With support from well known activists, Noura Erakat created a video entitled "When- I See Them I See Us" with hopes of sensitizing feelings for black and Palestinian lives.
The idea came to Erakat in 2014 at a violent peak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel had just launched an attack on Gaza killing over 2,200 civilian Palestinians, while on the other side of the world in Ferguson, Missouri, black youth Michael Brown had just been killed by a white police officer, sparking race riots across the U.S.
Both cultures have faced serious oppression and violence throughout the years. The racism felt by the African-American people can be traced back centuries, yet conditions were able to improve slightly over time. In the Middle East, conditions for Israelis and Palestinians have, at the very least, plateaued for both parties, leaving both cultures to live in widespread destruction for decades at a time with no sign of improvement.
Erakat's video uses well known names such as Cornel West, Alice Walker, Lauryn Hill, Angela Davis, Danny Glover, Palestinian hip-hop group DAM, Dream Defenders co-founder Ahmad Abuznaid, and Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural- Boycott of Israel co-founder Omar Barghouti to share messages highlighted among images of black and Palestinian protesters, attacks on protesters, and deaths at the hands of police and military.
"Organically, an analysis emerged highlighting similarities, but not sameness, of black and Palestinian life, and more aptly, of their survival...Our communities are dehumanized using similar logics of racism and repression." says Erakat.
Activists for both causes were holding signs featuring powerful messages to viewers, giving the world faces to attach to what were seemingly victim-less crimes.
"They shot me in the chest. I was protesting war crimes in Gaza." Reads the sign of one woman, and "Harassment and humiliation keep no one safe," reads another.
Watching this powerful video has sent a message to the world that all lives matter, regardless of race. Everyone has a story, and yours shouldn't be cut short halfway through.