01/10/2023
Dear Friends and Fellow Freedom Fighters,
The Spirit of Mandela Coalition, following up on the October 2021 International Tribunal verdict finding the US Guilty of
Genocide against Black, Brown, and Indigenous people, is calling for the building of a new mass
grassroots formation: The Peoples’ Senate.
The people need to govern and represent themselves in combating
genocide and addressing their right to a just and humane existence. Our vision is for the Peoples’ Senate, organized
directly by our oppressed communities, to grow into a body which will serve that purpose.
Today our communities face the most egregious violations of our human rights since the civil rights and Black
power movements of the 1960s and '70s. Conditions we are living under include random mass shootings, right-wing
vigilante attacks, police violence and murder, environmental racism, the reassertion of “states rights” (the “right” of
states to ignore basic human rights), and healthcare racism. The US government dangerously scapegoats
immigrants; causes destabilization, extreme violence, bombing, and killing of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor
people all over the globe – and spends billions of dollars to do it; and keeps hundreds of thousands of people living
in homelessness and poverty in the US. Our communities are facing targeted attacks against voting rights, workers’
rights, women’s rights, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights as right-wing elected officials and appointed judges roll back
decades of hard-won battles for justice. While out-voting right-wing candidates during elections is important, voting
alone will not be enough. We must organize to put more pressure on the system for major change.
The US Congress and Senate are representatives of the rich and powerful. They refuse to address the necessity for
universal healthcare or a sound nationwide infrastructure providing access to clean water and other necessities.
Corporations ignore and violate the needs of the planet while evading their fair share of taxes. US prisons are filled with
Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor people, many incarcerated for crimes they did not commit and/or serving sentences
that far outweigh whatever criminal acts they may have committed. The oppressed national communities of Black,
Brown, and Indigenous peoples all have political prisoners and prisoners of war incarcerated since the 1960s until today,
who have fought for our liberation and are being held in prison unjustly or only released when near death. We want
them all freed now!
Building our own Peoples’ Senate will enable us to organize locally from a position of strength and connect local
activists with others, in other parts of the country, who may be pursuing similar goals while electing “Senators” who
are mandated to represent our interests and demands. A Peoples’ Senate can fight for changes that protect and
ensure our right to vote, our right to control our own bodies, our right to live free from discrimination as LGBTQ+
people, our rights to living wages and safe working conditions, our rights to sovereignty and dignity, and our rights
to live free from state violence and abuse.
We invite you to take a look at the attached introduction titled The Peoples’ Senate At A Glance. We will present a series
of webinar discussions about the Peoples' Senate followed by local and regional meetings to get input and guidance
from a wide range of experiences for this organizing project. If you are interested in joining with us in launching these
initial steps to build a Peoples’ Senate, please fill out the on-line form HERE as soon as you can. Thank you.
Peoples’ Senate Organizing Committee, Spirit of Mandela Coalition
January 9, 2023
Full Verdict: https://www.tribunal2021.com/full-final-verdict
At-A-Glance: https://spiritofmandela.org/peoples-senate/
Online form: https://form.jotform.com/223385849177066 [email protected]
