FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Forward Through Ferguson Calls For Full Ceasefire Now
PRESS CONTACT:
Jia Lian Yang
jia[at]forwardthroughferguson[dot]org
GENERAL INQUIRIES:
contact[at]forwardthroughferguson[dot]org
Forward Through Ferguson Calls For Full Ceasefire Now
Note: Links included below are for educational purposes and do not imply endorsement by Forward Through Ferguson.
November 24, 2023– Nearly a decade ago, after the killing of Michael Brown Jr., the world turned its attention to Ferguson in the St. Louis region, as our grieving community cried out for the end to the inequitable and untenable status quo. Now the world turns its attention to Gaza in the state of Palestine and we remember the powerful presence of Palestinians, locally and abroad, who took to the streets during the Ferguson uprising, led by Black St. Louis youth and supported by multiracial, multifaith people of conscience. We recall the Palestinians who reached out online to share wisdom and empathy with Black youth who were dealing with tear gas, rubber bullets, and armored vehicles in St. Louis neighborhoods. We reflect on the legacies of Palestinian American activist and Ferguson livestreamer Bassem Masri and Jewish American activist and Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein whose commitments to Black and Palestinian liberation were grounded in the understanding that those struggles are deeply intertwined. Rooted in communal memories of Black and Palestinian solidarity, as well as a critique of people and institutions that profit from settler colonialism, militarism, and imperialism, Forward Through Ferguson joins global humanitarian calls for full ceasefire now in Gaza.
Crimes Against Humanity in Gaza & Apartheid Against Palestinians
In our systems change work, we start by naming the current reality, the individual and institutional decision-makers who led us here, as well as the upstream factors that contribute to the root causes of harm and violence. We acknowledge that the names, categories, and narratives that describe active uprisings are prone to contestation, especially because of media and institutional biases. During the Ferguson uprising, we observed residents in mourning and people of conscience being described as “looters” and people who simply need to “get a job,” Black activists and organizers were doxxed, put on FBI watch lists, and labeled as “terrorists,” and Michael Brown Jr. himself was criminalized after his death. It is important to name the power dynamics that can properly contextualize the pain, suffering, and mass death we are witnessing. We want to be clear–the state of Israel is carrying out crimes against humanity in Gaza and apartheid against Palestinians as part of a larger settler-colonial project to strengthen and expand a theocratic ethnostate.
As St. Louisans, we are familiar with the deadly consequences of settler-colonialism and apartheid. The U.S. settler-colonial project displaced countless Indigenous people from the Osage Nation, Otoe-Missouria Tribe, Illini Confederacy, and other tribes. The state of Missouri compromised to allow slavery, resulting in a system of apartheid that denied personhood and rights to people like Dred and Harriet Scott. Nonetheless, tens of thousands of African Americans found their way to St. Louis as part of the Great Migration, which forced Black people to flee from the Jim Crow South to another uncertain future. Our region still aches from the scars of the East St. Louis massacre and subsequent killings, lynchings and attacks on Black people. Even today, we are demanding an end to jail deaths in the St. Louis City jail and awaiting reparations for Black people, as refugees flee war and genocide abroad, only to face obstacles when attempting to make a new life in St. Louis. We speak out against the atrocities against Palestinians because in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer, “nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
We are pained by the racialized and xenophobic interpersonal violence that often coincides with global tragedy. As we collectively search for ways to interpret global events and mass atrocities, we invite our community of changemakers to develop a sociopolitical analysis that holds accountable the governments, elected and appointed officials, institutions, and corporations that benefit from the status quo. We also urge communal investments in healing and justice initiatives and spaces. It can be lonely to resist racism, xenophobia, and anti-semitism, and the sharp edges of grief, rage, and despair can be warmed and softened with diligent attention to collective care, active listening, and empathy.
“From Ferguson to Palestine, Occupation is a Crime”
We understand that demanding a full “ceasefire now” means nothing without action. As an anti-racist systems change organization, we know that transformation of systems, structures, policies, budgets, mental models, and ways of being are necessary for addressing the root causes of harm and violence. For every dollar spent on policing in St. Louis City, only one penny (or less) goes to health and human services. In many St. Louis County municipalities, police make up nearly or over 50% of full-time employees, with the next largest department being half the size of the police department, or even smaller. Bombs are manufactured in the St. Louis region, then shipped overseas to kill Black and Brown civilians in Gaza. St. Louis City and County police are trained in Israel and come back to small towns like Ferguson, prepared to act like soldiers towards local residents. Our local police departments are equipped with billions of dollars worth of military grade equipment, from M-16 rifles to sound cannons (i.e. LRADs) to armored vehicles (i.e. MRAPs), costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars. St. Louisans’ tax dollars go towards similar and even more deadly weapons and equipment to be deployed on tens of thousands of civilians in places like Gaza. We believe that local efforts to divest from institutions that harm, surveil, incarcerate, and kill Black & Brown communities in order to invest in health-centered, trauma-informed, community-based safety approaches can have a global impact.
Forward Through The Uprising
This month, we co-organized and actualized the 2023 St. Louis Racial Equity Summit, which brought together hundreds of people who continue to embrace the Ferguson Commission’s mandate and work towards realizing Forward Through Ferguson’s vision: “…a transformed St. Louis region where, regardless of race and ZIP code, there is justice for all, the opportunity to thrive, and boundless possibility for all of our youth.” Michael Brown Sr.’s words at the Summit offered a poignant reminder that although nothing can fully repair the harm of fatal state violence or bring back loved ones taken too soon, we can work towards healing by creating support systems for people most impacted by inequity and fatal state violence, and we can work towards justice by building a world where families can expect their children to live and thrive for generations to come. The Summit brought together Black youth and people of conscience who continue to educate and mobilize for a better world. Nearly a decade following an unthinkable tragedy, we are still here, unflinching, yearning and fighting for equity and justice.
Centering Impacted Communities
From its origins in the Ferguson Commission, Forward Through Ferguson has sought, valued, and uplifted community voices through times of crisis and struggle. As we seek a path “forward through” in this moment, we commit to: a) ongoing learning about the stories of people locally and globally impacted by oppression, segregation, and apartheid, b) working in coalition and partnership to transform systems towards equity and justice, and c) holding institutions and power holders that profit from settler colonialism, militarism, and imperialism accountable. We want to be in community with you as we embark on this sacred and urgent collective work.
CALLS TO ACTION:
Note: These calls to action were crowdsourced from organizations and groups that are led by or in solidarity with Palestinians. This list is not exhaustive, nor is it in order of importance. These calls to action are listed below for educational purposes and do not imply endorsement by Forward Through Ferguson.
- Contact your representative to demand a full ceasefire in Gaza.
- Join an organization or grassroots group that is taking direct action to stop crimes against humanity in Palestine, whether that’s a symbolic march, a sit-in or die-in, or blocking shipments of weapons and bombs to Gaza.
- Join the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law.
- Contribute to mutual aid humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
- Donate eSIM cards to Gazans who are experiencing a communications blackout.
LEARN MORE:
Note: Resources and organizations are listed below for educational purposes and do not imply endorsement by Forward Through Ferguson.
Freedom Is A Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
The Roots of Black-Palestinian Solidarity by Khury Petersen-Smith in Yes! Magazine
Black Power and Palestine: Transnational Countries of Color by Michael R. Fischbach
Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd
Black For Palestine — An emerging national network of Black activists committed to supporting the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice, peace and self-determination.
U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights — Provides resources and strategic support to the U.S.-based Palestine solidarity movement, channeling grassroots power into positive change in U.S. policy and public opinion.
Adalah Justice Project — A Palestinian-led advocacy organization based in the U.S. that builds cross-movement coalitions to achieve collective liberation.
St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee — St. Louis-based grassroots group.
CAIR-Missouri — Enhancing the understanding of Islam, encouraging dialogue, protecting civil liberties, empowering American Muslims, and building coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
American Muslims for Palestine — Working to educate, organize, and mobilize the Muslim-American community, as well as allies in other communities, to advance Palestinian rights.
Jewish Voice For Peace — A grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with Palestinian freedom struggle.
ProJo STL — An intergenerational group of Jews in STL opposed to racism, islamophobia & antisemitism.
Hineni STL — A Jewish movement for a ceasefire in Israel/Palestine, dedicated to living […] Jewish values and faith bravely.
# # #
