United Black Men of Queens Foundation Inc.

09/07/2026

THE CENTER FOR PAN-AFRICAN STUDIES ISSUES URGENT WARNING: AI DATA CENTERS CREATING A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

GARY, IN – September 7, 2026 – The Center for Pan-African Studies today issued an urgent warning to the Black community regarding the accelerating crisis caused by artificial intelligence data centers strategically located in historically Black and marginalized communities. Recent reports indicate that these facilities are draining electrical grids and water supplies, leading to prolonged blackouts, water shortages, and public health catastrophes, with the city of Gary, Indiana, serving as a critical case study .

The Center is calling for an immediate investigation into the placement of data centers and a halt to the "sacrifice zone" policies that leave Black communities to bear the burden of the AI revolution.

The Crisis in Gary, Indiana

Recent reports confirm that residents of Northwest Indiana, including Gary, have experienced nearly two weeks without power in the scorching summer heat . This occurs as utility companies like NIPSCO budget billions to power massive data centers for tech giants on the outskirts of the city . Data centers, which require immense baseload power, are placing an unsustainable strain on the grid, leading to blackouts that cripple essential services .

The Water-Energy Nexus and Infrastructure Collapse

The crisis extends beyond electricity. The Center emphasizes that the water crisis is inextricably linked to the electricity crisis. Data centers rely heavily on water for cooling, a process that directly competes with residential water supplies . Furthermore, the loss of electricity leads to the shutdown of water pumps, a critical failure that is often followed by water mains breaking during winter months, leading to catastrophic infrastructure collapse and dangerous shortages .

A National Pattern of Environmental Racism

This is not an isolated incident. The pattern of siting polluting and resource-intensive facilities in Black and Brown communities is a long-standing reality of environmental racism . The NAACP has recently issued a "Stop Dirty Data" playbook, highlighting that these communities are being forced to absorb the environmental and economic costs of technological growth without safeguards or consent .

In Memphis, Tennessee, civil rights groups have sued xAI, citing unpermitted gas turbines polluting historically Black communities and contributing to the energy burden . The Center notes that the explosion of AI development is mirroring the historical exploitation seen during the industrial era, where the benefits of progress flowed out while the costs remained local .

The Winter Warning

"The loss of electricity is a direct threat to the water supply," “Without power, water pumps fail, and when we face winter weather, those pipes freeze and burst. We are looking at a catastrophe where people will be left without heat and without water in the dead of winter. This is a direct result of prioritizing AI infrastructure over human life."

A Call to Action

The Center for Pan-African Studies is calling for:

1. A Moratorium: An immediate halt to new data center construction in residential and historically marginalized communities until full environmental and social impact studies are conducted .
2. Infrastructure Investment: A mandate that tech companies and utilities invest in grid resilience and renewable energy that does not compete with or deplete local water sources .
3. Community Consent: Meaningful community engagement and consent before any new data centers are sited or expanded .

The Center for Pan-African Studies stands in solidarity with the residents of Gary, Memphis, and all communities fighting against the extractive nature of the AI industry. Innovation must not come at the cost of Black lives, health, and basic survival.

09/07/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Center for Pan African Studies
Statement on the Crisis of Conscience in the U.S. Military and the Ongoing Aggression Against Iran

The Center for Pan African Studies issues this press release to express grave alarm over the deteriorating moral and material condition of the U.S. military, as its leadership engages in acts of aggression against Iran that have resulted in the deaths of countless civilians, including children, while simultaneously silencing dissent and intimidating its own service members.

We are witnessing an unprecedented crisis. Reports confirm that U.S. military actions in Iran have resulted in the bombing of schools and civilian infrastructure. The destruction of a girls' school in southern Iran, which evidence suggests was struck by a U.S. missile, is a stark symbol of this tragedy, resulting in the deaths of innocent children and teachers. Far from accountability, the Pentagon has engaged in a pattern of denial and cover-up, with officials downplaying the extent of civilian casualties and failing to investigate hundreds of reported incidents.

The human cost of this war extends to U.S. service members themselves. The prolonged deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln has led to severe hardship, with reports of food and water shortages, exhausted crews, and record-long periods at sea. Morale is critically low, reflecting a broader “overstretch” of the U.S. military machine.

In a desperate attempt to control the narrative and suppress the truth, the Pentagon has escalated its intimidation tactics. The firing of the publisher and editor of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes for “insubordination” is a direct assault on press freedom and an attempt to silence those who report on the war's grim reality. This purge is part of a broader pattern of retaliation, including reports of polygraph tests being administered to military personnel to identify whistleblowers and the investigation of high-ranking officials who oppose the war.

The military’s leadership is in disarray. The dismissal of the Army Chief of Staff and the resignation of the Army Secretary represent a dangerous politicization of the armed forces during active combat. This leadership vacuum is a direct result of an administration that values loyalty over integrity and seeks to punish those who expose its failures.

The Center for Pan African Studies stands in solidarity with all peoples who oppose imperialist war. We condemn the targeting of civilians in Iran, the suppression of press freedom, and the treatment of U.S. service members as disposable tools. We echo the voices of those who have said “no” to this war and call for an immediate end to the violence.

09/03/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Center for Pan African Studies

September 3, 2026

PAN AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER CONDEMNS U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICIES AFTER DEATH OF HAITIAN STUDENT; CALLS FOR GLOBAL ACCOUNTABILITY

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Center for Pan African Studies, guided by the foundational principles of Pan African unity and the liberation of the global African family, today issued a forceful condemnation of United States immigration policies that target and oppress citizens of African descent. This condemnation comes in the wake of the tragic death of Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian immigrant and college student who died by su***de on August 31, 2026, after being forced to wear a GPS ankle monitor by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) .

Pierre, an honors student and aspiring neuroscience major at Wright State University, had his Temporary Protected Status (TPS) revoked following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed the Trump administration to end protections for approximately 350,000 Haitians . In an Instagram post shortly after being fitted with the device, he wrote:

"I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn't come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone. Yet now I’m walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience" .

Pierre's father stated that his son was humiliated and bullied by classmates who accused him of being a criminal because of the monitor . "The government treated my son like an animal," his father said .

A Deliberate Policy of Psychological Torture

The Center denounces these policies as deliberately designed to oppress and psychologically torture individuals of African descent. The indiscriminate use of GPS monitoring by ICE which has expanded from approximately 17,000 individuals to nearly 54,000 under the current administration represents a systematic campaign of dehumanization . This policy has been imposed without individualized justification, affecting working families, pregnant women, and students like Pierre .

Pastor Carl Ruby, a community advocate, stated: "Pierre died as a result of policy. It's our immigration policy that took his life" . The Center echoes this sentiment and calls for an immediate end to these practices.

The Pan African Community Stands United

The Center invokes the historical declaration of the Organization of African Unity, which condemned "discriminatory practices against Black citizens" and affirmed the solidarity of the African continent with its diaspora . As articulated by Pan African leaders, the African diaspora is an "integral part of its motherland" . The persecution of Haitians in the United States is a persecution of all people of African descent worldwide.

As the 8th Pan African Congress affirmed, the global African family is bound by a "non-negotiable principle of zero tolerance of any manifestation of anti-Black or anti-African racism or discrimination" . The targeting of Haitian immigrants through policies such as the termination of TPS and mandatory GPS monitoring is a direct assault on this principle.

The United States Must Be Held Accountable

The Center demands that the U.S. government be held fully accountable for policies that lead to psychological trauma, family separation, and death. The parallels between this treatment and historical systems of control and surveillance of Black bodies are undeniable. ICE's Alternatives to Detention program, which was intended to reduce detention, has been "transformed into a harmful surveillance system" that effectively functions as an "alternative form of detention" . This system disproportionately impacts Haitians, with advocates noting that Brazilian clients did not receive ankle monitors while their Haitian counterparts were forced to wear them .

A Call to the World: Rise Up

The Center issues a global call to action:

· To the African Union and African governments: We call on you to uphold the historic resolution of the OAU and offer refuge, home, and citizenship to members of the diaspora who choose to return, in the name of Pan African solidarity .
· To the international community: We call on all nations to condemn these human rights violations and impose sanctions on the United States for its discriminatory practices against Black immigrants.
· To people of conscience everywhere: We call on you to organize protests, boycott U.S. goods, and use every platform available to demand justice for Pierre Damas Bel and the thousands of others subjected to this oppression.

As the global Pan African community stated in response to the murder of George Floyd, "We demand that African governments recognize our alliance and our ties with our brothers and sisters across borders, from America to Brazil and across the rest of the diaspora" . Today, we renew that demand not only for recognition, but for action.

The Center stands with the Haitian community in Springfield, with the families torn apart by deportation, and with every individual of African descent who has been dehumanized by these policies. We will not remain silent.

Enough is enough .

09/02/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Center for Pan-African Studies
Statement on Jaylen Brown: A Modern-Day Bill Russell, Silenced and Traded for Speaking Truth

The Center for Pan-African Studies issues this press release to recognize and commend the courage of NBA star Jaylen Brown, who has been traded from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers. While the league celebrates his athletic prowess, we at the Center celebrate his unwavering commitment to social justice, a commitment that we believe directly contributed to his departure from Boston.

Jaylen Brown’s journey mirrors that of his inspiration, the legendary Bill Russell. Like Russell, Brown refused to "shut up and dribble," instead using his platform to challenge systemic injustice. Brown has been a vocal advocate for closing the racial wealth gap and investing in underserved communities, often against the advice of corporate handlers who pressured him to remain silent .

"They’re steering them away from helping the people in the situation they came from," Brown stated during a recent livestream, revealing the pressure athletes face to abandon activism . This pressure stems from a system that values profit over principle. Brown’s call for NBA players to demand equity in team ownership and take greater control over their representation is a direct challenge to the league’s power structure . He has also spoken internationally, even wearing a "Free Gaza" bracelet, demonstrating a global Pan-African consciousness .

The irony of Jaylen Brown’s situation is profound. While Boston Mayor Michelle Wu presented him with a symbolic "Jaylen Brown Way" street sign at a farewell event, her administration has been criticized for policies that displace Black homeowners . This hollow gesture highlights the contradiction: honoring a man for his community work while enabling the policies that harm it.

The trade to Philadelphia is not simply a roster decision; it is a reflection of a league that discards talent that refuses to comply. As Anna Horford, sister of former teammate Al Horford, asked on social media: "Love the Celtics, but still can't wrap my head around what the fck they were thinking*" . We know what they were thinking. They traded a champion for the crime of being a revolutionary.

The Center for Pan-African Studies stands with Jaylen Brown. We call on the NBA and its ownership to respect the rights of players to be fully human—to speak, to advocate, and to lead. Bill Russell paved the way by overcoming barriers to racial justice . Jaylen Brown is walking in his light, and we will continue to support him and all athletes who choose the legacy of Bill Russell over the silence of the league.

08/26/2026

Back-to-School Reading for Consciousness and Inspiration

As the school year begins, invest in reading and cultural artifacts that can deepen consciousness, strengthen family dialogue, and inspire meaningful service to our communities. These selections center the enduring intellectual, spiritual, and cultural legacy of the African Nile Valley.

Imhotep figurine: (https://www.imhoteptheneterofmedicine.com) Place an Imhotep figurine on your desk as a daily symbol of disciplined achievement. Imhotep remembered as a physician, architect, builder, and designer of King Djoser’s Step Pyramid represents the heights of scholarship, healing, creativity, and leadership that are possible when we honor our history and purpose
A World Before Genesis: Ta-Seti, Kemet and The Nile Valley Kingdom (https://a.co/d/08BwuH8C) This essential book offers families and students an opportunity to explore ancient African history and the Nile Valley’s central place in the development of civilization. It is a powerful starting point for conversations about Ta-Seti, Kemet, knowledge, moral order, and African contributions to humanity.
A Visit to the Vatican’s Gregorian Museum:( https://a.co/d/0dhM4nZc) Dr. Daniel Laroche guides readers through the Vatican’s Gregorian Egyptian Museum and its holdings of African spiritual and cultural artifacts. The book encourages us to consider the ancient African traditions that preceded—and helped shape the wider spiritual world in which Abrahamic religions later emerged.
How to Be a Successful Black Man: (https://a.co/d/03m84iHs) This book offers practical encouragement for men and women seeking to overcome the burdens imposed by racial stigma, build confidence, strengthen families, and contribute to thriving communities. It connects historical knowledge with self-development, responsibility, and collective advancement.

Let this back-to-school season be more than a return to the classroom. Let it be a return to history, purpose, excellence, and the shared work of building strong families and communities.

How to Be a Successful Black Man

08/26/2026

https://youtu.be/VusapyTyemk?is=ovP2a81f8zryNWlx

Website: https://sabbysabs.com/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Sa...

08/24/2026

Is future speaker of the House Hakeem Jeffries meeting with his puppet master?

08/20/2026

08/19/2026

08/18/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Center for Pan-African Studies Issues Urgent Warning on the Perils Facing Black Academics in Predominantly White Institutions

Date: August 18, 2026

In the wake of the tragic passing of Professor Jason Arday, the Center for Pan-African Studies (CPAS) issues this solemn warning and call to action. The relentless and racially charged campaign that preceded his death serves as a stark reminder of the unique and disproportionate dangers Black scholars face when they are singular figures in elite, predominantly white academic spaces.

The circumstances surrounding Professor Arday’s death are not an isolated incident but a tragic manifestation of systemic failures. After his historic appointment as Cambridge University’s youngest-ever Black professor in 2023, he was subjected to a media environment described by Cambridge’s own chancellor, Lord Chris Smith, as a “racist feeding frenzy” . This campaign, fueled by unsubstantiated allegations, targeted not only his academic work but also his personal history, manner of speaking, and very character a level of scrutiny rarely, if ever, applied to his white counterparts . The attacks intensified despite an investigation by Liverpool John Moores University concluding that he had not plagiarised his work .

This tragedy illustrates the profound vulnerability of Black scholars in isolated positions within historically white institutions. Research consistently shows that Black academics face systemic marginalisation, hyper-surveillance, and epistemic Othering within these environments . They experience a painful duality of hypervisibility and invisibility, being subjected to intense public scrutiny while their intellectual contributions are simultaneously devalued and their belonging is questioned . The sustained attack on Professor Arday was not merely an inquiry into academic integrity; it was a weaponisation of allegations to challenge the very legitimacy of Black presence and scholarship in elite academia, driven by forces that deny the systemic nature of racism itself .

For the Center for Pan-African Studies, Professor Arday’s ordeal is a resounding call to action. The peril of being a lone Black figure in a hostile environment underscores the absolute necessity for Africans and the Pan-African diaspora to build, fortify, and rely upon their own institutions. It is within our own centres of learning that we can cultivate an environment grounded in the principles of Truth, Justice, Harmony, Balance, Reciprocity, Order, and Propriety—the ancient Ma'atian ideals that represent a framework for ethical scholarship, community, and self-determination .

· Truth and Justice demand that our intellectual pursuits are rigorous and our histories are accurately told, free from the distortions of colonial narratives . We must establish and uphold our own standards of academic integrity.
· Harmony, Balance, and Order are essential for creating communities of care that protect and nurture our scholars, shielding them from the isolation and psychological violence that can befall them in unsupportive environments .
· Reciprocity and Propriety guide our relationships, ensuring that our institutions are built on mutual support and shared responsibility, not on the competitive and extractive models that often dominate Western academe .

The future of Pan-Africanism and the continent’s self-reliance depend on our ability to transform higher learning institutions from aspirational ideals into practical engines of development . This means investing in African universities, fostering collaborative research across the continent, and centring African epistemologies . The tragedy of Jason Arday is a powerful reminder that while we must continue to engage with the global academic community, our primary duty is to teach each other, to teach our community, and to teach the work that will build a unified and self-reliant African future.

We call on all Pan-African institutions, scholars, and leaders to redouble their efforts in building and strengthening our own academic ecosystems. We must create spaces where our scholars are not token figures to be exalted and destroyed, but valued members of a community dedicated to the liberation and advancement of all African people.

The Center for Pan-African Studies (CPAS) at SOAS University of London is a leading hub for research and scholarship on Pan-Africanism, exploring it as a transcontinental political formation and its role in contemporary debates on global justice and institutional reform .