Episode 6: Aramis Sundiata on organizing, history, and the power of study

Aramis Sundiata is a movement strategist, organizer, and educator serving as the Executive Director of the People’s Justice Project (PJP). Aramis has spent over a decade fighting to overturn colonial violence and build political power rooted in Black liberation. With a background in African Studies from The Ohio State University, Aramis has cultivated a deep commitment to global justice, decolonization, and the self-determination of African and colonized peoples in the US. Founded in the wake of state-sanctioned violence that claimed the lives of countless people in Ohio and US, PJP connects direct action, civic engagement, and political education to bold demands for transformation. Aramis’ work is grounded in the ideology that African people at home and abroad must struggle for self determination, dignity, and power. Through coalition building, mentorship, and unapologetic truth-telling, Aramis seeks to shape the revolutionary trajectory of organizing in the Midwest and beyond. Note: Interview recorded in September 2025 Links and References People’s Justice Project Interview: “Director of the People’s Justice Project Looks Back on George Floyd’s Death, Protests” (Columbus Dispatch, 2025) Interview: “People’s Justice Project Founders Gain a Seat at the Table” (Columbus Monthly, 2021) Contexts: “Henry Green, the Columbus Police, and the Jumpout Boys” (Pacific Standard, 2018) Contexts: “City Council Will Work with Activists to Change Columbus Policing” (WOSU, 2016) Contexts: Marches to City Council and Franklin Country Prosecutor Ron O’Brien (Fox 28, 2016). Contexts: “Cops, Racism, and Coverups in Columbus” (Socialist Worker, 2016). Reading: Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (first published 1961). Viewing: Eyes On the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement (1987)