Black Lives Matter.

*Image credit Existence Is Resistance, art by Kyle Goen (Instagram: @kyledidthis)*

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

As Palestinians living in the United States, we believe deeply in the liberation struggle of Black people and are committed to uplifting and supporting that struggle.

We cannot fully understand the experience of Black people in the U.S. who have been subjected to centuries of white supremacy and oppression at the hands of the state, but we can listen to and stand with them. As Palestinians, we know an intifada (an uprising) when we see one. As Palestinians, we are familiar with the demonization of resistance, the betrayal of silence, and the criminalization of freedom fighters and ordinary people who want to live.

The U.S. was founded on white supremacy and has never abandoned it, targeting Black communities with structural and direct violence and condemning them to premature death. The police continue to terrorize and attack Black people across the country. Protestors in our very own city are being attacked with tear gas and kettled into residential streets. We stand in solidarity with the Black liberation movement and uprisings as they demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and the countless others that have been stolen by white supremacy.

Now is the time to listen to Black people and center their demands to defund the police and invest in real safety. There is a long and beautiful legacy of transnational Black-Palestinian solidarity, particularly in the 1960s and more recently during the 2014 Ferguson uprising. We encourage our community to learn more about the connections between our liberation struggles with this short video, blog post, or with the Journal for Palestine Studies. Though there are many connections between our struggles, this is not the time for us to drown out their voices with our own, tell them how to resist, or to detract attention from this uprising.

We also have work to do within our communities and families. Many non-Black members of our Palestinian and Arab communities uphold anti-Blackness and actively contribute to ongoing harm against our Afro-Arab siblings and Black people at large (learn more here and here). We encourage everyone to spend time reading the resources we have provided in this email to improve ourselves, start conversations with your families, and to challenge racism in word and deed so we can be better allies moving forward (Arabic and English resources are available).

This is an important moment in centuries of oppression and pain for Black Americans. And it is imperative that we do all that we can to ensure that it is a turning point for the better. DCPFAF is committed to engaging our community on the issue of anti-Blackness, and listening to, amplifying, and supporting Black voices as they lead the movement for justice. We hope you will join us. For our Arab community members, you can start by signing your name to the Arabs for Black Lives Collective joint statement. None of us are free until we are all free.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

Donate to bail funds across the country or the groups listed here.
Start a conversation about #BlackLivesMatter with your family and friend group using these Arabic and English resources.
Email/call the DC Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Affairs and demand they redirect DC budget funds from MPD and redirect that money into programs that help Black communities: judiciary@dccouncil.us or (202) 350-1362.
Testify at the Fiscal Year 2021 DC MPD budget hearing (currently being rescheduled). A testimony toolkit by Stop Police Terror Project and SURJ DC is here.
Call and tweet Mayor Bowser to cancel the curfew: twitter.com/mayorbowser or (202) 727-3838 or (866) 588-0569.
Get involved with or support local organizations doing abolitionist work like Black Lives Matter DC, Stop Police Terror Project, Black Youth Project 100, and Occupation Free DC
Support DMV-area Black-owned restaurants.

RESOURCES