The fifth month of the year has long been regarded as Afrikan Liberation Season in recognition of the establishment of Afrika Liberation Day (ALD) on 25th May 1963 by the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU – since replaced by the African Union). The designation came on the back of the independence movement throughout the Afrikan world, spearheaded by the likes of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie. The specific roots of ALD date back to 15th April 1958 and the Conference of Independent African States. The Conference called for the founding of African Freedom Day, a day to, “mark each year the onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the determination of the People of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation.”
Five years later after the First Conference of Independent African States in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia another historical meeting occurred. On May 25, 1963, leaders of thirty-two independent African States met to form the Organization of African Unity (OAU). By then more than two thirds of the continent had achieved independence from colonial rule. At this historic meeting the date of Africa Freedom Day was changed from April 15th to May 25th and Africa Freedom Day was declared African Liberation Day. African Liberation Day has been held on May 25th in every corner of the world since.
In the UK one of the earliest and most consistent organisers of ALD events has been the Pan-African Congress Movement (PACM), who are this year celebrating 40 years of ALD in the UK, under the theme ‘Afrika in the world today.’ It should provide an opportunity to evaluate the condition of Afrika and Afrikans not only in the last 40 years but also the last 52 since the founding of ALD. To assist in this task PACM have invited a array of national and international speakers including: Dr. Umar Johnson, Queen Mother. Nzingha Assata,. Eld Bini Brown, Prof. Gus John and Bro Robin Walker. The event takes place on May 24 – May 25 2015 at St Georges Community Hub, Great Hampton Row, Birmingham, B19 3JG. For information contact: ald.birmingham2015@gmail.com and tickets can be pre-booked at www.black-gold.biz.
There are no shortage of issues seeking solutions – both at home and abroad – from globalization and the spectre of Africom, Chinese encroachment, food security and threat of GMO crops to deaths in custody/black lives matter. It seems ironic that the Motherland seems more under threat now than at any time in the last 40 or 52 years, with a man of Afrikan heritage at the helm of the world’s main superpower – US President Barack Obama. The irony continues when it is considered that criticism of this decline from many Afrikans is at best insubstantial and at worst non-existent. But even pre-Obama, the African Union had apparently taken liberation off the agenda with its re-designation of ALD toAfrica Day. This is spite of the prior assertions of one of Afrika’s foremost liberation theorists, Amilcar Cabral: “so long as imperialism is in existence, an independent African state must be a liberation movement in power, or it will not be independent.”
So we ask the question:
Where is Afrika/Afrikans in the world today?
- Will you be attending an ALD event this year?
- Is Afrika better off now than 40 years ago?
- Are Afrikans better off now than 40 years ago?
- What are the key issues facing Afrika/Afrikans?
- Has there sufficient analysis of the impact of the Obama presidency on Afrika/Afrikans?
- Does the change from Afrika Liberation Day to Africa Day really matter?
Our special guests are:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and UNIA-ACL Ambassador for the UK. A veteran activist of over 30 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An Africentric Guide To Excellence
Eld. Bini Brown: is a veteran activist of international renown and has over five decades of activism behind him. He is a founder member of the African Caribbean Self-Help Organisation in Birmingham, the Pan-African Congress Movement and the Marcus Garvey Foundation. He is also an Afrikan Centered Priest within the Cres Family
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Hosted by Sis Kai Ouagadou-MbandakaandBro. Omowale Kwaw
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