Black Radical Groups and Palestinian Liberation

The United States is in the midst of a resurgence of momentum for and attention on civil rights. Ignited after the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of police sparked outrage on social media, this moment has sustained enough energy to force companies to re-evaluate their racist names and logos,[1] T.V shows to recast voice actors,[2] soccer organizations to suspend rules banning kneeling during the anthem,[3] and other numerous changes. Recent polls suggest as many as 26 million Americans have turned out to protest.[4] One aspect of the conversation surrounding Black Lives Matter that has recently come to light has been the connection between the movement and the struggle for Palestinian liberation. An interview clip from early June of Angela Davis where she mentioned “how important Palestinian solidarity has been to the Black cause,” spread through social media like wildfire, prompting many to post other stories about the interconnectedness of the Black struggle in the U.S. and the liberation movement in Palestine. Though gaining more traction in the current moment, it is important to emphasize that coalition building between Black radical groups in the United States, specifically groups like the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and The Black Panther Party, and Palestinian Liberation groups is nothing new. In fact, ties between these groups extend as far back as the mid-1900’s. Without a more nuanced understanding, however, much of the critical aspects of these coalitions can be lost. Highlighting the role of women in and the extended history of Black and Palestinian activism, along with allowing Palestinian liberation to be discussed in a similar context of Black liberation, are important ways to jettison the modern-day conversation.

Investigating the coalitions built between Black radical groups in the United States fighting for Black liberation, and Palestinian liberation groups can illuminate aspects of this topic that deserve more attention. For instance, the history and longevity of these movements recognizing their parallel struggles has been underappreciated by the general public. Connections between the groups are nothing new. In addition, while there has been much literature on the nature of coalitions between Black liberation groups and Palestinian liberation groups, few researchers have taken into consideration the importance of women in spearheading these connections. Women have continually been on the front lines of the creation of these partnerships, and are critical in ensuring progress for any and all of the groups involved. Finally, it is important to realize that “de-exceptionalizing” Palestine in our modern framework is paramount in order to encourage further coalition building with movements that center anti-racism and anti-imperialism. The differences in objectives between the two movements and the prevailing anti-Black racism in Palestine and surrounding Arab and Middle-Eastern states illustrate that though activists do see many parallels between the struggles they fight against, there are marked obstacles and important nuances that must be reconciled with. Therefore, it would be constructive to outline the many arguments surrounding these connections and push forward activism and participation.

The first major theme found in the literature is the long history of these movements in connecting with each other. Most scholars trace the commencement of these connections to 1967, after the Six-Day War showed an Israeli victory at the cost of the extensive displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. It was after this when “radical Black groups and individuals began to locate solidarity with Palestine in an anti-imperialist, antiracist lens.”[5] Previous to the war, many Black radicals “supported the Zionist movement in Palestine and founding of Israel.”[6] At both points, before and after the Six-Day War, it is notable to mention that Black moderate groups, such as The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), The Urban League, and The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), tended to support the State of Israel.[7] This is evidenced by actions and comments such as that by Roy Wilkins, executive director of the NAACP in the 1960’s, when he “compared the alleged anti-Semitism of young black militants to that of George Lincoln Rockwell, the leader of the American Nazi Party.”[8] Whitney M. Young, Jr., the then leader of The Urban League, had said that Blacks had been victims of racism for too long to revert to racial hatred against the Jews, and that the ideas in a newsletter on the topic published by SNCC "resembled those of the American Nazi party on Arab-Israeli relations."[9]

Contrary to those views, more radical groups such as SNCC and the Black Panthers were adamant that the liberation of Black Americans and Palestinians were bound together. Both groups recognized the similar struggles against racial capitalism in the U.S. and Israel. SNCC released a statement in 1967 opposing racist strains of Zionism,[10] and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Black Panthers strategized together in Algiers.[11] In 1970, Huey P. Newton, head of the Black Panther Party at the time, declared that “the Panthers were ‘not against the Jewish people,’ but ‘against the government that will persecute the Palestinian people.’”[12] This partnership benefitted the Panthers as well, with Angela Davis mentioning in Palestine while with an activist delegation consisting entirely of women of color that “one thing that sustained [her] time in prison was a letter that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails had managed to pass from their families in the West Bank to [her] colleagues in the United States.”[13]

Women, specifically Black and Arab women of color, are intrinsic to the success of these coalitions. Numerous organizers from the United States have organized delegations to travel to Palestine in order to coordinate with activists there. In 2015, the Dream Defenders, a group aimed at ending police and prisons, was one such delegation, bringing Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, Black Youth Project national director Charlene Carruthers, Ferguson protester Tara Thompson, poet and artist Aja Monet, and the organizers Cherrell Brown and Carmen Perez, all prolific women of color.[14] In the United States, during a weekend of protests in Ferguson, MO, in 2014, two Palestinian women who removed themselves as speakers during an interfaith event so as to allow “young Ferguson protesters to express their rage at establishment civil rights organizations for avoiding Ferguson during the heat of the repression.”[15] Issues of racial injustice and imperialism have always been generative sites of activism for women of color due to their dual oppressions on the basis of race and gender. Examples of this in Palestine are found squarely in the limitations imposed by the Israeli Separation Wall (ISW) and the many physical barriers constructed ostensibly for the health and safety of Israeli citizens by protecting them from the threat of violent Palestinian attacks. These geo-political realities prevent women in Palestine from accessing work and health services, thus endangering their livelihoods. These obstacles cause pregnant women who cannot access hospitals to miscarry, and increase issues of domestic violence when the men who control paternalistic structures enact violence against the women in their households under the guise of protection. Palestinian liberation cannot exist without acknowledging these women and how they navigate the reality of their living conditions. As described in one piece, “The way Firyal [a young Palestinian Woman] for one experienced her displacement and located it in the disruptions endemic to the ISW actually transformed both her imprisonment (as she is caught within the confines of the Wall) and her own body into concrete sites of resistance and sources of freedom and liberty.”[16] The very bodies of Palestinian women can be turned into sites of resistance. 

Having Palestine seen as an anomaly or an extreme example denies the historical precedent put forth by other liberation movements against similar legacies of imperialism, and alienates Palestinian activists from mainstream support.[17] The issue of Palestinian liberation is seen as one that is so complicated and strenuous to parse the reality out of, making it seem as if it is an exceptional example of struggle. “De-exceptionalizing” Palestine allows for benefits that are multifold. For one, resituating the struggles faced by Palestinians into a global context, activists can locate more similarities in movements against imperialism and racism, and access the benefits therein. Additionally, it is dangerous to create a narrative that holds Palestinians (and members of surrounding Arab states), exempt from the anti-Blackness all too common in Middle-Eastern culture. Though formatted in a different structure than the U.S racial paradigm, anti-Black racism and discrimination in the region is rampant, whether in beauty standards, or the blackface still present in Arab media,[18] or the Arab merchant class’s treatment of Black urban communities.[19] If Palestinian organizers do not push vigorously against the issue of anti-Blackness in the Middle-East, it is hypocritical to seek guidance and support from Black radical groups in the United States, and the strength of possible coalitions is eroded. Keeping a critical lens to the movement for Palestinian liberation in order to ensure that groups are being held to the same standard of ethics as struggles around the world is imperative to ensure true equity for all peoples in Palestine and surrounding areas. If we can de-exceptionalize the struggle in Palestine, we can create more equitable actions and reciprocal partnerships with global campaigns.

Much literature has been written on the modern day implications of the connections between Black and Palestinian movements. However, not as much has been focused on critical aspects that broaden the conversation, such as the long history of these connections. In addition, the fact that women are on the front lines of fostering these partnerships is not nearly as recognized as it should be. Furthermore, ignoring the anti-Blackness in the Middle-East only does a deep disservice to all involved in the struggle for liberation. Holding Palestinian activists and citizens to the same ethical standards we hold other activists worldwide comes hand in hand with the de-exeptionalization of Palestine. With the understanding that our liberations are intertwined, we can push for real change. As stated by the activist Suhad Khatib, "We recognize that none of us is free until all of us are free."[20]

Sources

[1] “Timeline: The Furor over the Redskins' Name.” The Washington Post, WP Company, www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/local/timeline-the-furor-over-the-redskins-name/2035/.

[2] Andreeva, Nellie. 'Big Mouth': Jenny Slate Will Be Replaced By Black Actor As Voice Of Missy On Netflix Animated Series. 24 June 2020, deadline.com/2020/06/big-mouth-recast-jenny-slates-missy-black-voice-actror-netflix-animated-series-1202968965/.

[3] Das, Andrew. “U.S. Soccer Repeals National Anthem Policy.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/sports/soccer/us-soccer-anthem-uswnt.html.

[4] Buchanan, L., Bui, Q., & Patel, J. (2020, July 03). Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History. Retrieved July 06, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html?smid=tw-nytimes

[5] Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

[6] Ibid

[7] Young, Lewis. “American Blacks and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.” Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, [University of California Press, Institute for Palestine Studies], 1972, pp. 70–85. JSTOR, JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2535974.

[8] Ibid

[9] Ibid

[10] Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

[11] Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

[12] Young, Lewis. “American Blacks and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.” Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, [University of California Press, Institute for Palestine Studies], 1972, pp. 70–85. JSTOR, JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2535974.

[13] Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

[14] Ibid

[15] Ibid

[16] Shalhoub-Kevorkian, Nadera. Militarization and Violence against Women in Conflict Zones in the Middle East: A Palestinian Case-Study. Cambridge University Press, 2009. Cambridge University Press, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511626852.

[17] Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

[18] El-Geressi, Yasmine. “The Prevalence of Blackface in Arab Pop Culture.” Majalla, 30 Mar. 2020, eng.majalla.com/node/80461/the-prevalence-of-blackface-in-arab-pop-culture.

[19] Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

[20] Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

Sources

1. “Timeline: The Furor over the Redskins' Name.” The Washington Post, WP Company,

www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/local/timeline-the-furor-over-the-redskins-name/2035/.

2. Andreeva, Nellie. 'Big Mouth': Jenny Slate Will Be Replaced By Black Actor As Voice Of Missy On

Netflix Animated Series. 24 June 2020, deadline.com/2020/06/big-mouth-recast-jenny-slates-missy-black-

voice-actror-netflix-animated-series-1202968965/.

3. Das, Andrew. “U.S. Soccer Repeals National Anthem Policy.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 9 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/sports/soccer/us-soccer-anthem-uswnt.html.

4. Buchanan, L., Bui, Q., & Patel, J. (2020, July 03). Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest

Movement in U.S. History. Retrieved July 06, 2020, from

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html?smid=tw-

nytimes

5. Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from

https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

6. Ibid

7. Young, Lewis. “American Blacks and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.” Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 2, no.

1, [University of California Press, Institute for Palestine Studies], 1972, pp. 70–85. JSTOR, JSTOR,

doi:10.2307/2535974.

8. Ibid

9. Ibid

10. Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from

https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

11. Ibid

12. Young, Lewis. “American Blacks and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.” Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 2, no.

1, [University of California Press, Institute for Palestine Studies], 1972, pp. 70–85. JSTOR, JSTOR,

doi:10.2307/2535974.

13. Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from

https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

14. Ibid

15. Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from

https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

16. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, Nadera. Militarization and Violence against Women in Conflict Zones in the

Middle East: A Palestinian Case-Study. Cambridge University Press, 2009. Cambridge University Press,

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511626852.

17. Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from

https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

18. El-Geressi, Yasmine. “The Prevalence of Blackface in Arab Pop Culture.” Majalla, 30 Mar. 2020,

eng.majalla.com/node/80461/the-prevalence-of-blackface-in-arab-pop-culture.

19. Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from

https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf

20. Bailey, K. D. 2015. Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from

https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf