Category: statements

Juneteenth is OUR BLACK JUBILEE

June 19, 1865 marks the day that our enslaved Ancestors in Texas received word that our generations of struggle to free ourselves toppled legal chattel slavery (at least in the current form). On this date our grandmothers’ grandmothers and our grandfathers’ grandfathers turned to each other in love and power to celebrate our beauty, our humanity, and divinity…despite an entire infrastructure and economy that tried to turn us into property.

On February 10th, Black Lives Matter Grassroots released our statement vehemently opposing Trump’s planned ICE raids. With the fascist raids now in full swing, let us be clear: abolishing ICE must be part of the Black liberation agenda. The blatant attacks on migrant communities are absolutely a Black issue. We assert this position on both moral and strategic grounds.

May is not just another month on the calendar—it is a sacred time of reckoning, remembrance, and relentless resistance. This May, we carry the weight of history on our shoulders as we honor the lives stolen by white supremacist violence, celebrate the revolutionary legacy of our ancestors, and reaffirm our commitment to the fight for Black liberation.

The fascist capture of Mahmoud Khalil, carried out by the white-supremacist state in collusion with Columbia University, is meant to serve as a threat to all organizers of conscience, especially those who are Palestinian or carry otherwise marginalized identities.

Donald Trump has declared war on the people. In the few weeks since his inauguration, we have witnessed horrifying stories of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids carried out under his administration’s orders to round up undocumented people. These raids have taken place in schools, at public transit stops, in grocery stores, and at homes – spaces where we should all be free and safe.

Our hearts are a bit lighter and we join in celebrating a small feeling of relief for our Palestinian relatives who have been subjected to what is nothing short of genocide…

“What an honor to have Dr. Cornel West join the leadership of Black Lives Matter Grassroots. There is no one whose life, work, and wisdom serves as a stronger guide. We have been in community with Dr. West since our formation in 2013 and are grateful to finally make it official.” says Dr. Melina Abdullah, Co-Founder and Director, Black Lives Matter Grassroots…

On May 1, 2023 #JordanNeely was lynched in broad daylight for the crime of being Black, unhoused, & possibly suffering from mental illness by a white supremacist vigilante named Daniel Penny…

Our flight has never been dependent on who occupies the White House. It is driven by our secret duty in our deep commitment to justice and the liberation of our people.

Marcellus Williams’ execution is nothing short of a modern-day lynching, carried out under the guise of justice, but rooted deeply in the same systems of oppression that have brutalized Black people for centuries. This was not just a man being put to death—it was the latest chapter in America’s long and bloodstained history of state-sanctioned violence against Black bodies.