Every year for at least the last decade or more, Mr. Mel Foote, founder and CEO of the Constituency For Africa (CFA) has held the Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series in Washington, DC. The Series features several panel discussions and presentations including a combination of Afrikan dignitaries, Afrikan and US political figures, scholars, community activists, and members of the general public.
I’ve seen Mr. Foote at many of the Africa Policy Forum 
events that have been held over the years by Congress Member Karen Bass (D-California), who is also the current leader of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). Mr. Foote has been engaged in lobbying US government officials and international businesses to take a more Afrika-friendly approach to their activities for several decades, choosing to do much of his work “on the inside” to influence policy and practice. Mr. Foote has always approached discussions with Pan-Afrikan activists and fellow concerned Afrikan Diasporans in a positive and cordial manner, and he has often been receptive to a variety of viewpoints regarding the liberation and uplift of Afrikan people. Though he has interacted with more political and corporate types than many activists would care to, he has been a committed, hard-working advocate for Afrikan people for the decades I have known of him and his work.
A Virtual Series for 2020
Unlike the usual setting for this Series, when panel discussions and presentations were held in hotel ballrooms or Congressional auditoriums where activists, businesspeople and government officials have often rubbed shoulders, this year the CoVID-19 Pandemic has forced them, like many of us, to go “virtual“. The 2020 Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series will be held on September 12-19 on a virtual platform, centered on a variety of locations.
The general public is invited, of course, to attend. Different Pan-Afrikan organizations might want to make a plan to contact Mr. Foote as well to participate and share their perspectives on certain of the issues explored by the panels. This, of course, is up to the leadership of these organizations to determine your interest in, or extent of, participation.
To contact the Constituency For Africa, write to them at:
2001 L Street NW, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
or phone them at (202) 255-8893,
or email them at info@cfa-network.org.
Constituency For Africa’s Web site is http://www.cfa-network.org/.
Below is the Draft Program for the Series, with descriptions of the various panel discussions:
2020 Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series
September 12 – 19, 2020
“Advocating for Africa in the Mist of the Pandemic”
Saturday, September 12, 3 pm to 5 pm (Virtual):
As part of the second annual “Day of Resilience” in Cambridge, Maryland, CFA will partner with local partners to organize the “Harriet Tubman Town Meeting on Africa”. The Day of Resilience will feature the unveiling of a new sculpture of the great abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who of course, was from Cambridge. The Ambassador of Rwanda has been invited to keynote the Harriet Tubman Town Meeting, and Dr. Julius Garvey, the Foreign Minister of Togo, the Honorable Robert Dussey, Izmira Aitch, Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), are amongst the speakers.
In addition, from 2 pm to 2:45 pm, CFA will organize a meeting for the young leaders in Cambridge, the “Youth Ambassadors”, to follow-up on a similar meeting last year, and the visit to Washington in February by a 30 person youth delegation, that were taken to the embassies of Mali, Ghana and Rwanda for briefings.
Tuesday, September 15, 10 am to noon (Virtual):
CFA in partnership with the African Diaspora in Canada, will organize the “U.S. – Canada African Diaspora Partnership Forum”, to discuss issues of cooperation, partnership and unity! The theme for this forum is, “Canada-US Diaspora: Building an Operational Strategy for Unity”. This meeting will be a follow-up to an initial forum that was held on July 14th, with Dr. Julius Garvey as the keynote speaker, with special remarks from the Foreign Minister of Togo, the Honorable Robert Dussey.
The keynote speaker for this September 15th forum will be the Honorable Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, based in Addis Abeba. Ms. Songwe will be introduced by the Hon. Rosa Whitaker, the President of the Whitaker Group, based in Accra, Ghana and Washington. The forum will also feature the acclaimed scholar, Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, Professor and Chair, of the Department of Africology at Temple University in Philadelphia, and the Co-Founder of the Afrocentricity International.
Tuesday, September 15, 6 pm to 8 pm (Virtual)
“The Role of African-Americans in the Post Pandemic Peace Corps”:
As was the case with all other U.S. government agencies, the Peace Corps was brought to a screeching halt in March 2020, as a result of the rapidly spreading Coronavirus pandemic! Over 7,000 US Peace Corps Volunteers from around the world, were uprooted from their sites and evacuated back to the United States! This also coincided with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which was seen around the world via news reports and social media, and the subsequent “Black Lives Matter” massive protest that have taken place across the United States and around the world!
The Peace Corps which was founded by President John F. Kennedy sixty years ago, sends young Americans to developing countries to promote good will and to address development challenges. Lots of questions have been raised over the years about the Peace Corps, and its mission and programs. As an outgrowth of the Black Lives Matter protest, questions have also been raised about issues of racism and diversity in the Peace Corps as well as in other U.S. government agencies!
CFA is organizing a panel discussion featuring African-Americans who served in the Peace Corps, to discuss ideas for increasing the recruitment of African-Americans and other minorities into the Peace Corps, and to offer perspectives and recommendations for policy changes, as Peace Corps re-emerges after the COVID-19 pandemic abates.
Congresswoman Karen D. Bass (D-CA), who is the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Chair of the House Sub-committee on Africa and Global Health, has been invited to provide remarks. Also invited to speak is Dr. Darlene Grant, who has been recently hired by the Peace Corps as the Senior Advisor to the President, to assist with strategic planning and to address issues of diversity in the organization.
Wednesday, September 16, 10 am to noon (Virtual):
Trade and Investment: “Beyond the Year of Return: Opportunities for Wealth Expansion for African-Americans and the Diaspora in Africa”
The President of Namibia, H.E. Hage Geingob, has been invited to keynote this important forum, aimed at encouraging African-Americans and others in the Diaspora to invest and to do business in Africa. The panel for this discussion will be comprised of African-Americans who are currently living and doing business in Africa.
Thursday, September 17, 10 am to noon (Virtual):
“Update on the Africa Response to the Challenges of COVID-19 in Africa”
CFA in partnership with Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University, are organizing this panel, which is a follow-up to a major forum that CFA and Harvard organized on July 14th, to introduce the Africa CDC and to discuss how Africa is preparing to respond to COVID-19. The principal speaker for this forum will be Dr. John Nkengasong, the Director of the Africa CDC, who will update on the response in Africa, in view that the continent has now recorded its 1 millionth case!
Thursday, September 17, 7 pm to 9 pm (Virtual):
“CFA African Diaspora Media Caucus”:
CFA will partner with African-American and African-Canadian journalists and media experts, to organize a leadership caucus aimed at increasing partnership and dialogue, in a effort to improve coverage of stories in Africa and in the African world! This meeting is a closed-door session by invitation only.
Friday, September 18, 2 pm – 4 pm (Virtual):
African American Unity Caucus (AAUC) Forum: “African-Americans and Diaspora Recommendations for the Next Administration on Africa and Diaspora Affairs”
CFA will convene a closed-door meeting of leading African-American and Diaspora experts, to propose recommendations for the next administration on issues of Africa and the Diaspora. This meeting will be limited to 40 participants, to allow for maximum dialogue. CFA will share the recommendations coming from this meeting with the next administration following the elections.
Saturday, September 19, 2 pm – 5 pm (Virtual):
“CFA Town Meeting on Africa in Philadelphia”
CFA is partnering with the Mayor’s Commission on Africa and the Caribbean Immigrant Affairs, the African and Caribbean Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, and the African American Museum in Philadelphia, to organize a “Town Meeting on Africa”, focused on issues of trade and investment, the response to COVID-19 in Africa, and African Diaspora organizing matters. The forum will especially focus on positioning today’s youth to assume leadership roles on U.S. – Africa relations. The forum will feature high level guests from Africa and across the United States.