March 11
GUEST: Felicia Eaves, long time human rights advocate, co-chair of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, and Coordinator for American Muslims for Palestine, talks about her latest series of presentations focused on the longstanding solidarity between Black Lives Matter and Palestinian liberation.
Yalla Y'all | Episode 1 | w/ Prof. Alex Lubin
Once Americans can see the relationships between racist oppression in the US and in the rest of the world, change becomes possible. Felicia and I had a good discussion of Palestine, Apartheid South Africa, Standing Rock, and Black Lives Matter. These are exciting times because the links are now visible and tangible. So much so that so many of us can imagine joining one or more of these movements for justice.
The empire, however, is not built on justice, but on terror. Do we think that our country's 800 military bases around the world are there to protect liberty or human rights? Or are these bases really there to protect corporate profits at the expense of oppressed peoples in the Third World? How difficult it becomes to believe the former narrative now that we are coming to terms with the institution of Jim Crow America.
The US Empire was one of the last countries protecting and supporting Apartheid South Africa. Israel was another. Both nation's suffer from a form of white nationalism that has subjugated and ethnically cleansed their indigenous populations. The US has a more varied history, that of enslaving another race, and then creating a caste system to keep that race subservient through unfair laws, racist police forces and politically motived segregation.
By recognizing the Empire, we can begin its dismantling. Like global warming, the Empire threatens all life on earth. Built on greed and military violence, the Empire can't stop its ruthless march to global dominance. We as Americans can only regain our humanity through resistance.
