The Global African Quad Flag: Background

The Global African Quad Flag was created by Kwaku, convenor of The African Or Black Question (TAOBQ) identity advocacy group. It was originally designed to illustrate a TAOBQ press release dated 1 September 2014, announcing that a motion had been carried declaring 31 August African History Reflection Day (AHRD).

The colours and concept

The flag brings together the four colours shared by the two principal Pan-African colour combinations:

• Green, gold and red — associated with the Ethiopian, Ghanaian and Rastafarian traditions.
• Red, black and green — associated with the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL).

In an age when logos and visual symbols are intended to communicate meaning instantly, the Global African Quad Flag is intended as a visual shorthand for Africans and African-related interests and issues, whether relating to people of the African continent or its Diaspora.

Its intended uses include expressing African pride, African unity and solidarity, as well as drawing attention to issues such as Afriphobia, atrocities against African people, or protests concerning African deaths in state custody.

Development of the flag

The flag was the subject of consultations at a number of TAOBQ-associated community events. These led to a decision to develop a “compromise” version, incorporating two black stripes to represent Africans from the continent and the Diaspora.

This configuration was officially launched on 18 November 2017, at the BTWSC/African Histories Revisited-organised African History Month UK Network Conference, held at Unite the Union's headquarters in Holborn, London.

At the “Marcus Garvey @ 80: Moving Towards A Unifying African Identity” meeting on 10 June 2020, a decision was subsequently taken to finalise the four-stripe configuration as the Global African Quad Flag.

Without replacing or diminishing the significance of the established Pan-African tricolours, the Quad Flag is intended as an additional unifying African visual symbol, capable of representing African pride, unity and solidarity across geographical and historical boundaries.

African History Reflection Day

The AHRD motion was passed during a presentation by Kwaku entitled “Marcus Garvey, Economic Empowerment And Relevance To Ghana”, held at the Ghana High Commission's Consulate in Highgate, north London. The presentation marked the centenary of the founding of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL).

The idea of AHRD was inspired by principles contained in the UNIA's Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World, adopted on 13 August 1920 at a UNIA convention in New York.

Further information

For more information, visit TAOBQ.blogspot.com or contact Kwaku at BBMBMC@gmail.com

Click here to read 'Global African Quad Flag: A Visual Signifier Of African-Related Matters'.

Do We Care Enough Whether We're Called African Or Black?

This blog's questioning headline stems from our observation of London Mayor's annual Africa On The Square change its name to Black On The Square in 2023. Last year, only a handful to to realise the change nor seemed to care much.

This year, we did find many people, when drawn to their attention, did not agree with the change. We even met an African-Caribbean led group protesting the name change in the square. However, even as we come to the end of the UN's IPDAD (international Decade for People of African Descent) 2015-24, we are of the view that Africans generally don't care enough about how they're referred to. Perhaps except if one uses the N-word!

What say you?

Extra IDPAD Zoom Option Starting From 5pm Added To African History Reflection Day 2024 Programme

If you missed last week's Marcus Garvey Annual Pan-Africanism Presentation 2024, you have another chance of catching up on Dr Toyin Agbetu's excellent accessible and interactive presentation on IDPAP (International Decade for People of African Descent) 2015-24.

So this Zoom meeting will start at the earlier time of 5.00pm (UK), thus giving an opportunity for those who would like to virtually attend part of the event marking of the UN's IDPAD (International Decade for People of African Descent) 2015-24/International Day for People of African Descent at the IDPAD Empowerment Centre in Hackney, with Bro Hakim and Bro Dr Toyin, who will be repeating his presentation. Plus edutainment performance by Music4Causes Ft Kimba.

Click here for more info or to book.

Has English Heritage Amended Its Claudia Jones Plaque Or Will It Embed A Falsehood Within The Public Realm?

 

TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) Press Release Sep. 28 2023 Has English Heritage Amended Its Claudia Jones Plaque Or Will It Embed A Falsehood Within The Public Realm? Next week, English Heritage will finally unveil its long-awaited Claudia Jones plaque on a house in Meadow Road near Vauxhall in south London, where the indefatigable activist once lived. Hopefully, the wording on the plaque, as we have been unofficially informed, has been amended, thus avoiding any association of Jones with Notting Hill Carnival. From 1959 to 1964, when she passed away, Jones and her supporters organised six indoor carnivals across various venues in London, but none within the Notting Hill area. Therefore, while she deserves the title of Mother of Caribbean Carnival, she had no involvement in, nor was she or her Caribbean Carnival the inspiration or motivation for the creation of the street carnival that began in Notting Hill after her death. Pigeonholing Jones' legacy within the context of founding Notting Hill Carnival could be argued to be Afriphobic, as it reduces her legacy to a Carnival which today  is mostly about revelry and minimises the presentation of Jones was a serious person. She is possibly the greatest British African activist, and deserves to be better remembered as an avowed Communist; anti-racist; political, community and labour activist; a radical, womanist, editor, publisher, or a tireless campaigner. Earlier this year, the image of a Jones plaque was made public. The African identity advocacy group TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question), and others, wrote to English Heritage pointing out that Jones was not involved in the founding of the Notting Hill Carnival. In our letter - TAOBQ Request English Heritage Change The Erroneous Wording On Claudia Jones Plaque – we stated that the “founding spirit of Notting Hill Carnival” text was an artifice: “We are not buying the choice of the supposedly clever use of the 'founding spirit of' phraseology in a bid to avoid stating that erroneous but often repeated ahistorical description of Claudia Jones being 'the founder' of Notting Hill Carnival.” It would therefore be to English Heritage's credit if it has indeed amended the plaque's text to avoid making any connection with the prevalent factoid which places Jones, who has many more deserving accolades, as a central figure in the development of Notting Hill Carnival. Although English Heritage CEO Kate Mavor has not yet replied to our recent letter asking if the text has since been amended, an unofficial sources has informed us of an amended text that does not mention any link between Jones and Notting Hill Carnival. We hope that this is true, because we have pointed out to Mavor and her colleagues at English Heritage that the claim that Jones was a founder or a precursor of Notting Hill Carnival is false and misleading. Mavor herself admitted in her reply to our previous letter that: “There was no intention to indicate either that she founded the Carnival or that there was a direct organisational link between the events she ran and what later developed in Notting Hill (we are aware that such claims may have been made in the past, and are not well founded – and have deliberately sought to avoid repeating them). The phrase ‘a founding spirit’ is intended to indicate a more distant, inspirational, level of involvement and also – importantly – that her activities were one of a number of cultural precursors to the Carnival.” After such an admission, why would English Heritage want to imply a vague and unsubstantiated “more distant, inspirational, level of involvement” between Jones and Notting Hill Carnival? Why not just acknowledge her for her Caribbean Carnivals, without any reference to Notting Hill Carnival, instead of continuing the ubiquitous but false association. On October 5 we expect that the unveiled plaque will do justice to Jones' legacy, and will not associate her with Notting Hill Carnival. Because to do so would be to embed a falsehood within the public realm. If that's the case, anyone who supports such a plaque without question, along with those who privately agree with us but don't want to publicly say that Jones was neither the founder nor a participant in the development of the street festival known as Notting Hill Carnival, would be complicit in the continued propagation of this falsehood. Whilst Mahatma Gandhi may not be our favourite person because the Afriphobic views he expressed whilst living in South Africa, this quote of his is most apt: "Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly." ENDS Kwaku TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) convener bbmbmc@gmail.com https://AfricanHistoryPlus.eventbrite.com https://TAOBQ.blogspot.com Notes 26/01/23 PRESS RELEASE: TAOBQ Requests English Heritage Change The Erroneous Wording On Claudia Jones Plaque: https://preview.mailerlite.com/h3v1v2i0v9 To found is “to set up or establish on a firm basis or for enduring existence”: So Claudia Jones, who died in north London in 1964, could not have founded Notting Hill Carnival, which was started in 1966 (some put it at 1965, but provide no indisputable corroborative evidence) with no reference to Jones nor her Caribbean Carnivals

Allies, Concerned Citizens And Organisations Urged To Show Support Against Afriphobia By Using Global African Quad Colours Dec. 5-8

 Allies, Concerned Citizens And Organisations Urged To Show Support Against Afriphobia By Using Global African Quad Colours Dec. 5-8

December 1 2022 London, UK

Coverage of this year's World Cup has been as much about people and pundits talking about discrimination as about what has been happening on the playing fields.

As with the use of the Ukranian colours in recent months, we've seen in the last week or so, people and organisations adorn themselves in the LGTBQ colours, from arm-bands, mastheads to social media profile backgrounds.

Next week, from Dec. 5 to 8, the 1st Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent takes place in Geneva, Switzerland. African identity advocacy group TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) is urging all who are against discrimination to show solidarity with African people and their distaste for Afriphobia, by posting or using the Global African Quad colours on their online platforms next Monday to Thursday.

The Global African Quad colours – red, black, gold and green, combines the four colours the two Pan-African flags have in common.

The Permanent Forum has been formed eight years into the 2015-24 period, which the UN declared in 2014 as IDPAD (International Decade for People of African Descent), within which, among other things, member states and civil society are to raise awareness of discrimination and racism against people of African heritage (this is specifically described as Afriphobia) and to come up with plans to redress the situation.

Dawn Butler MP with Kwaku Whyworry

Ahead of the Permanent Forum's inuagural session, TAOBQ has co-convened a Zoom conference on Saturday Dec. 3, 3-6pm GMT. It is is an opportunity for the Permanent Forum to hear from African community organisations and IDPAD advocates about the work they've been doing in the UK and across the African diaspora in the last eight years.

The conference, entitled International Decade For People Of African Descent 2015-24: What Practical Gains Can We Make From The Last Two Years Of IDPAD?, can be booked at https://bit.ly/IDPAD2022.

IDPAD is also meant to shine a light on marginalised African histories and highlight African contributions to world civilisation. And incidentally, today, Google Doogle highlights the outstanding late African-American video game electronics engineer Gerald Lawson on what would have been his 82^nd birthday.

ENDS

Kwaku Whyworry
TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) lead

theaobq@gmail.com

https://TAOBQ.blogspot.com

Editor's notes

1st Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/forums/2022/1st-session-permanent-forum-people-african-descent

It's advised that the Afriphobia spelling, which makes a stronger connection to Africa, be used, instead of Afrophobia or anti-Black

Call It By Its Name: Afriphobia Is Racism Against African People:
http://l-r-c.org.uk/news/story/call-it-by-its-name-afriphobia-is-racism-against-african-people/

International Decade For People Of African Descent 2015-24: What Practical Gains Can We Make From The Last Two Years Of IDPAD?: https://bit.ly/IDPAD2022

Repairing Histories 2: Commemorating Claudia Jones @ 58

This December makes 58 years since Claudia Jones sadly passed. This will be marked by a Zoom conference entitled Repairing Histories 2: Commemorating Claudia Jones @ 58 on Saturday Dec. 17 2022, 1-4pm GMT. 

The aim of the Repairing Histories conference is to have papers that improve or expand the knowledge of the subject, mainly by highlighting the little known aspects of that history, or challenging the received wisdom. It is presented by academic and community historians with a plenary for audience engagement.

Click here to book.

Highlighting Claudia Jones' history in the context of British and Global African history; and to improve or expand our knowledge.

About this event

PROGRAMME:

Repairing Histories 2: Commemorating Claudia Jones @58

A Zoom online conference that will cover Global African and British African history, framed around the British and international histories of Claudia Jones. Presented by academic and community historians, with a plenary for audience engagement.

The aim of the conference is to have papers that improve or expand the knowledge of the subject, mainly by highlighting the little known aspects of that history, or challenging the received wisdom.

This event marks the 58th anniversary of the passing of Claudia Jones, who died in London on Dec. 25 1964. 

Conference Papers:

Claudia Jones: Righting Things In Her Own Words Reimagined

Claudia Jones: A Titan Among Radical African Female Radicals 

Why Claudia Jones Is One of the Greatest British Activists, Ever 

Claudia Jones In The Context British & Global African History 

Plenary

For enquiries: Awula Serwah via btwsc@hotmail.com.

Produced by BTWSC/African Histories Revisited in association with BBM/BMC (BritishBlackMusic.com/Black Music Congress) and TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question)

African History Reflection Day: The Global African People's Forum

 African History Reflection Day: The Global African People's Forum

Wednesday Aug. 31 2022, 6.30-8.30pm BST via Zoom
Click here for more info or to book.

Forum marking African History Reflection Day, by exploring history and social issues put forward by the participants.

About this event

African History Reflection Day: The Global African People's Forum

The motion for African History Reflection Day (AHRD) to be marked on August 31 was passed in 2014, the centenary year of the founding of the UNIA-ACL (Universal Negro Improvement Association-African Communities League). It's inspired by UNIA's Declaration Of The Rights Of The Negro Peoples Of The World, which was adopted on August 13 1920 at a UNIA convention in New York.

In 2021, Costa Rica Vice President Epsy Campbell Barr helped shepherd through the United Nations General Assembly the adoption of the resolution which proclaimed August 31 as the International Day for People of African Descent. This new Day, whichshould give higher profile to the significance of August 31, was revealed by Barr, to be inspired the UNIA Declaration.

This year, AHRD 2022 will be marked by history consultant and TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) co-ordinator Kwaku leading a forum where the focus will be on exploring history and social issues suggested by the participants.

Ten years ago, TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) organised a workshop entitled What Does It Mean To Be A Global African?, to explore the meaning. We'll screen a short video of Prof Sir Hilary Beckles talking about the history of Pan-Africanism and why he now talks about Global Africa. 

This is meant to be an inter-generational event, so you are welcome to bring young people to join the Zoom meeting.

See also TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) Manifesto 2020+ and The Politics Of Racism, Terminologies And Imagery. 

Produced by BTWSC/African Histories Revisited and TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question). https:AfricanHistoryPlus.eventbrite.com