Category Archives: Ourstory

THE ANCESTORS’ CALL: Alton H. Maddox, Jr., “Attorney-At-War”

I was in attendance at the fifth State of the Black World Conference in Baltimore, Maryland when we learned of the passing to the Ancestors of the “Attorney At War”, Alton H. Maddox, Jr. (July 21, 1945 – April 23, 2023).

He was involved in several high-profile civil rights cases in the 1980’s. He was most often noted for his defense of Tawana Brawley during her rape allegations against New York police, but he also represented victims of police brutality and right-wing terrorism such as Michael Stewart, Michael Griffith, Cedric Sandiford and Yusuf Hawkins, and Michael Briscoe, who was wrongly accused in the Central Park Jogger case. He also represented activist and future media personality the Rev. Al Sharpton.

We have assembled a few articles that go into more detail on the life and significance of the “Attorney At War” and we’ve linked them below.

Alton H. Maddox, Jr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_H._Maddox_Jr.

Celebrating The Life Of Noted Civil Rights Attorney Alton H. Maddox, Jr.
by AJ Woodson, April 25, 2023
https://blackwestchester.com/celebrating-the-life-of-civil-rights-attorney-alton-h-maddox-jr/

Alton Maddox, Jr., the ‘People’s Lawyer’ and Attorney-at-War, dead at 77
New York Amsterdam News, “The Black View”
by AmNews Staff Reports, April 26, 2023
https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2023/04/26/alton-maddox-jr-the-peoples-lawyer-and-attorney-at-war-dead-at-77/

THE ANCESTORS’ CALL: Harry Belafonte, The Epitome of Culture As Activism

The silky, melodic voice had given way to a gravelly baritone and the smooth danced steps had yielded to a walking cane many years ago, but Harry Belafonte was by then firmly established as not only an iconic musician, singer and performer, not only as a courageous champion of human rights, political prisoners and the Black Liberation Struggle, but also as a soothing voice of wisdom and reason in troubled times, who was unflinching in standing up for the downtrodden masses all over the world. Any tribute that we could offer will not do him justice, so here we will feature a brief excerpt from a biography of this great man and links to several articles and tributes that describe his global impact better than we ever could.

Harry Belafonte
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Belafonte

Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor and activist, who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s. Belafonte is one of the few performers to have received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT), although he won the Oscar in a non-competitive category. He earned his career breakthrough with the album Calypso (1956), which was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.

Belafonte was best known for his recordings of “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”, “Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)”, “Jamaica Farewell”, and “Mary’s Boy Child”. He recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He also starred in films such as Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Buck and the Preacher (1972), and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). He made his final screen appearance in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman (2018).

Belafonte considered the actor, singer, and activist Paul Robeson a mentor, and he was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations. Belafonte acted as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues.

Belafonte won three Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. In 1989, he received the Kennedy Center Honors. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category. …

NBC News
Harry Belafonte put it all on the line for Black people: his career, his heart, his soul
Story by Curtis Bunn • April 26, 2023
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/harry-belafonte-put-it-all-on-the-line-for-black-people-his-career-his-heart-his-soul/ar-AA1aoa6Z

At the height of his illustrious entertainment career that spanned more than 70 years, Harry Belafonte risked it all for the good of Black people. On the stage or in the background, Belafonte supported the Civil Rights Movement in multiple ways, understanding that his involvement would impact his professional endeavors.

He didn’t care.

One of the many elements of Belafonte’s legacy, following his death Tuesday at 96, is that he always seemed to put his people first. …

Vulture.com
Harry Belafonte Dragged Us Into the Future
Story by Craig Jenkins
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/harry-belafonte-dragged-us-into-the-future/ar-AA1aoi1P

Recently, whenever some public figure steps in it, planting foot in mouth via untoward remark or questionable endorsement, a chorus of cynics appears suggesting that our frustration with this is our own fault, as if we’re trolling for trouble having standards for celebrities beyond their core fields of expertise. “Why should we look to [insert pop star] for nuanced commentary?” “Why do you want [insert comic or actor or athlete] to inform and not just entertain?” It’s easy. It happens! Dick Gregory existed. Nina Simone existed. Harry Belafonte existed. …

HuffPost
The Glaring Hole In Joe Biden’s Praise Of Harry Belafonte’s Life Of Activism
Story by Jennifer Bendery
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-glaring-hole-in-joe-bidens-praise-of-harry-belafontes-life-of-activism/ar-AA1anZzw

Africa 500, Wednesday, April 26, 2023: An Ancestor Speaks, A Tribute to New Ancestor Randall Robinson; Rest in Power (July 6, 1941-March 26, 2023)

The Wednesday, April 26 edition of Africa 500 features a tribute to New Ancestor Randall Robinson. Show hosts Sis. Tomiko and Bro. Ty welcome Special Guests Mama Efia Nwangaza, Baba Francois N’Dengwe and Honorable Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Dr. Terrance M. Drew.

Randall Robinson
Human Rights Activist, Lawyer, Author. Founder: TransAfrica

Human rights advocate, author, and law professor Randall Robinson was born on July 6, 1941 in Richmond, Virginia to Maxie Cleveland Robinson and Doris Robinson. He graduated from Armstrong High School in Richmond, Virginia in 1959; attended Norfolk State College in Norfolk, Virginia; and during his junior year, entered the U.S. Army. Robinson earned his B.A. in sociology from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia in 1967, prior to receiving his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1970.

In his final year of law school, Robinson co-founded the Southern Africa Relief Fund, and after graduation, worked as a Ford Foundation fellow in Tanzania, East Africa. Upon his return to the United States, he worked as a civil rights attorney at the Boston Legal Assistance Project until 1975, when he served as speech writer in the office of Missouri Congressman Bill Clay. He worked as a staff attorney for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in 1976, prior to serving as administrative assistant, i.e. chief of staff, in the office of Michigan Congressman Charles Diggs.

In 1977, Robinson founded TransAfrica Forum to promote enlightened U.S. policies toward Africa and the Caribbean. He served as the organization’s president until 2001, when he and his wife, Hazel, moved to St. Kitts. In 2008, Robinson was named a Distinguished Scholar in Residence by The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, where he taught human rights law until 2016.

Robinson was a best-selling author, with his works including Defending the Spirit: A Black Life in America; The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks; The Reckoning – What Blacks Owe to Each Other; Quitting America: The Departure of a Black Man from His Native Land; An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, from Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President; and two novels: The Emancipation of Wakefield Clay and MAKEDA.

Randall Robinson passed on to the Honored Ancestors on March 24, 2023 at the age of 81.

This is where Randall Robinson spent his final days upon leaving America. His book ‘Quitting America …’ is based on his self-exile…
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/28/us/randall-robinson-dead.html

Guests

Efia Nwangaza
Human Rights Activist, Attorney, Founder; Malcolm X Center for Self Determination

Mama Efia Nwangaza is a New Afrikan colonized in the USA. She is Founder/Director of the Malcolm X Center for Self Determination, WMXP Community Radio, member of the Black Belt Human Rights Coalition Criminal Punishment System Sub-Committee, Black Alliance for Peace, and a veteran of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

The SNCC Atlanta Project laid the foundation for today’s Black Lives Matter Movement in its 1966 call for “Black Power” and declaration that “Black is Beautiful”. As a member of the USA Durban 400 Delegation, she attended the 2001 Durban World Conference Against Racism, a global gathering. From Durban, the world — governments and civil society — reached a consensus and issued the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA). The world declared colonialism, slavery, apartheid, and genocide crimes against humanity, without statute of limitations and a basis for reparations due.

She has testified on the results of “Putting Imprisoned COINTELPRO/Civil Rights Era USA Political Prisoners/Prisoners of War/Exiles on the Global Human Rights Agenda: 2010-2016” Campaign. It was a campaign she conceived and conducted at the United Nations over a period of 6 years, with official Shadow Reports and in-person advocacy at the White House, USA agencies, and UN Committees. Her reports have continued relevance and are frequently referenced.

Mama Efia’s testimony, as expert and legal observer, at the 2021 Spirit of Mandela Tribunal allowed the prosecutor, Nkechi Taifa, and a panel of jurists to establish a baseline regarding Political Prisoners/Prisoners of War/Exiles resulting from her Shadow Reports. The UN Human Rights Council Treaty Review Committee made demands pursuant to the Campaign and the USA’s continued failure to come into treaty compliance and respect movements of independence and self determination.

She more recently testified at the 1st Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent that was held from December 5-9 in Geneva, Switzerland. There she called on the Forum to respect the Durban Declaration and Program of Action and received a standing ovation. The Forum is scheduled to meet again in New York, May 29 – June 2. All are urged to attend to support and advance the self- determinative DDPA.

Francois N’Dengwe
Founder; African Advisory Board
Publisher; Hommes and Femmes d’Afrique Magazines

Baba Francois Ndengwe’s education is multidisciplinary including mathematics, mechanics, economics, and political science. He is a researcher and magazine publisher.

Francois Ndengwe is the producer and host of “Fresh News From Africa”. His show has been featured in previous editions of Africa 500.

He is editor of Hommes d’Afrique Magazine and Femmes d’Afrique Magazine. He is also Founder and President of African Advisory Board.

Honorable Dr. Terrance M. Drew
Prime Minister, St. Kitts and Nevis

Honorable Dr. Terrance M. Drew is the 4th Prime Minister of the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis following General Elections on August 5th, 2022, in which he led the St. Kitts – Nevis Labour Party to secure an outright majority in Parliament, winning 6 of the 11 seats in the National Assembly.

Prime Minister Drew also currently holds the portfolios of Minister of Finance, National Security, Immigration, Health, and Social Security.

Dr. Drew is serving his first term as the elected Member of Parliament for the constituency of St. Christopher 8.

Prime Minister Drew serves as the Lead Head of Government within CARICOM bearing responsibility for Health.

A medical doctor, Prime Minister Drew has provided health care as a General Practitioner at the Joseph Nathaniel France General Hospital as well as via private practice in St. Kitts, following his studies at Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas in Santa Clara, in Cuba (from 1998), and has specialized in Internal Medicine in St. Kitts, following his studies at the Paul Foster School of Medicine in Texas (2010-2013)

Prime Minister Drew is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).

Prime Minister grew up in the community of Upper Monkey Hill located in the parish of St. Peter and is the son of Ras Gerzel Pet Mills and Michael ‘Mic Stokes’ Heyliger.

Prime Minister Drew founded the C.A.R.E. Foundation in February 2021, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to provide assistance to citizens nationally, across both islands of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Africa 500 broadcasts every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on HandRadio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to on an update of this post as well as on the Audio-Visual Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).
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AFRICA500
Wednesdays @3pm EST.
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Listen to the April 26 show here:

Africa 500, Wednesday, April 5, 2023: Impact of Mass Incarceration on Women; Changing Herstory

The Wednesday, April 5, 2023 edition of AFRICA 500 finishes off their Pan African Herstory Month series on Women Warriors with the topic: Impact of Mass Incarceration on Women; Changing Herstory. Show hosts Sis. Tomiko and Bro. Ty welcome their Special Guests: Maryam Henderson-Uloho, Founder of SisterHearts Louisiana; and Dr. Renata A. Hedrington-Jones aka Queen Afia Nzinga, National Vice President of the National Association of Black Social Workers.

Maryam Henderson-Uloho
SisterHearts
Louisiana
https://vimeo.com/246308092 – SisterHearts Short Documentary
https://squareup.com/us/en/dreams/sister-hearts
https://maryamuloho.com/

Maryam Henderson-Uloho spent thirteen years in prison in Louisiana, seven in solitary confinement. After her release she struggled to find housing or employment. She began selling secondhand goods out of a suitcase on a street corner in New Orleans. In just three years, she grew her business to a brick-and-mortar thrift store—one that also provides housing and employment for other formerly-incarcerated women. She calls those women—and her store—Sister Hearts.

“When I got out of prison, they wouldn’t allow me to open a bank account. I could not rent an apartment. I could not get a job. So I started just selling stuff out of a suitcase on the street corner. The first day I made $40. And I just kept doing that. Three years later, I have a 15,000 square foot thrift store and transition housing facility for other female ex-offenders.”

Dr. Renata A. Hedrington-Jones aka Queen Afia Nzinga
National Vice President; National Association of Black Social Workers
https://www.nabsw.org/

Dr. Renata Hedrington Jones received her doctorate from Walden University and her MSW in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Jones completed her doctoral studies in human services administration. Dr. Hedrington Jones taught at Virginia State University and Virginia Commonwealth University in the schools/department of social work. Her dissertation entitled “Human Services Professionals’ Practice with Families After Parental Incarceration” supports the need for therapeutic services for this population. Dr. Hedrington Jones has over 40 years of experience in the field of social work. She adamantly refuses to accept mediocrity as a solution to the social ills of this society. She believes in family preservation and her ultimate goal is to reconvene the village. She refuses to give up because she believes that African American people and all people deserve the best lives possible. In her own words “All Lives Matter.” She also taught at Longwood University.

Africa 500 broadcasts every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on Hand Radio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to on an update of this post as well as on the Audio-Visual Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

Listen to the April 5, 2023 show here:

AFRICA 500
Wednesdays @3pm EST.
https://handradio.org/
https://kuumbareport.com/
https://webuyblack.com
https://kweli.tv

Stop the Violence Movement, 1988-Present, The Self-Destruction of Black/African Youth: Africa 500 Continues the Discussion with Queen Mother Victory Swift and Mama Zakiyyah Ali, Wednesday, March 29, 2023

The Wednesday, March 29 edition of Africa 500 continues the conversation that was started the previous week as Sis. Tomiko and Bro. Ty once again welcome Queen Mother Victory Swift (Our Victorious City-Baltimore, MD) and Mama Zakiyyah Ali (Philadelphia, PA). The topic is part of Africa 500’S Roundtable Series, The Stop the Violence Movement, 1988-Present, The Self-Destruction of Black/African Youth.

Africa 500 is broadcast every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on Hand Radio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to on an update of this post as well as on the Audio-Visual Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

To listen after the March 29 broadcast, click below:

Africa 500, Wednesday, March 22, 2023: Women Warriors on the Battlefield, featuring Queen Mother Victory Swift

The Wednesday, March 22, 2023 edition of Africa 500 continues its celebration of Pan African Herstory Month as it discusses “Women Warriors on the Battlefield”. Sis. Tomiko and Bro. Ty welcome Special Guest Queen Mother Victory Swift, founder of Our Victorious City (OVC) in Baltimore, Maryland.

Mama Victory, as many on the Baltimore Pan-Afrikan community know her, is a longtime Pan-Afrikan community activist who has contributed numerous programs and practical strategies to help bring together, uplift and sponsor activists and members of the grassroots community in the Baltimore area. Her work has assisted and energized numerous organizations, including the Organization of All Afrikan Unity Black Panther Cadre (OAAU-BPC), Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) and Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC), among many others.

For many years, Mama Victory sponsored the Afrikan Heritage Walk-A-Thon from the east end (Great Blacks In Wax Museum) to the west end (Coppin State University) of of North Avenue in Baltimore to raise funds to benefit education efforts for Afrikan-descendant youth.

Our Victorious City (OVC) is named for her son, Victorious Khan Swift, a brilliant, charismatic and extremely popular young community activist, artist and boxer who was taken from his loving family and the Pan-Afrikan community by an act of senseless violence in 2017. A portion of a street near downtown Baltimore City has been named in his honor.

Africa 500 is broadcast every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on HAND Radio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to on an update of this post as well as on the Audio-Visual Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

Listen to the March 22 show here:

Africa 500, Wednesday, March 15, 2023: Pan-Afrikan Activist Ancestor Winnie Mandela Speaks

The Wednesday, March 15 edition of Africa 500 brings us the words of Pan-Afrikan activist and onetime First Lady of South Africa, Ancestor Winnie Mandela. She was the wife of Nelson Mandela during his time as a leader of the African National Congress, during his 27-year incarceration at Robben Island under the Apartheid regime of South Africa, and as he served as President of South Africa after his release from prison.

She carved her own niche in the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa, wielding power and influence that made her a formidable force against the Apartheid regime as well as a feared opponent of South African collaborators and rivals in the revolutionary movement.

Show hosts Sis. Tomiko and Bro. Ty are bringing us strong Black Women’s voices as they observe and celebrate Pan Afrikan Herstory Month.

Africa 500 is broadcast every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on Hand Radio (https://handradio.org). After the show, it can be listened to on this post and on the Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

Listen to the March 15, 2023 show here:

An Ancestor Speaks: Educator Dr. Barbara Sizemore (1927 – 2004), on Africa 500, Wednesday, March 8, 2023

The Wednesday, March 8 edition of Africa 500 features a lecture from one of our prominent Afrikan American educators from the Ancestral Realm, Dr. Barbara Sizemore (1927 – 2004).

The Web page Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Sizemore) had this to say in their article about Ancestor Barbara Sizemore:

In 1973, she became the first African American woman to head the public school system in a major city, when she was elected superintendent of District of Columbia Public Schools. …

Sizemore began her career in Chicago public schools, teaching English and reading in elementary and high schools from 1950 to 1963, and serving as principal of elementary and high schools from 1963 to 1967. In 1969 she was named district superintendent of the Woodlawn Experimental Schools. She was also a member of the adjunct faculty at Northeastern Illinois University from 1965 to 1971. Sizemore taught at the University of Pittsburgh from 1975 to 1992. It was there that she began her research on low-income African American students and standardized tests, which she continued as dean of the School of Education at DePaul University in 1992. Sizemore’s first book, a version of her doctoral thesis titled The Ruptured Diamond: The Politics of the Decentralization of the District of Columbia Public Schools, was published in 1981. Her second book, Walking in Circles: The Black Struggle for School Reform was published posthumously in 2008.

From a bio provided by Africa 500:

Pioneering educator and school administrator Barbara Sizemore was born in Chicago, Illinois to Sylvester and Delila Lafoon. Her father died in a car accident when she was eight years old. Her mother remarried and the family moved to Evanston. Growing up in the 1930’s in the Midwest, Sizemore experienced Jim Crow whose laws were adopted and enforced. Although her elementary and middle schools were segregated, she had highly educated African-American teachers and received an excellent education.

In 1944, Sizemore enrolled in Northwestern University and graduated with a degree in classical languages in 1947. She dreamed of being a translator for the United Nations but because there were few professional opportunities for black women at that time, she began teaching in Chicago public schools that led her to her life’s calling.

In 1954, Sizemore earned an M.A. in elementary education from Northwestern. She left teaching in 1963 to become the first black female to be appointed principal of a Chicago school. In 1965, she became principal of Forrestville High School and initiated efforts to turn the school from a haven for gangs into an innovative educational experiment. By 1969, she was named director and district superintendent for the Woodlawn Experimental Schools Project and instructor at Northwestern’s Center for Inner City Studies, an innovative multi-disciplinary, multi-ethnic graduate school program in Chicago’s South Side.

In 1973, Sizemore was elected as superintendent of the District of Columbia Public School System. This was the first time an African-American woman had been chosen to head a public school system in a major U.S. city. During her tenure, Sizemore tackled highly controversial and polarizing issues such as the abolishment of standardized testing whose “Anglo-Saxon bias” she believed put African American students at a disadvantage. Sizemore’s educational views challenged the more traditional views of the school system and she was fired in 1975. Her book, The Ruptured Diamond (1981), chronicles her experiences in Washington.

After leaving Washington, Sizemore taught at the University of Pittsburgh where she conducted research on schools that served low-income African-American children. In 1992, she assumed a professorship at DePaul University in Chicago. As dean of the School of Education, she created her School Achievement Structure (SAS) program. SAS was designed to enable black students to compete successfully on any standardized exam. This was a radical departure from her earlier belief in abandoning the tests. Sizemore now argued that integrating SAS into a school’s curriculum would help low-achieving schools in Chicago become high performers. The program is used in many school districts around the country.

Sizemore served as Professor Emerita at DePaul University. She earned a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Chicago as well as four honorary doctorate degrees. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Urban League, NAACP and Phi Delta Kappa. In the last years of her life, she advised the Chicago public school system and continued to write and speak on educational issues.

Ms. Sizemore died from cancer in June of 2004. She was the mother of six children and had seven grandchildren.
https://www.visionaryproject.org/sizemorebarbara/

Africa 500 is broadcast every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to by clicking below or by visiting the Audio-Visual Media pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) or the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

Listen to the Wednesday, March 8, 2023 show here:

A Presentation by Former AU Ambassador Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao on Africa 500, Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Africa 500 opens up what many call Women’s History Month, but which they are referring to as Pan African Herstory Month, with a presentation that was made by former African Union Ambassador Her Excellency Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao.

Ambassador Quao served as African Union Ambassador to the United States from 2016 through 2019, and made a name for herself with her frequent appearances at events held at the African Union Mission in Washington, DC, panel discussions and other events at colleges, universities and embassies across the United States, online consultations with the African Union, and videos that she produced in which she spoke out about the history of the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the continuing impact of European colonialism and neocolonialism. Some feel that her dismissal as African Union Ambassador in late 2019 was partly motivated by uneasiness about her criticisms of neocolonialism.

Ambassador Quao is currently the Director of the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI), largely based in Harare, Zimbabwe. She is organizing what is being billed as “PAC-8 Part 1”, a planned Pan Afrikan Conference to mark the 30pyear anniversary of the 7th Pan African Congress of 1994. Part 1 will be held in April, May or June of this year in Zimbabwe, while Part 2 is scheduled for the spring or summer of 2024 in Uganda.

From a bio on Ambassador Quao:

Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of ADDI, Her Excellency Arikana Chihombori Quao MD is a medical doctor (having practised medicine for over 25 years), founder and owner of medical clinics, diplomat, public speaker, educator, and entrepreneur. Her recently published book Africa 101: The Wake-Up Call is a best seller on Amazon.

In her role as Permanent Representative to the African Union Mission in Washington DC (2016-2019), Her Excellency Arikana Chihombori Quao MD worked tirelessly towards fulfilling her mandate which was to undertake, develop, and maintain relationships between the African Union and the Executive and Legislative branches of the US Government, the African Diplomatic Corps, the Africans in the Diaspora and the Bretton Woods Institutions. This was specifically in relation to the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and advancing the priority areas of Agenda 2063. Her efforts to mobilize the Diaspora as people of African descent and not as citizens of any single African country is unprecedented and exemplifies her ability to unify people around a common goal, speaking with one voice as one Africa and one Continent.

Before her appointment as AU Ambassador, H. E. Arikana Chihombori Quao MD’s contributions to the cause of Africa earned her many prestigious honors and awards, including two that she cherishes the most: The Achievement Award, which she received in 1996 from the incumbent President at the time, H.E. the late President Nelson Mandela of the Republic of South Africa in the presence of both President Mandela and President Mugabe of the Republic of Zimbabwe; and the African Woman of Excellence Award, which she received in July 2015 during the AU Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, alongside 15 other prominent African Women including the former President of The Republic of Liberia, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the former President of The Republic of Malawi, Madam Joyce Banda, Mama Winnie Mandela (Republic of South Africa), Mama Ngina Kenyatta (Republic of Kenya), Mama Asigwe Anyiam (Federal Republic of Nigeria), and Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (Republic of South Africa).

During her three-year tenure as AU Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Ambassador Arikana Chihombori Quao MD received more than 100 awards and attestations from many organizations, including from the African Diaspora within the Americas. She received the 2018 Ambassador of the Year Award from Howard University in Washington D.C., as well as numerous recognitions from Members of Congress, Governors, Mayors, and County Executives from across the United States, the Caribbean, and South America.

Born and raised in Zimbabwe where she attained her primary and secondary education, Her Excellency Arikana Chihombori Quao MD left Zimbabwe to study in the United States, where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in General Chemistry, a Master’s Degree in Organic Chemistry, and a Doctor of Medicine Degree. She is married to a Ghanaian husband and is a proud mother of five children and a very happy grandmother of five grandchildren.

The presentation of these recorded remarks by Ambassador Quao will kick off Africa 500’s observance of Pan African Herstory Month.

Listen to the March 1, 2023 show here:

Africa 500 is broadcast every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to on the Web sites of HANDRadio, KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

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AFRICA500
Wednesdays @3pm EST.
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https://blackhistoryfestivals.com/

The Return: African American Families and Mother Africa, on Africa 500, Wednesday, February 22, 2023

The February 22, 2023 edition of Africa 500 discusses The Return: African American Families and Mother Africa. Show hosts Sis. Tomiko and Bro. Ty welcome special guests Imhotep Simba and Ras Tre Subira.

Imhotep Simba

Imhotep Simba is a proud father, Baltimorean, and HBCU Alumnus, graduating from Coppin State University in the spring of 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies. After graduating, Imhotep led the CBM CARES® National Mentoring Initiative for Concerned Black Men National in southwest Baltimore from 2015-2017 and eventually served as an Urban Youth Development Volunteer in Ecuador with the Peace Corps from 2017-2019.

Imhotep is fluent in Español (Spanish) también (also).

After returning from Peace Corps Service, he worked at DAI, an implementing partner to the United States Agency for International Development, supporting projects in Zambia and Uganda focused on agriculture and economic growth. Imhotep currently works as a Program Officer at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, leading the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group’s Youth Engagement portfolio.

Imhotep and his son Leevi recently returned from a trip to Conakry, Guinea, in November 2022 in hopes of learning more about one of their first ancestors brought to the US, enslaved. That ancestor being sister Sarah (Sal) Minty Barrikee. The assumption is Barrikee is the closest piece of her identity she retained from back home, so we’ll call her Barrikee.

Imhotep O. Simba
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
Ecuador 2017-2019
Cell Phone: +1 (410) 240-5268
Email: ImhotepSimba@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/imhotep-simba-9b709194?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Ras Tre Subira

Ras Tre Subira is an award-winning documentary filmmaker with over 7 years of teaching and producing social justice films in several international locations. Ras Tre is the Co-Founder of African Youth Alchemy (AYA Inc.), a community-based nonprofit organization that develops youth as cultural ambassadors who utilize expeditionary learning, media and arts to educate themselves and their community. Mr. Subira facilitates I AM (Independent Afrikan Minds), a youth leadership program that cultivates youth leadership through community service projects, including an “educultural” study-tour to Ghana, West Africa. In 2009, Ras Tre established the Griot’s Eye program which equips youth with the technical and creative skills to produce dynamic film and photography projects that address issues of immediate relevance in the lives of Baltimore city youth.

An important theme in Ras Tre’s films is the exploration of identity issues among youth of the African Diaspora with a strong emphasis on the intersection between traditional culture and urban arts. He is particularly interested in giving voice to marginalized communities through participative media projects that empower residents to tell their own stories. His work reflects a strong commitment to social justice, youth development, and international development.

With a B.A. in African Diasporan Studies, M.A. in International Development, and MFA in Documentary Film, he has a wealth of experience in using media technology to support community development projects. This includes promoting trade and investment in Liberia with the Ministry of Commerce and producing teacher-training videos in Ethiopia with the Ministry of Education. As an award-winning filmmaker and educator, his documentary films have been featured internationally and domestically on CNN, PBS and local cable channels.

For several years he has traveled back and forth to Ghana, two of those years his children lived with him in Ghana. To the right and below are some photos during their stay showcasing daily life with the Ghanaian peoples. You can contact him through Black Mission Media https://www.facebook.com/blackmissionmedia/

Africa 500 is broadcast every Wednesday at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, United States) on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org). After the broadcast, the show can be listened to on this post as well as on the Audio-Visual Media Pages of KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com), KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).