Category Archives: African Diaspora

The issues that keep African-descendants apart based on geography, religion, complexion, gender and nation of citizenship, and how to overcome these issues to create unity.

SRDC’s Pan African Library Book Donation Project

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on August 7, 2018 as “Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus Liberia Library Book Donation Project”.  This is an update of that article and a continuation of the Library Project.

Among the projects being developed by the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC), a Pan-Afrikan Diaspora organization dedicated to organizing the voice of the grassroots Pan-Afrikan Diaspora at the local level and merging them to take that voice to the World Stage through the African Union, United Nations and independent Afrikan Diaspora organizations, are a number of initiatives working toward the development of concrete institutions and services on the Afrikan Continent.  One of these is the Liberian Library Book Donation Project, being led by the South Carolina SRDC Organization and its State Facilitator, Mr. Joseph “Kumasi” Palmer.

As of this writing, there are no Public Libraries in Liberia, according to Mr. Palmer.  This comes as a surprise to many of us, partly because of our assumptions in the United States that a Library is so routine that we often ignore them, as well as the documented progress that Liberia has made since the removal of Charles Taylor as President in 2003 and the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as Afrika’s first woman head of state in 2006.  Mr. Palmer and several associates from South Carolina have met with Liberian officials to advance work on the development and supply of the first Public Library in Liberia.

Below is the public letter that was released in August 2018 by the South Carolina SRDC Organization concerning the project and the criteria for donating books.  Contact information for the South Carolina SRDC Organization is also included below.  If you have gently used books that you would like to donate, please feel free to contact them to arrange your donation.

July, 2018

Dear Friends and Associates,

The South Carolina branch of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) is embarking on a project to help establish a public library in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. We have endeavored to collect book donations, create a working inventory and database, and ship books to Liberia. The key to the success of this type of project is a good and dedicated ‘on the ground’ partner with a proven track record. We have that in SEHWAH, a local and international Liberian organization. The Director of SEHWAH, the Hon. Ms. Louise W. McMillan-Siaway, was the Assistant Minister for Culture (Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism) under the former Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration. Ms. McMillan-Siaway is working closely with the current Liberian government to obtain a proper space and furnishings for the library.

“In America there is a public library in every community. How many public libraries are there in Africa? Every day there are new books coming out and new ideas being discussed. But these new books and ideas don’t reach Africa and we are being left behind.”
-George Weah, President of the Republic of Liberia, West Africa

This initiative, though absolutely necessary, is not without its challenges. Still, SRDC considers it a major responsibility and is excited to be the pioneering element of this project. Public libraries are essential in the process of providing citizens access to knowledge. It is certain that a well-stocked public library will have a positive impact on Liberian literacy and development. For this reason, we are taking a grassroots approach and are reaching out to you to donate and/or purchase books to donate. Grassroots interest and involvement is a way to ensure that the library is solidly developed, sustainable, accessible and well-used.

SUBJECTS NEEDED

  • History (World History/African History/African American History/Caribbean History/History of Blacks in Europe, etc.);
  • Political Science;
  • English (Grammar/Writing);
  • Music;
  • Arts;
  • Literature/Novels;
  • Geography;
  • Education;
  • Math;
  • Finance;
  • Banking;
  • International Trade;
  • Health;
  • Hygiene;
  • Wellness;
  • Science;
  • Ecology;
  • Medicine;
  • Nursing;
  • Farming;
  • Gardening;
  • Agriculture;
  • Animal Husbandry;
  • Law;
  • Business;
  • Computer Technology;
  • Construction and Building Technology;
  • Electrical;
  • Plumbing;
  • Engineering;
  • Electronics;
  • Photography; and
  • Children/Young Adult books.

We will accept “For Dummies” book titles (e.g., Digital Photography for Dummies).
See link for list of titles: https://www.dummies.com/store/All-Titles.html

GUIDELINES
•We seek gently used books – books that are in good condition.
•Books or novels that have “explicit” sexual content (pornography) will NOT be accepted and/or shipped to Liberia.
•Books that evangelize/proselytize/promote a particular religion will NOT be accepted and/or shipped to Liberia, unless we can determine historical value.
•Please send a listing of all books, along with your name, organization, email address and contact phone number to the email address listed below.
•Pack books carefully and deliver or mail to our warehouse:

Mr. Joseph Palmer
901B Long Point Road
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Phone: 843.452.4880
Email: panafricanlibrary@gmail.com

In the future, we will need to set up a Board in order to oversee the development and supervision of staff and interns for the library; to create a proper atmosphere and establish methods to measure and maintain the progress of the library. Contact us with any questions or concerns. We will keep all of our book donors posted on all developments pertaining to the library (so please send us the list of books you are donating as well as your name and contact information).

Monetary donations in any amount can be made via PayPal at www.yaaba.org. YAABA is our 501c(3) charitable partner organization. Any donated funds will be used to defray costs and materials needed to ship the books to Liberia.

Please remember, A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life, so kindly assist us by becoming a benefactor of this important initiative.

Sincerely,
Joseph Palmer
Facilitator
SRDC – South Carolina
Email: panafricanlibrary@gmail.com
https://srdcinternational.org

The Ancestors’ Call: Mama Maisha Washington, Maryland Council of Elders, Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus

The Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) and the Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) have lost one of the mainstays of the Pan-Afrikan Elders Community in Maryland.  Mama Maisha Washington passed on to the Realm of the Honored Ancestors sometime between October 20 and 21, 2020.

Mama Maisha (center) with Professor David Horne of SRDC (left) and attendees at the November 2018 SRDC Summit in Baltimore.

Mama Maisha was first and foremost a teacher.  She taught regularly in the Baltimore City Schools, imparting her knowledge as well as her love for and commitment to the uplift of Afrikan People to her students, teaching them to be proud of their heritage and of what they would become with a thorough and conscientious education.  Her Pan-Afrikan activism was always imbued with her commitment to showing us all what we could accomplish with a commitment to excellence as well as to truth, justice and righteousness.

Mama Maisha (far right) at a November 2018 SRDC Summit meeting with members of MCOE and the SRDC Secretariat.

Mama Maisha had been a longtime member of the All-Afrikan People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) dating back to the time of Ancestor Kwame Ture, and maintained her ties to that great organization to the end.  More recently, she was an Elected Representative from Maryland in the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) in 2007, and became a member of the Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) when it was established in December 2017.  Mama Maisha was a prominent presence at the 2018 SRDC Summit in Baltimore, Maryland and the 2019 SRDC Summit in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Mama Maisha makes a strong point at the October 2019 SRDC Summit in Charleston, South Carolina.

Over the last year, she was involved in preliminary discussions with engineers, architects and project managers for the building of what will be the first Public Library in Liberia’s history.  Her most recent achievement was her leadership, in cooperation with the Liberian activist organization Sehwah-Liberia, of the 2020 Pan-African Virtual Summer Camp, which was held during the months of July and August of this year and brought over 40 students from Liberia and from the Baltimore, Maryland area together in a series of virtual classes in subjects from Project Management, Environment and Computers to Linguistics, Oral History and Yoga.  The Summer Camp was a tremendous success, and plans were being made to launch a second Summer Camp in 2021 and, possibly, the establishment of a similar year-round virtual learning project.

Memorial Ceremony

The Memorial was held at March Funeral Homes in West Baltimore on Saturday, October 31 and Monday, November 2, and the Interment was at King Memorial Park on Monday, November 2.  Because of the CoVID-19 pandemic, standards of social distancing and the schedule of events were followed closely. 

Seated: Mama Maisha, Baba Yahya Shabazz (MCOE/SRDC), Bro. Ben Enosh, Baba Rafiki Morris (MCOE), Mama Marcia Bowyer-Barron (MCOE/SRDC).  Standing: Mama Satay Israel, Mama Abena Disroe (MCOE), Mama Ujimma Masani (WOMAN), Baba Nati (Everyone’s Place), Baba Kaleb Tshamba (Arch Social Club), and two Fellow Activists at Afrikan Liberation Day 2019. (Photo courtesy Mama Ujimma Masani)

Mama Maisha will be sorely missed and mourned by her immediate family, by her colleagues in the Maryland Council of Elders, by her colleagues in SRDC, in particular the Maryland Organization, by her comrades in the All-Afrikan People’s Revolutionary Party and the All-African Women’s Revolutionary Union, by the many committed activists in the other Pan-Afrikan organizations with whom she worked and interacted, by her co-workers and friends in the Baltimore City Schools, and also by the many students she taught regularly in Maryland and the young people in Liberia who, in the short time they knew her, quickly came to love her for the enthusiasm she inspired in them for learning and the love and care she showed to them all.

Rest In Power, Mama Maisha. We know the Creator and the Ancestors are pleased with your work and have a Place of Honor reserved for you. We only pray we will ourselves live up to your example and earn the right to join you one day in Eternal Paradise.

Mama Maisha (center) in the lobby of the Great Blacks In Wax Museum with attendees at the 2018 SRDC Summit in Baltimore, Maryland.