In collaboration with Black Alliance for Peace and All African People’s Revolutionary Party, Shut Down Africom 2024 was a community event organized by Suffolk University Students for Justice in Palestine, Black Student Union and The Kreyól Association Oct. 29 with the goal to educate attendees on the United States’ role in neocolonialism across the African continent and African diaspora.
First, speakers from BAP and AAPRP gave a concise and passionate presentation discussing the presence of imperialist forces, notably the U.S. and their role in destabilizing Africa. At the end of the presentation, attendees were given the chance to ask questions and engage in the discussion even more.
The next activity was a group discussion regarding how imperialism and colonialism may have impacted their own lives or the lives of their families and friends. A map was placed on the floor that detailed every U.S. military base across the globe and those wanting to participate would point to their country on the map and talk about their experiences.
Next, there was a group zine making activity where attendees could follow along and take their zine home. In this context, a zine is a type of small magazine published independently, usually for the purpose of spreading information, similar to a pamphlet. Afterward, closing statements were made to cap off the event.
Shut Down Africom 2024 was an opportunity to learn about the intricacies of imperialism. The African continent specifically, tends to be overlooked by Western mainstream media, which allows imperialism there to be swept under the rug.
“It was a really good opportunity to learn about the U.S.’s involvement in Africa because that’s not usually talked about,” said an attendee. “Usually, [media] focuses on the Middle East, and for good reasons, because they are heavily involved there, but they are also involved in quite a lot of other places. African struggles aren’t talked about enough.”
Events like these, where a community comes together to learn about each other’s struggles, can help ignite feelings of unity and passion for activism.
“[At] the campus I graduated from, this was not present at all, and this is what I wanted so bad, so it’s exciting to see a lot of the potential and a lot of people just trying to get together and do what they can with what they have,” said a representative from AAPRP.
Overall, feelings of revolutionary optimism seemed to be shared among the other organizers.
“I think for me, what I learned, [is] that there are a ton of people who are excited to learn more about the things they may not have been taught or told,” said the main event speaker and BAP representative. “It was really nice to see that people are excited about that, to see that there’s a lot of energy and a lot of folks thinking about what they can do to support people on the continent doing that work, and folks that are here doing that work too.”
As explained by the event speakers and organizers, Africom, also known as the United States Africa Command, is an economic and strategic alliance between the U.S. and various African leaders. Sponsors of the Africom project claim that it will help “combat extremism” and establish peace in the continent.
However, according to one of the speakers from Black Alliance for Peace, this strategy is creating a dynamic of codependency, forcing African nations to rely on the U.S. and further debilitating them economically.
Speakers noted the consequences of Africom have rippling effects on the African diaspora. In the U.S. for instance, leftover weapons and funds that are not funneled into Africom end up fueling the militarization of American police, according to the event speakers.
BAP and AAPRP have resources on their websites for those who want a more in depth analysis of the issue. Anyone part of the African diaspora looking to get involved in a more hands-on way can join BAP, while those not of African descent who want to support BAP can choose to join the BAP Solidarity Network.
