AMP in solidarity with Movement for Black Lives

Two years ago a police officer in Ferguson, MO, shot and killed an unarmed black man named Michael Brown. The response of the black community and the launch of the hashtag #blacklivesmatter shifted the conversation on American race relations permanently and began a frank approach toward addressing the systemically racist policing of American communities.

Last week, the Movement for Black Lives announced its platform, A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom & Justice. The Movement for Black Lives is a collective of more than 50 organizations representing thousands of Black people from across the country [that] have come together with renewed energy and purpose to articulate a common vision and agenda. The platform calls for specific changes in U.S. policy toward the many issues that affect the lives of millions of people of color. Following each of the 38 policy recommendations, the Movement for Black Lives lists specific actions be taken to turn those recommendations into reality.

Recognizing that we cannot advocate for Palestinian liberation and human rights while ignoring the institutional and systemic racism that impacts Black and Brown people on a daily basis -- often with catastrophic results -- the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) unequivocally and without reservation endorses this platform in its entirety.
 
We would like to call particular attention to the Invest-Divest section, which calls for the cutting of U.S, military aid to Israel because of Israel's systemic violations of the basic human rights of the Palestinian people. The platform implicates the United States as being complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people by supplying weaponry and other military aid to Israel, which helps it to maintain and strengthen its occupation. It also refers to Israel as an apartheid state with more than 50 laws that sanction discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel. The visionary statement also endorses the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions.
 
AMP wholeheartedly reiterates these statements and stands with the Movement for Black Lives. As long as innocent lives are being taken away by those more powerful, whether they be Palestinian or Black and Brown Americans, whether in the name of the war on drugs or in the name of "national security," AMP will continue to call for justice, freedom, and equality for all.

Get more information, read the platform or learn how to get involved.
 
#vision4blacklives #blacklivesmatter #freepalestine