'History will judge us': Ras Baraka won't be intimidated

[struggle4progress]

Ed Pilkington
Mon 9 Jun 2025 07.00 EDT

It took about two minutes for Ras Baraka to be propelled from being a relatively obscure New Jersey politician into a nationwide avatar. The transformation happened on 9 May when he was trying to inspect Delaney Hall, a privately run federal immigration detention center that he accuses of violating safety protocols, when he was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).

Video footage of those fateful minutes show burly Ice agents dressed in militarised fatigues dragging the mayor into the compound. Baraka, who was accompanying three congressmembers, has his hands yanked behind his back and is handcuffed.

He vainly urges his captors to go easy on him with a plea that, in hindsight, now sounds deeply ironic. “I’m not resisting,” he says, over and over.

Since the arrest Baraka, 55, has rapidly emerged on the national stage as someone who resists, a lot. The son of a revolutionary poet, and a poet in his own right, he was a high school principal before becoming councilmember then mayor of one of America’s less glamorous cities: Newark ...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/09/ras-baraka-newark-mayor-ice

[struggle4progress]

1. A Mile from rump's Golf Course: I'm not in His Backyard, He's in Mine

By Max Pizarro | June 8, 2025, 1:32 pm

... On this Sunday morning, he connected with the impassioned members of the Tewksbury Democratic Party, who are worried about their country under the leadership of President Donald Trump and see Baraka as a hero for doing what the late, great John Lewis advised when he told justice seekers everywhere to "get in good trouble" ...

"I took an oath swearing allegiance to the country by the authority of the people," Baraka told an enthusiastic backyard crowd here. "It doesn't say oath to the president. Primarily, the duty of elected officials is to uphold the Constitution. Anything that goes against that, you should oppose deliberately and directly" ,,,

This party took place about a mile from the garish gates of Trump's golf course in Bedminster.

But "I'm not in his backyard, he's in my backyard," the mayor said. "New Jersey is a Democratic state, I don't care what people say. History has always borne out that we are going to win. He's on the losing side. There are some people here in New Jersey who support him, but they're wrong" ...

https://www.insidernj.com/baraka-a-mile-from-trumps-golf-course-im-not-in-his-backyard-hes-in-mine/

[struggle4progress]

2. Baraka rejects concerns over electability

By Zach Blackburn, June 07 2025 6:43 pm

In a drizzly Jersey City rally alongside a slew of progressive advocacy groups, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka launched the final push of his campaign for governor, rejecting arguments he’s unelectable as he seeks to turn out voters for Election Day next week.

Baraka criticized an NJ.com report that stated he is the Democratic candidate Republicans believe they have the best shot at beating in November, saying the argument is being used in an attempt to dampen his base’s energy. The mayor is one of six Democrats seeking their party’s nomination to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy.

“This is their solution (for) us, to say that, ‘You’re hopeless, you can’t do it, it’s impossible, lay down, stay home,’” the mayor said. “This is a message they’ve been giving us all of our lives, and as long as that message grows, it gives me encouragement … because they wouldn’t be doing all these things if they didn’t think we could win” ...

https://newjerseyglobe.com/campaigns/baraka-rejects-concerns-over-electability-as-election-day-nears/