Rivalled perhaps only by the Afrikan Liberation Day event in Birmingham in 1977 (1) the National Black People’s Day of Action in 1981, “was and remains the most powerful event in the Afrikan presence in Britain.” (2)
At the 30th anniversary of the event in 2011, there were attempts revive the legacy of the NBPDA event that took place on March 2nd 1981. To put this in context, we reproduce two of Bro. Ldr . Mbandaka’s articles from edition ten The Whirlwind Newspaper from that year, in order for us to assess the reasons for oganising another NBPDA and where we are almost a decade on from then and thirty-nine years after the original event:
“Commemorate, Evaluate, Organise to Liberate!
Wednesday 2nd March 2011, marked the 30th anniversary of the National ‘Black People’s Day of Action’ (BPDA) and leading activists, organisations and Afrikan-centred professionals – initiated by Prof Gus John and Bro Ldr Mbandaka – mobilised the entire Afrikan (Black) community to commemorate this occasion en masse.
Significance
The BPDA (2nd March, 1981) is the most powerful event in the history of the Afrikan (Black) presence in Britain. 25,000 people took to the streets of London to protest the New Cross Massacre (18th Jan, 1981), where a suspected racist fire-bomb attack killed 13 Black youths (aged 15-22), injuring 27 – at 439 New Cross Rd, SE14. They also protested the brutal police treatment of survivors; racist media reporting; ongoing racial attacks; and the silence of the British government and Queen; resulting in the slogan, “13 dead and nothing said!”
The BPDA not only demonstrated the power of our unity and solidarity, it ushered in a turbulent decade that changed the political landscape, breaking down racialised barriers to socio-economic progress. Uprisings mushroomed From Brixton, London; throughout Britain: Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Leicester, Bristol, Edinburgh, etc.; between April and July, 1981; sending a clear message that our people will no longer tolerate racial injustice and serving as a catalyst for positive change.
Yet, thirty years on, many of our people, especially our youths, know nothing about this history; and we continue to endure the same injustices as well as disproportionately high: school exclusions/underachievement; deaths in custody; stop and search; DNA profiling; etc. Furthermore, drugs, guns and gang violence kill 30-40 of our young people every year and wreck the lives of many more. All of this suggests that we have seriously regressed in the past 30 years and have lost the spirit of resistance and our sense of community.
The commemoration was primarily youth focused – connecting the New Cross Massacre and the State’s response with the threats facing our young people today. Everyone was urged to take the day off from work, college and university (except exams); and take their children out of school for the day to “pay homage to the past and take command of the present in order to determine a brighter and better future.
Reasons
Five main reasons to join the BPDA were highlighted in the promotions:
1. Black children are 6 times more likely to be excluded from school, than whites and are among the lowest achievers!
2. Black youths are over 10 times more likely to be stopped and searched and 5 times more likely to be imprisoned than whites!
3. Black women are 3 times more likely to suffer still births and infant mortality than white women!
4. Gun and knife crimes kill 30-40 of our young people every year!
5. 77% of young Black men are on the national DNA database and every Black family in the UK can now be traced through the national DNA database!
Solution
But the ultimate reason was finding solutions. The emphasis was on: 1) taking responsibility as a people to identify and implement the solutions 2) agreeing a national programme of action, based on specific aims and objectives (see: page 3); and 3) community/people empowerment. It was geared toward establishing a National Afrikan (Black) People’s Parliament and Leadership Council and to launch a People’s Inquest into the social maladies which are destroying our young people and communities.
Purpose
Thus, although some sceptics dismissed the day as being solely about remembering something that happened 30 years ago, the BPDA was clearly more than a commemoration. In fact, it was billed as an opportunity for all Afrikans to get on board and play their part in “making history”, while “taking back the power” to control our present and become the masters of our own destiny. The purpose of the day was therefore expressed in the motto: “Commemorate, Evaluate, Organise to Liberate!”
Commemorate: Remembering the New Cross Massacre (18 Jan, 1981) and the aftermath: the BPDA (2 March 1981) and the turbulent 80s as a catalyst for progressive change.
Evaluate: Assessing and appraising our people’s progress over the past 30 years; examining where we are now and why.
Organise to Liberate: Setting a national agenda to identify and implement solutions to such maladies as gun crimes, school exclusions, deaths in custody, DNA profiling, police brutality, etc.
So, whilst it is about the past, it is predominantly about the present and the future we envision for ourselves; hence its orientation toward our young people, who were well represented on the day. We owe it to them to ensure that 30 years from now, they will not be lamenting as we are today, asking the same old tired question: “Where did we go wrong?” (NB: Prof. Gus John has since withdrawn from the campaign) “(3)
“National ‘Black People’s
Day of Action’
Name it and Claim it!
Aims and Objectives
To bring together a broad section of the Afrikan community, including activists, Afrikan-centred professionals, community leaders, and organisations to:
1. Organise a national programme of commemoration marking the 30th Anniversary of the National ‘Black People’s Day of Action’ (BPDA) – Wednesday, 2nd March, 2011 – with a view to making it an annual observance and a public holiday.
2. Promote nationwide awareness of the BPDA – especially among our young people – and the vital importance of this (and others) as a historical landmark for the Afrikan presence in Britain.
3. Establish a foundation for forging principled and operational unity, toward attaining community empowerment and capacity development – culturally, spiritually, socially, educationally, economically and politically.
4. Work toward establishing a National Afrikan People’s Parliament and Leadership Council, to provide an effective, independent, representative and coordinated ‘voice’ for Afrikan people in Britain.
5. Lay the foundation for building the capacity to effectively tackle and eradicate such social maladies as: drugs, guns and gang violence; as well as disproportionately high school exclusions and underachievement; deaths in custody; stop and search; DNA profiling; chronic unemployment; etc. which continue to destroy the lives of our people, especially our youths.
Our annual commemorations will enable us to set targets and assess our progress vis-à-vis these aims and objectives and rededicate ourselves to them.
Commemorate,
Evaluate,
Organise to Liberate!” (4)
The interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament (iNAPP), the body that emerged out of the 30th anniversary celebrations, has in recent years had its setbacks and challenges. (5), but Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka, one its leading lights recently suggested: “We haven’t abandoned the idea, the principle. It’s been knocked back.” (6)
(1) PACM UK (11/0048/115 Africa Liberation Day 2015 – Birmingham – UK. https://www.facebook.com/pacm2015/photos/gm.816516685102887/471206873035605/?type=1&theater
(2) Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka (25/02/11) National Black People’s Day of Action — The Facts. Jetblakink. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cYrBEcdVyE
(3) Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka (2011) Commemorate, Evaluate, Organise to Liberate! The Whirlwind, edition 9. p. 2-3
(4) Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka (2011) National ‘Black People’s Day of Action’Name it and Claim it! Aims and Objectives. The Whirlwind, edition 9. p. 3
(5) iNAPP Council of Elders (15/05/15) Statement From iNAPP Council of Elders. https://web.archive.org/web/20150515165628/http://www.inapp.org.uk/
(6) Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka (23/02/20) 10 Point Plan For Future Leaders: Transforming The Next Generation. Omowale Malcolm X Observance message.
We ask the question:
Should we commemorate the National Black People’s Day of Action?
1) Is commemorating keeping us stuck in the past?
2) How has the Afrikan community in the UK fared over the last 39, or even 9 years?
3) Should we make March 2nd a public holiday?
4) Do we still need to establish “an effective, independent, representative and coordinated ‘voice’ for Afrikan people in Britain”?
5) If so, how would we go about it ?
Our 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 and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence. \lsdlocked0 G