BN Members

It is almost the month of June folks, and I think that in the UK the next half of the year '05 is going to be mainly focused on African development schemes in the political field. With the G8 in July, the mass protest to that, and I think the EU presidency might also be going to a British Parliamentary official. (eg the PM).

But who cares about most of the above mentioned… if these are mainly official events in the sense that they are just round-table talks?

On the other hand I just came across a flyer - through a low-key south London cap shop - that there will be an AFRICAN LIBERTAION DAY thingy on Saturday the 28[suP]th of May, this coming one.

I haven’t heard the word of mouth on this event yet, and I don’t exactly know what it is like. Is it an African answer to Notting Hill for instance? The sponsor for this event reads as; AFRICAN BANTU SATURDAY SCHOOL, KILOMBO MAGAZINE, and THE AFRICAN SOCIETY from UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON.

I would check out the Black roots forum, but when I posted there once I was told it was about history, and not the latest happenings. Still strange to me that is.

Any post here or discussions on this AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY?

Or has anybody in this virtual community site been to this event before, and want to share their experience? Would like to know just how personal this event makes things.

Peace out!

Signing off…
[/suP]

Burning monk

ALD is held every year in many major cities, although it seems London these days holds a few organised and attended by different organisations.

It as been years since I attended ALD in London, but the last time I did it was organised by the A-APRP(All African Peoples Revolutionary Party)

The idea was inspired by Nkrumah and the Ghana Independance Movement, if you checkout these boards archives you will find some post somewhere on the weekend.

They are usually held over 2-3 days including the Bank Holiday, I highly recommend you attend one of these events(sure there will be more than one in London)

I will be attending the event here in Birmingham [HollyHead School, Handsworth, for anyone in the area, held over 3 days, starting tomorrow.]

If you do attend it would be nice if you came back and reported.

Tahliba

Sorry, I just did a search and couldn't find anything...I thought maybe I made a post, last year as I usually do, there is probably something on the old forums, but can't use search engine there.

However found this

http://www.blacknet.co.uk/aaprp/40years.html

And this

http://theepn.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a...653#1006098653

http://theepn.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a...813#6036088813

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"… ower



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. "Toget 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. They were strong, they were direct, purpose-filled, and lead the way for further subjects and discussions the leading party speakers may or may not have intended.

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.



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.

blktype

Burning Monk - check next post

This next post follows with my views on the ALD ’05, as I saw it. Like I stated above the challenge of the day seemed to be not how to give people knowledge but how to organise, and touch the needs of those who already know to work together.

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 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 be just passing 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. But to think this would be to say that all activist organisations or parties to do with politics are organised the same way, when they aren’t.


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?

From Africa liberation day I got the notion that the challenge not just for Pan-African movements but most anti-free-trade, anti-racist, anti-WTO/IMF is not so much giving people knowledge, if people have already proven themselves self-taught on these issues to do with injustices. The challenge instead could be how to win over, how to harmonise and organise these mass of self-taught intelligent people - whom now feel no need for formal organisation - for the cause. This challenge says a lot not only because it compliments the claims of - individualist and divisive - consumer mentality that is thrown in the face of masses, but it also reflects that need Gospel preachers of today face in winning coverts from their home materially rich post-Christian nations. Gospel preachers find resistance to their message from people who say; "we already know about Jesus or the biblical God." Or "I don’t need to go to your church I can do it myself." In other words Gospel preachers are caught in a situation in their rich nations not of speaking for the gospel but leading by example what alternatives there are to "I can do it myself." Which for them would be to collectively live the gospel.

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.

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 organisation 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 butby 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 who said to me that - all for the same cause would eventually all come together - is right.

Burning Monk 4 ALD 05

blktype

Thanks for that report Burning Monk. I had it on my diary from time and really wanted to reach but unfortunately i had to work. I was able to attend the Pan African women's Liberation day at the UEL last year, and itwas so fantasticto get together with peoplewhowanted to do for themselves,and also got toattend many of the work shops discussing how to go about getting this done.