Black, Dalit, and Sheedi Internationalist Solidarities: Cornel West, Chandrashekhar Azad, and Tanzeela Qambrani Make History!

Always a privilege to hear the brilliant Cornel West. To have him speak alongside Dalit activist Chandrashekhar Azad and Sheedi politician Tanzeela Qambrani as they build Black, Dalit, and Sheedi (Pakistanis of African descent) internationalist solidarity movements was truly historic. Expertly navigated by Dalit activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan, it aired live on June 26th.

Fortunately, there's a recording:  https://www.facebook.com/EqualityLabs1/videos/403652040529444/

Please take time out to listen! So much power and genius was spoken, it's hard to single out moments, but some highlights:

I love that it began by establishing Black internationalism as the through-line of the conversation. Soundararajan used Keisha Blain's definition: "Black internationalism is the insurgent, political, urgent culture that is a response to slavery, colonialism, and imperialism so that the visions and freedoms of Black freedom animate the international solidarity that comes out of that. Black efforts have to use international collaborations and solidarities in order to overcome the dehumanizing systems of white supremacy."

There's a whole history of Black internationalism to draw from. Names cited from this rich legacy: Cornel West, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, Paul and Eslanda Robeson, Aime Cesaire, Gwen Patton, Patrice Lumumba, Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver, bell hooks, Linda Burnham, Assatta Shakur, Margo Okazawa-Rey.

Soundararajan underscored that Black internationalism also animates how South Asians confront anti-Blackness and anti-Dalitness. And just as there've been rich collaborations between Black activists worldwide, there've also been rich collaborations between Dalit activists worldwide, and Black and Dalit activists, such as between W.E.B. Dubois and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

Black internationalism, then, is "a way for oppressed peoples to see each other," and to together resist "predatory institutions that enforce violent systems."

Chandrashekhar Azad highlighted the struggle against Brahmanism and India's caste apartheid, citing numerous instances of anti-Dalit violence. He noted that whereas police brutality against Black Americans is given coverage in the US and global media, police brutality against Dalits is hidden. He also spoke on the Citizenship Act of Dec 2019, which refuses citizenship to Muslims; the first time religion is by law an overt criterion for Indian citizenship.

Tanzeela Qambrani spoke with mesmerizing strength and poise on her experiences with anti-Black racism in Pakistan's schools and offices, in politics, and as an intersectional Black Pakistani woman. She also spoke on how George Floyd's murder was experienced by her community, and why the policemen giving themselves the power to be Floyd's judge, court, and executioners was all too familiar to her. Truly, "the time to end South Asian anti-Blackness is today."

Cornel West spoke with expansiveness and deep listening on "radical love" and the inseparability of the fight to defund the police and demilitarize the US, to end US-led and US-funded wars and occupations. In his words: "As we enable and ennoble each other, our traditions, specific and local, connect us internationally and globally against evil forces. They (these forces) are structures and institutions, as well as attitudes and dispositions. In the end, we are going to have to have an international solidarity of our voices being intertwined, with Black internationalism tied to brown tied to indigenous--across the board. We've got to make these connections so that our solidarity is real and concrete; that's precisely why our conversation today is so very, very, very important."

So, so grateful for these incredible voices. 💞