The African Diaspora's Responsibility in the 2024 Presidential Elections

A new approach is needed to shape U.S. foreign policy that respects African sovereignty.

"If one day you hear the Europeans praise me, know that I have betrayed you.” former President of Mozambique, Samora Machel.

On May 23, 2024, Kenyan President William Ruto arrived in the U.S. for a state visit. It was the first state visit accorded to an African leader in more than 15 years. In 2007, Ruto was charged for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. This year, he and his wife were treated to a state dinner and other extravagant ceremonies. Before the end of his visit, it was announced that Kenya would send 1,000 troops to Haiti in exchange for $300 million paid to Kenya by the U.S.¹

This single event highlights the various ways the U.S. wields its economic and military influence over a country into doing America’s bidding in service of its “interest” even though doing so would be against that country’s interest. In this case, Kenya has its own security and economic challenges due, in no small part, to the U.S. and its international agencies such as the International Monetary Bank (IMF) and the World Bank.

American foreign policy has been at the center of major crises leading to death, destruction and endless suffering around the world. In mere continuation of the centuries of colonial plunder, Africa remains a victim of this brutal foreign policy.

The two-party U.S. political system is a death cult. It is an enterprise that is good at only one thing: mass murder. A collective of ghouls that specializes at starting wars, selling weapons to facilitate those wars, and killing children. It does this while helping multinational corporations exploit the resources of the developing world.

In almost all cases the people on the receiving end of this murderous enterprise are those in the developing world. For the West - America and Europe - Africa has been a source of immense wealth, from using African bodies as a source of capital through slavery to the exploitation of our land to extract precious resources.

This call-to-action is to the African diaspora who lives in America. Your vote has consequences. The candidates offered by the two parties – the death cult – are not friends of Africa. They are fronts for the weapons manufacturers and their associates in the business of resource exploitation. Our elected officials are nothing more than glorified arms dealers and clerks for their corporate handlers.

Our vote can be an expression of complicity in mass murder of our brothers and sisters or in a stand against injustice, death and destruction. We have the means to use our collective power to influence how our elected officials shape policy.

Demographics of Sub-Sharan Africans in the U.S

We – the members of the African diaspora – have strength in numbers, with approximately 2.1 million immigrants in the U.S. as of 2019.² While we are distributed all across the country, we have certain areas of concentration where our numbers could exert considerable pressure such as Texas (12 percent), New York and Maryland (8 percent each), California (7 percent), and Minnesota (6 percent).³

The notion of collective response to U.S. imperialism by the African diaspora is not limited to those from the African continent. Black immigrants from Jamaica and Haiti are the top two countries of origin of black immigrants in the U.S.⁴

Over several decades, we have arrives on these for various reasons not the least of which is due to the collapse of our respective countries’ economic, social, and political system due to the Western imperialism.

Reasons for Immigration

We have to connect the dots. Well over 80% of immigrants from Somalia were granted legal status under the Refugee and Asylee category. More than 50% of immigrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan, and about 47% of immigrants from Tanzania acquired legal status under this admission category.⁵

The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia have been two of the top five countries of origin for refugee arrivals, accounting for 13 percent and 9 percent of all 539,900 refugees arriving between FY 2011 and FY 2021.⁶ African immigrants constitute 75% of immigrants who receive lawful permanent residence thru the refugee and asylee programs.⁷

According to the US Department of Homeland Security “A refugee is a person outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. An asylee is a person who meets the definition of refugee and is already present in the United States or is seeking admission at a port of entry.”

The U.S. is merely the latest spear of the West’s practice of domination and conquest in Africa. The brutalization of African bodies has been taking place for centuries.

Africa’s Endless Genocide Continues Today due to U.S. Imperialism

It is estimated that the U.S. is responsible or shares responsibility for close to 300 million deaths worldwide through the slaughter of native Americans, slavery, state sponsored anti-labor practices, and endless wars.⁸

The genocide of Africans who were killed during the Middle Passage after being kidnapped, those who were subjected to the unimaginable dystopian treatment of Chattel Slavery, the apartheid era of Jim Crow, and the continued decimation of the black population under cruel U.S. domestic policy receives much less attention than say the Jewish Holocaust.

While the world has declared “never again” in preventing another Jewish Holocaust, the same cannot be said to prevent similar acts of atrocities against African bodies.

Since the establishment of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium in 1884-85, it is estimated that 10-15 million people were killed as King Leopold II subjected the Congolese people to dehumanization, slavery, and mass murder.⁹

While the U.S. did not take part in the colonizing of Africa it played a pivotal role by propping up and recognizing Leopold’s claim to the Congo.¹⁰ Germany colonized Namibia where between 1904 and 1907, 50,000 to 65,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama people were killed.¹¹ During the Algerian War for Independence the French slaughtered 1.5 million Algerians between 1954 and 1962.¹²

Why are these atrocities relevant today? The nations responsible for them continue to dictate African actions and rob nations of self-determination through manufactured conflicts and harmful economic polices dictated by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

While the West proclaims “never again” for some groups, Africans continue to be slaughtered. The West has a direct hand in the atrocities in Tigray, Sudan, the DRC, Libya and other African countries, all of which receive very little Western media coverage.

Instead of promoting accountability and true multilateral cooperation, international organizations such as the United Nations and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are merely entities that help advance and preserve Western rule.

The U.S. wields its economic and military power as well as its influence over international organizations to continue its domination over African nations.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s Decision to shut down African Stream

On September 13^th, Secretary of State Blinken claimed, without any proof, that African Stream, a pan African news platform was part of a Russian propaganda network.¹³ Shortly after, Meta, YouTube, and TikTok banned African Stream from their platforms. The digital media organization also lost access to its Gmail Workspace account.¹⁴

Over the past year, we have seen the impunity of U.S. foreign policy where it has clearly shown that International Law does not apply to the West as America flouts UN resolutions and its own laws to fund the Gaza genocide.

Since its inception, African Stream has been highlighting this hypocrisy through high quality videos to its African viewers. While certain U.S. think-tanks label it anti-American/Western narratives,¹⁵ exposing the direct consequences of rotten U.S. foreign policy on the African people served as a counter-narrative to the completely suffocating U.S. propaganda that permeates every facet of our lives and reaches every corner of the world. African Stream is a threat to Western dominance in Africa and the “red scare” was employed yet again to protect Western narrative dominance.¹⁶

During the trial hearings of South Africa’s case against apartheid Israel at the ICJ, it was glaringly obvious that U.S. and Western media completely chose not to broadcast the live proceedings of South Africa’s presentation.¹⁷ On the other hand apartheid Israel’s presentation was broadcast live.

Voice of America (VOA) is funded by the U.S. taxpayer and gets to provide news to the world. In other words VOA is a U.S. funded propaganda network. On its homepage the Ukraine, China, and Iran, are prominently displayed as separate sections from the World section. Given that America considers China, Iran, and Russia as threats the hyper focus is no surprise.

So-called independent news agencies have also played significant roles in covering up war crimes in Gaza and shaping public opinion. While US corporate media has censored the genocide in Gaza as well as other atrocities taking place in Africa to protect their corporate owners’ interests, the US government labels groups such as African Stream as propaganda arms without any basis. Its hypocritical and does not serve the public interest.

African Stream covered important anti-imperialists developments taking place in Africa.

The Creation of the Alliance of the Sahel States

On July 6, 2024 Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso signed a treaty to establish a security alliance.¹⁸ For decades, these countries, like many African countries were victims of neocolonialism under the French. Let this sink in: the CFA Franc, the currency controlled by France is used to some degree by 14 West African states, which allowed France to control almost every facet of the countries’ businesses.¹⁹ A modern-day protectorate status that allowed France and other Western countries to exploit and pillage African resources.

If a country attempted to step out from under Western control, it is slapped with sanctions. Suddenly the country starts facing internal and external security threats. The ensuing economic and security crisis leads African nations to seek support from the same interests that created the collapse in the first place. In many cases this leads to death and destruction where hundreds of thousands, if not millions, die due to war and famine.

As stated, as a percentage share, nearly three out of four refugees and asylees in the U.S. are African.

The African Diaspora’s political actions at the local, state, and federal level in the U.S. should seek to eliminate American interventionism by seeking out political candidates who will pledge to support polices that will eventually lead to removing U.S. influence out of  African sovereignty and self-determination.

We can do so by joining calls for the removal of AFRICOM out of Africa.

The Proliferation of U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) Military Bases

A report by the Intercept revealed that the U.S. has been operating 34 military bases under various classifications in Africa. According to this report, the U.S. operates the largest drone complexes in the world in Djibouti.²⁰ More than 7,300 Special Operations troops are working around the world, many of them conducting shadow wars against terrorists in Yemen, Libya, Somalia and other hot spots²¹ with 10 percent of these troops stationed in Africa.²² In 2011, France and the U.S. bombed Libya, which led to the complete collapse of its government. This led to increased conflicts creating the pretext for France and the U.S. to increase military presence and expand their bases.²³

U.S. Taxpayer Dollars Could be used to Improve Our Quality of Life

African immigrants face several challenges after they move to the U.S. from the xenophobic immigration system to discriminatory practices in the work place to financial challenges.²⁴

The U.S. government spends hundreds of billions of dollars on wars. In just the last year alone U.S. spending on Israel’s military operations and related U.S operations in the region total at least $22.76 billion and counting.²⁵

These dollars could be spent on building schools, funding healthcare, building roads, paying teachers higher wages, smaller class sizes. Instead the government uses them to kill children, violate the sovereignty of nations, and serve as a private army for corporate interests as they exploit African resources.²⁶

The African diaspora living in the U.S. has a solemn responsibility. Our vote could mean more African deaths or a better future for us and our children here in the U.S. and an independent and a more prosperous Africa.

This should start with who we chose to cast our vote for on November 5. Picking one of the two major party candidates means more death and destruction. If we want true meaningful change, we start by picking other candidates - Jill Stein (Green Party), Cornell West, Claudia De la Cruz (PSL), organizing in our communities to demand better representation from our local, state and federal representatives, and replace those who do not.

But it has to start on November 5.

1. Madhani, A., & Kim, S. M. (2024, May 23). Biden thanks Kenya’s Ruto for sending police to Haiti and defends keeping US forces from the mission | AP News. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/biden-ruto-kenya-state-visit-debt-africa-e27be0b4a8c4bd54e4a30b3c5a9c1e34#

2. Batalova, Jeanne Batalova Jane Lorenzi and Jeanne. “Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States.” Migrationpolicy.org, 10 May 2022, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/sub-saharan-african-immigrants-united-states-2019.

3. id.

4. Settle, Shamier. “Hidden in Plain Sight: Black Immigrants and the Organizations Working to Welcome and Support Them.” Presidents’ Alliance, 13 Mar. 2024, www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/effective_practice/hidden-in-plain-sight-black-immigrants-and-the-organizations-working-to-welcome-and-support-them/.

5. Corra, Mamadi. “Immigration from Africa to the United States: Key Insights from Recent Research.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 9 May 2023, www.frontiersin.org/journals/sociology/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1171818/full#B44.

6. Batalova

7. id.

8. Inlakesh, Robert. “Red and African Stream Latest Media to Face US Bans over Alleged Russia Ties.” MintPress News, 20 Sept. 2024, www.mintpressnews.com/african-stream-red-media-bans-russia-ties/288323/.

9. ENG, TRT Afrika. “Google Bans African Stream Digital Media.” TRT Afrika, TRT Afrika, 1 Oct. 2024, trtafrika.com/africa/google-bans-african-stream-digital-media-18214914.

10. Grossman, Shelby, and David Thiel. “African Stream: Russia’s Latest Covert Influence Pipeline Targeting Africa.” FSI, cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/io/news/african-stream.

11. David Hundeyin. “The Empire Finds an African Enemy: African Stream in the Crosshairs.” Black Agenda Report, 25 Sept. 2024, www.blackagendareport.com/empire-finds-african-enemy-african-stream-crosshairs.

12. Staff, The New Arab. “Poor Western Media Coverage of ICJ Gaza Case Blasted Online.” The New Arab, The New Arab, www.newarab.com/news/poor-western-media-coverage-icj-gaza-case-blasted-online.

13. Ford, Dan M., et al. “African Juntas’ Defense Pact Makes Mockery of US Policy.” Responsible Statecraft, 15 July 2024, responsiblestatecraft.org/alliance-of-sahel-states/.

14. “Interventions Issue 5: A New World Born from the Ashes of the Old - Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.” Tricontinental, 7 Oct. 2024, thetricontinental.org/pan-africa/eid-interventions-5/.

15. Turse, Nick. “U.S. Military Says It Has a ‘Light Footprint’ in Africa. These Documents Show a Vast Network of Bases.” The Intercept, 26 July 2023, theintercept.com/2018/12/01/u-s-military-says-it-has-a-light-footprint-in-africa-these-documents-show-a-vast-network-of-bases/.

16. Gibbons-neff, Thomas, and Eric Schmitt. “Pentagon May Cut Commando Forces in Africa in Major Military Review.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 June 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/world/africa/commandos-africa-pivot-major-powers.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer.

17. Turse.

18. Ariana. “Defending Our Sovereignty: US Military Bases in Africa and the Future of African Unity.” Tricontinental, 22 Aug. 2022, thetricontinental.org/dossier-42-militarisation-africa/.

19. Smith, David Michael. Endless Holocausts: Mass Death in the History of the United States Empire. Monthly Review Press, 2023.

20. “King Leopold of Belgium in Congo.” AWA, atrocitieswatch.org/publications/king-leopold-of-belgium-in-congo/. 

21. “Author Hochschild Recounts Lost History of Horror in the Belgian Congo.” Wilson Center, www.wilsoncenter.org/article/author-hochschild-recounts-lost-history-horror-the-belgian-congo.

22. “What Is Genocide?” The Herero and Namaqua Genocide – The Holocaust Explained: Designed for Schools, www.theholocaustexplained.org/what-was-the-holocaust/what-was-genocide/the-herero-and-namaqua-genocide/.

23. Alavi, Mehdi, et al. “French Genocide in Algeria: Time for Introspection.” Fair Observer, 20 Sept. 2024, www.fairobserver.com/history/french-genocide-in-algeria-time-for-introspection/.

24. Nambi Ndugga, Drishti Pillai. “Five Key Facts about Black Immigrants’ Experiences in the United States.” KFF, 12 Apr. 2024, www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/five-key-facts-about-black-immigrants-experiences-in-the-united-states/.

25. “United States Spending on Israel’s Military Operations and Related U.S. Operations in the Region, October 7, 2023-September 30, 2024.” The Costs of War, watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2024/USspendingIsrael. 

26. Ariana.