This Friday, March 11, at 7pm, the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality are holding an online webinar via Zoom.

Russia has attacked NATO ally Ukraine, and the West, led by the U.S., is imposing what they hope will be devastating sanctions on Russia. In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates launched air strikes targeting civilian infrastructure in Yemen, while the Israeli occupation has continued its demolitions of Palestinian homes in Occupied East Jerusalem. In West Africa, mass demonstrations against France have erupted across Mali, and the French ambassador has been expelled. And in the Caribbean, the U.S. has failed in its latest attempt at regime change in Cuba.

Why is all this happening and what does it mean? Join the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality on Friday, March 11, at 7 pm for an educational webinar through Zoom covering these topics by featured panelists and followed up by a Q&A:

PHIL WILAYTO — Editor of The Virginia Defender and coordinator of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign. The OSC was founded after Phil organized a U.S. delegation to stand with the people of Odessa, Ukraine, as they defied fascist threats against their plans to mark the second anniversary of the massacre of scores of anti-fascists after the 2014 right-wing coup.

SANAZ GHODSI — An Iranian-American graduate student, activist and chair of the Defenders’ Antiwar Committee, Sanaz follows developments in the Middle East with a particular focus on Iran, Palestine and Yemen.

ANA EDWARDS — A Richmond-based public historian and chair of the Defenders’ Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, which for 18 years has advocated for the elevation of Richmond’s African and African American history. Since 2005, she has been on the board of Virginia Friends of Mali and visited the Republic of Mali in 2010, 2011 and in 2013 after the 2012 coup, and has maintained contact with people there, including journalists covering the present crises.

CHARLES O. BROWN — A union organizer and Defender who recently traveled to Cuba as a representative of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the Southern Workers Assembly to help deliver medical aid and meet with other trade unionists. The group that sponsored the trip was Pastors for Peace, which has been traveling to Cuba since 1992.

The webinar will be co-chaired by Taimir Gore, co-producer of the Defenders Radio Hour, and Kat McNeal, member of the Defenders Antiwar Committee.

For the Facebook event page, click here. Please register for the webinar via this link.