via Flickr
Every generation of Black activists discovers within their quest for liberation locally, a global connection worth embracing as well.
How did this solidarity come to be?
When the 1948 National Party used apartheid rule against Black South Africans, robbing them of their right to vote, own property, and WORSE, Black people across America (and especially the Jim Crow South) felt a deeply personal connection to their struggle.
As the Civil Rights Movement gained steam, Black South Africans returned the sentiment.
Leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela often referenced favorably the struggles of Black demonstrators across the world who condemned the same systems of institutionalized oppression that made lynchings, voter suppression, and workforce discrimination permissible by law.
Fighting similar enemies and aiming for the same prize - equality under the law - strengthened our kinship across movements.
Today’s social justice warriors are keeping the same support network alive through cultural exchanges like art, music, travel, and on social media.
Like how peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors in Ferguson, Missouri learned through supportive Palestinean activists on Twitter that milk helps soothe the burn of police tear gas. Now that’s being your brother’s and sister’s keeper!
Isn’t it motivating to know that our resolve to fight against all odds can inspire other Black people on an international scale to do the same?