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”.

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.

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

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.