Why Black and Palestinian Liberation Go Hand-In-Hand

In September, Mehdi moderated a panel at the Congressional Black Caucus conference in Washington, DC, with Democratic Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush, Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman, and journalist and commentator Dr. Marc Lamont Hill.

Speaking in front of a live audience, Hill emphasized the importance of standing up for one another, noting, “Our liberation is bound up in the liberation of others around the globe.”

“This is not just about some leftist cliche. It's about understanding that the networks and the institutions of power are connected. Capitalism is connected. White supremacy is connected … That's why we got to do that work,” he explained to loud applause and cheers, adding: “Until Palestine is free, until Sudan is free, until Congo is free, until Haiti is free, then not one single one of us in this room is free.”

After leading the charge to introduce a permanent ceasefire resolution in Gaza, Bush reflected on why she put her career on the line to stand up for Palestine. “I ran for this seat saying that if it means my name, my reputation, and my money, I was going to do the work to save lives and do the work for those who have been most directly negatively impacted by policy violence,” she explains.

“If we save one life in Gaza, if we save one family in Gaza, it was worth it and I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't take it back. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would still introduce that ceasefire now resolution and do the exact same thing,” she tells Mehdi, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.

Romman and Tlaib, meanwhile, took aim at their own party, the Democratic Party, for refusing to platform Palestinian voices and being unwilling to join the dots between Black liberation at home and Palestinian liberation abroad.

Watch the lively, passionate, and powerful panel conversation in full, above, to hear the speakers unpack this intersectional struggle for liberation, the importance of student protests, and how the ongoing genocide in Gaza has weighed on the Democratic Party.