Over the weekend, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law written when Black people were still enslaved, to kidnap and disappear people. This could include asylum seekers, legal residents, or even U.S. citizens.
Trump used this law so that the government could kidnap people without trial, ship them to a foreign prison, and ignore a court order telling them not to do that.
They were sent to one of the most violent and inhumane prisons in the world in El Salvador.
It was done despite a federal judge’s order blocking the deportations. When told by the federal judge to turn the plane around, they basically shrugged it off and said it was too late.
What the f*ck??
The thing is, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. History is repeating itself right in front of our eyes.
In the 1850s, the Fugitive Slave Act let white people snatch free Black people off the streets and disappear them into slavery with no evidence, just an accusation.
In 1919, during the Red Summer, the government deported Black radicals and immigrants who fought for their rights, calling them a ‘threat’ to the state.
In the 1960s and 70s, COINTELPRO hunted, assassinated, and exiled Black revolutionaries.
When the government can round people up without trial, ignore court rulings, and send them to foreign prisons to disappear, democracy is not dying, it is already dead.
If Democracy dies in darkness, we need to light this sh*t up and set it on fire.
That’s why we are making FOUR demands:
The return of every person deported under this law.
Abolition of the Alien Enemies Act.
An immediate end to this administration’s war on Black and Brown people.
Our grassroots movement is pushing for Black liberation every single day. We are striving to create a world where Black people do so much more than just survive. It’s time we thrive.
As an organization one of our biggest hurdles is consistency.
Black Lives Matter imagines a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles.
In pursuing liberation, we envision a future fully divested from police, prisons, and all punishment paradigms and which invests in justice, joy, and culture. Email is the most important way we keep in touch with our supporters. But we know there's a lot going on.
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