SRDC Concludes Successful International Summit in Panama City, Panama

The 2022 SRDC Summit was held from Thursday, September 22 through Sunday, September 25, 2022 in Panama City, Panama. Since SRDC does not yet have an organization in Panama, this amounted to “virgin territory” for our organizing efforts. A number of the hoped-for attendees were not able to secure travel visas to attend the Summit in time, but some of them were afforded the opportunity to connect to the Summit virtually via Zoom. Activists from the Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, The Netherlands, Liberia, the United States and, of course, the host country of Panama were in attendance, with others from the United States, Tanzania, Ghana, Guadeloupe and other locations connecting virtually.

Professor David L. Horne.

The Summit was a success overall. There were a couple of occasional technical connection issues, some people were not able to attend who we hoped to see, some who we expected to see on Zoom didn’t make it and a few of the important participants who did come were delayed in arriving for the first day or two, but the re-connection with several Central American Pan Afrikan activists and organizers was accomplished. There is some hope that an SRDC organization or an allied effort can be set up in Panama for the first time.

President General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League Rehabilitating Committee 2020 (UNIA-ACL RC 2020), Baba Akili Nkrumah, opened the Summit with a discussion of the legacy of The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey and his influence in the Caribbean and Central America.

Mr. Melvin Brown, Dr. Edly Hall Reid.

Mr. Melvin Brown, who facilitated the holding of this Summit in Panama and showed us some of the sights of his country, Dr. ChenziRa Davis Kahina of the Caribbean Pan African Network (CPAN) and SRDC, and Dr. Edly Hall Reid of Costa Rica, who represented the Central American Black Organization (CABO)/Organizacion Negra Centroamericana (ONECA), talked about the importance of this Summit in terms of reaching out to Afrikan-Descendant populations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.  This Summit was, in fact, focused on re-establishing and strengthening connections between SRDC and Pan-Afrikan organizations in this often-overlooked part of the Pan Afrikan Diaspora.

Dr. Barryl Biekman, Prof. David L. Horne.

Professor David L. Horne, International Facilitator and Director of SRDC, and Dr. Barryl Biekman, founder and Director of the African Union African Diaspora Sixth Region Facilitators Working Group (AUADSFWG) Europe, based in The Netherlands, talked about 21st Century Pan-Afrikanism and the continuing international effort to establish the Afrikan Diaspora’s voice in the African Union (AU), including the AU’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) which was to be the first AU organ to establish a representative voice for the Diaspora and the recently-created African Diaspora High Council, which was developed out of the May Roots-Synergy Roundtable that was held on Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Neema Abena James, an Afrikan Diasporan living in Tanzania, founder of the Sixth Region African Diaspora Alliance in Tanzania (6RADAT) and East Afrika SRDC Facilitator (on Zoom from Tanzania) and Dr. Hamet Maulana, who works with Afrikan Diasporans in Ghana to work toward establishing citizenship (on Zoom from Ghana) discussed topics centered around the struggle of expatriate Diasporans to establish Right To Return to Afrika and Dual Citizenship rights.

Ras Bukie, Black Queen Selassie.

Local Rastafari-connected activists Black Queen Selassie, Honorable Empress Yesury Nurse, Afropanamanian Afro Latin American Leader and Founder of Good Music Pro, and Ras Bukie, Rastafari Cultural Ambassador, Chairman of the Rastafari Global Reasoning Jamaica, University of West Indies and President of Good Music Pro, spoke about the work toward the related topics of Repatriation and Reparations. This dynamic pair were also instrumental in achieving the establishment of the statue of The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey in Panama City’s Cultural Park.  They, along with Mr. Brown and other Pan-Afrikan activists in their circle, represent hope for the Afrikan Descendant population of Panama for the organization of their communities and the lifting up of their collective voice.

Madam Louise Siaway and the Women of the Liberia Delegation.

Madam Louise Siaway and the Liberia delegation honor Baba Kumasi Palmer and Prof. David L. Horne.

Madam Louise Siaway of Sehwah Liberia, who was in attendance with a delegation of activists from Liberia, presented information about the projects underway in Liberia, such as the Library Project, the Maisha Washington Education Scholarship Fund and investment opportunities in Liberia as an example of what we can do when we truly put aside our petty differences and choose to work together.  SRDC has sent delegations to Liberia twice, once in late 2018 to officially meet with local leaders as a prelude to establishing the land for the Library, and again in November 2021 for SRDC’s 13th Annual Summit.  In Panama, the Liberian delegation presented Professor Horne and SRDC South Carolina Facilitator Baba Kumasi Palmer with gifts to honor the years of tireless work both of them have personally put into the preparation and implementation of the Library Project and the Scholarship Fund.  Sehwah-Liberia currently maintains an office space in Monrovia, Liberia as a local SRDC office, the first on the Afrikan Continent.

Maryland Facilitator Bro. Cliff Kuumba made a short presentation about the Town Hall Process that is the local organizing tool for SRDC (and, frankly, what separates SRDC from most other Pan-Afrikan organizations). The Town Hall Process allows the grassroots communities to take part in the development of that community’s Pan Afrikan Agenda (those issues that are important to that community to build political pressure campaigns, international advocacy through the African Union or United Nations, or self-help strategies we can enact ourselves at the local level). The Town Hall Process also is the means through which members of the local community are able to determine for themselves who they want to speak on their behalf at local, national and international conferences, meetings and forums. To check out Bro. Cliff’s presentation in written form (PDF, viewable with Adobe Reader), check it out below. Bro. Cliff was also able to talk for a few minutes about Cooperative Coalitions at the end of his presentation, a means to bring together a variety of Pan-Afrikan organizations and build the type of unity that serious Pan Afrikan activists constantly insist we need, including the concepts of the “Spokes of the Wheel” structure and “Cooperation not Competition”, “Unity Without Uniformity” and “Unity of Purpose over Unity of Ideology”.

Town Hall and Cooperative Coalitions Sept 23 2022a

Bro. Haki Ammi contemplates while checking out a cathedral in Panama City’s “Old Town”.

Bro. Haki Ammi, President of the Teaching Artist Institute (TAI) traveled to Panama from Baltimore (among many trips around the world that he and TAI founder Sis. Kim Poole take on behalf of TAI) and was able to participate over the main conference days (Friday and Saturday) of the Summit, as well as taking part in the Tour of Panama that was held on Sunday. He was able to log several reports back on Facebook, wrote an excellent article on the Summit and other travels he made during the month for The National Black Unity News, a Baltimore-based Black-run online and printed publication where he is a regular contributor, and interviewed Dr. Barryl Biekman, the founder and director of the African Union African Diaspora Sixth Region Facilitators Working Group (AUADSFWG) in Europe (She was born in Suriname, Northeastern South America and currently lives in The Netherlands).

Dr. ChenziRa Davis Kahina presides.

The overall Summit was ably emceed by Dr. ChenziRa Davis Kahina, who has connections to SRDC as well as to the Caribbean Pan African Network (CPAN). She kept the Summit moving and managed the flow of presenters, as well as serving as a presenter herself on the topics of reaching out to Central America, South America and the Caribbean and the nature of 21st Century Pan-Afrikanism.

Connecting with Activists on the Ground in Panama

We got the chance to connect with a couple of businesses in Panama, specifically Afrikan-owned restaurants where our able Panamanian guides and Summit participants, Mr. Melvin Brown (the official host for the Summit), Ras Bukie and Black Queen Selassie took us to dine and to meet the owners so we could get an idea of “life on the ground” in Panama. We were also treated to a cultural performance by the Congo Dancers during the Thursday Welcoming Reception to start the Summit off on a good note.

The Congo Dancers with Ras Bukie and Black Queen Selassie.

Taking a Tour of Panama

We took a tour of the Panama City area, including the Panama Canal and the neighborhoods where many of the working-class and struggling citizens, many of whom are Afrikan-Descendant, live (which, we were told, is also the birthplace of legendary boxing champion Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran). Several photos we took on the tour are below.

The locks at the Panama Canal.

A view down the Canal locks.

An exhibit inside the Canal Visitors Center.

A church in the “Old Town”.

A public square in the “Old Town”.

The Panama City skyline as seen from Flamingo Island.

We got to visit the recently inaugurated statue of The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey in Panama City’s Cultural and Ethnic Communities Plaza, which stands alongside statues of Confucius and Mohandas K. Gandhi. Black Queen Selassie and Ras Bukie were a major part of the work to have the statue placed here, and they succeeded in this effort just a couple of months ago. We were able to spend some time there on Sunday afternoon after the Summit was completed and pay proper respects.

Black Queen Selassie and Ras Bukie at the Garvey Statue.

The inscription on the base of the Garvey Statue.

We returned to our respective homes from the 2022 SRDC Summit in Panama City ready to recommit to the process of Organizing the Diaspora to take our collective voice to the World Stage. SRDC is currently making plans for our next Summit. As for location of the 2023 Summit, the current frontrunner is Atlanta, Georgia, returning to the Continental United States after holding Summits in Monrovia, Liberia and Panama City, Panama the last two years. While we remain committed to our international mission, we must not forget, as a Pan-Afrikan Diaspora organization founded and based in the United States, that the organizing work that will bring our collective grassroots voice to the International Arena must begin at home. We must make critical connections to our Sisters and Brothers in Afrika and throughout the Pan-Afrikan Diaspora, but we will not succeed in our important work if we ever forget our connection and responsibility to The People On The Ground Where We Live.

Paying respects at the Garvey Statue.

Sankofa Summer Camp Begins Summer Activities for Children

Baba Charlie Dugger has held cultural and educational events in the Baltimore, Maryland area for several decades through his organization Camp Harambee (The People), including the annual Marcus Garvey Day celebrations of the birthday of the Pan-Afrikan giant and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL).  Now Baba Charlie Dugger is sponsoring the Sankofa Summer Camp, a summer series of events taking place at the Sankofa Children’s Museum of African Cultures at 4330 Pimlico Road in Northwest Baltimore.  The Camp will be held Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 am – 2 pm.  For more information, call (443) 742-5193 or email communiversity8@gmail.com.

Diaspora and Afrikan Organizations Come Together for the Pan African Roots-Synergy Roundtable in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The Global Pan African Roots-Synergy Roundtable was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from May 23-27, 2022.  The objective of the Global Pan African Roots-Synergy Roundtable was to bring to a resolution several of the issues that have delayed the unification of the Global Pan-Afrikan Diaspora and the representation of our collective voice on the World Stage.

The organizers of the Roots-Synergy Roundtable issued the following invitation to Afrikan Diaspora organizations and activists to meet in Addis Ababa:

More than 50 years ago—a full half century, Pan Africans from around the world met in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania for the 6th Pan African Congress. This was an international gathering that pulled together advocates with very meaningful theory and visionary ideas for how to help accelerate and complete the rest of the anti-colonial struggles to return African land and resources to African people, and how to develop positive and effective governmental structures that would bind together the talents of the majority of African women, men and children to build the unified Africa that Africans deserve. The African Diaspora participated in this ultimately successful series of campaigns that brought state racism in South Africa and in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) down. There was also substantial Diasporan help provided to militarized African Liberation activities.

Among many other efforts, the 7 PAC (1994) in Uganda, and the 8th PAC (2014) in South Africa occurred and added more Diasporan fire to the drive to eradicate neo-colonialism and build overall African success and resilience. And the struggle continues.

In the early years of the 21st century, during its transition from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the building of the African Union (AU), to take its place in the next stage of building the Africa that Africans need, the outgoing executive director of the OAU made a seconded motion to have the new African Union invite the African Diaspora to formally join the AU effort to move Africa forward. The motion passed handily. In a following meeting, the AU heads of state voted to authorize ECOSOCC and CIDO of the AU to organize processes for 20 Diasporans to be brought into the AU as members of ECOSOCC. This decision re-energized the African Diaspora worldwide.

In 2012, after a long series of meetings and conferences with members of the African Diaspora, the African Union held a significant conference in South Africa—-the African Union Diaspora Conference—specifically for the African Diaspora and agreed to and promulgated the current Diaspora Declaration. However, it is now 2022, ten years later, and the 20 Diasporan seats in the AU remain unfilled and most of the actions stipulated in the Diasporan Declaration remain inoperable or barely sustained.

We, members of the African Diaspora, therefore call for a Pan African Congress-type gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the tenth anniversary of the Diaspora Declaration to meet and assess the next steps forward in uniting the progressive actions of the Diaspora with those of the African Union and to make substantial progress in laying claim to the 20 designated Diasporan seats in the AU.

All organized members of the African Diaspora who can make the trip, or who can send representatives to speak and vote for your position, are invited to this gathering on May 24-28, 2022. There will be serious and frank discussions, and actionable decisions made.

Forward Ever, Backward Never,
The Diasporan Organizers

The Motivation to Hold the Roundtable

The 25th of May 2022, The World Africa Day, marked the tenth year since the Heads of State and Government and Representatives of the African Union, the West Indies, Latin America, South America, and varied representatives from the African Diaspora met during the Global African Diaspora Summit in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa and witnessed the historic adoption of the African Union-African Diaspora Declaration concerning the Diaspora Sixth Region of Africa.

Following recent consultations with the African Union’s Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) about what the African Union Commission intended to do on May 25, 2022 or thereabouts, to review the progress that has occurred during the past ten years, the answer from the African Union was that there was “no planning” for such a Ten-Year Review.

As there was no follow up event planned, and a 21st century wave of African Descendants visiting but mostly migrating to the Continent occurring – it was clear something had to be done. So, the African Descendants Diaspora Civil Society organizations, Pan Africanists, and African Activist Organizations took the initiative to organize a special Roundtable on – The AU Diaspora Declaration: Ten Years After.

About the Pan African Roots-Synergy Roundtable

This Roundtable was organized by four main organizations: the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) which primarily operates in the United States and the Americas in general; the African Union African Diaspora Sixth Region Facilitators Working Group (AUADSFWG) which operates in Europe and has its nerve center in The Netherlands; the African Diaspora Right To Return Alliance (RTRA), which represents African Diasporans who have repatriated back to Africa and are fighting for full citizenship in the Motherland; and the African Diaspora Union (AFRIDU), an organization of primarily Continental Africans who have moved from their home countries to other countries in the African Continent with perhaps some who have left the Continent altogether.  Other organizations that were affiliated with them, such as the Teaching Artist Institute (TAI) and the Sheroes Sisterhood, provided invaluable input to the process and worked throughout the Roundtable to help ensure that it was conducted smoothly, from moderating working groups and discussions to handling audio-video issues, attending to the needs of special guests and doing behind-the-scenes work that too often goes unappreciated.  These organizers and workers, as well as other attending organizations and activists, including the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), African Americans for Reparation and Repatriation (AA4RR) and the State of the African Diaspora (SOAD), deserve much credit for what, on balance, was a successful conference.

The Roundtable had three primary objectives:

(1) a Ten-Year Review of the May 2012 AU Diaspora Summit and Declaration that was held in Sandton, South Africa.  The African Union (AU) had convened a major African Diaspora Summit in Sandton, South Africa in late May of 2012, which drew many Pan-African activists around the world and resulted in the African Diaspora Declaration, which enumerated a number of objectives that the AU would pursue on behalf of establishing the Diaspora’s voice in the AU s well as ways in which the Diaspora could become contributors to the AU’s overall mission.  Ten years later, it was anticipated that the AU would conduct a review of that Summit, including an assessment of what parts of the Declaration had been successfully implemented, which had not, and what would be the way forward from here.  When asked about their plans for this Ten-Year Review, however, the AU replied that there were no plans for such a Review.  At this point, the primary organizations decided to conduct the Review ourselves.  The primary purpose of the Roundtable was to look at the Diaspora Declaration from 2012 and conduct that Review and assessment.

(2) a challenge and an opportunity for the African Union.  Since 2006, SRDC and AUADSFWG have been following the process proposed by the AU to establish the African Diaspora’s voice first in the AU’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), then in the Pan African Parliament (PAP).  This process had been announced by the African Union Commission (AUC) as far back as 2006, and the AU’s Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) had been designated as the management organ in the AU that would administer the process of establishing the Diaspora in 20 elected seats in ECOSOCC according to a set of Statutes of ECOSOCC.  For 16-plus years now, we have been consulting, cajoling, pushing and lobbying the AU, CIDO, AUC and ECOSOCC to conduct certain specific steps toward the review and approval of the procedures we have proposed and to facilitate the final process of our incorporation into ECOSOCC.  This Roundtable was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the main headquarters of the African Union, to let them know we are and remain serious about our effort to achieve this goal, as well as to provide representatives of these AU organs a convenient opportunity to meet with us and address our concerns.  CIDO and ECOSOCC did indeed send representatives to the Roundtable, though they were not able to answer all of our concerns or officially restart the process that we have been pushing for since 2006.  We remain hopeful, however, that this Roundtable will spark a renewed effort not only from Diaspora organizations but also from the African Union and its organs.

(3) an opportunity to bring a wide variety of Pan-African organizations together.  Groups that had not consulted together before, such as the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), Africans for Reparation and Repatriation (A4RR) and the State of the African Diaspora (SOAD), which had heretofore conducted their business without consulting each other, were brought into the same space, perhaps for the first time. 

Did the Roundtable Succeed?

The Roundtable has produced a Review Document that includes a 2022 Resolution and Declaration, which will be available on the Roundtable’s Web site, https://addisroundtable2022.org, as well as below.  Among the expected results of the Roundtable is the formation of a civil society governing and management structure that will allow us to be recognized by the AU as an organized global entity, one that is directed by the concerns of grassroots communities from around the Pan-African Diaspora, from the Americas (North, South, Central and the Caribbean), Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the Pacific, as well as African Diasporans who have repatriated back to Mother Africa but have not been granted citizenship in their ancestral home.

A number of organizations came together in Addis who had little to no knowledge of each other’s missions, some of whom had ignored or even competed against each other in the past.  While some of the attending organizations had reputations as seeing themselves as the primary or only representatives of the Diaspora, their coming together in this space not only allowed them to see that theirs were not the only voices for the Diaspora, but also allowed others to see them in a setting where they were at least willing to discuss working with each other in a cooperative, and not competitive, manner.  Thus, the possibility for greater cooperation and unity between different African Diaspora organizations became possible, which should earn the Diaspora at least somewhat greater respect from international bodies such as the African Union and United Nations.  The success of the Roundtable will ultimately be determined by the will of the grassroots community, activists and organizations of the African Diaspora, if we are able to overcome that which has divided us and work together to establish our voice in the African Union and to re-establish our connection to the Motherland.

The Addis Ababa 2022 Resolution and Declaration from this Roundtable was submitted to the African Union Commission in cooperation with the CIDO, AU ECOSOCC and ACPHR.

THE ADDIS ABEBA MAY25th_2022 TEN YEARS AFTER SUMMARY&AGREEMENTS MB

CEOAfrica, the official media partner for the Roundtable, was present throughout the event and produced a video immediately after the Roundtable that featured Prof. David Horne of SRDC, Dr. Barryl A. Biekman of African Union African Diaspora Sixth Region Facilitators Working Group (AUADSFWG)-Europe, Ms. Grace Abena James of the African Diaspora Right to Return Alliance (RTRA) and Sixth Region African Diaspora Alliance in Tanzania (6RADAT), and Bishop Chidebiere Anelechi Ogbu of the African Diaspora Union (AFRIDU). 

A few details have changed since the video was released, but the essence of the information in the video remains unchanged: Afrikan people are coming together, in fits and starts perhaps, but we are coming together, a new global Diaspora structure is being formulated to facilitate cooperation between our many organizations and activists on the international level, and we will develop and build a unified strategy to raise our collective voice on the World Stage.  Stay tuned for more developments, which will be reported here as they happen.

To watch the video, please click below:
https://youtu.be/1riODHy3ZswSent

 

SRDC 2022 International Summit in Panama City, Panama (September 22 – 25)

The Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) will host its 14th Annual International Conference from September 22 – 25, 2022 in Panama City, Panama.

The 14th Annual International Summit of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) will be held from September 22 – 25 in Panama City, Panama.

For too many Pan-African activists, the geographical regions of Central and South America are seen as afterthoughts in the organization and uplift of Black people worldwide, despite the fact that the second largest population of people of Afrikan descent can be found in South America (Brazil), and there are tens of millions of us in Central America and northern South America.

SRDC’s longstanding friendship and alliance with the Central American Black Organization or CABO (“Organizacion Negra Centroamericana” or “ONECA” in Spanish) inspires and leads us to continue our tradition of reaching out to the entire Pan-African Diaspora by holding this year’s International Summit in the nation of Panama, a place that has become an attractive landing spot for African-Americans who have decided to leave the United States for a more culturally satisfying experience.

The 2022 SRDC Summit will continue to pursue the theme of “21st Century Pan Africanism: Moving Africa Forward” by including in its program a series of presentations that should not only provide historical background to our work, but also explore the “nuts and bolts” of grassroots community organizing, discuss on-the-ground projects that are currently in motion, and lay out concrete plans for the future.  The Summit will also be made available to organizational allies and supporters via a Zoom link, and portions of the Summit will be made available to the public shortly after the Summit via this and affiliated Websites as well as Facebook.  For the Summit Program and Schedule, please click here.

The Location will be the Wyndham Hotel, Albrook Mall, Panama City, Panama.

Expected Presenters

  • Professor David L. Horne, International Facilitator, Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC)
  • Dr. Barryl Biekman, Founder, African Union African Diaspora 6th Region Facilitators Working Group (AUADSFWG) Europe
  • The Honorable Louise M. Siaway, Former Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism in the Liberian Government, Founder and CEO of Sehwah Liberia
  • Mrs. Grace Abena James, Sixth Region African Diaspora Alliance Tanzania (6RADAT)
  • President-General Akili Nkrumah of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) Rehabilitating Committee 2020
  • NswtMwt Dr. ChenziRa Kahina, KPRA Director, Per Ankh M Smai Tawi; 2nd Asst. President General/ HCG Caribbean Americas of the UNIA ACL RC2020; Former/Inaugural Director of VI Caribbean Cultural Center, Virgin Islands of the United States (VIUS)
  • Mr. Melvin Brown, Melvin Brown Law Firm, on-the-ground Community Activist, Panama
  • Mr. Edly Hall Reid, Professor and Social Planner, Promoter and Activist of Human and Ethnic Rights, Costa Rica

Conference General Schedule

1. Arrival in Panama (Wednesday, September 21)

2. Workshops (Thursday, September 22 – Saturday, September 24):

  • Re-Addressing the Pan Africanism of Central, South and Latin America
  • A Report on the Latest SRDC Projects in African Countries
  • Stepping Up Pan African Presence in Africa
  • The Pan African Declaration of the Afro Latin, Central and South American Population

3. Visitation and Tour (Sunday, September 25)

Hotel Accommodations

To learn more about the Wyndham Panama Albrook Mall Hotel & Convention Center, please click below:

Wyndham Panama Albrook Mall Hotel & Convention Center

https://bit.ly/3Mhd13R-SociedaddeAmigosdelMuseoAfroantilla

Summit Program

SRDC 2022 Summit Program 3

Registration

To register for the 2022 SRDC International Conference in Panama City, Panama, please visit the SRDC Web site at the following link: https://srdcinternational.org/srdc-2022-international-conference-in-panama-city-panama-september-22-25/

More Information

Check back with this page and on the SRDC Web site (https://srdcinternational.org/srdc-2022-international-conference-in-panama-city-panama-september-22-25/) as we will add more information when it becomes available.

Juneteenth Celebrations Across Maryland

Juneteenth is here.

For the uninitiated, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth; Juneteenth – Wikipedia) describes Juneteenth thus:

Juneteenth (officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, and also known as, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It is also often observed for celebrating African-American culture. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States since 1865. The day was recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth’s commemoration is on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865, announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army general Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas, which was the last state of the Confederacy with institutional slavery.

President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, had freed the enslaved people in Texas and all the other Southern secessionist states of the Confederacy except for parts of states not in rebellion. Enforcement of the Proclamation generally relied upon the advance of Union troops. Texas, as the most remote state of the former Confederacy, had seen an expansion of slavery and had a low presence of Union troops as the American Civil War ended; thus, enforcement there had been slow and inconsistent prior to Granger’s announcement. Although the Emancipation Proclamation declared an end to slavery in the Confederate States, it did not end slavery in states that remained in the Union. For a short while after the fall of the Confederacy, slavery remained legal in two of the Union border states – Delaware and Kentucky. Those enslaved people were freed with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished chattel slavery nationwide on December 6, 1865. The last enslaved people present in the continental United States were freed when the enslaved people held by the Choctaw (in the Indian Territories), who had sided with the Confederacy, were released in 1866.

Celebrations date to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival. Participants in the Great Migration out of the South carried their celebrations to other parts of the country. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the nonviolent determination to achieve civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African American freedom and African-American arts. Beginning with Texas by proclamation in 1938, and by legislation in 1979, each U.S. state and the District of Columbia have formally recognized the holiday in some way. With its adoption in certain parts of Mexico, the holiday became an international holiday. Juneteenth is celebrated by the Mascogos, descendants of Black Seminoles who escaped from slavery in 1852 and settled in Coahuila, Mexico.

Celebratory traditions often include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, and the reading of works by noted African-American writers, such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou. Some Juneteenth celebrations also include rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, and Miss Juneteenth contests. When Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, it was the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.

There are several observances being held across the state of Maryland. Thanks to Baba Lou Fields for hosting a brief Zoom call on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 14 that featured several guests who were announcing their Juneteenth events. We’re including contact information (details can be found on the event Web sites and by contacting the organizations by email or phone when made available) on just a few of these Juneteenth celebrations taking place this weekend across the state of Maryland:

NAACP 2nd Juneteenth Celebration
13 Canal Street, Cumberland, MD 21502
Saturday, June 18 – Sunday, June 19
https://naacpallegany.org

 

 

 

 

African American Historical Association
9030 Sharpsburg Pike, Fairplay, MD 21733
Sunday, June 19, 11am – 6pm
https://aahawmd.org

 

 

 

 

Upper Bay Juneteenth Festival
Historic Hosanna School Museum
2424 Castleton Rd, Darlington, MD 21034
Saturday, June 18, 12noon – 6pm
https://www.hosannaschoolmuseum.org

 

 

 

 

Benjamin Banneker Historical Museum and Park
300 Oella Avenue, Catonsville, MD 21228
email: bannekermuseum-rp@baltimorecountymd.gov

 

 

 

 

Annapolis Juneteenth Celebration
Annapolis City Dock, Bates Athletic Complex
Saturday, June 18
https://www.theannapolisjuneteenth.org

 

 

 

Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm
3811 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215
https://plantationparkheights.org/
email: info@plantationparkheights.org

These are certainly not all of the Juneteenth celebrations being held in the state of Maryland, and there are of course hundreds, if not potentially thousands, of Juneteenth celebrations and festivals being held over the weekend of June 17 – 19 across the United States as well as supporting celebrations being held throughout the Pan-Afrikan Diaspora.  Be sure to check here and with other Afrikan-centered and historical Web sites to stay up to date on Juneteenth celebrations in your area.

Happy Juneteenth!

African Liberation Day in Lafayette Square Park, Baltimore, Maryland

The Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE), All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP), All African Women’s Revolutionary Union (A-AWRU), Ujima People’s Progress Party (UPP), Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), Woodson Banneker Bey Division 330 of the UNIA-ACL RC2020 and Pan-Afrikan activists from across the Maryland-Washington, DC area will converge on Lafayette Square Park in West Baltimore (West Lafayette and North Arlington Avenues) for an observance of African Liberation Day on Sunday, May 29 from 1:00 – 6:00 PM.

The event will feature a number of tables and displays, including Vendors, a Children’s Festival Tent, Food, an Information Table and Health Screenings.

Invited Speakers will include:

  • Charlie Dugger, Camp Harambee (The people)
  • Erica Caines, Black Alliance for Peace (BAP)
  • Rafiki Morris, All African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP)
  • Brandon Walker, UJIMA Peoples Progress Party (UPP)
  • JY’MIR, Howard University (The Kwame Touré Society)
  • Dante O’Hara, Claudia Jones School of Political Education
  • Senghor Baye, UNIA-ACL RC2020
  • Minister Abdur Rahim Shakoor, Reparations & Self Determination
  • Baba Mosi Matsimela (President, UNIA-ACL DIV. 330 RC2020)

Among the performers will be:

  • Internationally Known “PROVERBS” Reggae Band
  • Storyteller “Grandmother Edna”
  • High Priestess of Poetry “Abena Disroe”
  • SONGBIRD “Freedome EL”
  • Xaala Mainama Drumming
  • Park Vibe Drummers

For more information, contact the following:

Come on out and observe African Liberation Day with the Maryland Council of Elders!

From JUSTICE INITIATIVE: The Supreme Court is Helping Consolidate White Political Power in America

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Justice Initiative International is a series of articles either written by journalist Heather Gray in Atlanta, Georgia or articles by other authors. The focal points of the articles vary but are primarily about racial justice, agriculture issues and international peace and justice.  We occasionally feature commentaries and analyses by Justice Initiative on this Web site.  For more information on Justice Initiative and for more of their commentary and analysis, visit https://justiceinitiativeinternational.wordpress.com.

The Supreme Court is Helping Consolidate White Political Power in America
April England-Albright, Cliff Albright and LaTosha Brown
February 10, 2022
The Guardian

also available at The Supreme Court is Helping Consolidate White Political Power in America | Portside

By upholding Alabama’s gerrymandered districts, the supreme court is laying the groundwork for ending voting rights and political power for Black people.

On Tuesday, the US supreme court in its Merrill v Milligan decision, upheld Alabama’s racially gerrymandered congressional map, which see Black people represented in only 14% of congressional districts, despite making up about 27% of Alabama’s population. This ruling is reminiscent of the holding in the supreme court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision that Black people “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect”. Even though the two cases addressed two different situations, the overall disregard of the rights of Black people in America by the highest court in the country is the same.

And just as the Dred Scott decision laid the groundwork for similar rulings that led to the continuation of white political power at the expense of Black political power, so too does the Miller case lay the groundwork for ending voting rights and political power for Black people in this country and a path towards white political power at all levels of government.

Some reading this will gasp and accuse us of misusing an explosive pre-reconstruction case to make a racially charged argument. But the reality is that the conservative gang of justices, under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, had already joined its pre-1954 brethren who had indoctrinated Jim Crow policies and the disenfranchisement of Black voters.

First through the supreme court’s abolition of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in the 2013 Shelby v Holder, another Alabama case, they empowered every Republican-controlled state to enact a series of voter suppression laws targeting Black people with surgical precision.

Next, through the 2018 Abbott v Perez case, the court took its first stab at the second protective tool in the VRA, section 2 by ruling to keep in place a blatantly racially gerrymandered map in Texas through what Justice Sonia Sotomayor called “a disregard of both precedent and facts at the cost of democracy”. Then again, in 2021, in the Brnovich v DNC case, the court finally took the knockout punch to the remaining power left in the VRA’s Section 2, by leaving two Arizona bills in place, which, as noted by Justice Elena Kagan in her dissent, “disproportionally affect minority citizens’ opportunity to vote”.

So, Tuesday’s Merrill case is just a link in a chain of US supreme court decisions meant to end Black voting protections and political power in this country. Even though Chief Justice Roberts did not join his usual comrades, he signaled in his dissent that he intends to shred what is left of Section 2 when the full case reaches the supreme court.

Moreover, by using the court’s shadow docket, the court has shown a greater sin in operation. While the conservative gang of six argue that they are simply staying the case because of the lower court’s ruling proximity to upcoming elections and not ruling on the merits of the case, Justice Kagan in her dissent makes it clear that the case “is one more in a disconcertingly long line of cases in which this court uses its shadow docket to signal or make changes in the law”. The conservative majority inappropriately stretched the meaning of “close election” to force the usage of a preliminary injunction standard found in Purcell v Gonzalez to create this unnecessary and hurtful outcome.

In using the shadow docket in this manner, the conservative gang are not operating as judges evaluating the constitutionality of laws in a neutral manner, but have ignored legal precedent and become a partisan weapon of the Republican party.

By allowing Alabama to use its racially gerrymandered congressional map to dilute Black voting power, the Republican party will continue to send six representatives to Congress next year instead of the five that would have probably resulted from fair maps. At a time when the Republican party is trying to take back power in the House of Representatives, it could not afford to lose a congressional seat in Alabama, and the conservative gang ensured this would not happen. In this regard, the current court is continuing a trend last seen when another conservative majority essentially decided the results of the 2000 presidential election, an election in which Florida’s results were affected by racially disproportionate challenges to voting rights on the basis of inaccurate accusations of criminal convictions.

But just as history of the post-Reconstruction and segregation era supreme court shows the motivation and pathway of this current supreme court, history also shows the pathway to victory, and we believe the following three recommendations are critical, even if just a beginning.

First, President Biden must appoint an attorney to the supreme court who has been a champion for civil and voting rights. When nominating an appointment to the supreme court, Lyndon B Johnson boldly chose a champion of civil rights to carry that legacy forward to the court without fear of reprisal. In doing so he was not being expedient but doing what the moment required. The moment requires President Biden to be unapologetically bold in the same manner and nominate a justice like Sherrilyn Ifill, Barbara Arnwine, Kristen Clarke or Judith Browne Dianis who all have great legal scholarship and have been defenders of democracy.

Second, Democrats must expand the court. Article 3 of the US constitution does not specify how many justices are required on the supreme court. The Democrats in Congress should use their power given to them by Black voters and increase the number of justices from nine to eleven.

Third, we must have a serious discussion around and advocate for structural solutions which extend beyond which shape a gerrymandered map takes or which entities are entrusted to create those maps.

We must immediately begin to rethink what majority rule means for historically attacked racial and ethnic groups, and how do we create mechanisms that address these limitations in ways that make majority rule and this entire democracy more fair and effective. Concepts such as those advocated by the civil rights giant Lani Guinier, such as proportional representation, should receive full debate. Roberts has always been hostile to such mechanisms, and in doing so is serving as an impediment not only to Black voting rights but to a more inclusive democracy that would benefit all voters.

To make these recommendations a reality, Black people, other marginalized groups and allies must continue to organize at the local level, state level and national level to make clear our demands. History shows that through organizing, major court victories such as Brown v Board of Education, which ended segregation in schools, were won. In doing so, Black people in America can build political power that protects voting rights beyond an act that requires reauthorization every 20 years or so, and we can take our destinies out of the hands of people in power who still believe that a Black man – and woman – has no rights that a white man has to respect.

April England-Albright is an attorney and the Black Voters Matter Fund (BVMF) legal director. Cliff Albright and LaTosha Brown are BVMF cofounders.

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Gray & Associates | PO Box 8291, Atlanta, GA 31106

Right To Return Alliance Press Conference Monday, February 7, 2022

Media Invitation: Press Conference
2022: The Year Of Promoting The African Descendants’ Right To Return

The Right To Return Alliance (RTRA), a coalition of African Descendants from global communities, CSOs, NGOs and businesses in the Africa and the Diaspora, is inviting local and international media to its press conference to present its global campaign.

The UN International Decade for People Of African Descent is coming to an end in 2024. We, as African Descendants exercising our Right To Return To Africa (ADRTR) wish to leave a lasting legacy to mark the close of this historic ten year period starting with this event. RTRA’s contribution to promote the respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of our group, is to declare 2022: The Year Of Promoting The African Descendants’ Right To Return.

On January 30, 2022 a press release (attached) was circulated to launch this event and announce our press conference.  The purpose of the press conference is to give the media an opportunity to find out how to be a part of this year and learn more about this campaign.

PRESS CONFERENCE DETAILS: 

MONDAY, 7 FEBRUARY, 2022 09:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join the RTRA for an online and live press conference for the formal launch of 2022 as a significant year in the history of the African Diaspora. 

  • Platform for online press conference: Zoom

 (14:00 United Kingdom / Ghana, 16:00 South Africa Time, 17:00 East Africa Time)

Meeting ID: 846 8364 8804     Passcode: RTRAPRESS

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kckuMhvWsY

Meeting ID: 846 8364 8804     Passcode: 602354145

  • Venue for in on-site press conference: 6RADAT, #41 Touch Lane, off CCM, Masaki, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

The onsite press conference will allow for attendees to ask questions. RTRA representatives will also be available for interviews and comments after the press conference.  Those of you interested in attending this on-site, please register yourself in advance by sending an email to the undersigned. 

For interviews or more assistance contact:

 

 

SRDC and Sehwah-Liberia Inc. Announce the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship Fund

Sehwah-Liberia, Inc. and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) are announcing the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship for high school students in Liberia.

The Scholarship Program represents part of SRDC’s continuing efforts to build bridges between the Pan-African Diaspora and the African Community on the Continent, and Sehwah-Liberia’s continuing commitment to lift up the people of Liberia as the country continues to rise up from decades of civil war.

The Scholarship Program is named after Mama Maisha Washington, who as a member of the Maryland SRDC Organization and the Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) had led efforts to launch a successful 2020 Pan African Summer Camp in Liberia, administered and taught by teachers in Liberia and the United States.  Mama Maisha was also one of the leaders of the Pan-African Library Project, which will build the first-ever public library in Monrovia, Liberia, and which will primarily serve the countries of Liberia, Guinea-Conakry, Siera Leone and Cote D’Ivoire.

Mama Maisha transitioned to the Honored Ancestors in October 2020.

The initial goal of the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship is to grant educational scholarships to 150 high school students (9th, 10th, 11th and 12th graders) in Liberia during 2022, and to expand the Scholarship Program from there.  Also, in support of the Pan-African Library Project, Liberian college-age students will be trained in Library Science to equip them to manage and operate the library once it is completed.

Another objective of the Scholarship Program will be to build relationships between Scholarship donors and students in Liberia who will benefit from the Scholarship Program.  SRDC has included a Scholarship Program Donor Form, which can be completed by checking out the SRDC post at https://srdcinternational.org/maisha-washington-education-foundation-scholarship-fund/ or by visiting the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Web page at https://srdcinternational.org/scholarship/.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship Program using PayPal, please visit the SRDC post at https://srdcinternational.org/maisha-washington-education-foundation-scholarship-fund/ or the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Web page at https://srdcinternational.org/scholarship/.

Update: Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship Fund Appeal for Donations and Support

The most recent fund raising letter discusses the current progress of the Scholarship Program and makes the following appeal for donations:

The Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) paid the school fees for 150 Liberian high school students for the 2021-2022 school year ($30.00 each).

We were able to raise $4,500.00 through the Maisha Washington Education Foundation Scholarship Fund to pay for those students’ school fees.

This money was collected through donations from people like you.

We need $4,500.00 (US dollars) to pay the school fees for another 150 students for the 2023 school year.

44 of those first 150 graduated students from 2021-2022 will be going to college in 2023. We also need $11,000 US dollars to sponsor those students’ yearly college fees for year 2023. ($250 each).

Thus, the total fundraising goal for this year is $15,500.00 ($4,500.00 plus $11,000.00).

Funds will be forwarded to our coordinating partner in Liberia (Sehwah-Liberia), under the leadership of Madam Louise M. W. Siaway.

Make your tax deductible donation (check) out to SRDC International.

Send your check by mail to:

Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus
3818 Crenshaw Blvd. #350
Los Angeles, CA 90008

Or donate online through our PayPal donate link at https://srdcinternational.org/scholarship/.

Thank you for your support.

Joe Palmer
843-452-4880

Related Articles

Bridging the Gap Between Ourselves (Our African Connection)

by Kumasi Palmer, SRDC-South Carolina Facilitator

EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2021 SRDC International Summit will be held November 8-13 in Monrovia, Liberia.  We will be advancing our outreach to the Mother Continent through concrete projects and programs with grassroots organizations on the ground there, starting with the effort to build Liberia’s first public library and sponsoring the 2021 Summit in cooperation with the Liberian grassroots organization Sehwah-Liberia.  The official announcement of the 2021 International Summit, with Registration Page and information regarding travel and accommodations for the Summit, will be made in the next week.  Meanwhile, we invite our readers to enjoy this brief history of some of the connections between Africa and the Diaspora, specifically as they relate to the Republic of Liberia, from Baba Kumasi Palmer, SRDC-South Carolina Facilitator.

Lott Cary

Daniel Coker

The Republic of Liberia was established as an independent nation state off the coast of West Africa in 1847 by freedmen from the United States. The first set of freedmen from the U.S. settled on Sherbo Island in modern day Sierra Leone in 1820. After a year of hardship at Sherbo Island the returnees moved on further along the coast landing at Providence Island in 1821 which is today known as Liberia. Lott Cary (1780-1828) and Daniel Coker (1780-1846) were the first group of pioneers that arrived in the newly formed colonies of Sierra Leone and Liberia, Coker being one of the founding members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church founded in Philadelphia in the year 1816.

Paul Cuffee

It was through the aid and support of the American Colonization Society (formed in 1817) to send freed Blacks to the colony of Liberia. During this same period Freetown, Sierra Leone was established by the British (1808) as a colony that served as a refuge for enslaved Africans. Paul Cuffee (1759-1819), a freedman and owner of his own shipping vessel, was one of the earliest pioneers with the vision to repatriate freed Blacks from the United States to a new home in Sierra Leone. But it was Liberia that eventually became the new home for Repatriated Blacks from the US. This migration started by ship in 1820 and continued into the 1880’s.

The search for political, economic and physical security by Africans in the southern United States at the ending of Reconstruction created the condition for many Black families to seek refuge to Africa. Liberia was at the center of this migration and reconnection.

Edward Wilmot Blyden

Henry McNeal Turner

Edward Wilmot Blyden (1832-1912), Henry McNeal Turner (1834-1915) and Martin R Delany (1812-1883) were three prominent 19th century Black leaders at the forefront to reconnect the Diaspora to Africa by way of Liberia during and after the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States. Blyden was the foremost intellectual thinker and activist to advocate Diasporan Blacks to repatriate to Liberia. Blyden, the originator of the concept called “The African Personality”, was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands but migrated to Liberia in 1850. Turner, who made numerous trips to Africa, was born in Newberry, South Carolina and became the 12th bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E) in 1880. Delany was born in West Virginia and served in the Civil War, and was commissioned as a medical doctor with the rank of major.

Martin R Delany

The early repatriates to Liberia also emigrated from the West Indies islands of Barbados, the Virgin Islands and Jamaica. From the United States they came from the states of Virginia, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and Ohio.

We find cities in Liberia named after the states and towns where the early repatriates came and settled. Greenville, (Greenville-SC) and Maryland County (Maryland) are some of the names similar to names of US cities and states. Then there are cities named after families that emigrated from the Caribbean such as Barclayville, (president Barclay-born-Barbados-West Indies), Bensonville-(president Benson-born in Maryland-U.S.).

Joseph Jenkins Roberts

William R Tolbert Jr

All elected presidents of Liberia from 1848 until 1980 were born in the Diaspora or were the children of those born in the Diaspora. The first ten (10) presidents of Liberia were born in the Diaspora. Liberia’s first president, Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1848-1856), was born in Virginia. The grandfather of William Richard Tolbert Jr., the 20th president of Liberia (1975-1980), was born in Charleston, South Carolina.

Bridging the gap between Liberia and the Diaspora is a continued legacy established in the 19th Century by men and women who built the bridges for our Pan African connections. Many of those who left the United States for Liberia during the 19th Century embarked on ships docked at the Charleston Harbor located in South Carolina. Join us as we continue the journey of our pioneering ancestors who reconnected us over 200 years ago.

Our organization, The Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC), is presently working with our partner organization in Liberia (SEHWAH) to construct a public library in the capital city of Monrovia, Liberia. Books for nation building are welcome. Contact us at panafricanlibrary@gmail.com or our website: https://srdcinternational.org.

 

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