Coumba Toure, Africans Rising, tells us an inspiring story of African solidarity, commitments to fight against violence and fascisms, and collaboration among movements globally. From a series of conversations at the Systemic Alternatives Symposium and at the EDGE Conference, to the building of a strong global network committed to racial justice: “This train is moving: get on or stay back but nothing will stop us”.
There is a bill on the Brazilian government’s table that can be used by police officers who kill in unjustifiable circumstances to evade punishment, by arguing they got too emotional or were under stress. Race is not in the equation in this conversation. Lately on a Sunday, a family of people from African descent was going to a baby shower when the military shot 80 bullets in their car by the military.
Truth is Afro descendants are often in danger. The assassination of Marielle Franco has shocked Brazilians and the world. Every 23 minutes an Afro descendent person is killed. It is as if a plane full of black people was crashing everyday. At the EDGE Conference, as we pondered on that information in silence guided by Conniel Malek (truecostinitiative.org), tears rolled down on people’s faces. We sat together in anger, sadness and in discomfort, and it was clear we needed to push for more actions, and invite everyone we could to act with us. We knew that doing nothing was not an option. None of us would be able to stand the state of the next generations backs on us by staying silent!
Fifty-two per cent of Brazil population is afro descendant. It is the country with the biggest number of African people outside of Africa. Most of the black population has been there since the infamous Atlantic slave trade that lasted more than 300 years, took millions of Africans and destroyed part of the social fabric in many areas of the African continent. In Brazil, Afro descendant people are at the bottom of all the indicators of development, while the leadership of government, business and civil society is glaringly Caucasian.
This time, I went to Brazil to participate to a Symposium on Systemic Alternatives, and then the EDGE Funders meeting. I had a special goal to connect and work with Afro Brazilian people, as part of my mission to build a Pan African solidarity with them. I had been to Brazil before to the World Social Forum for the AWID feminist forum, and I had a clear sense of the existing deep racism. However, I was far from understanding the cost of violence, particularly on poor young male lives, and of the importance for solidarity from other Africans.
Together with Africans Rising Coordinating Collective member Cidia Chissungo from Mozambique, and the support of one of the symposium facilitator Hakima Abbas, we started a small side conversation to discuss issues among Africans. Our goals were mainly to hear stories from different parts of the African world: Tunisia, Guinea Bissau, Republic of Guinea, Burkina Faso, UK, the United states and Brazil. While we were all juggling with our second and third language in multiple and simultaneous conversation, a strong connection emerged. This conversation became a thread that could not stop. We had to continue it the next day, and then again into the EDGE Funder Conference, where the discussion continued at open spaces conversations and culminated at the dine around, when people and institutions made a clear commitment to support global solidarity for African people on the continent and in the diaspora, starting with Brazil.
In the end, we all committed to put efforts in connecting Africans struggles across the globe and to be in solidarity with each other, which is the exact mission of Africans Rising.
The Afro Brazilian people told us again: ” We need you to carry our voices outside of Brazil. We need you to support us and see that we are protected. We need you to tell the world we are dying and there is a need to stop the killing. We need you to say to all that we are ready, we are strong, we are organizing, we are fighting for ourselves but we cannot do this alone“.
The story about disposable black lives is a common one, which we all share globally and it has been so for a long time. It’s now time that it stops. Humanity has to become whole again, united against violence, and united to stop the rise of fascist, and right wing governments around the world.
There was an intensity which is difficult to describe with words. The task ahead is daunting, but the potential and the energy seem even bigger. A lot of work awaits us, to quickly manifest our solidarity with each other. On May 9th, Afro-Brazilians were invited to present their case in Jamaica, at the Association of Americas states. On May 25th, Africa Liberation and Africans Rising called for action in Solidarity with Africans all over the world, and several movements in Brazil have accepted to join. There are many more plans ahead of us. We are set to support the need for a Brazilian movement to have a national meeting. This month my personal contribution to Africans Rising will be to support a solidarity mission to Brazil.
I invite you to do the same. Join us at Africans Rising, support in the ways you can. Your first contribution is to share this information.
“This train is moving” said Charles Long, from Resource Table for the Movement for Black Lives, “get on or stay back but nothing will stop us“.
Despite the diversity of our languages, cultures and genders, we are all united against the killing of Africans in the continent and globally, the loss of our land, the consequences of climate change, as well as the economic and social marginalization of our people. A new world is in the making, where all Africans on the continent and in the diaspora will live in dignity. We know we can build it together.
Coumba Toure – Movements Coordinator, Africans Rising.
Know more about the outcomes of the EDGE Conference here.
Few reference:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/02/06/brazil-bill-could-shield-abusive-police
(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/08/brazil-soldiers-arrested-shooting-car-family)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/15/marielle-franco-shot-dead-targeted-killing-rio.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3180913?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/02/06/brazil-bill-could-shield-abusive-police
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