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Vincent Intondi discusses race, nuclear weapons at BPL

Dr. Vincent Intondi speaks Thursday night at the Boston Public Library about the cross between the United States nuclear weapons policy and the fight for racial equality. PHOTO BY VIGUNTHAAN THARMARAJAH/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

A crowd of approximately 40 Boston residents gathered at the Boston Public Library Thursday night for a lecture titled “Nuclear Weapons, Race and Justice in the Trump Era.”

Vincent Intondi, a history professor and the director of the Institute for Race, Justice and Community Engagement at Montgomery College, who delivered the lecture, told The Daily Free Press he was invited to the BPL by the Union of Concerned Scientists to speak about his book, “African Americans Against the Bomb,” and related research.

Before addressing the crowd, Intondi said that global climate change and nuclear warfare are the only two things capable of ending human civilization.

“We essentially have a mad man in charge of the nuclear arsenal,” Intondi said. “[President Donald Trump] can launch nuclear weapons in seconds and end civilizations … [We] have essentially Putin and Trump, two authoritarian leaders with 90 percent of the world’s nuclear arsenal, both with a white nationalist world view.”

Intondi said during his lecture he would dedicate his life to fighting against nuclear weapons.

“In 2005, I made my first trip to Hiroshima and I met with survivors,” Intondi said. “I was so filled with rage and anger and guilt about what my country had done in Japan … I [had] to find a way now to combine these two passions of mine: eliminating racism and eliminating nuclear weapons.”

Intondi said as someone who has spent most of his life eliminating racism and nuclear weapons, he felt defeated “to have a racist in charge of nuclear weapons” in the United States.

“[Fighting] is now more important than ever,” he said. “Trump is in charge by himself of a nuclear arsenal. There are no checks and balances. He could launch nuclear weapons in minutes.”

Intondi said the movement against nuclear warfare has always been intersectional with issues of racial justice.

“Hundreds of nations, mostly non-white, are pushing to get a ban on nuclear weapons,” Intondi said. “Nuclear weapons is not a whites-only issue [and] never has been.”

Intondi concluded his lecture by urging the audience to take action.

“We are in for the fight of our lives to make sure our undocumented workers are protected, our women are treated equal and that black lives do indeed matter,” Intondi said. “But if we don’t get behind this now, we won’t be able to look back and see if Trump did it right or wrong because we won’t be here.”

During a 30-minute question and answer session at the end of the lecture, Nazish Riaz, 34, of Bedford, thanked Intondi for “combing the issues of the many different racisms … and paving the way for other people who want to do this work,” her voice cracking with emotion.

Riaz said after the lecture that she left her job to make peace and justice as her life’s work.

“As a Muslim woman, I think that there is a need for our voices in this work,” Riaz said. “I really liked [the lecture] and for a lot of us, people who are not white, it makes sense. I can relate to how … racism plays into this mindset of ‘war is necessary.’”

Several other audience members said they supported the movement against nuclear warfare.

Michael Small, 45, of Brighton, said he joined the UCS in the winter after Trump was elected, and nuclear disarmament is his number one issue of concern in the United States today.

“It doesn’t seem like very many people talk about this issue,” Small said. “I don’t know how much hope there is. In every issue, [a Trump presidency] is the exact opposite of what I wanted to happen. He doesn’t seem to know much of anything about past nuclear agreements with Russia.”

Lynne Hall, 73, of Cambridge, said she saw an advertisement for Intondi’s lecture and attended because she was interesting in learning more about nuclear weapons in conjunction with social justice and race.

“This [topic] is so scary, especially with somebody [who] I think is not stable at the presidency,” Hall said. “Mr. Trump can push the button and a few seconds later everything is destroyed.”

Stanley Robinson, 76, of Wayland, and a co-founder of Truth and Justice Radio, said he was “impressed by [Intondi’s] approach.”

“All it takes is one bomb,” Robinson said. “Trump would just push all the buttons. Nuclear policy has never been right in this country.”

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