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We continue to acknowledge the 30th anniversary of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement, founded in January 1987. Alkebu-Lan is a Liberation Movement based upon an authentic Afrikan-centred Spirituo-Cultural philosophy called Alkebu-Lan Livity and the Nationalist Pan-Afrikanist ideology and legacies of The Most Eminent Prophet and King – His Excellency: Marcus Mosiah Garvey and The Eminent Prophet and King: Omowale Malcolm X. (1)
Taking stock of the dynamics within the community at the time, Alkebu-Lan’s founders noted that in addition to the political debates within the community what was also lacking was an adequate emphasis on the need to restore our emaciated spirituality and culture. They asserted that culture has an essential and empowering role in the lives of any people wholly endorsed the axiom: “The only way to defeat an alien culture, is to live your own.” (2)
As such the first programme established was Fellowship. The aim of fellowship was re-institutionalise Afrikan-Spirituality and Afrikan Centred modes of worship and ritual among the Afrika Community UK, as well as to provide a focal point for culturally appropriate community development and Nation Building. This was followed by the Children’s Programme, to raise the profile of our children and their needs, ensuring that our philosophy/faith culture and liberation thrust would be transmitted to them. Alkebu-Lan also studied and implemented traditional customs, rituals and ceremonies e.g. naming, initiation, marriage, passing over, as well as, celebrations such as Kwanzaa, ALD, etc. (3)
The necessary orientation to establish institutions is made clear by historian Baba John Henrik Clarke:
“People rise and fall within the context of the nation institution. When they lose the ability to master and control the nation institution they lose their freedom.” (4)
Institution building is larger than the remit of one organisation and as such Alkebu-Lan has been involved different formations over the years with this end in mind. The Movement was an avid supporter of the Afrikan United United Action Front and attended the Afrikans and Afrikan Descendants World Conference Against Racism, where the Global Afrikan Congress (GAC) was founded, as well as contributing to its founding document, The Bridgetown Protocol. (5) Alkebu-Lan was instrumental in establishing the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament (iNAPP) in the wake of the 30th anniversary celebrations of the New Cross Massacre and the National Black Peoples Day of Action in 2011.
While GAC and iNAPP are still here, many formations within the last 30 years have come and gone. Many of these borne out of funding and regeneration initiatives in response to the uprisings in the 1980s. Many of these have been described as a “passing phenomenon” (6), while others even though they enjoyed a degree of longevity it was often difficult to survive cuts, or loss of funding (7).
Currently, there appears to be a broad awareness, not least due to the plethora of campaigns waged, that the funding route is at best a double-edged sword. However, this acknowledgement has not been met the creation of a viable, lasting community financial infrastructure – although there’s been no shortage of proposals, plans, initiatives and even one or two schemes.
A predictable outcome of the decline in organisations is the decline in active members as most tended not to seek alternative organisations. Moreover, social media is a ready resource for communicating a message to an audience unheard of in the 1980s heyday.
(1) Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement (2016) What Is Alkebu-Lan? https://www.alkebulan.org/originethos/(2) Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement (2014) Origin & Ethos. https://www.alkebulan.org/originethos/(3) Ibid.(4) John Henrik Clarke (1991) Africans at the Crossroads: Notes for an African World Revolution. Africa World Press, p 11.(5) Amani Olubanjo Buntu (ed) (2002) The Bridgetown Protocol. Official Report: Afrikans and Afrikan Descendants World Conference Against Racism. Afrikans and Afrikan Descendants World Conference Against Racism 2002 and the Global Afrikan Congress Secretariat. p. 63. http://www.gacuk.org.uk/documents/BridgetownProtocol.pdf(6) Cindi John (04/05/2006) The legacy of the Brixton riots. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4854556.stm(7) Peter Gruner (10/08/2012) Koyaki funding crisis. After-school tuition club, which helps improve the educational chances of African and Caribbean children, faces closure. http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2012/aug/koyaki-funding-crisis-after-school-tuition-club-which-helps-improve-educational-chance
Tonight,
Celebrating 30 years of ARM pt 2 What does it take to create sustainable institutions and communities?
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How does a community organisation keep going for 30 years?
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Are too many organisations reliant on funding?
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Can the Afrikan community develop without a comprehensive financial infrastructure?
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Has social media bypassed the need for community meetings?
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Is the Afrikan community now too comfortable to agitate for change?
Our very special guest:Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and UNIA-ACL Ambassador for the UK and national co-Chair of the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 30 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations andEducation: An African-Centred Guide To Excellence.
Hear weekly discussions and lively debate on all issues affecting the Afrikan community, at home and abroad. We talk it straight and make it plain!
ASwA Hosted by Sis Kai Ouagadou-Mbandaka and Bro ShakaRa
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Sis Kai is absolutely right. Organisations fail because of our people’s obstinate refusal to build a strong and vibrant organisation. But I don’t think we will join/build an organisation due to the dire situation that we find ourselves. The worse things get the more the majority will separate and try to make it by their own efforts. Trauma makes a people lose faith in each other, lose confidence in the strongest of us. The intensity we cling to our personal individuality is a symptom of our trauma.
What does it take? People. More people equals stronger organisations. Stronger organisations is evidence of mass movement(s). We do not join/build organisations because we have bowed to the threats by our enemy. The consequence of going up against the enemy can mean unemployment, poverty, suffering and even death. Our enemy has convinced us that there are alternative more realistic choices to be made. But in truth we have been cowed, afraid of the wrath of upsetting the enemy. We don’t even think what VICTORY is or will be like. It is as if nothing else truly exists outside of European world-view.
Great show. It outlined the real problems faced by organisations on a personal level and it also came up with the solution being our peoples commitment to build worthwhile structures for our own development. The importance of this show is that it is a call to arms, a rallying call to every member of our people to come together and lend us their time, skills and resources.
Bro Leader forgot to mention (if did I apologise) that ARM provided advocacy for parents of children who were excluded from school.