 I think that speaks to the importance of why we are here now to advance the struggle. And I think it's important for us to note something that was very under-reported from the UN General Assembly meeting. They say in the mainstream media, the politicians, there's no way that they can be in peace in Ukraine. No peace is possible. No one wants to negotiate. No one wants to talk. It's all pie in the sky. All these people who are saying peace. It's not real. Well, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, who of course led the African leader's mission for peace in Ukraine, said that he actually had a meeting with the President of Ukraine. And in his previous meeting he had said, well, when you go to Russia, can you get some movement on unifying families and free and political prisoners? And he said, yes, you know, I'm going to bring this up. And in the meeting at the UN General Assembly, Zelensky told the President of South Africa, thank you so for what you're doing because it's working. The things that you mentioned are starting to happen. And that's about any support from any of the major Western powers that are fueling this conflict. The issue isn't that peace is impossible. It isn't that people can't negotiate. It's that there's no political will in the White House. And I think everyone who has sponsored this event, bravely I might add, because of course anytime you do something like this, people want to attack you. And perhaps both vets would like to know we have veterans for peace as one of our sponsors here tonight. I must say, excellent restaurant, bus, boys and poets. And the D.C. Statehood Green Party, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Democratic Socialists of America, Pax Christi USA, Massachusetts Peace Action, the diaspora, Palantane Collective, okay, Puerto Rico in the house tonight. So thank you so much for all the coalition called Peace in Ukraine. You can find it online, peaceinucrate.org, you can join as an organization, or you can join as an individual. But we have got to show the majority of Democrats and Republicans, despite the message coming from the White House, despite the message coming from the mainstream, or someone say, lame-stream media, party of the American people, 55% according to the CNN poll, don't want to send more. The majority of the American people want peace talks and negotiations. So why aren't denting us? And that's why we need you to be part of Peace in Ukraine. And we have the live stream going right now. There are thousands of people watching online, which is very, very exciting. Joins here to start us off by the excellent, fantastic, dulcet tones from members of the D.C. Labor Chorus. Just as brothers, siblings, comrades, family, it's about calm union. Calm is the Latin word for with. Union is the Latin word for one. And we seem together, we are a calm union. We join you in this urgent call for peace talks. It continues. Ukraine is losing soldier. If you care about sending this message to your Congress. Stop the War Coalition in England and the United Kingdom. Solidarity greetings from the UK Stop the War Coalition. Our two governments are the ones that have pushed the most for Ukraine to be part of NATO and have quashed peace talks. Only this week, our Defense Secretary said that UK troops will be sent directly to train troops in Ukraine. Only exacerbating the future conflict. There are repeated calls to spend more on weapons and war. It is important that we work together for an end to this war, just as we work together against the Iraq War. Peace is the only answer to what is already a bloody and dangerous conflict. We hope you will be successful in getting your Congress to stop fueling war and instead stand on the side of peace. It's not just crazy, pinko, compoxy war. In fact, one's a fraud. I'm going to do lots of jokes about being a redneck and they went something like this. If he looked 2022 that would have ended this war basically just as it was starting, but the UK and US go running to Ukraine to stop them from signing it and make sure they don't sit down at a peace table, it might be a proxy war. Has admitted this war was caused by NATO and it might be a proxy war. Hope we settle that debate. Has been sent or approved for this proxy war in Ukraine. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it would cost $20 billion to end homelessness in the United States. We could end homelessness six times over for the current price tag of this proxy war. According to the UN World Food Program, it would cost $40 billion to end world hunger. We could have ended world hunger spent on this insanity. We could have given everyone in the world, the whole world, the food flapjacks and grits on top for the fuck of it. We could have done that and still had money left over. And our military is supposed to bring security to the US, right? That's their goal, right? The military brings security. Well my God, ending world hunger would absolutely bring security to the United States. Adored. We would be looked at like Taylor Swift as people on the street like, oh my God, that's them. They ended world hunger, that's them, that's them right there. But we don't do that. We don't use the money for that. Instead, our government sends cluster bombs to Ukraine, which are banned in... Oh, you're not fans? Okay, I'm gonna skip that one if you don't like cluster bombs. Which are banned in 100 countries. 100 countries view this as a war crime to use these, but not us. We're good friends with war crimes. We love a good war crime. Our war machine's budget per year is 800, come from something, billion dollars. But that doesn't count the dark budget that we don't hear about. So we're over a trillion dollars per year on war and death and destruction and misery to put that into perspective. Because my brain, I don't know that any brain can really understand it, to put that into perspective. If you make $50,000 a year after taxes in order to make $1 trillion, you would have to work for 20 million years. 20 million years to make one year of our military budget. And they probably still wouldn't give you the view from the window, you know, you're probably 25 million years here. I still can't get a good view, still looking in the men's restroom. This is, you perhaps know that the U.S. spends about the same on military as the following seven countries combined. Maybe you've heard of that. But did you know we also spend the same as the bottom 190 countries combined? We spend more on military per year than the GDPs of 175 of the world's countries. And we're only 4% of the population. If there was one guy in your neighborhood of 100 people who was just buying guns and knives and bombs and mace and everything, would you be like, he's the guy creating peace? He's the guy bringing us security? Or would you think he's a sociopath? This government is sociopaths who perpetrate an endless array of death and destruction around the world. The Brown University cost of war study has found that the war on terror, starting a little over 20 years ago, has killed 6 million people. Huh, that sounds like a number we should never forget. 6 million. These are just some of the reasons we must demand peace. These are just some of the reasons we must stop these maniacs. These are just some of the reasons we must keep fighting for peace, even as the propaganda tells us that more war is peace. War is – what? What did you just say to me? War is peace. There's five things I know in this world. That's it, five things. One, family always comes first. Two, never pick the middle year in a lot of stadium restaurants. Three, a person with many piercings should leave extra time for airport security. Four, if a stranger offers you drugs just say no, unless you want drugs, and then say yes. And finally, war is not peace. It's not. It's just not. And that's why, actually, it takes a trillion dollars or trillions of dollars of propaganda, this propaganda apparatus to convince this nation that war is peace. And despite all of that, the endless verbal diarrhea that has been sprayed out of the corporate media for over 18 months now, less than half of Americans still endorse this war, still want to send more weaponry to this war. Like trillions of dollars on propaganda versus – what did we spend on a night's event? Seven dollars? Seven. Versus seven. These signs are homemade. Seven dollars. Seven dollars, and yet over 50 percent of Americans know the truth. That ain't a bad return on investment right there. No, it's not. Thank you for listening and keep fighting. Now did, now did Lee Kemp making war funny, but you did it. Thank you so much for the other statements of solidarity. You know, we're talking earlier about vote vets being outside the Capitol today, saying more money for war. So we want to read a statement from Veterans for Peace, and I think we have a couple of the veterans people in the House here, so thank you. Veterans for Peace has consistently expressed our opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and we remain opposed to the U.S. NATO moves that set the stage for this war. War is never an answer, especially in our age of nuclear proliferation. As veterans who have experienced the carnage of war, we feel great empathy for the young soldiers on both sides of this bloody war. Who are being killed and injured in the tens of thousands, we know all too well that the survivors of armed conflict will be traumatized and scarred for life. We demand urgent, good faith diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine, not more U.S. weapons advisors, endless war, and certainly not a nuclear war. We want those billions of dollars going for climate correction jobs, healthcare housing, not for the profiteers who manufacture weapons for death and destruction. It is time to embrace diplomacy and peace for the people of Ukraine, the people of Russia, the people of Europe, the United States, China, for the children, for the civilians, for the soldiers, for all living things. We demand diplomacy, not war. We demand peace in Ukraine. You know, I just have to know when you're in the front, you can see a lot. Almost every single chair in this space is filled right now. Almost every single chair. They say that there's no demand for peace, but I think you feel the urgency for peace, and I hope you give yourselves a round of applause because you can be anywhere else, but you're here tonight. When I think of our next speaker, I guess what I really think of the most is consistency. I've known her for, well, I won't say exactly how many years, but I can say I think we actually met in the very first time in the streets protesting the war in Iraq. And since then, whether it's been Iraq, Libya, Syria, you name it, when there is an imperialist war raging, bombs falling, children dying, people being starved for sanctions, really any injustice emanating from several of the buildings that are just down the street from us today, you can be pretty much guaranteed that not only would Claudia De La Cruz be there, but she's going to organize some people to come with her to try to build this movement like we're building a movement here tonight. That's right. I could say a lot more, but I think I'll be up here all night if I say what I really think because this is someone who I deeply admire. She hails from the People's Republic of the South Bronx. And I also have to say, I also have to say, just like the Isley Brothers has ties to T-Neck, New Jersey. So before I say too much up here, give it up for Claudia De La Cruz that are connected. And I would dare to say that there are millions of people around the world that are connected to this energy against the war and against any U.S. imperialist venture anywhere. And I cannot stand in this podium without saying hands off Haiti to make me laugh. I'm going to pour that various in those numbers. The horror of this war in Ukraine. But I am emboldened and I'm encouraged with knowing that we are here because we are committed. We are committed to build a society based on the principles of justice, based on the principles of peace and solidarity. Are we not? Are we not? That's right. It was March 18th this year, just a couple months ago that I was here in D.C. And I'm going to see some of you there as well. There were thousands of people in the streets of D.C. that were marching against this war in Ukraine. And we were making the connection between this war and the war and the invasion of Iraq. 20 years. You mentioned the Brown University study. And it said that in 20 years of war, the United States spent 21 trillion dollars. 21 trillion dollars. Do you know how much it takes for student debt to be wiped off? 1.7 trillion. And they have the audacity to say they care about humanity and the planet. That is shameful. We were here to reclaim the historical memory, which is extremely important because sometimes it's very difficult for us to kind of gather the patterns, the psychopathic, sociopathic patterns of this capitalist U.S. empire. Because we cannot name the war in Ukraine without naming the system that produces eternal war. It is called U.S. imperialism. That is what it is. And that is what we must fight. The war in Ukraine is a U.S. war. It is a U.S. war. And it's a war that's outsourcing suffering, that is outsourcing pain and misery. There's the same. Out of sight and we must fight against that as an instrument of war by the United States. Because for as long as the suffering and the killing is going on with Ukrainians and with Russians, they're okay sitting back and saying let them kill each other while we expand NATO. And they don't care about the length of the war precisely because the longer it goes, the weaker their opposition becomes. Ukraine is nothing, nothing but a game to them. It's nothing but a pawn in a chessboard. In a geo-strategic move to weaken Russia and to get to China. Because they understand that this world is changing. That people are no longer, no longer going to take neoliberal projects. That people are no longer going to stand with the unipolar world that the United States has created. People are standing against U.S. hemogeny. People are standing against U.S. dominance. And they're building instruments that the United States has no interest in standing back and watching develop. Why must we police the world? Why must the United States continue to militarize the world? We say shut down NATO. Dissolve NATO. NATO has the same function. And I cannot stand here and not say this. It has the same function in Europe that AFRICOM has in Africa. It has the same function that the Southern command has in the American continent. And these are instruments of war. These are instruments of death that do not benefit or advance the interests of working class people in any country outside of the U.S. and most definitely not people in the United States. The psychopathic, the sociopathic patterns of the U.S. government. First, because they're good at this ish, they lie. They lie and they lie with no remorse. And they don't care to correct the mistakes that they've made in history. They just keep lying on top of lying. And not only do they lie, they demonize others. Remember what they said about Sudan Hussein? Is it any different from what they're saying about Putin and Russia? These are real things, things that we could point out to that we could agitate people around, that we could educate, organize and mobilize people around because they know they are lied to. And when we say that the United States military budget is close to a trillion dollars because they give us these fake numbers and they hide a lot of money, they're like, oh, $800 billion, right? But it's not $800 billion. We know that it's over a trillion dollars. And we say we need to cut the U.S. military budget by 90 percent, 90 percent. And we're not taking any less because we don't need that. If we want national security, let's invest in people, let's invest in safe communities. Divest from policing the menace because we know the menace is right up in the Pentagon. It's right up in Congress. And some are sleeping in the White House. Not sorry. It was one trillion dollars in military budget. We have 800 plus military bases all around the world. Let's shut that shit down, offended by the vulgarity, but there's nothing more vulgar than the U.S. empire. I want to look at my notes for this because sometimes I go off the dome, but I'm going to look at the notes because this is so important. Because the New York Times, you know, we could talk about the New York Times all day. I could preach about the New York Times. I'm sending love to my comrades in India. And you should all look into that news click was persecuted because the New York Times decided to put out some article that ultimately locked up 50 comrades that allowed them to raid 100 homes. New York Times is nothing but an instrument of U.S. imperialism and capitalism. Three weeks ago, the New York Times wrote a story about the staggering levels, the staggering levels of people who are dying, both in Russia and in the Ukraine. And there's a whole lot of people. I mean, there was an article in Mother Jones. Mother Jones could be really rolling in her grave because of the type of shit that comes out in that magazine, but that's another sermon. But they wrote this article that was really telling in terms of how the U.S. officials feel and what they think about Ukrainians. So if anybody ever tells anyone in this room and anyone on that live stream that the people who opposed the war, that the people who are opposing, continuing to send aid, that is not humanitarian aid, that are instruments of war, that are instruments of death, if anyone ever tells us that we don't care about Ukrainians, you can tell them that that is the furthest shit from the truth. And you could point out to the New York Times because they said this. In just a year and a half, Ukraine's military does have already surpassed the number of American troops who died during the nearly two decades of U.S. units where in Vietnam. American officials say that they fear that Ukraine has become casualty averse. One reason it has been cautious about pressing ahead with the counter offensive. Almost any big push against dug in Russian defenders protected by minefields would result in huge numbers of losses. American officials are worried, listen to this, they are worried that Ukrainian adjustments will race through precious ammunition and quote. So in case you didn't get this, let me just set this straight. First, they said that casualties have reached about half a million. Casualties have reached about half a million. Second, that the U.S. officials are concerned with Ukrainians not wanting to die. They are concerned that Ukrainians don't want to die anymore and that they don't want to send their children to fight anymore. And then and then they fear about the racing through of precious ammunition. Brothers and sisters in struggle. Does that sound like people who give a damn about Ukrainians? Does that sound like people that give a damn about Ukrainians? It is our outmost responsibility. And it is our debt to humanity to build a system that uproots U.S. imperialism. It is our outmost responsibility to abolish instruments of war. It is our outmost responsibility to build a society that places people first and at the center of all of its agenda. It is our responsibility to build an anti-war movement that is massive, that is rooted in our anti-imperialist history because we have that too. And so I pray that we leave this space filled with that spirit and that responsibility that we will multiply the numbers of people in this room and we will multiply the numbers of people in that stream because our people are ready. They are ready. There are over 160 million people living in or near poverty in the wealthiest country in the world. They are ready. They know what violence is and they don't want it. Thank you. Thank you, Claudia. How closely you follow things that are happening in Congress. But a while ago, in fact, last year, there were 30 members of the Democratic Progressive Caucus that signed a very mild letter to President Biden saying, thank you for all the weapons you're sending. Thank you for all the economic aid you're sending. How about a little diplomacy? How about a little negotiations along with that? They could only get 30 members to sign it and immediately other members of the Democratic Party like Nancy Pelosi came down on them like a ton of bricks and forced them to withdraw that letter within 24 hours and since then they have been silent. Worse than silent actually because they've been approving every single tranche of money for Ukraine and they refuse to support efforts that are coming from a small right wing of the Republican Party that unfortunately are the ones with the most sane ideas about Ukraine right now because they're saying what is your diplomatic path? They're asking the administration. They're saying define victory for us because we don't know what it is. They're asking how much is this going to cost the American people and they can't get one Democrat to go along with them asking those questions to this administration. And this week there's a lot of pressure to send more money to Ukraine and it is just a small right wing of the Republican Party that is saying no. That doesn't make any sense and that's why they have to hear from us big time and tomorrow we are going into the offices of members of Congress including the ones that have been champions of progressive causes. People like Senator Bernie Sanders and we're going to do a sit-in in his office and demand that he say peace and diplomacy. So some of you are already signed up with us for Advocacy Day tomorrow. Believe me if you don't want to get arrested you're not going to get arrested. Don't worry about that. Some of us are risking arrest but the rest of you don't have to do it but we need bodies to show that there is a lot of support for diplomacy. So if you haven't signed up already please see us afterwards. You can talk to Marcy or Danica or Jody and if you can't find any of us just show up tomorrow in the Senate Heart Building at 9.30 in the morning. We will start out with a peaceful gathering with our dear Dr. Cornell West. We will bid him goodbye and then we will march up to some of these offices like Bernie Sanders and others. We will visit the squad. We will visit all of these people that if there were a Republican in the White House they would be right there with us and because it's a Democrat they're not and as we said earlier the issues of war and peace are way too important to be partisan issues. So we want to read you two more statements of solidarity before we bring up our dear keynote tonight and one of them is from Progressive Democrats of Americas and the War Committee and thank you so we have some of you represented here tonight. All right Jim we are happy to be a sponsor of this event and the Global Week of Actions. We condemn the Russian invasion and we are also aware that this conflict did not start in 2022. It is the culmination of provocations by the U.S. and NATO. NATO's eastward expansion inviting Ukraine to join NATO, U.S. interference in Ukraine's internal politics. We also condemn the U.S. and NATO for undermining diplomatic attempts to prevent the war or end it once it started and if you don't know what we're talking about here or if you want to convince other people that the U.S. and the U.K. actually put the kibosh on peace negotiations please I will say get a copy of my book war in Ukraine making sense of a senseless conflict and we will be passing around some buckets right now to ask you to help us with funding for putting on this event and anybody who gives a $20 contribution you can do it by cash or come over and pay with a credit card we will give you a free copy of this book which I'm happy to sign but it's important to get this book out so people understand the basis the context for this war and finally the progressive democrats of america and the wars committee says none of these actions by the U.S. and NATO justify the war but we must also realize that there is no sane military end to this conflict we must stop it before it escalates into a wider war or even a nuclear war that's why we call for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations and a secession of weapons flows into Ukraine by both Russia and NATO war is never the answer and humankind must find a way to permanent peace if we are to survive and flourish already see some people holding up money so that's always a good sign i can we can hear in here too so i don't want to hear any change in here i'd like to read a statement from the international committee of the democratic socialists of america is also one of the co-sponsors here this evening but before i do i just have to say this quickly it came to my head and i just have to say because lee you mentioned the issue of how much money it would cost i also want to note it would cost 70 billion dollars to fix every single issue in public housing in america so that means the u.s congress would rather fund war in ukraine than have people living in dignity in cities across america that's shameful and it has to be said someone has to stand up for the people who have no voice in congress and that's the working class on that note this is the statement from the international committee of the democratic socialists of america the dsa international committee is proud to be a member of the peace and ukraine coalition and a co-sponsor of the important forum tonight we stand in solidarity with the working classes of ukraine and russia who bear the brunt of this terrible war we oppose the russian invasion just as we oppose the expansion of nato that set the stage for this avoidable conflict we joined the majority of the world's population it's worth saying again we joined the majority of the world's population and advocating for an immediate ceasefire and a diplomatic resolution we joined the majority of people in the u.s who oppose more funding for the war most especially for cluster bombs depleted uranium f-16s and long-range missiles that will only prolong the war and heighten the danger of nuclear war solidarity to the organizers of this event and the peace activists around the world peace in ukraine stop the killing ceasefire now billions for humans need for human needs not for war profiteers a better world is possible so the buckets are going around and i saw our dear cornell puts money in the bucket so if he can put some money in you can put some money in so now we're going to have our keynote speaker tonight and i don't know about you but i am so excited that this treasure of a human being is running for president when you look at the two other people that might very well be the candidates for the democrats and republicans and you see joe biden and donald trump you think what the heck is wrong with our country what the heck is wrong with our country and then comes along this beautiful human being who says that he is going to run and says that there is hope for this country because there are people around the country who want to see an end to war who want to see the real needs of human beings being met and to want to move us to what the poster right there says that anahita is holding up with dr cornell's face right there which is truth justice and love i don't think i really need to say much about consistency but it does feel a theme the first time i saw dr cornell westland cramped an auditorium just up the road from here in 2004 i will date myself on that but the fact of the matter is there's never really been a time where we need our figures of public note to stand up and to speak out and to be counted on the issues that matter there's been no time for quite some time where those who stand up and speak out end up being persecuted by those who are friendly to all of the crimes going on around the world today but when the mass media is silent when the politicians are silent that's when the people have to raise their voice to change the political climate in this country and around the world it's possible it can be done and it absolutely will be done with all of us when we have great leaders and great people standing up for us and standing up against this war dr cornell west please come to the stage we're honored to be here alongside me let me say that i am blessed to be here but the crucial theme today is solidarity we are in it together we're focusing on the suffering of those friends for no one called the wretched of the earth and nothing is going to stop us no matter how catastrophic the situation is and no matter how dim and grim it looks i want to begin by saluting my dear brother Eugene i can see it's almost 20 years brother you strong as ever give it up for that brother love that brother and that's Howard university isn't it oh that's Stokely Carmichael isn't it that's Tony Marson isn't it lord we ain't got the dunny hathaway yes lord have mercy and we're a bird of flak that's the media oh i don't need to and i have a profound respect and love for you longevity of integrity with levels of courage and unbelievable determination with that smile still on your lovely face give it up for our dear sister madelah nobody like her nobody like her sister claudia what a blessing to see you you strong as ever and somewhere i read you connected the union theological seminary is that right yes indeed as you and i connected to the great legacy of james kohn beveley harrison katie canan oh we can go on and on and on give it up for our dear sister claudia indeed it was what a blessing what a blessing and brother lee brother lee oh it's hard to get language for a comic artist whose heart flows with deep love and courage and steel got his own distinctive style brother lee we salute you give it up for our brother i want to begin with three epigraphs just in order to set the stage sonny ron sonny rollins once told me that he and coltrane would get together and speak for hours but they were always concerned about what was the relation of the present picture with the larger picture that's the cynic doki imagination of relation of parts and holes it's a relation of our present situation related to the past and the way in which passness operates in the present such that we can be able to take a stand to authorize a better more visionary future that focus on poor and working people so i want to begin with an epigraph from the great wb debauched the greatest public intellectual in the history of the american empire that he was there at the founding of the united nations in san francisco and on the way back in june 27th 1945 he wrote in the chicago defended the leading black newspaper of the day june 27th 1945 called the winds of time he said i envision he almost says with tears in my eyes i envision the emerging of a third world war with the american empire attempting to suppress asia and strangle whole russia why in part the legacy of the colonies the truncated character of the united nations and he made his way all the way to new york and he told his very good friend paul robson that we have got to launch an anti-war movement but that anti-war movement must be but a moment in an anti-imperialist project an anti-imperialist vision an anti-imperialist analysis an anti-imperialist praxis in the name of solidarity which means it's going to cut across a whole lot of folk who disagree with each other but they'll be in the same streets and go to the same jails oh yes and that's what's so deeply deeply needed because w the boys and paul robson understood that so much of the history of the species is the history of organized greed and hatred and avarice and resentment and envy structures of domination oppression subjugation and unbelievable exploitation and all we've ever had as a species a moment of interruption moments of eruption and that's when everyday people straighten their backs up and anytime everyday people straighten their backs up they're going somewhere because the ruling class can't ride your back unless it's bent that's courage all the virtues in the world are empty and shallow and hollow unless you don't have courage which is the enabling virtue and if we have any talk about an anti-war movement any talk about an anti-imperialist vision analysis and praxis we have to have people who are in solidarity who get beyond their petty differences and be able to hold hands symbolically and literally and fight by straightening your backs up the brother used to pay organ in my church on the chocolate's chocolate side of sacramento and shallow baptist church named divesta but the world knows it for the genius that he is his name is sliced stone wrote a song called stand you've been sitting much too long there's a permanent crease in your right and wrong stand there's a cross for you to bear things to go through if you're going anywhere the second epigraph comes from Martin Luther King jr that's the same Martin Luther King jr was in that paddy wagon for four and a half hours when he rode from Atlanta to reedsville prison and daddy king told me he said when Martin my son got out he couldn't walk a straight line German shepherds had disoriented him so he didn't know when he was going to be bitten he didn't know when he was going to be pushed against the wall he couldn't walk one line and all he could say was daddy this is the cross we must bear for the freedom of our people that's the cross the slide was talking about there is no serious sacrifice or burden that we have to bear that will not allow us to sustain our solidarity to create moments of interruption here and around the world in light of the war machine coming out of the u.s empire yeah so it's not just a matter of how grand your vision and how splendid it is it's not just a matter of how subtle that's sophisticated your analysis but if you're not willing to throw down put your body where your words are brother jim knows we've been to jail so many times we call dicks and others and what martin said was my own government is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world when he said it he'd already signed his death certificate but he understood he'd rather be dead and afraid he'd rather be a corpse than a cowboy that's what we're talking about because the gangsters who run the american empire they'll do anything to preserve their entrance interest they'll do anything to procure their profits they'll do anything in the names of lies and crimes and immendacity and criminality to trivialize the suffering of precious brothers and sisters around the world but who are disproportionately chocolate and each life is equal each life has the same value and significance because i'm still an old school revolutionary christian like martin king i believe in every human being every baby it could be a baby in telephone on the west bank it could be a baby in argentina it could be a baby in ukraine it could be a baby in muskow it could be a baby in portorico it could be a baby in watermelon it could be a baby in Idaho say that in the name of Ezra Pound he's from Idaho great poet but fascist things are complicated in the world but the important point is that we have to have that kind of moral consistency and ethical constancy it could be a precious precious young iranian sister dealing with suppression in iran brothers and sisters in mississippi last speech that malcolm x gave outside of new york city february 16 1965 in rochester went back to the city of frederick ducklas and then oh you get a chance to read that powerful speech and what did he talk about he talked about war he implicitly invoked carl van clausovich a philosopher of war and his text on war published in 1832 the year after he died by his wife he said nobody wants to talk about war he says i've been in this struggle now for 12 years ever since i got out of the prison and i was in it before the prison but i didn't know where's malcolm little he said there's been a war going on indigenous people for 400 years there's been a war going on against black folk in africa black folk in rochester brown folk in mexico and he added for the truth anybody who says that i'm for justice anybody who promotes it but i'm first and foremost a human being a black man and a muslim so that's about as humanistic as you can get with his own deep religious twist and he said we need to talk honestly candidly about the levels of war because some of us come from a people who have had to have armor of spiritual and political and tremendous cultural power in the face of multi-layered wars i'm a black man who comes from black people who for 400 years dealing with white supremacist bombardment every day mediated with predatory capitalist processes shot through with male supremacists and homophobic and transphobic practices too and if you don't get yourself together you're gonna give up real quick you're gonna cave in real fast you're gonna sell out and act as if you're in the vanguard for struggle for something bigger than just your narcissistic ego and agenda the wars of cop city can't separate mexican brothers this is trying to get into california from 1846 when the u.s empire stole half of mexico some of them just coming home they ain't got the memo yet that was a illegal war it was a immoral war that's still mexico you listen says grant writes about it in the memoir it was a phonious war and he was in the war as a lieutenant and hadn't even become general in the u.s civil war yet it's interesting how some of these folks began to tell the truth after you know like the war the war criminal henry kissinger well we didn't have anything to do with chili you know it just was accidental that day over through at the end they quit lying and then in the memoir yeah of course the cia was fundamental it was fundamental absolutely they're gonna say the same thing about julien assajj oh yes exposing the vicious crimes of the american empire same thing about snooze same thing about moomi abu jamal same thing about h-rap brown el hamid same thing about linen peltier same thing about folk who told the truth and sooner or later truth crushed us will rise again no lie can ever so part of our challenges are understand the backdrop beginning of the europeanization of the world when those small nations between the euro mountains and the atlantic ocean began to reshape the whole globe and their interest and in their image owing to their imperial power contestation of those european empires leading toward what the end of the age of europe in 1945 with the most indescribable catastrophic consequences and most visibly in so many ways within europe the inability to come to terms with the precious jewish brothers and sisters giving the unbelievable anti-jewish hatred that was unleashed not just by nazis in germany there's a long history of it throughout europe throughout europe and europe ends up a divided dependent differential continent to two empires the soviet empire on the one hand and the u.s. empire on the other americanization of the world and with the american empire in such unbelievable decline and decay this undeniable look on the streets social housing versus real estate development gentrification ain't nothing but land grab and power grab just another cycle of what an imperial project is all about it's just urban looking the hearts and minds and souls of our fellow citizens wrestling with levels of despair and despondency with escalating suicides and escalating drug overdoses making it difficult even to cultivate the very capacity to love because love itself is a magnificent interruption in the history of the species given the history of lust and manipulation and domination tied to vicious forms of male supremacy in other such reality one of the reasons why black people one reason why black folk talk so much about love when you're being hated like us love is liberation love is emancipation love is subversive love is revolutionary the big bomb bar that for 400 years and told you have the wrong hips and lips and noses and hair pigmentation and told you're less beautiful and less moral and less intelligent and then you still had to straighten your back of where you can't talk about peace unless you're talking about the presence of justice and justice is what love looks like in public it is just like cultivating the capacity for intimacy tenderness is what love feels like in private if you don't have tenderness and kindness in your solidarity even as you have deep disagreements and for some of us we just want to make it soulful i'm not talking about being on or off the beat our musicians are the vanguard of our movements musicians are the vanguard of the species understand the soul ain't nothing but the sharing of a soothing sweetness against the backdrop of a grim catastrophe that's what strange fruit is all about maripole jewish brothers lyrics and the genius from baltimore city billy holiday singing about catastrophe not a problem a catastrophe looking for what justice tied to peace and one of the saddest things during the obama years one of the reasons why so many of us who were critical of brother barack understood it was not just about policy there was a time in which the black community was the most anti-war community in the history of the american empire but here come barack obama dropping 71 bombs every day 26,117 in one year in seven countries walking around with the nobel peace pride key sweat moments something something just ain't right eyes the dissonance to hypocrisy of it all what does that got to do with ukraine brother west everything because if we're not talking about an anti-imperial vision and project as my dear sister and others noted if we're not talking about demilitarization tied to decommodification tied to decolonization leading toward wholesale democratization so that everyday people's voices can be lifted to shape their destinies to get the oligarchs and the plutocrats off of their backs no matter how strong our anti-war movement is we're gonna go somewhere else because so much of this is precisely about human survival as my dear sister that's what it's about the self-destructive tendencies of the human species we are a wretched species pessimistic no no no that's that's retail pessimism i'm not that's not wholesale pessimism i'm a blues man blues not pessimistic optimistic not optimistic what is it prisoners of hope because you have to do something can't just talk about it sing your song gauge in your praxis create your solidarity sustain what you're trying to do that's what we're talking about here how do we demilitarize to keep track of the precious suffering of ukraine brothers and sisters but understand the native expose expansion not simply was a provocation but it's part and parcel of an overall pattern of european u.s. imperial activity that's been going on for decades and decades and panic bomb been invaded 22 times look like there's gonna be another occupation coming vision analysis not be overwhelmed by it but like blues folk look the catastrophe in the face and not allow it to have the last word oh that's it that's it baby kink say nobody loves me but my mom and she might be driving too that's catastrophic all the forces of the world in the cosmos against gender one person you thought in your call now that the whole planet has the blues nation has the blue earned something from the best of a blues people we lose everything the species life on the planet the sliver of democracy that's still limping along given the ways in which poverty and militarism and materialism and forms of racism and sexism and homophobia and transphobia so for the squeezing out the best of our democracy and sometimes all you can do is do what our magnificent artists did to start this program was do what sing a song precious how city brothers and sisters always say the face of the morning of catastrophe you weep you're silent and you sing a song i come from a tradition where the spirit will not descend without song and you've heard the data on a military basis 85 countries special operations 160 some countries 3829 military units in the united states china got one in jabut but they're supposed to be so imperialist and attack nobody for hundreds of years that that doesn't mean that china doesn't have its repressive elites i'm with my muslim brothers and sisters when they mistreated the uga people you got to be more than consistent but chinese imperialism pales in the face of the largest empire in the history of the species 68th empire there's been 70 empires since the empires emerged out of africa united states is number 68 and has done the most damage and treating human beings as if they do not matter how many precious iraqis did we invade occupy keel annihilate and nobody says not nobody nobody in the powers that be say a mumbling word reminds me of the unbelievable cowardliness of these same politicians they can't say a mumbling word when 551 palestinian babies are killed in 51 days and all you could talk about is israel has a right to defend itself please where's your morality why is your spirituality why is your truth telling why is your care what happens when it comes to your house what happens when the catastrophe comes to your neighborhood and all of a sudden you want to be on the cutting edge of morality the roster anti-war momentum and possible movement it takes a lot to create a movement now you just can't call for it you got to build it but it has to be a moment within a larger anti-imperial so that you could be possibly a new world thank you all so very much but stay strong keep it going for time for dr cornell west claudia delacruz lee camp don't forget if you somehow missed it you can still make a donation on the way out uh we listen you got to do what you got to do the fund is in the grassroots you can even give medias book you can get a design it it's pretty it's pretty good piece but i want to thank everybody it's a great book the signature is in a pretty good edition uh i want to thank everybody for being here tonight of course you could have been anywhere uh you could have done many other things but you wanted to be here there's thousands of people i'm sure who are watching uh on the live stream we want to thank them as well for joining us virtually especially those who shared it so that any many more people whoever was following them could follow us here this evening but of course i see we have radios in the house so you know you got to do something dr west said you have to do something everyone knows what the problem is now the question is is what are the steps we're going to take i think medea you have at least one step that people can take very very soon in fact all right so raise your hand if you were inspired tonight by these wonderful speakers now i know a lot of you work and tomorrow is a work day but if you can raise your hand if you're going to join us for advocacy day tomorrow whoa look at all those hands that is great in that in the heart atrium in the senate heart atrium at 9 30 raise your hand if you love listening to dr cornell west so you can listen to him again tomorrow in the senate heart atrium if you get there at 9 30 and for those who can stay later tonight meet us downstairs where's danica oh meet us right here on the stage uh and we'll give you a little directions about tomorrow also you can go on this program here and go to the qr code and sign up there if you have to get out very quickly if you gave twenty dollars and didn't get a book it's a trust system so you can grab one on the way out if you don't have twenty dollars but you want a book that's also okay we're not here to make money we're here to spread education and to mobilize and to organize and that's what we're doing tonight so we're so excited about how this event went about all the people have been on the live stream and live stream will be available afterwards for you to share it uh and we want to say that just as dr cornell west said we have to put aside our petty differences it doesn't matter what group we're with how we view we've got to use the lens of peace we got to use the lens of stopping this catastrophic war and all wars we got to use the lens that says to all of our friends out there who are with us in a peace movement before and suddenly with this war say this one is different we say it is not war is never the answer war is the problem thank you to everybody night tonight the dc labor course we were so blessed with your music the wonderful speakers and we look forward to seeing those of you who could join us tomorrow if you want to do some jail solidarity you can see tag barry over here uh and and um come up front right now so we can have a chance to do a little communing about what tomorrow is going to look like thank you all so much for coming here we love you good evening thank you see you