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Obituary

Sekou Odinga Has Joined The Ancestors

January 21, 2024 ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
Brother, comrade, Father, New African, Sekou Odinga took his last breath in this world on January 12, 2024, ending a life of service and sacrifice not matched by many. Brother Sekou loved our people and he loved all of the oppressed and gladly dedicated his life to the liberation of the colonized, oppressed people of the world because that is indeed what the “Black Liberation Movement” embodied. Brother Sekou understood, like all of the warriors of our people from the time we plotted at the bottom of slave ships, in the cotton fields, in Massa’s house, in the urban ghettos and rural plantations, that authentic liberation would only materialize when we physically defeated the original colonial “motherfuckers,” slavers, genocidal, imperialist criminals that held us and the world in their grip.

Ralph Poynter Used His Strong Voice And Stout Heart To Fight For Justice

January 13, 2024 Lallan Schoenstein, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
Ralph Poynter was the son of a union organizer. His family was located in the Pittsburgh area, which was a major steel producer at that time. He graduated from Duquesne University with a master’s degree in music education. Grounded in union principles, he joined the United Federation of Teachers, UFT, when he began working at P.S. 175 in Harlem as a 5th-grade substitute teacher in the mid-1960s. It was at the time when the struggle for community control of the city’s public schools first erupted. Community school boards throughout the city were attempting to exercise their control of the teaching staff to reflect the needs of the children in their communities.

Pilger’s Rap Sheet On The Criminal Elite

January 2, 2024 Kiji Noh, Consortium News. , , , ,
John Pilger was always on the side of the oppressed. He denounced Empire and all its violent predations – war, genocide, exploitation – as well as its endless lies and propaganda. Till his death on Saturday, he fought tirelessly for the freedom of Julian Assange, and his last article, “We are all Spartacus,” published in Consortium News, was a call to stand with the imprisoned publisher. Pilger gave voice to the invisible and the voiceless: the hungry, the poor, the handicapped, the conscripted, the sanctioned and bombed, the dispossessed, refugees, the chemically experimented on, the structurally adjusted, the couped, the famine-expendable, the colonized, the genocided, the silenced, shining a light in the hidden, dark recesses of the hell of Empire.

Tribute To Comrade Chris Che Matlhako

May 19, 2023 Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
Thank you all for joining us as we pay tribute to Chris Che Matlhako, a comrade and friend. I first met him in 2018 at the First International Conference Against US/NATO Military Bases, which was held in Dublin, Ireland. I chaired a panel on the US Africa Command, AFRICOM, and Chris was a participant along with Paul Pumphrey and Ann Atambo. It was my first encounter and only in-person encounter with him, but it was very meaningful to me. It played an important role as I learned more and more about internationalism, especially as it pertains to Africa. This is a small portion of Chris’ remarks for that panel, “There are US bases, compounds, port facilities and fuel burners in 34 African countries, including in regional hegemons Kenya, Ethiopia, and Algeria.

Cliff Durand Presente!

April 8, 2023 Peter Weisberg, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , , ,
The San Miguel de Allende community joins social justice activists around the world to mourn the passing of Dr Cliff Durand, who died peacefully at home with his beloved wife Julie and their two dogs, after a short illness. Cliff leaves a huge legacy and an international reputation for his fearless, tireless and relentless efforts to create a more just and equitable world. An inspirational activist-leader, this giant of a man was a gentle and humble conversationalist; an insatiable learner; a whole-hearted and encouraging teacher; a critical thinker with a huge intellect; and a loving husband, father and grandfather.

In Memoriam Of Hyun Lee

March 9, 2022 Women Cross DMZ. , , ,
Hyun was a tireless advocate for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Every generation has its leaders who build powerful movements; she was among the giants of our time. Beginning in 2018, Hyun served as the U.S. National Organizer and then the Campaign Strategist for Women Cross DMZ and our Korea Peace Now! campaign. Her ability to move an organizing and advocacy agenda was instrumental to building the Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network, which consists of more than a dozen chapters across the country. This multi-generational, grassroots, people-powered movement that Hyun helped create is what led to the first Congressional resolution calling for an end to the Korean War with a peace agreement.

In Remembrance Of Chuck Kaufman

December 30, 2021 Jim Byrne, Fightback News. , , ,
Tucson, AZ - It is with heavy heart that the news of the passing of longtime anti-imperialist organizer Chuck Kaufman reached communities on December 28. Born in a small Indiana town, Chuck’s life saw travels to numerous countries, most notably in the Latin American countries most firmly in the crosshairs of U.S. imperialism. In 1987, as Reagan’s illegal Contra War against Nicaragua ravaged the country in an attempt to kill the successful Sandinista Revolution, Chuck answered the call for solidarity. He gave up his advertising business and joined thousands of other U.S. solidarity activists to help in the coffee brigades in Nicaragua aimed at helping the country produce commodities that could help fund the new government projects for the poor and working class.

Desmond Tutu Opposed Capitalism, Israeli Apartheid And US/UK Imperialism, Too

December 27, 2021 This Week With David Rovics. , , ,
Being a leader in the movement to end apartheid in South Africa was probably the greatest achievement of the man's life work, and it should come as a surprise to no one that this is the focus of his many obituaries, along with the Nobel he was awarded in 1984.  After Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, he was remembered by the establishment in much the same way, as a leader of the movement against apartheid in the US.  The fact that he had become one of the most well-known and well-loved voices of the antiwar movement in the United States and around the world at the time of his death has largely been written out of the history books, a very inconvenient truth.

Ed Asner (1929 – 2021)

September 17, 2021 Stephanie Atkinson, Courage to Resist. , ,
Ed Asner was beyond a gifted actor who created an identifiable, singularly American cultural character. He was also “one of us”–a veteran and a person of conscience. After the US illegally invaded Iraq, Ed Asner wrote the following: Our citizens either will not or cannot go to the streets until catalyzed by someone or something to motivate them. Courage to Resist accomplishes one part of this program of resistance by speaking for and defending the brave souls in the military who do not wish to be part of the perfidy of this administration. It behooves us to do all we can to support Courage to Resist with money and with spine. He was drafted during the Korean War in 1951 to the Army Signal Corps and served two years in Europe. As a veteran, it’s what he did after his time in service and during the course of his career that demonstrates who he was as a human who supported civil rights, the women’s Equal Rights Amendment, the rights of workers and labor, and his stand against war and militarism.
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