Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

NNPA Stories

Black Lives Should Also Matter in the Russia-Ukraine War

NNPA NEWSWIRE — While the world watched Russia invade Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, some expressed concern about the tens of thousands of international students studying in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and other cities throughout that Eastern European nation. Many of those students come from Africa.

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire

With Russia’s Ukraine invasion ongoing
With Russia’s Ukraine invasion ongoing, some will train their eyes on the plight of Black people in the region. / Photo Credit: iStockphoto / NNPA

Black Americans have enjoyed an enduring bond with Africa and their brothers and sisters living on the Continent, with many U.S.-based civil rights agencies, clergy members, and African American organizations taking a keen interest in the welfare of citizens in the 55-nation motherland.

While the world watched Russia invade Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, some expressed concern about the tens of thousands of international students studying in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and other cities throughout that Eastern European nation.

Many of those students come from Africa.

“Many of them do not have paperwork to enter Europe,” wrote Terrell J. Starr, host of the Black Diplomats Podcast that focuses on the intersection of race and foreign policy.

ADVERTISEMENT

Starr also counts as a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, focusing on Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, and nuclear non-proliferation issues.

Starr notes the especially perilous position facing African students and Black Ukrainians in an op-ed.

“There is no census data on their numbers, but figures range from thousands to tens of thousands,” Starr wrote.

“It is impossible to know without data, but it is not uncommon to see Black folks walking around Kyiv speaking fluent Russian or Ukrainian and walking with their white family members,” he continued.

Starr added that his friend, a Black Ukrainian, shared that, while she is proud to be Black, she feels the trauma of the Kremlin’s aggression as much as any white Ukrainian.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Like America, Russia is a settler-colonial state, and we as Black folks need to understand how leaders of such states operate because we aren’t that far behind when it comes to being on the lower end of the totem pole of racial oppression,” Starr concluded.

“Yes, in America, Ukrainians are white. But over here, many of my Ukrainian friends tell me Putin and Russians who think like him view them as white trash. So many Ukrainians very much see themselves through the lens of race when it comes to Putin’s revisionism of their shared history.”

While multiple reports suggest Ukraine has never championed diversity or an acceptance of Black people, Russia has been especially harsh toward individuals of darker hues.

Home to 144 million people, just 70,000 Russian residents identify as Black.

The SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, a Moscow-based advocacy organization, revealed that Africans and those who descend from the Continent face widespread hostility and racism that routinely goes unpunished.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We would note one racist action on the territory of Moscow State University of Civil Engineering,” SOVA Center officials wrote in January. “In a video circulated online, young people can be seen harassing Black students, throwing snowballs at them, ‘awarding’ them bananas as ‘gifts’ and insulting them generally.”

In 2021, the SOVA Center reported at least 63 victims of ideologically motivated violence; three of them died, and the others were injured or beaten; five people received serious death threats.

The total number of hate-motivated attacks had increased compared to the previous year when one victim died, and 52 were injured or beaten. “And what should be kept in mind is that our data, especially for the year that just ended, is incomplete and will inevitably increase,” SOVA Center officials noted.

“The figures we provide do not reflect the true scale of violence and are incomplete to a significant extent,” officials continued.

“The mass media provide the lion’s share of information about such crimes, but in recent years they have reported practically nothing about hate crimes or have described them in such a way that isolating a motive becomes difficult.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Victims rarely report attacks to human rights organizations, except in the hope of receiving legal, medical, educational, or financial assistance, officials concluded.

They also rarely inform police out of fear of reprisals.

With Russia’s Ukraine invasion ongoing, some will train their eyes on the plight of Black people in the region.

“Anytime I am asked why Black people should care about anything that is considered non-Black, I refer them to Malcolm X’s call to condemn the U.S. at the United Nations for its abuses against Black Americans,” Starr wrote.

“Even a highly pro-Black activist like Malcolm knew the power of solidarity. I suggest we follow his lead as it pertains to Ukraine because colonial conquest of any nation should alarm us all—be it by Russia or even our native United States.”

Written By

ADVERTISEMENT
E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers
A severe E. coli outbreak in multiple states has been traced to Quarter Pounder hamburgers served by McDonald's. (Scripps News)
0 seconds of 37 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:37
00:37
 

Read The Current Issue

Texas Metro News

Determining Optimal Protein Intake For Muscle Growth buy steroids the 3 golden rules of muscle growth
ADVERTISEMENT

You May Also Like

News

To most Americans, Sunday’s passing of former President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter at age 100 brings to mind a decent man whose term in...

News

In the wake of the 2024 presidential election, there is a growing fear of what a second Donald Trump presidency could bring. For many...

Health

Considerable interest and importance have long been assigned to nonfinancial and financial wealth. However, there is the adage and realization that “Our health is...

News

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Black voters have the power to shape the outcome of the 2024 election and will play a critical role in defending...

Advertisement