Critical Issues Forum Speaker Series, “Intersections of Racial Justice and Nuclear Disarmament”

On February 22nd, 2023, to celebrate Black History Month, Teens4Disarmament participated in the Critical Issues Forum Speaker Series, “Intersections of Racial Justice and Nuclear Disarmament”. We had the greatest opportunity to meet with Dr. Vincent Intondi who shared with us how minorities played a huge role in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. 

During the Speakers Series, Dr. Vincent Intondi explained how after the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was some controversy about President Truman’s decision, primarily from the Black Community. Langston Hughes, the first to question Truman’s decision, claimed that his decision to bomb both Hiroshima and Nagaski stemed from the root of racism. Hughes asked, “Why did we not drop an Atomic Bomb on Italy and Germany?”. Dr. Intondi pointed out, “Nuclear Weapons have always been a use to threaten those we name as ‘others’” Just like what Dr. Intondi said, we like to create an “other” to justify the racism ingrained in our country.

Throughout our American history, the Black Community has been facing oppression in every aspect, and though our textbooks do not mention the threats Black people are facing because of their advocation towards nuclear disarmament; they have always been working towards creating a nuclear-weapon-free world. Even though the impact of the nuclear threat terrorized many Black Communities, the voices of Black people have been ignored and oastracized. From 1960 to 1966, the French colonial regime tested 17 atomic bombs in the Algerian Sahara producing and releasing many radioactive particles and metal scraps from the failed tests. Dr. Intondi emphasized, “We have to realize that what happens in Africa will affect Black people in our society.” The consequences of nuclear weapons do not only affect the places where they have been used for war, but also places where they are being tested in. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also often spoke in his speeches about the association between nuclear disarmament and civil rights. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated, “These two issues are tied together in many, many ways. It is a wonderful thing to work to integrate lunch counters, public accommodations, and schools. But it would be rather absurd to work to get schools and lunch counters integrated and not be concerned with the survival of a world in which to integrate”. More specifically, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King, who also participated in leading the women’s right movement, heavily advocated towards nuclear disaramament. Mrs. Coretta Scott King asserted, “It is of vital importance that we solve world tensions and bring about understanding between nations. If…the world is lost…our efforts in race relations will have been in vain…We are on the brink of destroying ourselves through nuclear warfare”.

As shown, the Black Community has always been moving and advocating towards making our world a safer and more peaceful place. However, majority of their efforts has been hidden from the public’s eye. It is important to bring these issues and those involved into limelight. It is time for us to realize the efforts of minority communities and work towards changing for the better.