July 4 National Mobilization – 250 Years of Peoples' Resistance
Share
When Black Panther former political prisoner Sekou Odinga – one of those centrally involved in the building of the Panther International in Algeria and helping Assata Shakur escape – suggested reprinting and updating the iconic 1970's book, Look for Me in the Whirlwind, he asked his wife Dequi Kioni-sadiki and me to be involved. After the book was published, our book events included a visit to Syracuse and a stop at SCW.
Fruitful and artful conversations, led to the idea of calendar art for their 2019 Peace Calendar focused on political prisoners (also available as a poster). Amazingly, less than seven years later, only two of the twelve people highlighted on that page are still incarcerated! So, we must note: while much of what we wake up to every day is far from good news, and there seems little to be celebrated, it is vital to acknowledge these small but significant victories.
When the Spirit of Mandela coalition (which Sekou helped found) decided to commemorate July 4, 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence – we agreed upon a theme of celebrating 250+ years of resistance. We decided to call for a National Mobilization Against Genocides that would highlight the gross human rights violations that our empire continues to inflict on Black, Brown, and Indigenous Peoples. That convergence will take place in Atlanta, GA, with watch parties and partnerships across Turtle Island. It will showcase a festival of spirited drumming, music, dance, poetry, and, yes, a few brief speeches. We hope to begin bringing together broad groups of progressive people to rebuild the united, non-sectarian, people's movements that have seemed lacking over the past years. We knew that we wanted to partner with SCW to create the imagery for our event.
It's not just that SCW has great artists, excellent designers and an effective distribution team. Working with SCW always means a dynamic give-and-take: thoughtful discussions about what points we want to get across, openness to new ideas, and a consistent desire to create products that will build our overall work for transformation. The 250th/July 4th No Kings, No Colonies, No Genocide poster is such a product. Their national version should be a part of every household, every party, every BBQ, that wants to gather on July 4th, 2026 in a conscientious and peace-loving way. We developed a special “Spirit of Mandela” Atlanta version that we'll be using as a fundraiser when we're together next month in Georgia.
Supporting SCW, through buying this new poster and any number of their other wonderful products, is really about supporting all of us. May the next 250 years help fulfill the many dreams deferred and dreams turned into nightmares in these troubling times. We won't get to that glorious freedom land unless we work together...we will reach our neighbors better with the beauty of SCW.
Yours for Justice,
Matt Meyer
Author, organizer and Secretary-General emeritus of the International Peace Research Association
PS: If you're planning a protest in your community, you can download a free pdf of the poster with space to plug in event details.