NCBA Affirms End to Arms Shipments, Calls for Permanent Ceasefire
There is a perpetual belief that the Black community has no place in discussions related to the foreign affairs of our country, and that could be no further from the truth. Today, the North Carolina Black Alliance calls for a permanent ceasefire and the release of hostages in all international and global conflicts, particularly those involving support from the United States. Not just for the past six months but throughout our nation’s history, we have grappled with the limitations of violence as a means to enforce power and control, especially when governing domestically and abroad.
This moment calls for us to act with courage and conviction as displayed by organizations including the United Nations and, as recently as last week, ranking congressional members attempting to move President Biden to change our nation’s course in providing weapons and funding, resulting in the furtherance of hostilities between Israel and Hamas which has claimed tens of thousands of lives in the Gaza Strip and beyond.
In a joint statement issued and signed by 40 members of Congress, they state: “In light of the recent strike against aid workers and the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, we believe it is unjustifiable to approve these weapons transfers.” We strongly support this evolution of strategy, and as a generation before us of anti-apartheid advocates, we understand the interconnectivity of the struggle.
With the 2024 election approaching, the North Carolina Black Alliance and Advance North Carolina remain committed to listening to residents in rural and predominantly African-American communities. As we point them to the polls, they will point to us the problems, and we will work together to ensure the priorities of those elected align to create the power needed to improve our lives and our future.
“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict, a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” – Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance address 1964