A NATIONAL MOBILIZATION TO OPPOSE NATO, WAR & RACISM - U.S. HANDS OFF VENEZUELA!
TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE FROM RICHMOND, VA
1 pm - Saturday, March 30 — at the White House, Washington, D.C.
April 4, 2019, will mark the 51st anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the internationally revered leader in struggles against racism, poverty and war.
And yet, in a grotesque desecration of Rev. King’s lifelong dedication to peace, this is the date that the military leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have chosen to celebrate NATO’s 70th anniversary in Washington, D.C. This is a deliberate insult to Rev. King and a clear message that Black lives and the lives of other people of color - and indeed the vast majority - really do not matter.
Since its founding, U.S.-led NATO has been the world's deadliest military alliance, causing untold suffering and devastation throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East and beyond. Hundreds of thousands have died in U.S./NATO wars in Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Yugoslavia. Millions of refugees are now risking their lives trying to escape the carnage that these wars have brought to their homelands, while workers in the 29 NATO member-countries are told they must abandon hard-won social programs in order to meet U.S. demands for even more military spending.
Dr. King's words linking the three evils of American society: Militarism, Racism and Poverty, and his deeply profound remark that every bomb that falls on other countries is a bomb dropped on our inner cities, reveal the deep-rooted relationship between militarism and the social, racial, economic and environmental injustices that now impoverish whole cities and rural communities and have plagued our society and the world for a long time. It was exactly one year before he was murdered that Rev. King gave his famous speech opposing the U.S. war in Vietnam, calling the U.S. government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,” and declaring that he could not be silent.
We cannot be silent either. As Rev. King taught us, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Join the Virginia Defenders on March 30 in a mass mobilization against NATO, war and racism and to demand “U.S. Hands Off Venezuela!” Additional events will take place through April 4. For more information, visit www.no2NATO2019.org.
This mobilization was initiated by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), of which the Virginia Defenders are a founding member. We are also a member of the March 30 mobilization steering committee, coordinating logistics and security and helping to shape the day’s program.