Angela Davis spoke at a solidarity event for Rasmea Odeh, a prominent organizer and leader in the Palestinian community who has been singled out by the Federal Department of Justice for selective prosecution on a 20 year old immigration form issue; it;s part of the Governments Zionist influenced attempt to destroy support for the BDS movement due to it's growing success. Angela Davis speaks of her own selective prosecution years back by the FBI and Justice Department whose racist leadership was terrified of Black empowerment. She reads an open letter of solidarity she received from James Baldwin, who committed himself to struggle for justice on her behalf. Angela Davis had flown that day to the event from Ferguson, Missouri where she spent time with the people protesting the murder of Mike Brown. She speaks about the activism there and its historic mark in sparking the movement to end police impunity for murdering black men and women and the world wide attention that their struggle has generated. She speaks of the linkage that State violence has created between the Palestinian and Black communities. She is introduced by the activist, author and scholar Professor Barbra Ransby. An article Professor Ransby had written, mentioned by Angela Davis during her comments is here:http://www.colorlines.com/articles/ella-taught-me-shattering-myth-leaderless-movement
Mike Wilson performs has rap "What if I was White" which is later mentioned by Professor Davis.
Rasmea Odeh speaks of her history growing up under the colonial settler occupation of Palestine by Israel and its similarity to the oppression experienced by Blacks in the United States. She speaks elegantly of the struggle for justice.
Rasmea Defense Committee - justice4rasema.org US Palestinian Community Network Committee to Stop FBI Repression Black Lives Matter BYP100 We Charge Genecide
The PA system started to fail almost immediately after the program began even though it tested good ahead of time. My recording had a direct feed until the point where the technician transferred it to a portable speaker he brought into the large hall to save the event. A few minutes of the talk were lost during the scramble for an alternative feed. When the recording resumes, Angela Davis was just starting to talk about an open letter from James Baldwin she had received while in prison and the continued relevance of its message.
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