Bishop Talbert Swan, Twitter/X screenshot, @dijoni
Civil rights activist Bishop Talbert Swan, president of the Greater Springfield National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is questioning the allocation of U.S. aid. In recent tweets, he pointed out the disparity between the aid provided to foreign nations, such as Israel and Ukraine and the treatment of its own Black American citizens. Many are questioning President Joe Biden’s proposed $105 billion national security package, which includes substantial assistance to Israel and Ukraine.
In a recent video posted on social media, Swan said of the U.S. government allotting billion to foreign aid and none to reparations for Black Americans, “They can find nearly $4 billion a year to give to Israel, but they can’t find any money to give to African Americans who descended from enslaved Africans. And it is a shame. We’re not asking for a handout. We’re not asking for you to do us a favor. That’s money that is owed; that’s a debt the United States has yet to pay.”
Tweeter Don Slamon, who posted the Swan video, tweeted, “Bishop is right on the money. Every year $4 billion for Israel. But no money preparation for African-American. $100 billion for Ukraine. $40 billion for Israel. $60 billion more for Ukraine. But no reparation for African-American.”
Swan, who was appointed to the Massachusetts state hate crimes task force, is a prelate in the Church of God in Christ serving as the bishop of the Vermont Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in the U.S. Swan is the fifth leader of the Jurisdiction and oversees COGIC congregations in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York.
He tweeted, “Joe Biden is requesting billions of taxpayer dollars from Congress to support Israel’s continued genocide of the Palestinian people.”
He added a lyric from the Tupac song “Keep Ya Head Up,” “You know it’s funny when it rains it pours They got money for wars but can’t feed the poor”
The proposed Biden package would also include additional funds–$13.6 billion– to support U.S.-Mexico border security, including additional patrol agents, machines to detect fentanyl, asylum officers, and immigration judge teams. It would also provide funding to strengthen security in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan.
Biden’s aid package allocates $14.3 billion to support Israel. This funding is designed to bolster Israel’s defense capabilities, including air and missile defense systems, CNN reported.
And, Ukraine is a major recipient of the national security package, with $61.4 billion designated for various forms of aid. This includes funding for equipment, military support, and economic assistance.
Tweeter Richard Sudan replied to Swan’s video by posting, “”They find nearly $4 billion dollars a year to give to Israel. But can’t find any money to give to African Americans who descended from enslaved Africans. It’s a travesty”.
In a separate post, Swan tweeted that his social media accounts are being restricted about speaking out against U.S. funding to Israel. He posted, “Whoomp, there it is! Instagram/Facebook/Meta is now removing content from both my @instagram and @facebook pages, restricting my accounts, and threatening to close them for sharing videos of what’s happening to Palestinians in Gaza.”
In one tweet, Swan wrote in part, “After everything, our people have been through, it’s heartbreaking watching Black preachers bastardize scripture to justify the murder, brutalization, and oppression of brown people in Gaza by a white supremacist apartheid government the same way white preaches used scripture to…“
Bishop Talbert Swan, Twitter/X screenshot, @dijoni
