WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "We need to see our struggle as one," Pan-African Community Action activist Netfa Freeman told Sputnik of Black Lives Matter finding common cause with Palestinians. "The form is different, but only subtly. The essence is very much the same," he said.
The Movement for Black Lives, comprised of 50 like-minded activist organizations, recently published a policy platform outlining the group’s shared goals.
In a forum hosted by the Institute for Policy Studies, Black Youth Project 100 leader Janae Bonsu commented that "Palestine is in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and vice versa… because we see and understand our struggles as similar."
Bonsu described social media posts from Palestine during the mass protests in Ferguson, Missouri teaching activists how to combat tear gas. "You have to choose what side you're on. You’re either for freedom or you're not," she said.
Black Lives Matter and pro-Palestinian groups have found common cause in opposing what they view as systemic racism and oppression. The association has drawn criticism from pro-Israeli groups both in the United States and abroad.
