The African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) is a membership-organization of scholars, practitioners and activists of the African continent and her Diaspora. www.as-aa.org
We are an association strongly committed to upholding the sanctity and dignity of life, particularly of Black people on the African continent, the African Diaspora and African people globally. We are united by a brutal common experience of relentless structural violence and racism.
For centuries Black people have been denigrated and dehumanized through the system of slavery, colonialism, de jure/de facto segregation, and the activities of racist governments that have perpetuated cultural imperialism, socio-economic exploitation, and political marginalization.
We join our brothers and sisters around the world in strongly condemning the horrific murder of George Floyd that occurred in the United States of America at the hands of law enforcement officers on May 26, 2020, and the system that enables this to happen. We deplore the countless acts of intimidation, violence and killings of black men and women in the USA. These acts of impunity have turned public spaces and homes of black people into dangerous no-go zones where encounters with law enforcement bring with them the risk of death.
We wish to extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Mr Floyd, and others who have been killed, maimed, and incarcerated in the last week while protesting his death at the hands of this unjust system.
We condemn the ensuing state-sponsored violence against people living in the United States of America who are expressing their constitutional rights to free expression.
We condemn the violent removal of peaceful protestors by the U.S. Park Police and National Guard troops to make way for President Trump to walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church. And we condemn the subsequent appropriation of a religious site and a sacred text for political ends by President Trump on June 1, 2020.
We also condemn the attack and harassment of journalists in the United States of America that have been reporting on these unfolding events, whose symbolism and implications are global.
The murder of innocent and unarmed Africans worldwide, at the hands of law enforcement officers and private citizens, sometimes even in their own homes, is a routine practice that we can never accept as normal.
We endorse the African Union Commission Chairperson’s condemnation of the murder of George Floyd https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20200529/statement-chairperson-following-murder-george-floyd-usa, and the call for the authorities in the United States of America to intensify their efforts to ensure the total elimination of all forms of discrimination, especially those based on race or ethnic origin. We further urge authorities to carefully study the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in the United States of America, and take seriously the findings and recommendations therein. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/1629536
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