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| Sponsored by the Collective Black People Movement (CBPM) |
| HUNDREDS RALLY TO PROTEST PLANNED DEPORTATION OF By Francesca Guerrier, Haiti Liberte, March 4 - 10, 2009 POMPANO BEACH, FL: Over 500 demonstrators gathered in front of the remote immigrant detention jail known as the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida on Saturday, Feb. 28 to demand that the Obama administration stop the threatened deportation of some 30,000 Haitians back to their strife and storm battered country. The protest was called by Haitian Women of Miami (FANM), Haitian Citizen United Taskforce (HCUT), the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC), the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), and the union Unite for Dignity. Officials of Miami Dade County, where most Haitians in South Florida live, assisted by providing buses for protestors coming from Miami, 30 miles south. The rally was boisterous but peaceful and well-organized. The crowd demanded TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for Haitians, which was previously denied by the Bush administration. TPS has been granted in recent years to nine countries plagued by war or natural disasters: El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan. It allows refugees from those countries to live and work legally in the US. The designation is effective for a minimum of six months and a maximum of 18 months. After four storms in August and September 2008 brought widespread death and destruction to Haiti, the U.S. government suspended Haitian deportations for three months. But expulsions resumed after Dec. 5, sending dozens of Haitians back to their homeland since then. Between January and December 2008, 1024 Haitians were repatriated, said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement or ICE. In February, U.S. immigration officials announced that 30,299 Haitians were subject to immediate deportation back to Haiti. Jonel Lemy, a Haitian-American lawyer with the Haitian Lawyers Association, told the Sun Sentinel that he has seen an increase in deportation cases in the last six months, even taking the three month reprieve into account. "Arrests are up," Lemy said. "People are being arrested as they drop their kids off at school or on their way to work." Lending visibility to the rally were hip-hop star Wyclef Jean and his younger sister Melky Jean, who is also a singer. She performed a passionate song in Krey l and said that TPS for Haitians was "only fair." She founded and helps run the CARMA Foundation which provides shoes and other relief to poor children in Haiti. Farah Juste, another well-known Haitian singer and activist, took the microphone after Melky to lead the crowd in an improvised song in Krey l: "Prezidan Obama, se TPS nou mande." (President Obama, we demand TPS). Lavarice Gaudin, a leader with the long-standing grassroots organization Veye Yo based in Miami's Little Haiti, addressed the hundreds of demonstrators on behalf of the group's founder Father Gérard Jean Juste, who couldn't attend the rally due to poor health. Lavarice telephoned Jean-Juste, who then addressed the crowd by phone, which received him with warmth and enthusiasm. "What do we want?" Jean-Juste asked. "TPS," the crowd loudly responded. "When do we want it?" Jean-Juste continued. "NOW!" the crowd came back. Other speakers and singers communed with the crowd, expressing solidarity with the Haitians held in the nearby detention center. Wyclef Jean made a surprise appearance at the rally, which delighted the crowd.. Speaking in English and Krey l, he said he had a message for President Obama, "my President, our President." "Haitians are strong in number but not in politics," he said. "Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere. If they deport 30,000 people back to Haiti, we will see 60,000 coming to the USA the following week, only because the country is in bad shape. I left Haiti when I was 9 years old and I believed in the American dream. I think giving justice to Haitians is the American dream. My President Obama, when my parent came here, they didn't have papers, but they worked hard for 15 years. Like in this situation, if they had been sent back to Haiti, America and the world wouldn't have had the gift of Wyclef Jean. This is not a Haitian cause. This is a human cause." In an interview with Fox TV after his intervention, Wyclef noted that Haitians should receive the same treatment and rights as "my Cubans brothers and sisters." "Haitians need to be politically empowered in Florida," he continued. "Otherwise we will keep on having the same problem." "I want to let young people know that if you don't stand for something, you stand for nothing," he told Haiti Liberté. "We need to be strong politically, I encourage young Haitians to study... We have to take part in the Haitian struggle otherwise we fool ourselves if we don't stand up for ourselves." FANM's Marleine Bastiene asked Wyclef why he had felt compelled to attend a rally that was not in his schedule. "When I found out this [rally] was happening, I decided to come and ask President Obama to stop deportations to Haiti," he replied. "Even though he's dealing with the economic crisis we are facing, Haiti is in extreme crisis, he has to act immediately to stop all deportations to Haiti; otherwise they will have huge problems in the island which will have repercussions back in the US ultimately." Of the 30, 000 Haitians with deportation orders against them, 600 are in detention centers and 260 are allowed to stay at home and in their communities, although their movements are monitored with ankle bracelet transmitters. Haitian President René Préval, who has also asked Washington to grant TPS to Haitians in the U.S., has effectively blocked deportations by having his government refuse to grant would-be deportees travel documents. "President Obama, the time has arrived to right this wrong," said Marleine Bastien to the crowd. The world capitalist crisis and soaring jobless rate in the US put great pressure on Obama to deport undocumented workers, as right-wing politicians urge. But Obama has lots of political capital to lose with Haitian-Americans, one of his power bases, if their undocumented compatriots are deported. Conversely, his administration gains lots of easy political capital if it grants TPS, a very short-term measure which does nothing to address the fundamental injustice of U.S. immigration restrictions and their enforcement. Clearly, many in the crowd had high hopes that their continued mobilization would sway the Obama administration to grant the TPS that the Bush administration denied. "We will continue to protest and take our message to Washington, and we expect President Obama to support us," lawyer Jonel Lemy said. All articles copyrighted Haiti Liberte. REPRINTS ENCOURAGED. Please credit Haiti Liberte. ********************************************************** Forwarded by Ezili's Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network ********************************************************** HLLN is mobilizing legislative and international support for Haitian-American foreign policy concerns | http://www.margueritelaurent.com/pressclips/Vodun.html#mobilizing |
| Recommended HLLN Link: HLLN's Letter to Esther Olavarria about a stop of all deportations to Haiti http://www.margueritelaurent.co m/pressclips/Feb28_09.html#O lavarria HLLN SAMPLE LETTER Asking President Obama to Assist Haiti's Recovery Efforts by Granting Haitian Nationals TPS http://www.margueritelaurent.co m/campaigns/campaigntwo/TP S_08.html#sampleTPSletter HLLN on the report that 30,000 Haitians have been ordered deported by US Federal immigration judges http://www.margueritelaurent.co m/pressclips/Feb28_09.html#si ngledOut Haiti Policy Statement for the Obama Team http://www.margueritelaurent.co m/pressclips/HaitiPolicyToOba ma.html#policy |
| AFRICAN UNION MOVES TO ESTABLISH STRONGER TIES WITH THE AFRICAN DIASPORA NEW YORK, New York, Oct. 21-22 - The African Union took a giant step on Thursday and Friday, October 21 and 22, in its efforts to galvanize Africans in the Diaspora by convening the African Diaspora Meeting at the offices of the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations. The African Diaspora Meeting, labeled "Building Bridges Across the Atlantic," was organized by the African Union Commission, the main administrative body of the African Union, through its offices in the United States, including the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations, New York, and the African Union Embassy to the United States, Washington, DC. Taking charge of the two-day meeting was a strong delegation from the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The African Union Permanent Observer Mission's Conference Hall was the venue of the meeting. The high powered officials from the African Union headquarters, led by Mr. Anthony Okara, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bureau of the Deputy Chairperson, included Dr. Jinmi Adisa, Diaspora Director of the African Union Commission (Citizens And Diaspora Directorate (CIDO); Dr. Fareed Arthur, Advisor (Strategic Matters, Bureau of the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission), Mr. Wuyi Omitoogun (Expert, Diaspora Relations, CIDO) and Ms. Nadia Roguiai (Expert, ECOSOCC, CIDO). The two African Union Ambassadors in the United States, who attended, were Ambassador Tete Antonio, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations; and Ambassador Amina Salum Ali, Ambassador of the African Union to the United States, Washington, DC. In his second welcoming address within minutes, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malawi Mr. Brian Bowler delivered a most explosive and rousing speech, in which he called on his colleagues in dealing with the Diaspora, especially when it comes to economic well-being of the group. "For example," he said, "during the UN General Assembly meeting each September, let's assume that each of the 53 African countries spend just $500,000, we are talking of $25 million that could go to an African Diaspora company. That's $25 million in less than one month," he said. Ambassador Bowler, who was speaking as Chairman of the African Ambassadorial Group in his capacity as a representative of President Binbu wa Mutharika of Malawi as current Chairman of the African Union, challenged his colleagues to begin looking for African Diaspora companies to do business with, as he felt that the relationship with the Diaspora should not be a one-way street, "especially as a businessman who owns three breweries in three different African countries." After Ambassador Antonio welcomed the group, Ambassador Amina Ali took over and delivered an equally forceful presentation of what the African Union office in Washington, DC, has accomplished since opening in 2007. She informed the group that she has aggressively moved to deliver the essence of the AU Diaspora Initiative by traveling all across the United States, Canada as well as the Caribbean and Central/ and South American countries in bringing a message of the need for the Diaspora to recognize its important role to Africa and the African Union, especially as the Sixth Region of the Union. Ambassador Ali stayed throughout the two-day meeting in helping to guide the deliberations of the meeting. Consequently CIDO Director, Dr. Adisa, provided more reasons of why the meeting had been called. Dr. Adisa began by calling the meeting a "precedent setting event, which we hope will set the pace for an annual consultation process with the African Diaspora in US, the Caribbean and Central//South America, Europe and the Middle-East, amongst others. In organizational terms, this is also an exercise in inter-collegiality that serves as an inspiration for the Commission and various organs of the Union to work together as one in the spirit of cooperation and solidarity that underpins the purpose of the African Union." Dr. Adisa went on to discuss the different sectors of the African Union, including "Objectives of This Dialogue," "The Initiative Within the Context of the Development of the African Union," "Rebuilding the Global African Family," "Definition of the African Diaspora," "Engagement Strategies,""Organizational Processes," and ending with the "Global African Diaspora Summit." Dr. Adisa discussed the processes that led to the recognition of the Diaspora as a Sixth Region of the African Union. "Soon after the launching of the African Union in Durban, South Africa in 2002," he said, "the Assembly of Heads of States met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to establish, among other things, a legal framework that would create the necessary and sufficient conditions for putting this decision into effect. Hence, it adopted the Protocol of the Amendment to the Constitutive Act of the Union which in Article 3 (q) invited the African Diaspora to participate fully as an important component in the building of the African Union. In adopting the decision," he continued, "the Protocol symbolically recognized the Diaspora an important and separate but related constituency outside the five established regions of Africa - East, West, Central, North and South. Thus, although there is no specific legal or political text that states this categorically, it, in effect, created a symbolic sixth region of Africa." Regarding the definition of the African Diaspora, Dr. Adisa said that a meeting of Experts from Member States had met in 2005 and adopted the following definition, "The African Diaspora consists of peoples of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and building of the African Union." Dr. Adisa informed the group that there had been a lot of debates and disagreements on the definition. There were those who felt the need for an "academic" and "intellectual" aspects to the definition and the other that would be related to the political needs of the Union. Another group, he said, preferred the need to add "permanently" to "living outside the continent. "Others," he said, "argued that the phrase "willingness to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union" should be left out." Nothing, they felt, should be demanded or expected from the Diaspora. The African Union preferred its earlier definition, as according to Dr. Adisa, it encompasses the following: (a) Bloodline and/or heritage: The Diaspora should consist of people living outside the continent whose ancestral roots or heritage are in Africa; (b) Migration: The Diaspora should be composed of people of African heritage, who migrated from or are living outside the continent. In this context, three trends of migration were identified - pre-slave trade, slave trade, and post-salve trade or modern migration; (c) The principle of inclusiveness: The definition must embrace both ancient and modern Diaspora; and (d) The commitment to the African case: The Diaspora should be people who are willing to be paid of the continent (or the African family). Finally, with regards to the importance that the African Union attached to the Diaspora, Dr. Adisa informed the group that 60% of the Recruitment Committee of the African Union consisted of individuals from the African Diaspora, and how he himself attained his present position after interviewing with two recruitment committees chaired by African Diaspora. After the addresses, the group spent a lot of time making comments, asking questions and expressing their concerns about one issue or another. After the deliberation, the group was informed that it was necessary for the group to establish a Task Team, which should consist of five members, but later changed to six members due to numerous organizations represented at the meeting. Earlier, five elements had been identified as a guide to what the Task Team should consist of, including Afro-Latinos, Community, Gender, Media, and Youth. After the group was separated into its different elements to choose their representative, the following individuals emerged as members of the Task Team, including Dr. Georgina Falu for Afro-Latinos, Mr. Sidique Wai and Mr. Omowale Clay, for Community, Ms. Kathy Jenkins Ewa for Gender, Dr. Chika A. Onyeani for Media, and Engr. Daniel Ochweri for Youth. The Task Team was later given their terms of mandate within which to work, report and conclude their assignment within three months. Later on Thursday evening the 21st October, there was an Award Dinner Gala organized by Nation to Nation Networking (NNN), whose CEO is Ms. Abaynesh Asarat, in collaboration with the African Union at 3 West 51st Street at Club 51st Street, attended by the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, His Excellency Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra. Those who received awards included Ms. Elinor Tatum of the Amsterdam News; Dr. Kwame Akonor, Director of the African Development Institute; Dr. Muriel Petioni, M.D., known as "Mother of Medicine in Harlem"; Mr. Dabney N. Montgomery, Member of Community Board 10; and Mr. Seri Remy Gnoleba, Chairman of the African Chamber of Commerce in the U.S. A special thanks must go to His Excellency Ambassador Tete Antonio, and his hardworking staff at the African Union office in New York, as well as Her Excellency Ambassador Amina Salum Ali of the African Union Embassy in Washington, DC, for assisting the African Union Commission in putting together such a successful African Diaspora meeting. Chika A. Onyeani Chair, African Diaspora Task Team of the AU c/o The Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations 305 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel. : 212-319-5490, Fax: 319-7135 email: AUDTT2011@gmail.com |
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| News: 1. United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the year beginning on 1 January 2011 the International Year for People of Afrikan Descent 2. US Delegation to Black Arts Festival in Senegal Next Week 3. African Union Moves to establish stronger ties with the African Diasora 4. Rita Marley’s Lifetime Commitment to Marcus Garvey 5. 10 Ways to Outfox Cops That Are Abusing Their Powers to Trick You 6. African History Class at Shrine of Black Madonna Greg Simpkins Speaks to the UNIA-ACL Division 332 8. Biggest Prisoner Strike in U. S. History - Day Three 9. Reading One-to-One - The Elder 10. Donate to the UNIA-ACL Legal Defense Fund 11. Get the 2011 Black Seeds Calendar Here 12. Report from the recent AU UN gathering of the African Diaspora 13. The Passing of the Counsel General of the UNIA-ACL Government, Faruq Muhammad. 14. UNIA-ACL Universal Cooperative GA News Recent News Articles |
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| The War Against Libya in Historical Perspective |
| From the Berlin Conference of 1884 to the London Conference of 2011 The leaders of 14 capitalist powers in Europe plus the United States met for a conference in Berlin 126 years ago to decide how all of Africa's land and vast resources would be divided as colonies and zones of control among themselves. No Africans were invited to the conference. The 1884 Conference of Berlin, more than any other single event, became emblematic of the dynamic transformation of capitalism into a system of global imperialism. By 1902, 90 percent of Africa's territory was under European control. African self-governance was wiped off the map in most of the continent. Only Ethiopia remained an independent state. Liberia was technically independent too, but it was in fact under the control of the United States. The so-called "Scramble for Africa" by Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, the United States and the other capitalist powers was essential for the growth and enrichment of the modern-day capitalist class, which included the owners of the biggest banks, syndicates and monopolies. Africa was plundered and looted and, as a result, the western capitalists entered the 20th century with the largest fortunes in the history of the human race. The 'Scramble for Africa' continues One cannot help but think about the Berlin Conference of 1884 when analyzing the London Conference of 2011 that took place on March 29. It was convened by the same imperialist governments that took part in the 1884 meeting. Africans were invited this time, but the African Union refused to attend. Almost all African nations were absent. Only Tunisia and Morocco sent representatives. Although China, Russia, India and Pakistan decided not to attend the London Conference on Libya, the Washington Post's front page headline reads, "World leaders indicate military campaign will continue until his [Gadaffi] ouster." The Post suggests that "leaders" of the world met together and decided to keep bombing the country until they crush the current government and replace it with one that they find acceptable to imperialism. It is hard to beat that for imperial arrogance. The great thinkers at the Washington Post declare who the "world leaders" are, even though most of Africa, China, Russia and India are absent and, in fact, oppose the brutal bombing of Libya that is designed to eliminate its sovereignty. So as to avoid the impression that we are making an exact analogy between the Berlin Conference of 1884 and the one that took place on March 29, it is worth recognizing that some things have changed since 1884. The imperialists who met in Berlin, for instance, did not have to waste any time pretending to care about the human rights of Africans or democracy in Africa. The bankers and corporate tycoons in the 19th century could speak bluntly about their "vital interests" as nothing other than naked colonial ambitions to loot Africa's territories, resources and labor. They did not have too much concern about "public opinion" back in 1884. That is a definite difference. Public proclamations by imperialist governments today have to pledge that they have no imperial or material incentive when they invade, bomb and occupy countries, and that their motives are pure - saving lives and promoting freedom. In the case of Libya, they are moved by the need "to protect civilian lives." Another primary difference is the emergence of neocolonialism as a replacement for the old colonialism. The anti-colonial uprisings in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s of the peoples of Africa, Asia and the Middle East coincided with the weakeningof Britain, France and the rest of European capitalist powers as a consequence of the destruction wrought from World War II. While the imperialist powers tried to suppress the anti-colonial movements, those resisting colonialism received material support from the USSR, China, North Korea, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and later Cuba. Formal independence was achieved by the former colonies. 'Vital interests' in Libya Libya had been a colony of Italy and was occupied by British and French forces in 1942. The United Nations declared Libya to be an independent country in 1951 under the leadership of a hereditary monarch. The monarchy was overthrown by a military coup, led by Gadaffi, in 1969. Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves. It is also part of the oil-rich Middle East, which U.S. imperialism considers to be a pivotal region that requires the exercise of colonial-type control. That is what Secretary of Defense Robert Gates means when he repeats every few hours on television that Libya is being bombed because the region represents a "vital interest" of the United States. The London Conference is under the domination of the imperialists and former colonial powers. They want to install a puppet government in Tripoli or, as an alternative, partition the country and create client or puppet government that would rule over Benghazi and the oil-rich eastern territory of Libya. The new military leader of Libya's rebel forces just arrived in Benghazi after having spent the past two decades in suburban Virginia, according to a March 26 McClatchy Newspapers report. The United States, Britain and France have spent over $600 million dropping bombs and missiles on Libya in just the past week. But they do not expect, if victorious, to necessarily become the colonial power on the ground. The exercise of their control would likely take a different form. Neocolonialism: Old masters, new methods Classic colonialism featured the acquisition by the colonial entity of the formal state power, and with it the formal and legal administrative and military obligations that belong to government. The indigenous population provides personnel, administrators, bureaucrats and soldiers under the command of the hierarchal authority of the colonizers. Classic colonialism also featured the complete control and direction of the indigenous economy by the colonizing entity for the purpose of acquiring natural resources, cheap labor and access to markets for the industrial and commercial capitalist interests of the colonizer. This characteristic is equally present in both classic colonialism and neocolonialism. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president and prime minister of Ghana, and a leader of the Pan-African movement, described the features of what he called neocolonialism: "The essence of neocolonialism is that the State which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. In reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside." Nkrumah prophetically described the many variants of the new colonialism, but placed the primacy of economic penetration as the "normal" and central method whereby the old colonial powers retain control over the former colonies. "The methods and form of this direction can take various shapes. For example, in an extreme case the troops of the imperial power may garrison the territory of the neo-colonial State and control the government of it. More often, however, neo-colonialist control is exercised through economic or monetary means." Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown in a CIA-backed military coup in 1965 while he was on a state visit to China and North Vietnam. Nkrumah was a Marxist and a Pan-Africanist. A founder of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Nkrumah was the recipient in 1963 of the Lenin Peace Prize, the Soviet Union's version of the Nobel Peace Prize. When he was ousted by a CIA-backed military coup, all of the imperialist governments of the west were jubilant. So much for their embrace of democracy. The bombing war against Libya today should be condemned without hesitation by all progressive people. This is a rich man's war. The global imperialist order that took shape in the 1880s and continues today is the greatest violator of human rights everywhere and the U.S. government is, in the salient words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." Source & Written by : Brian Becker at Liberation News Shared From: http://illusionofpower.com/the-war-against-libya-in- historical-perspective/#ixzz1IJRWFm8a Twitter: @illusionofpower http://grou.ps/frontfortheunificationanddevelopmen/blogs/item/th e-new-scramble-for-africa-the-war-against-libya-in-historical-pers |
| TravelwithRunoko@yahoogroups.com; From: Runoko@yahoo.com Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2010 07:15:29 -0800 Subject: [TravelwithRunoko] BIG DOINGS IN SENEGAL MEDIA ADVISORY: US Delegation to Black Arts Festival in Senegal Next Week High-Powered US Delegation Heading for World Festival of Black Arts in Senegal African American Artists, Mayors, Senators, Scientists to Participate For only the third time in 50 years, an unprecedented gathering of black artists, writers, filmmakers, academics, scientists, and other leaders in many fields will convene in Africa for an historic celebration. The World Festival of Black Arts and Cultures, under the auspices of President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and his fellow African leaders, begins Dec. 10 in Dakar, Senegal, and will continue through Dec. 31. A high-powered U.S. delegation of more than 200 African-American leaders will participate in the Festival, including groups from the National Conference of Black Mayors, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, and the African American Unity Caucus (AAUC), who will travel to Senegal from Dec. 8 - 17 for the event. In all, thousands of delegates from 80 countries will converge on Dakar. Among U.S. delegates are Dr. Julius Garvey, son of Marcus Garvey; actor Richard Gant; jazz legend Randy Weston; Professor James Turner, Cornell University; Dr. Johnetta Cole, Director of the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution; Professor Leonard Jeffries, City University of New York; Runoko Rashidi, noted historian; Dr. Elsie Scott, the President & CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Mississippi State Sen. Frazier Hillman; New York State Sen. Bill Perkins; Columbus (Ohio) Mayor Michael B. Coleman; Wayne Watson, president, Chicago State University; and Ron Himes, founder/director, The Saint Louis Black Repertory Theater. In a letter to members of the delegation, President Wade said he looked forward to welcoming them to Senegal. "The African Union has requested that Senegal organize the Festival, which will be the largest global gathering to date of black artists, writers, filmmakers, intellectuals, scientists and other luminaries, and we anticipate that people will travel from all over the world for the occasion,'' said President Wade. Dr. Djibril Diallo, Coordinator of the U.S. Committee for the World Festival of Black Arts and Cultures and Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), said the size and depth of the delegation underscore the historic nature of the Festival. Melvin Foote, the President and CEO of the Constituency for Africa and the Founder of the African American Unity Caucus, was also pleased with how the delegation came together. Said Foote, "I think that the quality of participants taking part in the delegation to Senegal speaks volumes about the potential of the African Diaspora. I think the visit will provide a unique opportunity to build trust and collaboration amongst Diaspora leadership in the United States." "The Festival will be a landmark event, bringing together great artists and intellectuals from around the world to celebrate the theme of African Renaissance," Dr. Diallo said. "The Festival will also be an important opportunity to highlight the role of art and culture in promoting development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, including progress in reversing the AIDS epidemic." One highly anticipated event is a discussion involving President Wade and members of the National Conference of Black Mayors, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and the National Basketball Association/Africa (NBA/Africa) at the recently completed Monument of African Renaissance on the theme of African Renaissance, looking towards the creation of the United States of Africa in 2017, as declared by the African Union. While in Senegal, the delegation will meet privately with President Wade and participate in myriad Festival activities, including attending concerts by Rihanna, Jay-Z, Angelique Kidjo, Youssou N'Dour, and Baaba Maal; a soccer match between Senegal and Brazil; a visit to Gorée Island, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in commemoration of the painful history of the Atlantic slave trade; and participation in the Forum on African Renaissance. A Roundtable on Friday, Dec. 17 at 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Méridien President Hotel will focus on ways that the Festival and other cultural activities can contribute to the achievement of the MDGs by 2015, with the campaign against AIDS as entry point. Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under Secretary General of the United Nations, will give a keynote statement, and participants will include Professor Iba Der Thiam, Forum Chairman of the Festival; Lebohang Morake (Lebo M), Eminent Member of the Advisory Board of the Festival and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador; and Syndiely Wade, Deputy General Coordinator of the Festival. The Festival will foster dialogue between Africa, its Diaspora, and the entire world regarding the contributions of black cultures to humanity. The guest of honor will be Brazil, which has one of the largest black populations in the world. A delegation of more than 200 Brazilians is expected in Dakar for the festivities. This is the third World Festival of Black Arts and Cultures, following previous festivals in Dakar in 1966 and Lagos, Nigeria in 1977. Former Senegalese President Leopold Sedar Senghor initiated the festivals to highlight the visible and tangible products of African peoples' struggles to win back their dignity in a land that had only recently been returned to African rule. Among musical stars who will perform are Hugh Masekela (South Africa), Salif Keita (Mali), , Bembeya Jazz (Guinea), Marcus Miller (U.S.), Habib Koité (Mali), Chucho Valdes with the Afro-Cuban Jazz Messengers (Cuba), Lokua Kanza (Congo),Kassav (Martinique/Guadeloupe), Alpha Blondy (Côte d'Ivoire), Orquesta de la luz (Japan), Haitian Toubadors (Haiti), Chico Freeman (U.S.), and I Jah Man (Jamaica). Dr. Diallo expressed thanks to Melvin Foote, President of Constituency for Africa; Dr. Gloria Herndon, President of GB Herndon and Associates; Vanessa R. Williams, Executive Director of the National Conference of Black Mayors; and LaKimba Desadier, Executive Director of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators , for assistance with arranging for participation by political leaders in the U.S. delegation; and to Professor Leonard Jeffries for assistance with participation by academic experts. |
| Map of European Colonies in Africa |
| Another giant warrior elevates to the ancestral realm. Transition of warrior Geronimo Pratt Elmer 'Geronimo' Pratt, a former Black Panther leader, dies in Tanzania http://lat.ms/kH9uZg http://fb.me/XbWUkW4x twitter.com/rolandsmartin/status/76503478989623296 |
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| My name is Akili Malik Nkrumah (also known as Anthony Murphy). As a student of Universal African Nationalism and Pan Africanism for more than two-thirds of my life and as the current 1st Assistant President General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), I share with you that despite the accomplishments of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey over the past 97 years, we stand today in the midst of an internal “war” amongst the Negro race, amongst African people. This war seeks to divide and destroy the powerful and historical legacy created by the blood, sweat and tears of Mr. Garvey and the millions who made the development of the UNIA- ACL possible. Earlier this year in March 2011, I received a letter from one Neal Cox who stated that he was the Counsel General for an entity using the name UNIA-ACL that is incorporated in the state of Ohio. Mr. Cox advised me that he and members of his group had federally registered the name “Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League”. In his letter, Mr. Cox stated that I was forever barred from using that name in the work that I do for African people. Mr. Cox sent a similar letter to several other dues-paying members of the UNIA-ACL, including elders of the UNIA-ACL – elders whose unswerving participation in the UNIA-ACL preceded the birth of Mr. Cox and many, if not all, of the members of his group. When I first learned of this group’s attempts at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, I immediately vowed to fight for the UNIA-ACL which belongs to the “Race”. The movement spawned by our Ancestors is one in which we all belong. It is my fervent belief that in an attempt to further the division amongst African People, no member of our race should attempt to use the very governmental systems that incarcerated both The Honorable Marcus Garvey and millions of others of our race. African people must continue to fight to be free even against “our own” as Mr. Garvey directed when he told us: “ . . . [to] turn our eyes towards Africa, our ancestral home and free it from the thraldom of alien oppression and exploitation [and from even our own] . . . “ [From The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey (hereinafter “Philosophy”)]. I question what the Ohio group hopes to accomplish by its attempt to “kidnap” for themselves alone the services and programs of the UNIA- ACL. They seek to stop the work of thousands in the cause for liberation. More specifically, they seek to keep me from doing the work that I have done for over 40 years, the work I continue to do now and the work I will seek to do until the day that I die on behalf of African people here in the United States and elsewhere globally. These persons also seek to have me continue this struggle with them amongst the white governmental system, seeking to have that system and those people determine what we as African/Negro people will do with the words, works and deeds of Mr. Garvey. Their present actions bring truth to the words that Dr. Tony Martin wrote in the Preface to Philosophy when he quoted Mr. Garvey as saying that “The Negro is his own greatest enemy”. These persons collaborate with the enemies without to effect the downfall of the works, words and deeds of Mr. Garvey and those who work in his name. You all should know that I am an African warrior – born on a foreign land, seeking in earnest to return Africa to African people, those at home and those abroad – the same timeless dream that Mr. Garvey had and fought for! In my life and in my history is the life of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey and “ . . . those countless millions of Black incarcerated in America and those who died in America and the West Indies and the millions in Africa to aid [us all] in the fight for Liberty, Freedom and Life. . . “ In my life and in my history is the story of all African people – wherever they were born and wherever they live now! I will forever fight for the right to retain the right to do the work that I do – to pay the price of leadership and be the spear of opposition to the “work” of this Ohio group. No ruling from the United States Patent and Trademark Office or any other legislative or judicial branch of the United States will stop me from this work! The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League is alive and well and the President Generals, those past, present and future, will not falter or fail. On the field of battle we all need to stand – together! If we disagree, then on the anvil of reason, we should hammer out our differences and as Our Ancestors did in the 1970’s bring about Unity – United then we would be the greatest entity ever attributed to African People, short of a United States of Africa! We can do this! I stand ready to reason and ready to breathe Life for Us to be: One God, One Aim, One Destiny |
| MAINTAINING AFRICAN INTEGRITY |
| Freedom is a conversation by a free people about being free. When you are not in conversation, you are not being free. |
