Category Archives: The Ancestors’ Call

The Ancestors’ Call: Dr. Susan Hycenth Efe ALFRED, May 1, 1969 – September 19, 2023

Friday, September 22, 2023
Tribute to A Great Pan-Africanist: Her Excellency Ambassador Dr. Susan H.E. Alfred, President of the Ghana-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce (GCCC), May 1, 1969 – September 19, 2023
Prof. David L. Horne and Dr. Line Hilgros

“Through death, the family is not destroyed, it is transformed, it is just a part of it that goes into the invisible. Death is not an absence, because it remains a discreet presence.”
– Dr. Line Hilgros, SRDC-Guadeloupe

Prof. David L. Horne, founder of the organization SIXTH REGION DIASPORA CAUCUS (SRDC) of the USA, Central America, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana and all our members, learned with amazement and sorrow the passage towards the luminous summits of our dear friend Her Excellency Doctor Susan Hycenth Efe Alfred.

Guadeloupe-Martinique: ONE PEOPLE ONE NATION ONE GOAL

A great Trinidadian and Ghanaian by adoption has just added her name to the African pantheon of Pan-Africanist pioneers.

The SRDC would like to acclaim you for the legacy you have left us, and above all to thank you, because in all humility you have left the mark of your intelligence on the African world and its descendants.

As Ghana’s excellent ambassador for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the African Union, you have helped to forge unfailing links between the two sides of the Atlantic, the world of Mother Africa and that of her deported children.

The SRDC would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to you as a woman of passion, conviction and determination, whose unshakeable will could not be swayed by any pressure, and whose beautiful creative soul, independent of all powers, had a clear vision for the development of our regions. The SRDC also remembers your courtesy, humility and savoir-être, filled with gratitude and love for our Mother Continent, all qualities that have made your aura reach far beyond the borders of your beloved country Trinidad and Tobago.

Your struggles and work to advance the Pan-African cause, and to build a bridge between Ghana, the Caribbean and, by extension, the Diaspora as a whole, made you an exceptional individual.

To be or not to be? said Shakespeare,

You chose to Be, by quietly building lasting relations between Ghana and its uprooted children, thus implementing the directives of the International Decade of People of African Descent, with the creation of the Chamber of Commerce whose objective is to link the Caribbean with Ghana. Together with your family and colleagues, we will strive to ensure that your legacy continues to flourish.

The SRDC would like to thank you once again for refocusing on the real issues at stake in the future of Ghana-Diaspora relations, with courage and determination.

The time has come for us to say goodbye and not farewell to our fabulous and charismatic comrade, following that fateful Tuesday 19 September 2023, when her luminous smile, a source of inspiration, was brutally snatched from our affection.

The SRDC salutes with love, strength, gratitude and sorrow the memory of our sister Her Excellency Dr. Susan H. E. Alfred who has just joined the circle of Great Ancestors.

And as you advance along the path of Light, we ask Mama Africa (Miriam Makeba) to sing the hymn of welcome to the Righteous of this world, of which you are now a part.

Ase! Ase! Ase! Asante sana

Condolences to the Alfred family and to the Honorable Members of the Ghana-Caribbean Chamber of Commerce (GCCC)!

Prof. David L. Horne, PhD
Founder of SRDC
Founder and Executive Director of Pan African Public Policy and Ethical Institute (PAPPEI)

“Black August: The Shakur Nation” on Africa 500, Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The Wednesday, August 9 edition of Africa 500 begins its celebration of Black August by taking a look at the legacy of the Shakur Family in “Black August: The Shakur Nation”. Show hosts Sis. Tomiko and Bro. Ty welcome special guests Mama Efia Nwangaza and Dr. Kokayi Patterson.

Mama Efia Nwangaza

Bio: South Carolina based Human Rights Attorney. Founder and Director of Malcolm X Center for Self Determination – WMXP Community Radio, a Co-founder of National N’COBRA and Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, past co-chair of the National Jericho Movement to Free All Political Prisoners, member of the Black Belt Human Rights Coalition, member of Black Alliance for Peace, veteran of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and a proud daughter of Garveyites.

from the Web site https://www.wmxp955.org/staff-and-friends:

Efia Nwangaza, Founder

Efia Nwangaza is a lifelong civil/human rights activist and freedom fighter who first worked for the liberation of African/Black people as a child in her Garveyite parents’ apostolic faith church, in her birthplace of Norfolk, Virginia.

At age 13 years, she served as secretary of the Norfolk Branch of the NAACP Youth and College Chapter and, later in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania she fought police violence, worked in the successful NAACP led campaign to desegregate Girard College, “a school for poor white, male, orphans” which then sat in the heart of Black North Philadelphia.

Efia and her family helped raise money and collect clothes and food to send South for those evicted and persecuted for attempting and registering to vote.

She joined forces with returning SNCC volunteers to found the Northern Student Movement (NSM) Freedom Library Day School; featured in the Xerox sponsored Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed series.

Anxious to go into the heat of battle, Efia Nwangaza accepted a scholarship and attended Spelman College. She worked at the national SNCC office and took on campus organizing for the successful Julian Bond Special Election Campaign Committee/SNCC-Atlanta Project. The Atlanta Project, SNCC’s first attempt at urban organizing, began raising concerns of a maturing movement and demands of the day, self-determination and SNCC’s position on the US War in Vietnam (which it did before King and SCLC), Palestine, and the role of whites in the community and organization. Atlanta Project position papers became the theoretical underpinnings for SNCC programming, and advancement of the modern “black power” call popularized by Kwame Ture (FKA Stokely Carmichael).

Armed with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Visual Arts from Spelman College, Temple University’s first Master of Arts degree in Women’s History (African-African American), and Golden Gate University School of Law Juris Doctorate, she went to Greenville, South Carolina where she is known as a freedom fighter, legal precedent setter and the recipient of many awards.

Efia Nwangaza is the founder and Executive Director of the Afrikan-American Institute for Policy Studies and Planning and founding member and SC Coordinator for the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement for Self-Determination. She is the founder/coordinator of the WMXP-LP community-based radio, and a board member of Pacifica National Foundation, the nation’s oldest progressive radio network.

Efia is the former co-chair of the Jericho Movement for US Political Prisoners, represented the U.S. Human Rights Network’s Political Prisoner Working Group in observing the U.S. first appearance for UN Universal Periodic Review, in Geneva. She represented the National Conference of Black Lawyers in Aristide era Haiti, lectured at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, NGO Forum, Beijing, China, and helped draft action plan for UN World Conference Against Racism.

She is an Amnesty International USA Human Rights Defender, and past member of the national Board of Directors for National Organization of Women (1990-1994) which launched the Every Woman NOW Campaign for President to force NOW to address internal white supremacy and elitism, African-American Institute for Research and Empowerment (1994-1996), South Carolina ACLU (1994-2000), and she was a 2004 Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in memoriam and education of voting rights/citizenship work and ethics of Fannie Lou Hammer, Mojeska Simpkins, and Septima Clark.

Taken from Invisible Giants: Coming Into View Volume II

Dr. Kokayi Patterson

from the LinkedIn page of Dr. Winston Kokayi Patterson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-winston-kokayi-patterson):

Dr. Winston Kokayi Patterson

Wholistic Health Practitioner, Co-Founder of The African Wholistic Health Association, Exec. Dir. of The Acudetox Specialist Collective

About

Prior to becoming an Acupuncture Detox Specialist in 1979, Kokayi Patterson was a Drug Counselor and Program Manager/Director specializing in Residential Treatment, Community Outreach, and Youth Counseling. For over 35 years, he witnessed acupuncture used since 1970 at a local Drug Center. He lectures in D.C., MD, VA, and nationally. At the Drug Center, he headed both staff & client orientation and training for 20 years.

The Legacy of the Shakur Family

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS: ‘An Amerikan Family’ traces the legacy of Tupac Shakur’s influential family, article by Tonya Mosley, Fresh Air, June 14, 2023:
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1182123264/an-amerikan-family-traces-the-legacy-of-tupac-shakurs-influential-family

Article on the Web site of The New Republic by Keisha N. Blain, August 3, 2023: How the Shakurs Became One of America’s Most Influential Families; In a white supremacist society; the Black family offers a buffer and, at times, a space for resistance:
https://newrepublic.com/article/173319/shakurs-became-one-americas-influential-families

“Now all ancestors …. Looking at the lives of Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Afeni Shakur, and Tupac Shakur will be an entryway into their life’s work of resistance, commitment, and sacrifice and how to collectively reproduce this in families and children of the African collective in America” – Sis. Tomiko

If you weren’t able to hear the show in its usual Wednesday 3 PM slot, Hand Radio will rebroadcast the show on Thursday, August 10 at 3 PM (Eastern Time, United States). Or, listen to the recorded show below:

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 is available in an update of this post and on the Audio-Visual Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

—
AFRICA500
Wednesdays @3pm EST.
https://handradio.org/
https://kuumbareport.com/
https://webuyblack.com
https://kweli.tv

Celebrating Black August

“The seed you plant in love, no matter how small, will grow into a mighty tree of refuge” – Afeni Shakur
“I believe in the sweat of love and in the fire of truth” – Assata Shakur

The Ancestors’ Call: Baba Oscar Brathwaite, SRDC-Toronto, Canada

On Monday, May 8, 2023, we learned of the passing to the Honored Ancestors of our dear Elder and comrade, Baba Oscar Brathwaite of Toronto, Canada. A facilitator in the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) since its founding in 2006, Baba Oscar had been fighting a number of health issues that had limited his activities over the last few years, but we were nonetheless shocked to learn of his passing.

Baba Oscar was known as a consummate educator, dedicated to the restoration and promotion of Afrikan-centered educational institutions, principles and practices. We will share more information on Baba Oscar in the near future.

His family writes on Facebook:

We are very sad to share that our father E. Oscar Brathwaite has passed on. Though we, and so many others, will miss him dearly, we are thankful for his life, love and all of his contributions both here and abroad. We celebrate him through good memories and recognition of his vision and his legacy. He is now with our ancestors and the Creator, and for that we are grateful.

Dr. Barryl Biekman of the African Union African Diaspora Sixth Region Facilitators’ Working Group and Tiye International in The Netherlands, writes in tribute:

May his soul rest in Peace & Power.

For those who do not know. Oscar is well known as one of our pioneers of PASEN on the development of African Centered Education methodology; active family member of the AUADS 6th Region developments; A Canadian authentic Pan Africanist; Human Rights Activist. Leader of the Canadian HR clinic and deeply involved in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) mission on the aspect of Reparatory Justice.

My heart cries Oscar but I’m happy too knowing too that you are now in good everlasting company with the Ancestors on whose shoulders you lived.

I’m thankful that I have learned much from you as my Grand Master Teacher, Elder on how to become a real dedicated passionate Pan Africanist.

I remember the lessons from you and Dr Khazriel about the difference between education and dedication. Like Dr. Tumenta and Professor Horne about the difference between PHD & PH-Do.

A big Applause for you Oscar

You won’t be dead until we’ve forgotten you. (And we shall not forget.)

Sister Barryl Biekman

Africa 500, Wednesday, May 10, 2023: Randall Robinson, An Ancestor Speaks

The Wednesday, May 10, 2023 edition of Africa 500 once again features a speech by recent Ancestor Randall Robinson. The April 26 edition featured a tribute to this Pan-Afrikan giant as show hosts Sis. Tomiko and Bro. Ty welcomed Special Guests Mama Efia Nwangaza, Baba Francois N’Dengwe and Honorable Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Dr. Terrance M. Drew. For that show, click here or visit our Media Page by clicking here.

This show will concentrate on one of Ancestor Robinson’s speeches, dealing with the issue of Reparations and related matters. Randall Robinson, in his own words. Rest In Power.

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 or 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 May 10, 2023 show here:

Africa 500, Wednesday, May 3, 2023: A Tribute to Attorney Alton H. Maddox (1945-2023)

The Wednesday, May 3 edition of Africa 500 pays tribute to the “Attorney At War”, Alton H. Maddox, Jr. (July 21, 1945 – April 23, 2023).

The following comes from the Ancestors’ Call post on Attorney Maddox, available here.

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/

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 updated version of this post as well as the Media Pages of KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com), KUUMBAEvents (https://kuumbaevents.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

Listen to the Wednesday, May 3 program here:

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).

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.

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).
—
AFRICA500
Wednesdays @3pm EST.
https://handradio.org/
https://kuumbareport.com/
https://webuyblack.com
https://kweli.tv

Listen to the April 26 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:

The Ancestors’ Call: Marshall “Eddie” Conway

I first met Baba Marshall “Eddie” Conway in 1998. I had become familiarized with his case as a result in my membership in the Organization of All Afrikan Unity-Black Panther Cadre (OAAU-BPC) under the leadership of Baba Ade Oba Tokunbo from 1994. In that organization, much of the mystery of the Panthers was lifted from my up-to-then confused mind, and the plight of America’s Political Prisoners was gradually revealed to me. OAAU-BPC’s main contribution to the issue of Political Prisoners was their direct involvement in the campaign to win the exoneration and freedom of Marshall “Eddie” Conway, a US Army Veteran (as many Panthers were) and a leader in the Baltimore Chapter of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Baba Eddie, as I had come to call him, had exposed the existence of police agents within the Baltimore organization, and had informed Panther leadership in New York and the Bay Area of the degree if infiltration of the Baltimore organization by the Baltimore City Police Red Squad and probably other intelligence operatives. For this, Baba Eddie was targeted. He was arrested at his job at the Main Post Office in Baltimore in April 1970 and accused of murdering a Baltimore City police officer and seriously injuring another. Despite Baba Eddie’s protestation of innocence and a lack of any physical evidence linking him to the case, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. It was in prison, at the Maryland House of Correction in Jessup, Maryland, not-so-affectionately known as “The Cut”, that I met Baba Eddie. I had talked with him over the phone a couple of times, and I was at “The Cut” specifically to meet him and be introduced to the Writers’ Club, a group of inmates who used prose, poetry and other literary pursuits to help them heal their psyches and, for those who could look forward to release one day, prepare them to better cope with the world outside. I was impressed with the calm that Baba Eddie exuded, and I wrote about my encounter with him in the newsletter I was writing at the time (KUUMBAReport), along with an explanation of his case from Nana Njingha, also a member of the Baltimore Chapter, a testimonial by Baba Paul Coates, another member of that Chapter and now founder of Black Classic Press; commentaries by fellow Political Prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and The MOVE Organization; and a short commentary by Baba Eddie himself. I would begin to sign off on emails, letters and radio shows by wishing everyone “Peace and Power” in large part because of inspiration by Baba Eddie’s example.

KuumbaReport Newsletter Issue 6 June 1998

I would get to see him two more times, I think, before an incident at “The Cut” led to a lockdown and a stop to all visits for a while. Still, the effort to secure his exoneration and release continued. The Marshall Eddie Conway Support Committee had been formed under the guidance of his first wife, Nana Njingha, who continued to tirelessly champion his cause. This was a group of dedicated Pan-Afrikanists and Black Nationalists who were committed to seeing Baba Eddie go free. There was also the Friends of Eddie Conway, an integrated group that included several White “allies” who shared many of the revolutionary beliefs of the Black Panther Party and supported freedom for all Political Prisoners. These groups had a connection with the larger national organization known as Jericho, which advocated for the hundreds of Political Prisoners being held in penitentiaries, prisons and jails in the US, from Mumia Abu-Jamal and MOVE in Philadelphia, to Indigenous First Nations Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier and the American Indian Movement (AIM), to White Political Prisoners such as Thomas Manning and Marilyn Buck, to Panthers imprisoned across the country that included Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Sundiata Acoli, Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald, Veronza Bowers, Hugo “Yogi” Pinnell, Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa and Ed Poindexter, to exiles such as Assata Shakur, and of course to Baba Eddie.

The following report, from the group Justice For Eddie Conway, was reprinted in the January-February 2001 issue of KUUMBAReport:

Justice for Marshall Eddie Conway January February 2001

I’m sure there were those of us who believed that Baba Eddie would never be released from prison. The opponents of Political Prisoners, despite the usual lack of conclusive evidence, the use of suspect jailhouse informants, the withheld exculpatory evidence, the manufactured evidence, the contradicted and often blatantly false testimony, the police and judicial misconduct and the denial of competent legal representation to the defendants, were many, were in places of political power, and were adamant that despite all the indications that the trials were unfair at best, that they had their man (and sometimes their woman), that justice had been served (at least to their satisfaction), and that these “criminals” should never see the light of day. Still, after much legal maneuvering and wrangling, Baba Eddie was finally released from prison on parole on March 4, 2014 after 43 years and 10 months of imprisonment.

His release had been prompted by several previous events. A few years earlier, Jack Johnson, who was also convicted in connection to the police officer’s murder, was released from prison on compassionate parole. Another domino dropped when a Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in the case Unger v. State in May 2012, which bolstered the argument that in Baba Eddie’s trial, the jury instructions had violated his Constitutional rights to due process, as reported in an article on the Web site of Truthout (https://truthout.org/articles/political-prisoner-marshall-eddie-conway-released-from-prison-after-44-years/):

Despite Eddie Conway’s insistence on his innocence, it took years for Conway and his attorneys to find a way to overturn his conviction. Finally, in May 2012, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in the case of Unger v. State that a Maryland jury, to comply with due process as stated in the US Constitution, must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that someone charged with a crime is guilty before that jury can convict the defendant. What made this decision momentous for many people in prison, including Conway, is that it applied retroactively.

Robert Boyle and Phillip G. Dantes, attorneys for Conway, filed a motion on his behalf based on this ruling, arguing that the judge in Conway’s trial had not properly instructed the jury that this “beyond a reasonable doubt” proviso was mandatory for conviction. Based on this motion, they negotiated an agreement whereby Conway would be resentenced to time served and be released from prison. In exchange, Conway and his lawyers agreed not to litigate his case based on the Unger ruling.

Since his release, Baba Eddie lived a relatively quiet life compared to the revolutionary activism of his youth, but he continued to work on behalf of the rights of the people and the truth. He began working at The Real News in Baltimore (https://therealnews.com/), his most prolific work being on regular programs such as “Rattling The Bars”, which he hosted with fellow former Political Prisoner Mansa Musa to “put the voices of the people most harmed by our system of mass incarceration at the center of our reporting on the fight to end it.” In the meantime, he had an opportunity to enjoy those moments life still had for him with his second wife, Dominique, who also worked with him on several programs centered on prisoners and on youth, and with his extended family.

I had one more chance to visit with Baba Eddie at his office at The Real News in Baltimore, where he showed me around the building, which was still expanding, and asked me about my continuing activist work since I had visited him in The Cut. I hope my answers to him about my activities in the intervening years were satisfactory to him.

I would see him in person two more times, at the intersection of North and Pennsylvania Avenues during the 2015 protests against the police murder of Freddie Gray, and later at an event about the community and the police at Ida B’s Table, an eatery and cultural meet spot that was named after legendary civil rights activist Ida B. Wells in The Real News Building that was still under construction when I was there before. I did not have an opportunity to speak at length with Baba Eddie at these events, but he seemed well and at peace with his long, tortuous journey through life as an activist and the personal price he was forced to pay for his commitment.

Over the last few months, I had heard that he was dealing with health issues, problems that he had been confronted by for years from the time of his imprisonment, but the quiet strength and dignity with which he had handled himself, at least outwardly, led me to believe that he would overcome these challenges and come out the other side swinging. It came as a shock to me to hear on Monday, February 13, that Baba Eddie had transitioned to the Honored Ancestors in Long Beach, California. At this point, the real toll of decades of political imprisonment hit home. Baba Eddie was robbed of over four decades of freedom, locked away in the infamous “Cut”, and in the end, this undoubtedly led to health problems that would end his life well before it should have happened.

In the end, our hearts ache that Baba Eddie is no longer with us on the physical plane. We were gratified that he at least had almost nine years to breathe the free air before his transition. Several of our Political Prisoners who were finally released had only a few months to enjoy their freedom, and some sadly died in prison. The community at least had the opportunity to honor Baba Eddie and show our appreciation for his incredible work and sacrifice, allowing him to receive at least some of his flowers while he was still among us. Baba Eddie leaves behind a number of family, friends, followers, associates and admirers, but he also leaves behind a great legacy of commitment, struggle and love of the people. May we all strive to approach the level of commitment Baba Eddie showed for truth, justice and righteousness.

Below are several links to just a few of the articles, videos and podcasts that have been produced to pay tribute to Baba Eddie: