Justice Organizations and Activists Call on Biden to Recognize the Armenian Genocide
by Staff
April 24th is the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide that saw over 1.5 million Armenians, Assyrians & Pontic Greeks killed from 1915–1923 and displaced from their homeland. This marked a foundational moment in the making of the modern Middle East, that is often erased by scholars and organizers in the West. There are 10-15 million Armenians and Assyrians who continue to live in forced diaspora around the world today because of these events. The government of Turkey and the government of the United States historically have claimed the Genocide never happened and work together to deny these atrocities. Thanks to generations of community organizing, the US House and Senate finally passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide in 2019. Now it is up to President Biden to make recognition of the Armenian Genocide official U.S. policy.
Letter to President Biden:
We, the undersigned justice organizations and organizers, call on President Joseph R. Biden to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide this year in his annual address on April 24th.
Armenian-American community organizers have been calling on the United States to be on the right side of history and affirm the truth of these historical crimes, for decades. As organizers for justice, dignity, and freedom we join these community calls and add our voices to them. It is time for the United States to fully recognize the Armenian Genocide as historical fact and be committed to building futures free from racism, injustice, family separation, deportation, and violence.
We fight today against oppression and know that we have the ability to join together to struggle against these forces wherever and however they appear. No longer can the U.S. give excuses because of geopolitical interests and power, to deny justice for the Armenian Genocide and to the global diaspora that was forced into exile around the world because of it.
Justice cannot wait. President Biden, we call on you to Recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Signed,
Organizations
Armenian-American Action Network
Adalah Justice Project
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Arab American Civic Council
Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC)
Armenian Youth Federation - Western United States
Association of Raza Educators, Los Angeles
Borderlands for Equity
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Coordinating Committee on Armenian Nonviolence (CCAN)
Elmahaba Center
Electoral Justice Now
Ethnic Studies Now Coalition
Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition
Jews for Racial & Economic Justice
Jewish Voice for Peace
Justice for Muslims Collective
Majdal: Arab Community Center of San Diego
Malcom X Grassroots Movement
MuslimGirl
Muslim Student Association West (MSA West)
National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP)
Nikkei Resisters
Palestinian Youth Movement
SAYRAN
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
SGV LGBTQ+ Center
The Feminist Front
War Resisters League
Yerazad Coalition
Zoravik Collective
Individuals (Note: Organizations used for identification purposes only)
Sophia Armen, Co-Director, Armenian-American Action Network
Dr. Suzie Abajian, Co-Director, Armenian-American Action Network
Lara Kiswani, Executive Director, Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC)
Sharif Zarkout, Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC)
Kifah Shah, Activist
Isabella Leon-Chambers, Chair of Operations, The Feminist Front
Mejgan Afshan, Borderlands for Equity
Donna Farvard, National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
Ramah Kudaimi, Syrian-American Activist
Lydia Yousief, Elmahaba Center
Neda Maghbouleh, Professor & Author of “The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race”
Samia Assed, Human Rights Activist
Amani al-Khatahtbeh, Founder, MuslimGirl
Cassie Rubio, Co-Chair, The Feminist Front
Sanyika Bryant, Malcom X Grassroots Movement
Loubna Qutami, Assistant Professor, UCLA Department of Asian American Studies
Azadeh Shashahani, Legal & Advocacy Director, Project South, past President, National Lawyers Guild
Siroun Kaloustian, Activist
Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Director and Senior Scholar, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diaspora Studies, San Francisco State University
Shiyam Galyon, Activist
Tallie Ben-Daniel, Director of Special Projects, Jewish Voice for Peace
Rebecca Vilkomerson, Activist
Ahmad Abuznaid, Activist
Angelica Isai Becerra, Artist & Activist
Clarissa Bitar, Musician & Activist
Omar Offendum, Poet, Rapper & Activist
Rashad Al-Dabbagh, Arab American Civic Council
Khadijah Abdulmateen, Muslim Student Association West (MSA West)
Sarah Farouq, The Feminist Front
Dilkhwaz Ahmed, Activist
Remi Kenazi, Poet & Activist
Rafael Shimunov, Activist
Dr. John Fernandez, Coordinator, Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition
Guadalupe Carrasco Cardona, Ethnic Studies Now Coalition
Darakshan Raja, Co-Director, Justice for Muslims Collective
Yetvart S. Majian, Independent Scholar
Sayran B., Artist/Designer
Kenneth Rotter, SGV LGBTQ+ Center Board of Directors
Massoud Hayoun, Writer
Mohammed Khader, Policy Advisor and Political Analyst
Miya Sommers, Nikkei Resisters
Ammad Rafiqi, Kashmiri lawyer and activist
Thomas Simsarian Dolan, PhD Candidate, American Studies, George Washington University
Carene Rose Mekertichyan, Artist & Activist, Yerazad
Joel Weisel, Queer Trans-nonbinary SWANA writer and organizer
Arya Jemal, Yerazad
Kohar Avakian, Scholar at Yale University
Yasmeen Obeid, Majdal Center
Karine Eurdekian, Founder and Executive Director, Kooyrigs 501c3
Michael Kusiak, Castro Valley Unified School District Trustee
Parvin Ahmadi, Superintendent of Schools Castro Valley and Education Advocate
Nancy Kricorian, Writer and Organizer
Miya Sommers, Nikkei Resisters