Brian Verdin
Brian Verdin
Chief Zwelivelile Mandela commemorates 75th Nakba anniversary
According to Sam Charnon May 15, 2023 marked the 75th anniversary of the Nakba. Over 250 community members and activists gathered in downtown Milwaukee to see Chief Zwelivelile Mandela, the grandson of the great anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, in commemoration of the tragedy in Palestine.
Zwelivelile Mandela is the tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and has served as a member of the South African parliament since 2009. Continuing in his grandfathers’ footsteps, Mandela is a staunch supporter of Palestinian liberation. The Nakba (“catastrophe” in English) began in 1948, the same year that apartheid was made law in South Africa. Shouts of “Free, free Palestine and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” echoed throughout Turner Hall as Palestinian and South African flags were waved by attendants.
The event, hosted by the US Palestinian Community Network and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, was marked by powerful speeches. Ashley Hudson from Madison for Palestine spoke of the Zionism that impacts the government, institutions and society, and how they have struggled against it in their city.
Later, Brian Verdin from Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR) spoke of his involvement in the rich history of Milwaukee activism in the 1980s against apartheid South Africa, as well as organizing against the settler-colonial state that is Israel today.
Milwaukee is the first of six stops on Mandela’s tour. Local community organizations, like Madison for Palestine, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) WI, MAARPR, Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC), Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition co-sponsored the event. [1]
"Million Mom March"
Joe Brusky Photography / Light Brigading May 7, 2015:
Mothers For Justice United and the Coalition for Justice form a unity circle before boarding a bus to DC for this weekend's Mother's Day "Million Mom March."
- DontreHamilton — with C.M. DeSpears, Brian Verdin, Erik Ljung, Steve Jerbi, Babette Grunow, Nate Hamilton, Dameion Perkins, Maria A. Hamilton, Melissa Verdin, Jenna Knapp, Megan Graves, Lane Hall and Joe Brusky.