News we love! Tons of black celebrities—artists, actors, musicians, writers, and activists—have contributed to a video which makes connections between black American and Palestinian suffering.
“When I See Them I See Us” appears on both on YouTube and on its own site, and features appearances from Lauryn Hill, Danny Glover, Angela Davis, and Cornel West, among others.
Most appear in black-and-white, with signs bearing statements like “They choked me on video. I said I couldn’t breathe,” or “Gaza Stands With Ferguson.”
Intercut are images of black and Palestinian activists in action, police and military attacking and taking them into custody, and faces of famous victims of alleged police brutality.
Meanwhile, the voiceover speaks about the common struggle of Palestinians and black Americans throughout history.
The creator of the video, assistant professor at George Mason University and human rights attorney Noura Erakat, told Al Jazeera that her inspiration in making the video was the 2014 attack on Gaza by Israeli forces, which resulted in over 2,200 mostly civilian deaths:
“Here were two groups of people dealing with completely different historical trajectories, but both which resulted in a process of dehumanization that criminalized them and that subject their bodies as expendable.
“Not only were their lives more vulnerable and disposable, but that even in their death, they were blamed for their own death.”
This isn’t the first time black rights activism has joined forces with Palestinian movements. In 1964, Malcolm X met with the Palestine Liberation Organization and later denounced “Israeli imperialism” and the Zionist movement.
What are your thoughts?
