We Fight Back — Southern Movement Committee

A Statement From The Southern Movement Committee

There is so much going on around the world and in our communities, many of us are rightfully angry, heartbroken, and afraid. As we affirm the pain of our people: we recognize that the current threats and attacks on our communities are a part of a multi-generational war this country has waged against Black people.

The National Guard in Memphis is an escalation of the ways police forces already occupy our communities. We hold the complexity of being both devastated and unsurprised by the suspicious deaths of both Trey Reed and Cory Zukatis in Mississippi because we have survived through countless acts of racial terrorism and class violence in this country. What we are experiencing is a moment where this centuries-old war waged on our people is intensifying.

However, we have the power to win.

As the National Guard is being sent into neighborhoods to reinforce local police, we can build communities of care and safety. Simultaneously, we will continue organizing for power to get the necessary resources for high-quality housing, comprehensive education, investment in our youth and other resources for our communities to thrive. As fascist organizations like Turning Point USA brainwash youth across this country with hate and lies about history, we can create learning spaces in our communities that ground us in our history and give us the tools we need to end the spread of misinformation. As the fearful representatives of so-called Fearless Debates, followers of Turning Point USA, violate our sacred HBCU campuses like Tennessee State University, we can skill-up and organize to fight facism and build power.

We deserve better. Our children deserve schools that are safe and fully-funded, not militarized zones patrolled by soldiers. Our families deserve to be whole, not disappeared and torn apart by a system that treats us as disposable. Our young people deserve real opportunities to thrive, not a future defined by surveillance, punishment, and intimidation. It is up to US to build that new world, and we have the power to make it happen.

We are a powerful people that have defined what it means to build new worlds in the face of oppression. We know we have to organize so that we can not only fight but win! Across the world, communities are rising up against repression and authoritarianism. The Southern Movement Committee is dedicated to building true democracy and protecting our people here in Tennessee and as part of the global struggle for liberation.

We invite you to join us!