We are currently in the period of remembering the New Cross Massacre of 1981, one of the greatest single tragedies to befall the Afrikan community in the UK. (1) One of most immediate responses to the Massacre was the organising of the National Black People’s Day of Action where 25,000 marched through London to protest the massacre and demand justice. (2)
But this demonstration of defiance should not be seen as anomalous for the time. Just fours years earlier in Birmingham, a similar number gathered in Handsworth Park for Afrika Liberation Day, hosted by the Pan-African Congress Movement. (3)
If evaluated solely by numbers, it could be argued that the Movement has been in decline ever since. Certainly there have been few if any liberation themed occurrences that have garnered as much support since. Perhaps as worrying, history indicates that even when the movement had the wherewithal to attract large numbers, the capacity to convert this into a viable contingency was apparently lacking.
Yet there have been attempts to forge this over the years, some are still in existence while others have fallen by the wayside, but it would be fair to say that currently, there isn’t a single Pan-Afrikan body that has the profile and constituency to galvanise a critical mass of Afrikan people.
Recently, we have seen the advent of the Summit Of Solutions (SOS) that had it’s second meeting two days ago, since its launch on December 15th last year. It has already formed a number of working groups to take forward tasks in service of a nation-building agenda.
One of the things SOS will need to do is identify proven effective strategies (or develop new ones) while avoiding those that have scuppered previous efforts.
Ultimately, any endeavour must be to build a new constituency and this must include engaging with the wider community, who to, a lesser or greater extent, may be oblivious to the workings of the ‘conscious community.’ Of course what doesn’t help is the negative portrayal of it by those of a different political bent. For, example the nationalist/Garveyite element in the UK it has been referred to as the “ asshole end of black politics” by one prominent figure. (4) In 1960s USA this sector wase referred to as “Black racists” (5) and the modern day manifestation is the infamous ‘Hoteps’ (6)
In spite of the pejorative characterisation, history indicates that this sector has been the vanguard, safeguarding the culture and forging new paths that reverberate around the world – from the Garvey era and original Rastafari to Carlos Cooks, Malcolm X and the Black Power movement. (7) One of the reasons for this is that this tendency has typically been concerned with power, rather than jus campaigning or seeking alliances. Legendary warrior scholar Amos Wilson provides an invaluable assessment of the issue in his message The ABC’s of Oppression And Genocide:
“We can end his (the European’s) victimisation of us when we end his power to do so. And consequently, I want to bring into the domain of discussion in this community, the subject matter of power. I want us in addition to studying black history and culture, to study power – its accumulation, its use and application. We should talk about it every day and everywhere. We should read about it and we should develop the means of using it. We should come to understand the nature of how white power is organised. In the end, power does not flow from the genes of white folks. It does not flow from their ice age. It flows from the nature of their organisation and the way they have chosen to relate one to the other. And it flows from their intentionality as a people and their appropriate organisation of themselves to realise their intentionality, one of which is of course the domination of Afrikan people. And that means then that we as Afrikan people must study the rules of organisation.
We must study the means of relating one to each other in such a way that we multiply our power. We must study our enemies’ organisation such that we can probe that organisation and destroy the power of the enemy. And we can do it. We have a tremendous amount of power in our hands… we are not a weak people by any stretch of the imagination. The only weakness is in our minds and in our imaginations. That’s the only place. We are not a dependent people in the material sense, only in the psychological sense. The only thing ladies and gentlemen we must get over is our cowardice.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHaTa3lWjOY)
(1) Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka (2011) Commemorate, Evaluate, Organise to Liberate! The Whirlwind Issue 9, p. 2-3.
(2) Ibid.
(3) PACM UK (11/04/15) Africa Liberation Day 2015 – Birmingham – UK. https://www.facebook.com/pacm2015/photos/gm.816516685102887/471206873035605/?type=1&theater.
(4) Desmond Hunt (1981) An interview with Linton Kwesi Johnson, The Other Side ‘zine, https://standupandspit.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/linton-kwesi-johnson-1981/
(5) Bobby Seale (1970) Seize The Time: The Story of The Black Panther Party and Huey P Newton. Black Classic Press, p 271;
(6) Dwayne Wong (Omowale) (02/01/10) Stop Using Hotep as an Insult. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/stop-using-hotep-as-an-insult_us_5a4bad9ee4b0d86c803c799c
(7) Olatunji Heru (09/08/16) Who is Carlos Cooks? Mosiah Month Community Presentation.
So we ask the question:
Are we ready to effect solutions or continue talking about the problems?
- Are we solution oriented enough ?
- Have we learned enough from past efforts?
- Does the so called ‘conscious community’ have an image problem?
- Has it been unfairly characterised?
- Do we address the issue of power?
Our very special guest:
DJ Supreme: is a broadcaster, organiser and activist. He hosts the More Knowledge Show on Concious Radio every Wednesday evening from 6pm to 9pm. DJ Supreme is part of the Communications, IT and Media team.
Sis. Marcia Loraine Phinn: has a background in education and is a Transformation Coach, public speaker and entrepreneur. (www.etsy.com/shop/marciaphinnjewellery) Sis. Marcia is also a part of the Communications, IT and Media team.