[News] Palestine and Indigenous People - "Raise the flags for freedom, " says rapper Sacramento Knoxx

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  "Raise the flags for freedom," says rapper Sacramento Knoxx

Submitted by Alexander Billet on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 08:52

*Must see video is here:*
*http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/alexander-billet/raise-flags-freedom-says-rapper-sacramento-knoxx*

For a long time, there has been a strong sense of solidarity between the 
Palestinians and the indigenous peoples of North America. The late 
activist Russell Means explained 
<http://www.kabobfest.com/2009/01/american-indian-movement-on-palestine.html> 
the connection in simple, but potent, terms in 2009: "Every policy, the 
Palestinians are now enduring was practiced on the American Indian. What 
the American Indian movement says is that the American Indians are the 
Palestinians of the United States and the Palestinians are the American 
Indians of the Middle East."

If Israel's project is a colonial-settler one (and it is), then the 
systematic genocide and displacement America and Canada have exacted 
upon their indigenous populations provide a disturbing parallel.

Sacramento Knoxx <http://www.sknoxx.com/> looks to emphasize this 
connection in his most recent video /The Trees Will Grown Again/. The 
Detroit-based artist, born Christopher Yepez, identifies 
<http://www.sknoxx.com/#%21skbio/c1zhu> himself as "an 
Ojibwe/Anishinaabe and Xicano emcee, music producer, motion picture 
artist, digital media artist and community cultural worker." The bold 
graphics at the beginning of the video --- "Turtle Island 2 Palestine," 
"indigenous solidarity," the highlighting of the world "colonization" in 
the factoid regarding aid to Israel --- make the statement as clear as 
possible. (Turtle Island is the name by which North America is known to 
many indigenous peoples).

Knoxx said 
<http://hiphoplifeandtimes.com/2014/08/10/sacramento-knoxx-ft-dj-dez-the-trees-will-grow-again-video-audio-dl-sacramentoknoxx-freepalestine/> 
recently that he was seeking to build "solidarity with Palestine through 
cultural work"; his video supports the Palestinian-led movement for 
boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. He also argued 
that a "joint struggle" is needed against ecological destruction. 
Towards the end, his video highlights how the oppression of the 
Palestinians is directly related to the militarization of US police, 
many of whom have been trained 
<http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/israel-trained-police-occupy-missouri-after-killing-black-youth> 
by Israel.

That was certainly a prescient way to end the video given the images of 
police brutality that have emerged from Ferguson, Missouri since the 
song's release. It's appropriate then (in a way that's almost eerie) 
that the video also includes footage of the new mural in Oakland 
<http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/oakland-unveils-mural-solidarity-palestine>dedicated 
to Palestine by the famed Black Panter artist Emory Douglas, as well as 
posters in support of the Palestinian-American community leader Rasmea 
Odeh <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/rasmea-yousef-odeh>.

The sense of all the struggles being interconnected is rather 
unmistakable here.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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