullet-proof vests now.
Articles from the Web about the Capitol Siege of January 6, 2021
Below are links to several news and analysis articles concerning the Capuitol Siege which we found interesting. Also, check out the commentaries by Justice Initiative that are also linked below:
Trump Supporters Take Protests to Statehouses Across U.S., By Reuters, Wire Service Content Jan. 6, 2021, at 5:46 p.m., U.S. News & World Report (https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2021-01-06/protests-spring-up-at-several-statehouses-as-siege-at-us-capitol-unfolds?fbclid=IwAR2JmYBuFZ22CO8flWHFOhAaituDzmYo7xjV2yo0uiPZiXjypW3fajvMatQ)
Check out the on-camera words of participants in the Capitol Riot (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/see-what-trump-supporters-had-to-say-after-chaos-at-capitol-hill/vi-BB1cxsmD?ocid=msedgntp)
Bret Stephens: GOP ‘walking to the edge of moral irredeemability’ (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bret-stephens-gop-walking-to-the-edge-of-moral-irredeemability/ar-BB1cyyLf?ocid=msedgntp)
Off-duty police officers among rioters, one Capitol officer says: The officers are accused of covertly flashing their badges, by Blue Telusma (https://thegrio.com/2021/01/08/off-duty-police-officers-allegedly-rioters/?fbclid=IwAR1HZ5oOiMHRtZREq4AOgErM2K0tX-KE7K7HSo2C8qJYhkEtxGEq2Y8wF1k)
Republicans warned this day would come. Then they forgot, by Benjy Sarlin (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republicans-warned-this-day-would-come-then-they-forgot/ar-BB1czip6?ocid=msedgntp)
Inflammatory Trump tweets on day of Capitol breach were final straw for loyal White House staffers, by Rob Crilly (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/inflammatory-trump-tweets-on-day-of-capitol-breach-were-final-straw-for-loyal-white-house-staffers/ar-BB1cyLor?ocid=msedgntp)
The Putsch of January 6, 2021, by JamesD. Zirin, January 8, 2021 (https://billmoyers.com/story/the-putsch-of-january-6-2021/?fbclid=IwAR1UES_8yAQ2MtuyrMjcrA9Dyw7HpyJzqNnwKWF-iQvM6X2AQUgWE9JDzMM#.X_os9czczlI.facebook)
We include here comments and statements from Maryland and Washington, DC-based Pan-Afrikan and progressive organizations, activists and commentators about the Capitol Siege of January 6, 2021 and what this may mean for Afrikan People and grassroots communities. As we receive more commentaries from truth-and-justice and Pan-Afrikan organizations, we will include them in this page.
Ujima People’s Progress Party
The Ujima People’s Progress Party (https://www.facebook.com/UPPMaryland/) is a Black worker-led independent political party based in Maryland. It is committed to Black people finding our own independent political voice, free from the capitalist control and influence of either the Democratic or Republican parties.
January 8, 2021, 7:00 AM
Statement on far-right rebellion on U.S. capital and the escalating crisis in the U.S. capitalist ruling class.
These are dangerous times for Black people. Yesterday’s assault by far-right white nationalist elements on the U.S. capitol while senators attempted to ratify the votes of the 2020 electoral college has reminded us all that Donald Trump’s defeat does not mean the Black community is now safe.
Millions of people watched as hundreds of far-right forces stormed the capitol building in an attempt to force a coup that would allow Donald Trump to remain in power. Despite the death of one protester and arrest of 50+ rioters, this attack happened with muted and sluggish responses from police agencies. We are painfully aware that had similar actions in Washington D.C. come from members of the Black community, that our people would have been brutally put down by that state, and hundreds would be arrested.
This conflict is not a crisis of democracy as put forward by ruling class media; instead, this is a crisis in the capitalist ruling class that has busted out into rebellion in the streets. The unity of white supremacist domination of the economic, political, and social structures of the U.S. nation is in great danger because capitalist exploitation has increased for all workers, and sectors of the white working-class have been mobilized by contending capitalist forces to demand their cut at the expense of all other workers.
The incoming Biden administration inherits the immediate task of trying to solve how to hold the union together. It has only two basic options to choose from in dealing with these unleashed far-right capitalist forces: move to suppress and defeat them by force or make economic, political, and social concessions to appease them.
The far-right shows that their perceived suppression will be met with resistance and open conflict that could split the white ruling class. Appeasement of these forces will come by implementing austerity allocating resources away from Black, Brown, and oppressed communities and into rust belt and heartlands of America. Neither option will make it safe or comfortable for the Black community to move forward in the wake of Trump’s departure.
The actions by the state to allow the far-right forces to storm the capitol lets us know that the state apparatus under the Biden administration will not be able to protect the Black community from physical or political attacks by elements of the far-right.
Black working-class people must organize for their economic & class interests. We must build the capacity to protect our interests, communities, and our very lives in lieu of the fact that the racist U.S. state continues to fail us as a people and as a class.
We must be organized, and we must build independent Black political action. We must better define for potential allies what they must do to align themselves with our movement for power and true liberation. It is not acceptable o continue to tail the liberal and so-called progressive wings of capitalist parties and activities.
We cannot afford to wait for the Biden administration, the Democratic party, and especially America to conclude that Black power matters; we must do this for ourselves and with the allies we choose.
Askia Muhammad
Washington, DC’s Askia Muhammad (https://www.facebook.com/askiaaa) is a veteran print and broadcast newsman, journalist and commentator. He has been a mainstay of Pacifica Radio’s WPFW-FM in Washington, DC for several decades.
This brief but to-the-point commentary on our neglect of the increasing right-wing resurgence in the media was written January 8 at 6:06 PM.
Over the decades, we’ve watched public attention to wacko white nationalists morph from Goldwater, to Nixon, to Reagan, to Bush, to the Tea Party, to the Freedom Caucus, to Q-Anon, to the Boogaloo Boys, to the Proud Boys, to #45; each one becoming more toxic than the one who went before.
But with Black folks, we’re still mostly focused on, and eager to applaud “first Negroes” integrating this-that-or-the-other field of endeavor; entertainers, or athletes, sex symbols–boobs and abs–and folks accumulating mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money; with each “success” we cheer simply a reflection of that someone winning the approval of and acceptance into the White, Neoliberal establishment by being more acquiescent than the Blood who went before.
Baltimore People’s Power Assembly
The Baltimore People’s Power Assembly (https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesPowerAssembly) grew out of the All People’s Congress, which had established itself as a multi-racial, progressive organization in East Baltimore in the 1980’s through the early 2000’s. It works through direct action campaigns, political education teach-ins and public meetings and supports efforts to fight police brutality, exonerate and release political prisoners, stamp out institutional racism and pressure government and political officials to enact more progressive, people-centered domestic and foreign policies.
Coup attempt: Is the danger over?
January 7, 2021, by Sharon Black
Jail Trump, his fascist mob, and killer cops
The storming of the U.S. Capitol by white supremacists incited by President Trump, which temporarily halted the certification vote, had to have the collusion of multiple federal police agencies. It is implausible that there was no preparation when these very events had been telegraphed for months by Trump himself. “Civil War January 6, 2021” was printed on the MAGA sweatshirts; this was no secret. The only way that the racist mob could freely occupy the Capitol is if the police made a deliberate decision to let them.
The world watched while armed fascists carrying Confederate flags and metal battering rams breached metal detectors, held Congress hostage, took over offices, smashed windows, openly carried ladders to scale the Capitol, posed for selfies with police and were eventually escorted out of the building without arrest.
Two pipe bombs were confiscated, along with weapons and ammunition, and four people are reported dead. A KKK-inspired noose was erected on the west end of the Capitol.
This was reminiscent of how the Alabama authorities allowed the Klan to attack the freedom riders in Anniston, Ala., on May 14, 1961, nearly killing several people. Local police did nothing for at least 15 minutes.
The storming of the Capitol was consciously in the tradition of the previous overthrow of the democratically elected, majority-rule Reconstruction governments in South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and the rest, which culminated in the coup and massacre in Wilmington, N.C., in 1898.
Contrast this with Kenosha, Wis. In anticipation of community anger at the refusal to indict police in the shooting of Jacob Blake, streets were shut down and the National Guard was mobilized in advance of the acquittal.
What happens next, is the danger over?
Biden’s extremely weak response is deeply problematic in terms of pushing back the fascists and what it means for the future. Rather than making a call for disbanding the fascist thugs, the racist mob or arresting Trump, Biden called for unity.
Unity with who and for what?
Here was an opportunity for Biden and the Democrats to strike a definitive blow against Trump and the movement he has spawned. He could have called for Trump’s arrest or made an appeal for people to mobilize against the racist and reactionary threat. He didn’t.
In many respects it was a betrayal of the Black voters, especially in Georgia, who courageously resisted racist threats to vote against racism and reaction.
The timidity of Biden and the Democrats is not surprising.
What underlies these developments and girders the fascist reaction is the contraction of the capitalist economy and the deep decay and crisis of the system. While seemingly hidden, it supersedes the will of capitalist politicians who attempt to represent one section or another of the ruling class.
It is an important lesson. The capitalist class, regardless of its divisions, has no will to put these racist scum in the dustbin of history. Like the bankers and businesses that were financing Hitler up to the last bullet, they are hedging their bets. They are reluctant to crush them.
Danger of imperialist war in the next 14 days
We would be seriously amiss to not state the obvious threat of imperialist war most immediately aimed at Iran, but ultimately — regardless of which administration is in office — directed at any country that seeks to chart an independent course from imperialism — whether it is Venezuela, China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or Cuba. See the call for emergency response actions.
There are still 14 days before the Jan. 20 inauguration. Just as we demand the jailing of killer cops, we must mobilize the movement to call for the immediate arrest of Trump and stop the white supremacist mobs.
Trump should not only be arrested but also extradited for war crimes. Trump is now wanted by Iraq for ordering the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani and Iraqi Commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis; Iran has also issued an arrest warrant through Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) for the same crime.
The antidote to fascism is workers’ solidarity and socialism
While billionaires are raking in unprecedented profits, cashing in while the deaths of COVID victims piles up, the vast majority of the people are finding themselves living in deeper misery. Capitalist governments have not been able to stop the COVID pandemic and have failed miserably at providing health care for the vast majority. Widespread unemployment threatens not only low wage workers but also the middle class. Millions are facing evictions, foreclosures and utility shutoffs.
Traditionally it is the middle class, the small business owners, and others like them who are isolated and in despair, who are duped by fascist ideology. It is only a strong, united anti-capitalist and anti-racist working-class movement that can pull them away from such an destructive dead end.
“Such a situation can only exist in periods of extraordinarily acute social crisis when the capitalist state is so torn by accumulating inner contradictions and weakened by its inability to overcome its social crisis that it inevitably gives way to extra-parliamentary, extra-legal forms of rule,” Sam Marcy said of the struggle against fascism.
It will take the organization of the broad working class and the leadership of its most oppressed, Black, Brown, Latinx, Indigenous, Arab, Asian, women and LGBTQ2S people, to both develop a defense of its own class interests and place socialism on the agenda.