When 123 nations stood up and voted yes — and the United States, Israel, and Argentina voted no — the whole world saw it.

You can’t unsee a number like 123. That’s not a split decision. That’s not a close call. That’s the world — the majority of it, including most of Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia — speaking in one voice.

And America said no.

What Actually Happened

The UN General Assembly vote on a resolution demanding a ceasefire and protection for civilian lives drew 123 nations in favor. Three voted against: the United States, Israel, and Argentina.

That’s the same United States that has spent decades declaring itself the global protector of human rights and democracy. The same America that led the charge on international coalitions when it suited our foreign policy interests.

But 123 nations looked at the evidence — the bodies, the hospitals, the children, the families wiped from the civil registry — and voted yes. America looked at the same evidence and voted no.

This Isn’t New — This Is Pattern

Here’s what I need us to understand: this vote didn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s part of a documented pattern with a paper trail.

The United States has vetoed or voted against UN resolutions protecting Black and Brown lives more times than most people realize. From apartheid South Africa — where the US often abstained or blocked stronger action — to Haiti, to the Congo, to Palestine, the calculus is always the same.

Whose lives trigger international intervention? And whose lives get a no vote?

We’ve seen this pattern in our own history. When Black Americans demanded federal protection during the Civil Rights movement, Congress stalled. When Black communities demanded accountability for police violence, the federal response was to monitor the protesters, not the police. The people with power have always been reluctant to use that power in defense of people who look like us.

The 123 nations who voted yes understand something that American foreign policy still refuses to say out loud: human rights are not selective. You don’t get to claim them as your brand and then vote against them when it’s inconvenient.

Why the Black Community Should Be Paying Attention

Fam, this is personal. Not just politically — personally.

The same arguments used to justify America’s no vote — “it’s complicated,” “both sides,” “we have strategic interests” — are the same arguments used to explain why our community’s pain is never quite urgent enough for federal action.

When 123 nations can see the evidence clearly enough to vote yes, but America votes no, that tells you something about where our government thinks human lives rank in the order of priorities.

And here’s what I want you to sit with: this is why we teach our children history at home. Because the version they’ll get in school will gloss over America’s voting record at the UN. It’ll present our foreign policy as noble and principled, with a few regrettable exceptions.

We know better. We’ve lived the exceptions.

What 123 Nations Voting Together Actually Means

I don’t want us to miss the significance of that number.

The Global South — Africa, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Latin America — came together in a way that rarely gets celebrated in American media. These are nations that the Western press usually covers as aid recipients or conflict zones or migration crises. They don’t get covered as a united moral voice.

But that’s exactly what 123 nations speaking together is: a moral voice. And it’s telling us something.

The world is not following America’s lead on this one. And that matters — because it means the political cover that has always come from “international consensus” is eroding. More and more, America’s no votes are standing alone on the wrong side of history.

Our ancestors knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a no vote from people with power. They knew what it felt like to petition and protest and prove your humanity over and over and still be told no.

When we teach our children about the world, we have to teach them this history too.

What We Can Do From Here

This isn’t a moment to despair. It’s a moment to be clear-eyed.

Know the vote. Bookmark it, share it, teach it. When someone tells you America always stands on the right side, you have a documented, public record that says otherwise.

Connect the dots for your children. History isn’t just the past — it’s the pattern that explains today. The UN vote, the civil rights struggles, the ongoing fight for accountability at home: it’s the same story, told across generations.

Support the educators who refuse to sanitize it. Whether that’s an independent school, a homeschool curriculum, a community program, or resources like our Black history flashcard collections — find tools that tell the whole truth.

History Is Watching

123 nations voted yes. Three said no.

That’s not a footnote. That’s a verdict. And history has a long memory.

Our job — as parents, as grandparents, as community members — is to make sure our children grow up knowing the truth about how power works in this world. Not the textbook version. Not the version that paints America as the reluctant hero who sometimes makes hard choices.

The full version. The honest version. The version where 123 nations stood up for human lives and three of the most powerful governments on earth said no.

That’s the version our children deserve to know.

What does this vote bring up for you? I want to hear how you’re talking about it with your family. Drop it in the comments — or read how we connect today’s politics to the long arc of Black history.

🎙️ LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE

Prefer to listen? We turned this article into a podcast conversation.

In April 2017, a 28-year-old engineer named Zelalem Eshetu Ewnetu was shot and killed by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies in the parking lot where he slept.

He wasn’t running from police. He wasn’t accused of a violent crime. He was a Black Ethiopian immigrant who’d come to America on a scholarship, earned his degree from the University of Idaho, and built a career as an engineer for the California Public Utilities Commission.

Eight years after arriving full of promise, he was dead.

The Official Story vs. The Questions

Deputies say they approached Ewnetu’s vehicle after smelling marijuana and spotting what looked like a vehicle burglary in progress. According to their account, Ewnetu refused to exit his car. When they tried to remove him, they claim he brandished a gun and aimed it at them.

They fired. He died.

The District Attorney’s office reviewed the case and cleared the deputies, ruling it lawful self-defense. Case closed, right?

Not exactly.

What the Family Found

Ewnetu’s family started asking questions. And the more they looked, the less the official story held together.

First, there were the bullet holes. Photos of the vehicle showed shots through the rear windshield, which didn’t match the account of a face-to-face confrontation.

Then there were the conflicting statements. One police report said Ewnetu refused to exit and pulled a gun while still inside. Another version suggested he got out, broke free, and ran back to his car to retrieve a weapon.

Which was it?

A detective mentioned the gun was found in the back seat — a detail that raises questions about whether Ewnetu could have been aiming at deputies if the weapon was behind him.

The Pattern We’re Still Seeing

This case isn’t just about one night in Los Angeles. It’s about a documented pattern with a paper trail.

Black and brown people — especially immigrants and those experiencing mental health challenges or homelessness — keep dying in encounters with law enforcement under circumstances that don’t quite add up.

Ewnetu wasn’t a threat to public safety. He was sleeping in his car. The “crime” deputies were investigating? A potential vehicle burglary that may have simply been a man resting in his own vehicle.

What Justice Looked Like

In 2018, Ewnetu’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Los Angeles County, alleging negligence, battery, and civil rights violations. They argued that deadly force was “unnecessary and unlawful” — that their son posed no real threat that night.

In July 2022, they reached a tentative settlement. Money can’t bring him back. But it was an acknowledgment, however quiet, that something went wrong.

Why We Need to Remember

Zelalem Eshetu Ewnetu wasn’t a statistic. He was a scholarship student who believed in America’s promise. An engineer who contributed to public infrastructure. A son, a brother, a member of the Ethiopian community.

When we say Black lives matter, we’re not just talking about the names that trend on social media. We’re talking about the Zelalems — the immigrants, the professionals, the quiet contributors who are supposed to be “safe” because they followed all the rules.

He followed the rules too. Look where it got him.

Teaching Our Children the Full Story

Cases like Ewnetu’s are why we teach our children to ask critical questions. To look beyond official narratives. To understand that history isn’t just what happened — it’s also what was recorded, what was buried, and what we choose to remember.

This is why we built the Black History Flashcards. Not just to celebrate triumphs, but to document the ongoing struggle. To give our children the tools to recognize patterns, question authority, and understand that their safety isn’t guaranteed by degrees or respectability.

Knowledge is protection. History is preparation. And every card in our deck is a reminder that our stories matter — all of them, especially the uncomfortable ones.

Explore Black History Flashcards and start building your family’s foundation today.

If this story moved you, these pieces are part of the same conversation:

• How to Talk to Your Black Child About Racism — because they will ask.
• 7 Things Every Black Parent Should Tell Their Child in 2026 — including how to survive a police encounter.
• Black Codes: The Laws That Kept Us Enslaved After Slavery Ended — the legal architecture behind systemic violence.

What questions do you think our children should be asking about encounters between Black people and police? Hit reply and tell me.

Love, peace, and power to the people.