Press Statement
August 24, 2014
Reference: Bernadette Ellorin, Chairperson, BAYAN USA, email: chair@bayanusa.org
We Stand with the People of Ferguson Against White Supremacist Violence & for Black Self-Determination — BAYAN USA
The events unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri after the police murder of unarmed, black teenager Michael Brown, are the latest and most glaring example of the US ruling class’ systemic war on black people and its white supremacist character. It is a war that began in 1619, with the first African slaves landing in Jamestown, Virginia to be exploited for tobacco production, eventually leading to the vast accumulation of capital upon which the very foundation of the United States’ imperialism was built. The history of African-Americans is over 300 years of confronting genocide, subjugation, reactionary violence, war, white supremacy, and–in modern days–imperialism.
Filipino-Americans across the US, under the banner of BAYAN USA, stand with the people of Ferguson, where uprising and rebellion against the white supremacist police and local government are justified in the wake of Michael Brown’s murder. It is even more justified as the police state continues to impose martial law, including attacks against media, and provoke violence in the city.
BAYAN USA recognizes and supports the right of African-Americans to self-determination. As an anti-imperialist organization fighting for the national liberation of the Philippines, we see the self-determination and national liberation of Black people not only crucial to the movement for freedom and democracy in the US, but for the whole world.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966, defines self-determination as the right to “freely determine political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.”
The right to self-determination includes the right to self-defense. In addition to supporting organizing of Black communities to chart their path to freedom and democracy, BAYAN USA also supports the call from Black organizers for the formation of Black self-defense networks to defend Black lives from police terror and state violence.
While Black people have the absolute right to exist and to prosper, the US ruling elite and its police and military enforcers see otherwise. To stand against white supremacy, racism, and state violence is justified and necessary. There will be more Michaels, Erics, Trayvons, Oscars, Troys, Rahmarleys, Kathryns and countless other cases of extrajudicial killings of African Americans to come, until genuine systemic change is won by a mass movement inclusive of the self-determination of all oppressed minorities in the US.
Stop the Extrajudicial Killings of African-Americans!
Justice for Mike Brown & All Black Lives Taken by White Supremacy!
Self-Determination for African Americans!
Down with White Supremacy and Racism!
Down with the Police State!
Right to Resist! Right to Exist!
Long Live International Solidarity!
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BAYAN–USA is an alliance of 18 progressive Filipino organizations in the U.S. representing youth, students, women, workers, artists, and human rights advocates. As the oldest and largest overseas chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN–USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a center for educating, organizing, and mobilizing anti-imperialist Filipinos in the U.S. For more information, visit www.bayanusa.org.