Out of Africa protest for the International Month of Action against AFRICOM

Minneapolis, MN – On October 17, the U.S. Out of Africa committee held its first protest at Mayday Plaza in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. The protest was part of the International Month of Action against AFRICOM, a month of actions focused on the withdrawal of U.S. military from Africa and bringing an end to U.S. involvement in African wars. AFRICOM is the U.S. military command that focuses on for Africa.

Protesters rallied in the predominately East African neighborhood with signs that said, “Shut down AFRICOM” and “End U.S. drone strikes.” The neighborhood gave them a friendly response with honks and waves.

Lina Jebra, a member of the US Palestinian Community Network, spoke about the connection between U.S. imperialism in Africa and Israel’s genocide in Palestine and about how the Minneapolis Honeywell plan is contributing to these atrocities.

Jabra stated, “Today, we’re seeing the oppression of African countries subject to U.S. imperialist aggression converging and aligning with the oppression faced in the Middle East. The MQ-9 Reaper drone is yet another example that proves that the tools used by U.S. imperialism are one in the same, built and honed from centuries of plundering, colonizing and occupying nations.”

Honeywell makes the engines and navigational components for the MQ-9 Reaper drones used by Israel in its genocide of Gaza and the U.S. in Somalia and Nigeria. Honeywell produces IMUs, a navigational component for the MQ-9 Reaper drones, at its navigation lab and production plant in northeast Minneapolis.

Protesters demanded an end to Trump’s racist war on Somalia. Trump has escalated U.S. air war in Somalia, increasing U.S. drone strikes and civilian casualties. Donald Trump has so far bombed Somalia 215 times in his second term as president and 434 times total. President Trump has bombed Somalia more than all the other presidents combined in the 20 years that the U.S. has been at war in Somalia.

Domestically, Trump is also engaged in a racist hate campaign against Somali people, and has called Somali people “garbage,” “low-IQ”,and “bad people,” and said that Somalia was “barely a country.” Trump has repeatedly attacked the Somali community in Minneapolis, using ICE during Operation Metro Surge to target Somali neighborhoods and most recently using ICE to raid Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s DC house as part of the attempt to revoke her citizenship.

Speakers from Black Lives Matter Minnesota and the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice highlighted the connections between the U.S. intervention in Africa and police militarization, racist police violence, and mass incarceration here in the U.S.

Alissa Washington, the founder of the Wrongfully Incarcerated & Over-sentenced Families Council-MN, talked about the importance of international solidarity, stating, “Our experiences are different, but they compel us to stand together. We want an end to the killing and exploitation of Black people, wherever it happens. If I want people to care about my family, I have a responsibility to care about families in Palestine, in Sudan, in Congo, in Somalia, and across the whole continent of Africa.”

The U.S. Out of Africa committee a new committee in Women Against Military Madness. The organization calls for the abolition of AFRICOM, withdrawal of U.S. bases, and an end to U.S. drone strikes in Africa. The U.S. Out of Africa committee is working alongside the Minnesota Anti War Committee on a campaign to stop Honeywell from producing weapon components in Minneapolis.

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