Racial Justice Groups Unite in Call for Solidarity

WASHINGTON – The first weeks of Trump’s presidency have thrust to the forefront an agenda to criminalize and dehumanize immigrants, refugees, Muslims, Black people and trans communities across the country. In response, the #SolidarityIs campaign and Advancement Project’s national office are releasing a Solidarity Statement signed by more than 170 groups representing diverse constituencies. The statement serves as a groundbreaking show of support and affirmation from grassroots and national community leaders across the issue spectrum showing unity and commitment to deep, multi-racial, multi-class resistance and solidarity.

“We know that our communities face grave threats under the current Administration,” said Deepa Iyer, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Social Inclusion and coordinator of the #SolidarityIs campaign. “At the same time, we are also clear that the way forward is together.”

“Those who try to harm us and set us back need to understand that we have been through this before,” said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project’s national office. “Our history is one of strength, resistance and resilience. Trump might be looking to silence, terrorize and criminalize people of color, but he can only win when if we are divided.”

“An attack on one is an attack on all, and we will meet this with resistance and affirmations of each other’s humanity,” Browne Dianis added.

The solidarity statement is below and at http://www.solidarityis.org/stand-united-pledge.

STANDING UNITED AGAINST TRUMP’S ATTACKS: OUR PLEDGE TO BUILD RESISTANCE AND ACT IN DEEP MULTIRACIAL, MULTI-CLASS SOLIDARITY

In the one month since Donald Trump took office, he and his Administration have sent a resounding message to people of vibrant ethnic, racial, faith, class and gender identities, to people with disabilities, to LGBTQ communities, and to immigrants and refugees: his Administration does not value our bodies, lives, rights, families, livelihoods, communities, aspirations and dreams.

Trump plans to use the federal government to increase the criminalization of communities of color. His executive orders attack our collective safety with the construction of pipelines on indigenous lands and walls between nations, the suspension of refugee programs, the bans on entry of individuals from Muslim-majority countries, the punishment of sanctuary cities, and the elimination of programs that protect undocumented immigrants. His call for federal law enforcement in Black neighborhoods is another way to target communities of color through a hateful campaign. It is clear that this Administration’s rhetoric and policies serve only to criminalize and dehumanize large segments of our country, and will inevitably embolden others to target our communities for hate violence, discrimination, bullying, and harassment.

We reject this. We condemn this. We resist this.

We reject the outright criminalization and dehumanization of large segments of the American population.

We condemn the racial hatred implicit in the policies of the Trump Administration. We resist these attempts to control and constrain the liberties and freedoms of our communities.

Black, Brown, indigenous, Asian American and Pacific Islander, LGBTQ, and faith communities have endured – and continue to experience – the effects of enslavement, genocide, internment, surveillance, xenophobia, religious bigotry, homophobia, sexism, systemic racism, and Islamophobia. We know from our own collective histories that solidarity and resistance movements can and will change the direction of our nation. We have more in common than not, and we refuse to let the politics of fear and divisiveness prevail. Instead, we stand together as a united front against any policies rooted in fear, racial and religious bigotry, xenophobia, and hate.

Urgently, we call upon all people of conscience to join us in resistance and solidarity. We ask you to:

• Make public statements denouncing the language and policies of criminalization sanctioned by Trump’s executive orders
• Affirm solidarity with those most vulnerable through words and actions that name and center the myriad of ways that our identities, dignity and humanity are all under attack
• Urge local elected officials and policymakers to stand firm in declaring their cities, schools and neighborhoods hate-free zones and safe spaces with public statements and enforceable policies
• Call upon federal representatives to advocate against the implementation of the executive orders and the expansion of the role and size of law enforcement in our communities
• Refuse to comply with any efforts that could lead to the implementation of the executive orders
• Raise awareness of the impact of the executive orders and the importance of resistance and solidarity through conversations, forums, civil disobedience actions, and prayer services
• Provide support to places of faith, community centers, and grassroots organizations on the frontlines of resisting the executive orders

Last of all, we ask you to make a choice. To raise your voice. To give your time. To organize for a peaceful and inclusive society. And to stand united together with each other and with us in true solidarity.

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Advancement Project is a multi-racial civil rights organization. Founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1999, Advancement Project was created to develop and inspire community-based solutions based on the same high quality legal analysis and public education campaigns that produced the landmark civil rights victories of earlier eras.

www.solidarityis.org

#SolidarityIs is a campaign that identifies shared points of unity, amplifies ongoing solidarity practices, creates a learning space for inquiry and exploration, and encourages transformative actions of multiracial and cross-community solidarity.