Afrika Speaks: Are we using the right liberation ideology? ft BAYYINAH BELLO

May 21, 2018 Alkebu-Lan

The Afrika Liberation season 6258 (2018) has been given an extra dimension in the UK with the advent of the ‘Dessalines-Toya-Garvey’ Campaign, spearheaded by the France-based organisation Nation Kamit.  As the title indicates, the campaign takes its cue from some of the most revolutionary examples in our liberation history – Haiti and the Garvey Movement.  The lessons of which, one would assume, should factor into any serious strategy for Afrikan liberation.  The headline speaker for the tour of none other than Haitian Warrior Scholar Mama Bayyinah Bello.  The tour also acknowledges the approaching 215th anniversary of the battle of Vertières, that all but sealed victory in the Haitian Revolution

 

Nation Kamit has as its goal nothing less than the restoration of “Afrika as world’s leading power in all areas” and they advance the concept of “revolutionary Kamitism” as the means by which it will be achieved and is something they distinguish from the “imperialist forces of Christianity and Islam.”

 

According to available data (although the state doesn’t officially compile such information) the proportion of Afriakns in France is higher than in the UK (3–7.5%, 1.8–5 million).  There are also several hundred million French Speaking Afrikans throughout the world.   Through its CFA currency scam in Afrika, France remains one of most rapacious “former” colonisers on the planet.

 

Nevertheless, one wonders whether the language issue creates a barrier of understanding for English speaking activists.  For example, as resolute as the Haitian Revolution was its nationalist, Afrikan spiritualist foundation tends to feature infrequently at best in many liberation discourses.  The major exception being the Garvey Movement that adopted the “Afrikan fundamentalism” and “race vindication” strategy that served Haiti so well.

 

we ask the question:

 

Are we using the right liberation ideology?

1) What is the Dessalines-Toya-Garvey Tour?

2) Will you be attending ALD and Dessalines-Toya-Garvey events?

3) Can there be a right or wrong ideology as long as it gets results?

4) What is revolutionary Kamitism?

5) Do we utilise the legacy of the Haitian Revolution enough?

6) Is the language barrier a factor in this?

7) How can activists in the diasapora more effectively interact?

 

Bayyinah Bello: is a Haitian historian, teacher, writer and humanitarian worker. As the founder of Fondasyon Félicité (FF), she conducts research to uncover the hidden history of Afrikans in Ayiti. Her work has led her to become a Professor of History at the State University. Following the Earthquake in 2010 Mama Bello founded Friends of Fondation Félicité, and organisation dedicated to assisting the rebuilding of the country. Mama Bello is well travelled, bringing a vast Afrikan diaspora experience especially having lived in Nigeria, Benin, Togo and other countries in West Afrika.

 

Bro. Abiola Sow: is a pan-africanist from Ivory Coast living in France. He is a member of Nation Kamit, a pan-africanist organization started in France in 2014, focusing on afrocentric spirituality, education and economy.