The Seeds of Liberation Are Sown in Solidarity
Do you know there’s a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Sudan? I promise this isn’t a gotcha question. For better or worse, many of us use social media as our primary source of news, and the algorithm gods do not deliver the same information to all of us. On a recent flight, I glimpsed the Instagram feed of the person in front of me and was shocked that their grid was solely "humble fisherman" fashion aesthetics (or what they now call quiet luxury). That moment reminded me just how vastly different our digital landscapes are, shaping what we do or don’t know about the conflict in Sudan.
At the time of writing this, 30.4 million people in Sudan need humanitarian aid—that’s 64% of the population, making this the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. 15 million people have been displaced. 24.6 million face acute food insecurity. 19 million children are out of school. 12.2 million people are at risk of gender-based violence. (1, 2)
These numbers by themselves are staggering. But if, like me, you feel the call to deepen our interconnection, you know that behind the vastness of these numbers is a deeper story. History reminds us that genocide, violence, dispossession, and subjugation do not happen in a vacuum. To understand Sudan’s crisis, we must look at the throughlines of colonization and the violent repression of revolutionary resistance.
Many Sudanese activists, such as Tai (@red_maat), Sara (@bsonblast), and Nisrin and Yusra of @sudansolidaritycollective, have meticulously documented Sudan’s history, the ongoing crisis, and the enduring fight for liberation. This is not just history to them—it is their lived reality. Yet, despite the lack of widespread coverage and global outcry, they continue the relentless work of educating, advocating, and bearing witness. My summary is just a starting point; I urge you to engage directly with their work and the source texts referenced on the last slide.
"To be clear, the war [in Sudan] is not purely an internal power struggle nor simply a proxy war of regional or ‘super’ powers but a multi-scalar counterrevolutionary war supported by internal and external actors linked by capital and the desire to preserve the violent, extractive, ethno-nationalist, postcolonial Sudanese state." (3)
Sudan gained independence from British colonial rule in 1956. Since then, civil elites and the military class have hoarded power, wealth, and resources. However, over the decades, Sudanese youth, women, and the working class have waged revolutions, civil uprisings, and protests, demanding dignity, rights, and autonomy.
In response, Sudan’s ruling business and military elites have violently suppressed these movements, securing support from external actors such as the UAE, Egypt, Russia, and Saudi Arabia to fund the ongoing conflict. On April 15, 2023, tensions between Sudan’s army, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated into full-scale war, devastating the capital city, Khartoum, and spreading across the country. The violence has decimated agricultural lands, destroyed schools, hospitals, and clinics, and forced millions to flee Sudan in search of asylum. The ongoing crisis poses an immediate threat to the survival of the Sudanese people while benefiting external powers, who exploit the instability to seize Sudan’s land, gold, and other resources (3, 4, 5, 6).
If you’ve been following global movements, you know this strategy well: destabilization as a tool for resource extraction, a core function of the colonial project. This strategy involves creating havoc, hoarding resources, and violently suppressing resistance.
Yet, the Sudanese people continue to resist. One powerful form of resistance is through resistance committees, which began as grassroots neighborhood groups practicing civil disobedience against the government. Today, over 8,000 resistance committees have evolved into Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs)—community-led mutual aid networks providing medical supplies, food distribution, period products, classrooms, temporary shelters, and more. As of February 2024, ERRs have supported over 4 million people, a testament to revolutionary labor and love. (5)
Despite the lack of international coverage, Sudanese people fight on. Their survival and resistance are sustained by care networks like the Sudan Solidarity Collective (SSC), which channels direct support to ERRs on the ground. In their own words:
"The Sudan Solidarity Collective was formed in 2023 to create an avenue to support the relief efforts on the ground being spearheaded by the ERRs. All funds go directly to Sudan with no strings attached and are at the discretion of the ERRs to fulfill the needs of displaced and war-impacted civilians. We aim to provide support that does not reproduce racial or ethnic hierarchies and power dynamics, while responding to both historical neglect and the shifting urgency of war." (5)
Liberation is a collective struggle. Sudanese people have not stopped fighting for theirs, and we must continue to be in solidarity.
"In this political moment, we direly need to interrogate the concept of solidarity and our collective accountability to who is included in that and who is excluded in that and ask why. Then we should do something about it because it continues to be a problem of our time." —Yusra Khogali (5)
Ways to be in solidarity with Sudan
- Learn through your interests. Are you an educator? Look into the collapse of Sudan’s educational system and how Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) are stepping in to fill the gap. Are you invested in environmental justice, reproductive rights, or global politics? Sudan’s crisis is interconnected to all the liberation struggles right now. Find the entry point that resonates with you—then dig deeper.
- Talk about Sudan. If you’ve learned something from this essay or other resources, share it. Raise awareness in your circles. Bring Sudan into your advocacy work. Crisis thrives in silence—break it.
- Support Sudanese-led efforts.
- Donate to the Sudan Solidarity Fund & support the critical work of Sudan Solidarity Collective (@sudansolidaritycollective).
- Sara (@bsonblast) has compiled a list of organizations, family and student fundraisers you can support.
- Tai (@red_maat) is developing a toolkit with educational videos, history, culture and ways to support Sudan. Stay in the loop with her work.
- Interrogate your anti-Black bias. We all internalize anti-Blackness. Unlearning it is ongoing work. As Tai (@red_maat) said in a podcast interview: "If you’re not actively anti-racist, then you’re enabling, and you’re being passively accepting of Black racism."
- Uplift Sudanese artists, cultural workers and producers. Share their work. Engage with their stories. Cultural production is resistance.
- Create in solidarity. Make art, write, compose—respond to what’s happening in Sudan through your own creative practice. Art has always been a tool of resistance. Use it.
Solidarity is a lifelong practice, not a moment. Find your role in the fight—and commit.
Try different ways to learn about Sudanese history & culture
🌱 Overview: Sudan timeline of events (google doc
🎧 Listen/Read: Breaking Down Sudan’s Struggle: What the World Is Missing
🗞️ Read: In Sudan, the People’s Revolution Versus the Elite’s Counterrevolution
📈 Graphic Timeline: This phenomenal graphic from @lizar_tistry
📰 Newsletter: Sudan News Sweeps substack
▶️ Watch: This is US...This is SUDAN, a short documentary
References
- Sudan, ‘the most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world’. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1160161
- Sudan: Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025 - Overview. https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/sudan/sudan-humanitarian-needs-and-response-plan-2025-overview
- In Sudan, the People’s Revolution Versus the Elite’s Counterrevolution. https://hammerandhope.org/article/sudan-revolution
- A Timeline of Key Political Events in Post-colonial Sudan. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AftZr0SLRO4yrGON0cF-0P82CoccmgT5aeb8xQNnH78/edit?usp=sharing
- Breaking Down Sudan’s Struggle: What the World Is Missing. https://truthout.org/audio/breaking-down-sudans-struggle-what-the-world-is-missing/
- Visualising the war in Sudan: Conflict, control and displacement. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/14/visualising-the-war-in-sudan-conflict-control-and-displacement
Follow and engage (for updated information, education, and ways to plug in)
Thank you to every person who continues to support my art and writing practice. This publication is free. You can support my work and ongoing mutual aid efforts by purchasing my art or sharing this newsletter.
