by Paris Kaye

Created on: September 03, 2010

“We charge the United States government with the crime of genocide against the negro people” were the words cried out by the silent voices of those who had suffered those who had died and those left to speak on the behalf of the former and latter.    

Even more distressing than the message was the non-response of that international assembly for whom this message was intended.  Those silent voices still exist and, to this day, reverberate across the span of decades, unanswered. 

Nearly 60-years ago, an unprecedented event took place at the fifth session of the United Nation’s General Assembly.  William L. Patterson presented a petition to the aforementioned international body in hopes of bringing to light crimes against humanity as propagated by the United States Government.  It was also the first time in its history that the United States of America faced a formal and albeit international accusation of genocide.

The content of this petition, in its entirety, can be found in a book entitled, We Charge Genocide: The Historic Petition to the United Nations for Relief from a Crime of the United States Government against the Negro People.

Part One of this book closely replicates a criminal justice proceeding as it offers an opening statement similar to what one would find in a criminal court proceeding.  Patterson outlines the case against the U.S. Government including a brief summary of the evidentiary proof in support of this charge.

Part Two of Patterson’s petition examines the United Nation General Assembly’s Resolution 260 (III) and the Articles contained therein.  On December 9, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly had adopted Resolution 260 (III) by way of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 

Part Three of the book entitled, We Charge Genocide: The Historic Petition to the United Nations for Relief from a Crime of the United States Government against the Negro People, is a painstaking compilation of evidentiary documentation that stretches over 138 pages.  Utilizing the United Nation’s very own definition and examples contained therein, Patterson assembles an intricately woven latticework wherein indelible images emerge.   In the original petition, William Patterson offered details of summary executions and mass killings carried out by both civilians and law enforcement alike. 

Part Four is the closing

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