“I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate
Was snatch'd from Afric's fancy'd happy seat:
What pangs excruciating must molest,
What sorrows labour in my parent's breast?
Steel'd was that soul and by no misery mov'd
That from a father seiz'd his babe belov'd:
Such, such my case. And can I then but pray
Others may never feel tyrannic sway?”
— Phyllis Wheatley
Today, we see ICE terrorizing communities, violently ripping families apart, and uprooting people from the only homes they've ever known. People are being flown across oceans to certain danger and, for some, inhumane incarceration. Murdering behind badges, their policing feeds the fear and falsehood that we are not all precious children of this earth. We have a collective obligation to ensure that the Black and Brown lives taken at the hands of federal agents are not erased. We must remember Keith Porter, Jr. and Silverio Villegas González—both shot and killed by federal agents—alongside the more than 30 people who died last year in ICE custody.
Karla McKanders, director of the Thurgood Marshall Institute, notes, "Policy conversations regarding the criminal justice system and the immigration system rarely intersect, which has muddied the understanding of how Black immigrants are disproportionately impacted by both." We cannot discuss citizenship without confronting the context of race and the deep legacy of slavery. McKanders argues that "immigration is essentially about membership and belonging," but the U.S. has long excluded people of African descent from this idea of belonging. The Naturalization Act of 1790 defined citizenship as "free white persons," relegating Black people to the status of property. It wasn't until the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 that Black people were no longer "three-fifths of a person" but instead recognized as full citizens with equal protection under the law.
State violence has always relied on racism to justify who deserves protection and who can be disposable. This is why we must consistently demonstrate how racism is at the core of state violence. We must name racism's role in the ongoing escalation of authoritarianism so that it cannot continue to be weaponized to extinguish lives and undermine our freedom. This is a battle over who is seen as belonging to the nation—who gets to call this place home, no matter what brought them here. The legacy of exclusion and systemic violence continues to divide us.
This is why solidarity is not optional—it is survival. When we refuse to let our neighbors be taken, when we organize across communities to resist these raids, we are not just fighting deportation. We are fighting the very logic that says some lives matter less than others.
TODAY’S PRACTICE
Salt represents the tears our ancestors cried, the sweat of their toil, and the ocean that still separates many of us from home. Put a bit of salt on a plate. Then, wet your index finger, place it in the salt, and taste the salt that is on your finger. Take a deep breath and a moment of silence to acknowledge the loss we have all experienced as a result of slavery, colonialism, police brutality, and deportation.
LEARN MORE
The Vulnerability of Black Immigrants
https://prospect.org/2025/12/12/vulnerability-of-black-immigrants/
Rik Freeman’s Personal Touch, local artist’s current exhibit Wade in the Waters at Phillips@THEARC
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/778398/rik-freemans-personal-touch/
A racial purge is headed to Springfield, Ohio last week, as TPS for Haitians ended on Feb. 3 and 1000 feds arrived to deport them on Feb 4. The foundation of this purge is the racist lie from 2024 (they are eating cats and dogs). https://19thnews.org/2026/01/ice-churches-children-springfield-ohio/
CALLS TO ACTION
SIGN UP for the virtual broadcast TOMORROW night at 7 pm ET of The Story of Us, “The New McCarthyism: Why Authoritarians Fear Storytellers” moderated by AAPF executive director Kimberlé Crenshaw and featuring Ava DuVernay, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Jacqueline Stewart. Featuring a performance by Tony award winner Kara Young as Hazel Scott. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/UTB_TheStoryOfUs26
ADD the 2026 Google Liberation Calendar to your own calendar.
JOIN our WhatsApp community to engage w/ fellow participants!
DOWNLOAD the Liberation Table Guide.