[Brother_Derrick]

[align=center]African Liberation Day 05[/align]
[align=center]We don't owe them! They Own US - Break the chains now[/align]
[align=center]Saturday 28th May - 2 to 7 PM[/align]
[align=center]Featuring: Edutainment
International Speakers
UPC Cameroon & PANAFU Sierra-Leone
Zimbabwe Debate Panel
Limited Youth Programme
Cultural Market
Refreshment[/align]
[align=center]Free entry: Donation welcome[/align]
[align=center]
University of East London Duncan House
High Road Stratford E15 (Junction of Letts Road)[/align]
[align=center]Infomation:07973 560 648/ 07984 405 307 / 0208 523 7381
Email: panafrica@which.net[/align]
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[Brother_Derrick]

On a side note to this, every time I go to an Afrocentric meeting I am out numbered by Afrikan women 3 to 1. Will some of our African men stop hiding behind white woman’s tail and stand up to your responsibility to you global family.

You know this is a place to find the cream of the crop in Black women. These women are not materialistic or selfish. (Marriage Material). Just being there means they have give up their time to nation building and race responsibility.

Come one Black men step up to the plate, show these women that you are a big spender not by buying crystal champagne but by making a donation or even join an organisation and give up some of your free time.

[Abissinia]

LOL

You know i've noticed that too...

It could be my experience but, most of this type of organisations seem to be organised and runby sistas.

[Bredder Tukoma]

African Liberation Day. Is this gonna be like D Day? And there I was thinking of how to say goodbye to the little ones/ where to collect my Tek 9/ and marching to the sound of some heavy dub music to find the last of the Rhodesians.

Guess it will have to wait. 3 concious sisters to one man.

Ill see you there prompt at 2pm. Ill be the one with the black book and parker pen.

[MarcusGarveyLives]

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[align=center]Are The "Black Media" Covering The Event?[/align]

[Joe Bloggs]

What did Malom say..."To educate the Blackman is to educate an individual To educate the Blackwoman is to liberate a nation."

@Marcus Garvey, what Black media???

[Burning Monk]

Burning Monk’s ALD 2005 REPORT:

The challenge for the panel/parties? To organise the self-taught into action.



The theme-line of the day was "We don’t we them, they owe us"…

One of the South London sounding youths whom I noticed at the second half of the ALD, was asked why he came. His remark to this was that he only found the event by chance. He and his pals were just walking by and did not know beforehand that this event was taking place. He further stated that this "gathering of Africans" and blacks - that he was lucky to attend - was the kind of thing he usually discusses to people that our people should do. "To get together for our betterment." This youth was one of many folks who found the event by accident or by chance. And from the audience that did speak; I got the impression of opinions built on anything other than by chance.

Theme line of the night was "we don’t we them, they owe us." The "we," I suppose being We Africans in development, and the "they" I would say the Western style Imperialist culture behind IMF/World Bank. It is not that these are my everyday words, but I think this is the basic picture of the further debates, which the ALD held.


A wise African friend of mine has repeatedly told me the payoffs of attending an all-day event where one doesn’t have to pay to get in. "It won’t cost you anything if its crap," he says. After I picked up the event flyer I had donated for the next thing for me to think was "to the rooms," to the event. So to the room I went after cutting through various stalls briefly looking at what was on offer. To my surprise there only turned out to be one room for the speaking, the conference suite. And I actually thought I was missing things.



THE PROGRAMME


The PROGRAMME for the African Liberation Day follows as this:

Registration 1.45- 2.15

Welcome and tribute to Malcolm X 2.15-2.25



Panel "Zimbabwe: Land and African Liberation."

Speakers from three parties. (African Liberation

Support campaign Network, Pan African Union of Sierra Leone,

And All African People’s Revolutionary Party). 2.25-3.25



Solidarity messages /Call for donations 3.25-3.35

Break 3.35-4.35

Solidarity messages 4.35-4.45

Key note speech: "Africa; making neo-colonialism history through workers

And peasants struggles." (Speaker from African Liberation Support

Campaign) 4.45-5.40



Solidarity messages 5.30-5.40

The Way forward 5.40-5.50

Cultural Programme 5.50-6.50

Closing Remarks speaker from All African People’s Revolutionary

Party 6.50-7.00.


The theme-line of the day was "we don’t we them, they owe us."

The reality of this slogan did not escape constructive criticism from the audience. When the debate on the Zimbabwe land struggle reached question time, I remember a Coolio-haired man on the microphone before me state that when we do finally act for liberation let us not say; oh… ohh did we consent? Let us not say oh, how did this happen? This is not what we wanted, who did this?

I think he made these statements because the movement is being carved in our name, if I heard him right. I also remember a little woman in a green shirt as saying; "Let us be sure what we mean when we use the term liberation." Isn’t Africa already liberated? Why was there a focus on Zimbabwe and the "land?" When we already have independent states/land representing what we should and shouldn’t do in power?





THE PEOPLE, PARTIES AND AUDIENCE


The fact that the University’s Conference Suite was the only discussion room caught me by surprise at first, but I later found this to have an advantage for the event. Because we were all cramped in the same room everything that was said bounced off from one party to the other. Rather than the three parties running separate rooms for the same cause but in their own party’s interest, in terms of recruitment. The parties did lead by example for African unity in that respect. But I can only say that the party representatives served as vessels for expression or lanterns for sight for the people. It was not the party’s expressions nor sight that moved me to consider what the situation or subject was. It was the audience, the questioners who served as thought provoking and forms of constructive expression on the issue of African liberation.

The audience ranged from all sorts of African backgrounds from Ghana to northern Uganda. Some were working with or part of the organisations there, but what was more interesting was that some were no part of an organisation at all but still had something extremely vital to add to the debate. This is what baffled me I thought to myself if this audience before me are this much "in the know" then why aren’t they up there as part of a party or organisation? How could they just pass through armed with this knowledge? I found this a mystery but later considered it a challenge for the Uhuru or Pan-African movement. What are we to do about the culture of self-philosophy? Where potential recruits for the movement are? These folks that are self-taught are people who are in the know of the current plights of Africa, yet make it no big deal to form a party or to politic about it.

Maybe there are other means to challenge the oppressive status-quo or maybe they feel no need to organise in the manner of campaigns. If the self-taught see no need to organise how far are they to get with their knowledge to effect or make change? In order to reap our harvest we must have a field to plant in mustn’t we?

Maybe when the self-taught see the benefits and impact of organisations, when they see organisations lead by example - the alternatives they propose - will they no longer see the need to do it by themselves.




BUSINESS & A PARTY BROTHER


This brings me to the items and promotion stalls that I saw there. Can anyone who went to ALD tell me why the items for sale were all representing the same consumer/company relationship we accuse capitalist or materialist for? Which one of the companies or businesses was working with, and financially empowering local investment back home? And made that their reason for business? Or were working with farmers, artisans, workers back home where the vote of currency is needed? In other words where was the money we pay to buy the products going? Was it going to the cause for African liberation? If so, is it on par with campaigns for fairer trade with Africa? Would the money go towards direct and existent causes in Africa as we speak? Or were they reserved for further organisational development for the sake of Africans who are dying and starving by the masses and cannot care that overseas there are parties organising in their name?

Can we say there was a business on that day that came to show and teach alternative business models that can create a different world for Africans and the African liberation cause?

After learning that the ALD conference had been going on for quite a while I turned to a member of an organisation I asked him; "what was new?" He replied by saying; "what needs to be new?" Then later; "This isn’t a fashion." The brother was pretty juiced up, physically and verbally, could have gone by the name of N.A.T.

I later asked him what he felt about individuals or other movements working for the same cause but by different measures. He said something along the lines of; no organisation can work for the same cause without eventually getting together.

The history speakers of the African Liberation Day event say that it has been going on since 1958. It is encouraging to witness fellow brothers and sisters campaigning and organising for the betterment of Africans and Blacks like the South London sounding youth mentioned. When I think of how long this has been going on I certainly hope for our sake that the brother IS right.

Burning Monk 4 ALD 05

[N.A.T.]

confused3

[Kunjufu]

Burning Monk: Can i thank personally thank you very much for the ALD report it was very good and informative...

[The Watcher]

Burning Monk

It comes down to poor promotion. A few times dimoke has told me about events in advance that have me scratching me head... well how did SHE know?

It seems people can promote a dance but not something constructive.



@ Derrick Kerr
I know what you mean but it's not down to lack of interest, it's down to ignorance, most of the guys simply don't know.Fair enough you posted it here on BN so WE should know but what else? Community radio ads? Posters? Fliers in barbershops? Corny I know but it works...

[Burning Monk]

Kunjufu,

Sure anytime. It was Tahilba's suggestion, and good timing it was too. I am honestly pleased to have a forum like this to share this kind event of info. Your comments are welcome.


@DM,

Well, I did get the flyer to the event at a camberwell-low-key cap shop so I agree with your comments, the promotion was too silent. But I guess 47 years of annual meetings (not sure how long in london though) in the UK does go to show that the organisers are encouraged by the responses they get.

By the way an AFRICAN SOLIDARITY INTERNATIONAL (Pan-African unions & org) gathering type thing is to take place on saturday the 17 of june to the 20th. I got the tip from ALD, so it might be like clubs/raves about getting info from one event to the other and so on, unless the pirate radio stations make a mention.

Flyers in barber shops? Most definately.

Burning Monk

[N.A.T.]

sorry for putting up images but i think this is what you mean