On January 29, which coincides with the twelfth anniversary of the declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace (at the CELAC meeting in Havana, Cuba), the Trump administration designated Cuba as “an unusual and extraordinary threat… to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” As a result of this designation, the US is tightening the economic blockade on Cuba, with a particular emphasis on stopping fuel deliveries, and is threatening any nation that provides aid. Clearing the FOG speaks with Netfa Freeman of the Black Alliance for Peace about the impact of the blockade, the significance of Cuba’s example of internationalism and defending its sovereignty, as well as assisting other nations in doing the same, and efforts to support the Cuban people.
Listen here:
Review us on iTunes! Click here … Then click on “View in iTunes … Then click “Ratings and Reviews.”Guest:
Netfa Freeman started at IPS as Director of the Institute’s Social Action & Leadership School for Activists (SALSA) from 2000 to 2010 and is now the Events Coordinator for the other IPS projects. Netfa is also an organizer in Pan-African Community Action (PACA), on the Coordinating Committee of the Black Alliance for Peace, and is Co-Producer/Host for the radio show and podcast Voices With Vision on WPFW 89.3 FM that airs Tuesdays from 9-10 am EST. His writings have been published in Black Star News, Black Agenda Report, Pambazuka News, Common Dreams, Global Research, and beyond and he is often interviewed on radio and TV outlets. Netfa holds a B.A. in History from the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and has been a political organizer/activist since 1985. He served as coordinator of the Committee for Political Education at the Pan-African Resource Center (1985-1989) and has worked as a phone-bank fundraiser for the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES 1988-1990). Netfa has been intimately involved with many movements, such as the 1986 International Peace Gathering in response to the U.S. bombing of Libya, the 1997 Advocates Plus Save UDC movement, and the People Before Profit Community Healthcare Project that was organizing DC residents to take their healthcare needs into their own hands. He served for many years as board member for Empower DC, as well as on the advisory board of M.O.M.I.E.S. TLC, was U.S. liaison for the Ujamma Youth Farming Project in Gweru, Zimbabwe, and a founding member and a lead organizer in the DC-Havana Sister City Project and the No War On Cuba Movement. He was an organizer in the International Committee for Peace, Justice & Dignity for the People, formerly the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5. In 2011 Netfa was a recipient of the Washington Peace Center’s Activists of The Year Awards and was a workshop facilitator as part of the Educator’s Collective for the Wayside Center for Popular Education and for Train the Movement: A Trainers of Color Collaborative.
