Dear Friend,

In recent weeks, we have all recommitted to ending anti-Black violence. We want peace and freedom for our friends, neighbors, and even complete strangers. We want Black lives to matter — everywhere.

That’s why I’m asking you to join hundreds of others to defend Black lives under attack right now, in Honduras. On the morning of Saturday, July 18, four leaders from the Afro-descendant Garifuna community of Triunfo de la Cruz were kidnapped by men in bulletproof vests.[1] Our letters today to Congress and U.S. officials can go a long way in winning these activists’ urgent release and making sure Black lives matter in Honduras.

Will you take a moment to contact your representatives to demand Snider, Aparicio, Joel, and Alber’s release?

As the Movement for Black Lives made clear this Junteenth, the struggle for Black lives in the U.S. is intimately connected to global struggles of Black people — whether in West Africa, Honduras, or elsewhere.[2] We want a world free of racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness, and that means global solidarity whenever and wherever Black lives are under attack.

This abduction follows other attacks on the Garifuna, including the recent murder of Edwin Fernandez. Our partner, the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH), is requesting that people of conscience exert pressure to demand:

• The immediate return of Snider, Aparicio, Joel, and Alber, alive and healthy
• Compliance with the 2015 sentence of the Inter-American Court on Human Rights[3]
• That the Honduran state – and by extension its supporters, including the United States –  guarantee the security and protection of the members of the community of Triunfo de la Cruz

The whereabouts of these leaders are still unknown, and time is of the essence. OFRANEH knows global voices — like yours — can create a big enough megaphone to bring these activists home.

Your solidarity can make a profound difference. Add your voice today and protect Black lives in Honduras.

In solidarity, Chung-Wha Hong Executive Director

P.S. This is just the latest violent and racist attack on the Garifuna peoples. But your support has made a difference for this community before. Take action today.

[1] TeleSur, “Honduran Garifuna Leader Snider Centeno Kidnapped,” July 18, 2020
[2] The Movement for Black Lives, “A Global Black Call to Action,” June 19, 2020
[3] Grassroots International “International Court Rules in Favor of Indigenous Land Rights in Honduras,” January 4, 2016