‘We know occupation’: The long history of Black Americans’ solidarity with Palestinians
“Bassem was one of us. He showed up ready.”
That is how Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) described the late Bassem Masri, a Palestinian-American activist from St. Louis, on the House floor on May 13. On a day when the headlines called attention to Israel’s escalating airstrikes on Gaza, which ultimately killed over 200 Palestinians in an 11-day period, Bush’s speech linked the Palestinian cause with events closer to home. Masri, who died in 2018, was one of several Palestinians on the front lines of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 after the death of Michael Brown.
“As a Palestinian,” Bush went on, Masri “was ready to resist, to rebel, to rise up with us” to fight for “an end to the militarized police occupations of our communities.”
The violence that erupted in Israel and Palestine this spring has activated a powerful sense of solidarity among many African-Americans. Well-known Black public figures, from Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving to actress Viola Davis, have been outspoken in support of Palestinians. Black Lives Matter activists have played an active role organizing and promoting pro-Palestinian protests all over the country. A Black Lives Matter organizer in New Jersey summarized the movement’s sentiments by saying, “we know occupation, we know colonization, we know police brutality.” [Continue reading…]