It has been a few months since the Uhuru House of the African People’s Socialist Party was raided by the FBI in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) has vehemently condemned this assault on one of our movement allies. We recognize at BAP that this FBI search is only the beginning of further state assaults on those engaging in principled, radical, African, anti-imperialist organizing. The absurd loopholes and justifications the state will come up with to disrupt Africans mobilizing the masses will only continue as more people get politicized.

We as radical Black people engaged in struggle must be conscious of how the state will stifle our politics. This newest edition of the 1033 Monthly Newsletter gives some historical insight into how the 1033 program was (partially) justified in 1997, along with some recent updates surrounding efforts to curtail the 1033 program’s distribution of heavy-duty military weapons. Please continue to share and distribute the newsletter to help bring more widespread recognition to this violent government initiative. Also, tap into our resource page to learn about how you can get your area to stop participating in the 1033 program.

No Compromise, No Retreat!

How the North Hollywood Shootout Led to the Now-Controversial 1033 Program

  • This article discusses the historical trajectory of how the 1033 program was incentivized to be created

  • On February 28, 1997, two civilian bank robbers outgunned LAPD for 44 minutes after attempting to steal around $300,000 from a North Hollywood Bank of America branch

  • The fallout from the events of the shootout led to the National Defense Authorization Act of 1997 to include section 1033, which established what we know as the 1033 program

  • State justification of possible threats of such unlikely events facilitates the very real daily surveillance of Black people and other marginalized groups

Pressley Calls on Biden to Stop Allowing Military Weapons to Go to Police

  • Several house representatives, along with a few senators, sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for the curtailing of the 1033 program

  • These legislators are calling for implementing Section 12 of the new Executive Order 14074, which could restrict the types of military equipment that would get transferred, including firearms and ammunitions of 0.50 calibers or higher, firearm silencers, grenade launchers, and other forms of equipment

  • Unclear to what extent this letter has been received by the executive branch, much less do we know whether any of this could be implemented

Additional Stories:

Banner photo: An armored Hollywood SWAT vehicle parked on the street behind an HPD SUV (courtesy of grunge.com, Felix Mizioznikov / Shutter stock)