The Association of Black Sociologists (ABS) supports peace and prosperity for Black, African diasporic peoples of diverse ethnicities, minoritized peoples, and people globally. We champion global humanitarian rights, the preservation of life, and the right to live free of terrorism and mass harms and atrocities. Contrarily, we oppose the normalization of persisting and increasing conflict and dehumanization as outlined worldwide.1 

ABS also promotes “the individual and collective interests of Black/minority sociologists”2 and Black and minoritized people widely. This includes but is not limited to the protection of their “professional rights,”3 while safeguarding “the civil rights of Black/minority sociologists against repression that may arise from their epistemological perspectives and/or activities.”4 Thus, we respect their First Amendment rights to “freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”5 

As such, ABS stands with members, broader Black and African diasporic communities, and minoritized people largely, particularly, and especially, during this time of national and international crises spanning the United States, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Israel-Palestine, and more. We do this in the spirit of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and former South African President Nelson Mandela, who in their Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance addresses, spoke of refusing “…to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway….” [MLK]6 but then also never letting it be “…said by future generations that indifference, cynicism, or selfishness made us fail…” [Mandela].7 

Hence, it is in the spirit of our previously mentioned Black global predecessors and more that we ABS denounce state punitive actions and collective punishments for Black and African diasporic communities, and minoritized people, irrespective of place. We call on leaders across institutions, organizations, and socio-political persuasions, especially in the United States and who continuously benefit from the extraction of Black dollars and labor, to end state violence, trauma, and criminalization of Black people, particularly in their efforts to support global liberation and peace. 

-The Executive Committee of the Association of Black Sociologists 

1 See Global Citizen. 2024, April 26. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/facts-about-world-conflicts/ 

2 See Association of Black Sociologists (ABS). 2024, April 26. https://associationofblacksociologists.org/ 

3 Ibid. 

4 Ibid. 

5 See Constitution of the United States. 2024, April 26. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/ 

6 See The Nobel Prize. 2024, April 26. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/acceptance-speech/ 

7 See The Nobel Prize. 2024, April 26. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1993/mandela/lecture/