New Agenda for Uniting the Black Race

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Author Message   Tonya "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Tonya Post Number: 512 Registered: 07-2006 Rating:  Votes: 1 (Vote!) Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2006 - 05:15 pm:        A New Agenda for Uniting the Black Race Vanguard (Lagos) NEWS August 31, 2006 Posted to the web August 31, 2006 By Okey Ndiribe Ilaro The renewed effort to unite continental Africans and their kith and kin in diaspora received a boost last week as a two-man delegation from Barbados proferred methods that could be used to forge unity among the black race across the Atlantic ocean. NIGERIANS, nay Africans in general may be on the verge of re-enacting trans-Atlantic commercial and cultural links with their kith and kin in diaspora. However, unlike the infamous slave trade which was used to establish the past link between Africa on one hand and the Americas and the Carribeans on the other, over five hundred years ago, the new initiative is likely to result in economic investment and cross cultural exchanges between continental Africans and blacks in diaspora. Representatives of the Ogun State Government and those of the Republic of Barbados announced the commitment of both governments to actualise the new trans-Atlantic agenda last week Wednesday at the palace of the Oba of Ilaro, in Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State on the second day of the Badagry Heritage Festival. The event was organised to coincide with the celebration of the International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and its abolition and was sponsored by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Dr. Ikael Tafari, Director, Commission for Pan-African Affairs of Barbados, who represented the government of that country together with the country's Ambassador of Culture, Anthony Gabby, identified economic weakness among African-Barbadians as one of the factors that have undermined their progress, adding that despite the fact that blacks were the overwhelming majority in Barbados and even dominated the government, over 80 percent of the economy was under the control of the white population which constituted only two percent. Tafari spoke during the cultural dialogue of the event which had the theme "Africans and the Carribeans: Which way forward for our development?" He further stated that the government of Barbados believed that black people all over the world could only achieve economic prosperity when greater linkages are created between continental Africans and those in diaspora. In order to realise this goal, Tafari told the audience that his country was interested in investing in solar energy and shipping in Akwa-Ibom state. On her part, Mrs Doyin Ogunbiyi, the Managing Director of Ogun State owned Gateway Tourism Development Corporation, who confirmed Ogun state's involvement in the fresh trans-Atlantic initiative, informed that Nigerians do not require visas to travel to Barbados. She said this after the scholarly speech that was delivered by Tafari. The Barbadian had made a strong case for unity among the black race all over the world. Said Tafari: "The government of Barbados believes that black people all over the world can only achieve economic prosperity when greater linkages are created between continental Africans and those in diaspora." "The Barbados Commission for Pan-African Affairs through its Trans-African Centre for Trade stands ready and well-positioned to work with the African Union in initiating business and developmental projects that can assist in repairing the damage that has been done, at many interlocking levels, by the European and North American domination of people of colour across the entire globe." He continued: "For the Pan-African world, the challenge of the early 21st century is to build corridors of trade and economic wealth across the black Atlantic, linking centres of black power in the Caribbean, North, South, and Central America, and Africa. Tafari, whose speech was punctuated with intermittent applause, had earlier told the audience that after going round the town of Ilaro, he had become more convinced than ever before that there was a strong historical tie between the people of the town and the blacks of Barbados. He cited the fact that the Prime Minister's residence in Barbados was named Ilaro Court to buttress his point. After citing numerous authorities in history, he proposed unity between continental Africans with their kith and kin in diaspora as the only key to the economic emancipation of the black race. He revealed that he and Gabby visited the town because it was widely believed in their country that most Barbadian blacks were descendants of slaves who were captured from Ilaro during the era of slave trade which ended over two hundred years ago. Tafari, who was christened "Aramide" by the Oba of Ilaro, Alayeluwa Adekanbi-Tella, further stated that the separation of Africans in diaspora- including African-Caribbeans and their counterparts in the Americas from continental Africans which has lasted for over four hundred years, was largely responsible for the relative backwardness of Africa. Despite Africa's underdevelopment, Tafari expressed the view that the continent had the potential of redeeming mankind because of the oppression its people have witnessed for several centuries. Citing examples of injustices that have been inflicted on Africa during the era of slave trade and colonialism, he stated that during the colonial era, European colonial teachers taught black pupils in Barbados that Africa had no culture. He said that the strategy of the colonialists was to keep black people in different parts of the world divided so that it would be easier to dominate them. Tafari further said that despite the indoctrination Africans in the Caribbeans and Americas were subjected to, the African spirit remained alive in them, adding that this has manifested in so many ways including the Rastafari movement. He also called for Africans to be paid reparations for the devastation hundreds of years of slave trade and colonialism caused the continent. Recalling the havoc experienced by Africans during the era of slave trade, he said: "Whole tribes and villages were wiped out, family structures destroyed, gods overthrown." He declared that while African civilization was being destroyed, black slave labour was building up the industrial societies of the West. Giving further insight on why he proffered greater cooperation between continental Africans and those in dispora, Tafari observed that the history of the struggles of the African people following the era of slavery and colonialism indicated that the most decisive period for black people have been those periods when Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora were united in their efforts. He cited the rallying of black people worldwide around Ethiopia at the time of the ltalo- Ethiopian war, 1935-41, as an example. Said he: "This crisis led to the birth of modern Pan-Africanism, with such founding fathers of the anti-colonial movement as Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta and Haile Selassie (from continental Africa) coming together in London with Marcus Garvey, C.L.R. James, George Padmore, and W.E.B. DuBois (from the diaspora). "This moment also witnessed the birth of modern democratic Barbados out of the 1937 riots, and, in the cultural realm, the emergence of the Rastafarian". He noted that the civil rights and black power movements in the U.S.A. ran concurrently with the African independence movements. Tafari remarked that on the eve of the bicentenary of the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in August 2007, African descendants in the West and their family on the continent must come together and make atonement for the great division of the race which began at the time of the slave trade. "Working through official channels such as the churches, the United Nations, and drawing on the efforts of all people of goodwill, the political and spiritual leaders of black people worldwide must intensify the struggle for historical compensation through debt cancellation, technology transfer, and the redistribution of the world's wealth so as to rid humankind of racism and exploitation". Indeed, part of the plight of the black race in diaspora was revealed in several historical accounts which were presented at the event. Among the documents which were made available was one which recounted how a French ship named Young Flower of Nantes lifted 267 slaves from Badagry to the New World on the 16th October 1736. Some of the prominent slave ports along the West African coastline during the period were Whydah, in Republic of 'Benin and Badagry in Nigeria. There was another account which indicated that in 1795, the King of Dahomey (Benin) sent two ambassadors to Bahia (Brazil) to propose to the Portuguese authorities a trade treaty assuring the exclusive supply of Ogu and Yoruba slaves. This offer was rejected because the Portuguese felt it was risky to have slaves of the same origin at the same time. It was revealed that shipment slaves from Yoruba land took place through the port of Badagry. Most of the captured slaves were captured from Ilaro, Oyo, Ketu, Aiyetoro, Shaki, Abeokuta, Okeodan, lpokia, lgbesa, lrewe and other towns. They usually arrived in Badagry either by foot or by river. Copyright © 2006 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).   Nels "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Nels Post Number: 539 Registered: 07-2005 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 01:34 am:        Re-unifying blacks will never happen in the United States, or the world for that matter. Fughettaboutit...   Yvettep "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 1299 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 09:17 am:        "Reunification" implies unification at some past point. Intriguing article, nonetheless.   Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 2681 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Saturday, September 02, 2006 - 02:01 am:        Yvettep has it right-- There has never been any unity. Unification is a good idea. But it is a state of mind and there must be a desire on the part of those who would be unified-- The search for a unified Germany culminated in the Blood and Iron movement of the 19th Century--though it was resolved in favor of Prussia (North Germans) over Austria (South Germans) through violence--the Germans had long believed that they should be unified (Ein Volk)--just who and how it was to occur was the question. It also took the defeat of the French who had long helped maintain German disunity as a national policy in the Franco Prussian War--which is to say that Black Unity is not in the interests of the West and will be resisted--by those within and without the Afrikan world. Also, if the past is any indication, it will not occur without bloodshed. How enthusiastic is everybody for it now?