Overview of African Union Global African Diaspora Summit

Written by Tony Tafari Thomas on behalf of Rastafari Global Council, May 10^th 2012

The African Union Global African Diaspora Summit took place on May 25^th in South Africa. It was the first diaspora summit and was attended by representatives of African, Caribbean and South American states and representatives from CARICOM. African-Americans were represented by former mayor of New York David Dikins.
The summit ended with the formulation and commitment to a programme of action and 5 key proposals.
The plan of action was organised into 3 categories,

1.     Political cooperation

2.     Economic cooperation

3.     Social cooperation

Political cooperation
The key points in the category of political cooperation include,

1.     Establishment of formal relationships between states

2.     Support of the AU as diaspora focal point

3.     Development of diaspora task force

4.     Encouragement of diaspora to organise regional networks and mechanisms that will enable increased participation in AU affairs.

5.     Creation of a conducive environment to invest, work and travel in Africa.

Economic cooperation
The key points in the category of economic cooperation include,

1.     Mobilisation of capital using financial instruments

2.     Listing of African diaspora companies in African stock exchanges

3.     Regular meetings between national chambers of commerce

4.     Promotion of development of institutions dedicated to innovation, invention and social and economic development

5.     Support the development of fibre optic cabling

Social cooperation
The key points in the category of social cooperation include,

1.     Design and development of a platform for Africa and diaspora educators and scholars

2.     Development of African-centred institutions and programmes

3.     Promotion of education as a basic condition for achieving human development

4.     Prioritise the coordination and funding of cultural exchange programmes

5.     Encourage and disseminate information on African diaspora projects such as the Museum of Black Civilisation, an African Remembrance Square, the African Renaissance, the Joseph Project and slave monument

6.     Support and encouragement of global observance days as symbols of solidarity, Africa Day, African Union Day, Black History Month and Emancipation day

7.     Rebranding of Africa – Good governance and rule of law to strengthen image of Africa

The 5 key proposals are as follows,

1.     Skills database

2.     African Diaspora Volunteer Corps

3.     African Diaspora Investment Fund

4.     African Remittances Institute

5.     Create incentives for investment and foster more conducive business environment

The next phase of the AU diaspora project is focused on agreeing multi-stakeholder working groups made up of AU, CARICOM and representatives from the diaspora in the following areas,

1.     Economic cooperation including infrastructure, sea and air links, trade and investment and travel and tourism

2.     Science and technology including low earth orbit satellite, research in agriculture, biotechnology, renewable energy solutions, infectious and non-infectious diseases

Rastafari Global Council Response
Rastafari Global Council proposes that we adopt the programme of action and the 5 key proposals as the fundamental work of the Rastafari Global Council and the Rastafari community. We believe that the summit and the proposals that are a product of it offer the only realistic mechanism through which Rastafari can constructively engage with Africa. We believe this summit is a historically important step towards the integration of Africa’s diaspora into Africa.
Rastafari Global Council short term plan of action

1.     Make official contact with the AU and CARICOM and the state representatives from Africa, the Caribbean and South America

2.     Organise working groups to work on the 5 key proposals

3.     Formulate 3 committees to work on political, economic and social cooperation.

4.     Offer RGC as diaspora representatives in the multi-stakeholder working groups in the areas of economic cooperation and science and technology

Feedback To Ade Sawyerr's Comprehensive TAOBQ Article

Ade Sawyerr, a partner in the diversity and equality focused management consultancy, Equinox Consulting, has written an extensive piece on his blog entitled: Is it time to ditch the colour Black for our true heritage, African? 

The African Or Black Question: Colour or Heritage? – Ade Sawyerr

In an article I wrote last year, I wondered what people of African descent would make of the declaration of 2011 the International Year for people of African Descent, http://www.obv.org.uk/news-blogs/2011-year-people-african-descent, and to what extent they would benefit from the message of recognition, justice and development that was intended to be the hallmark of the celebrations.  Though we are yet to evaluate the significant outcomes of the year of celebration, it has forced on us a question that is being asked about what people of African descent should be called in the Diaspora – ‘The African or Black Question’? Click to read the whole: 'Is it time to ditch the colour Black for our true heritage, African?'

This was my feedback to his blog: A long piece, but worth reading, as it pretty much touches on all the key points espoused by TAOBQ.

Surprisingly, but quite encouraging in other ways, I discovered Ade's article had ben posted on the website of Operation Black Vote (OBV). This time, it came with an introduction by OBV head Simon Woolley. 

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Introduction by Simon Woolley
In a thoughtful and provocative article Ade Sawyerr ponders the question should we see ourselves as Black or African? As usual the great intellect of Sawyerr delves into the history and philosophical books to give insight and reason to his arguments. For my own point of view and of course Operation Black Vote I would argue that it is not either or? Our identities are complex, multiple and forever shifting. Such a diverse heritage should allow us to effortlessly weave in and out of our multiple labels, all of which should be valid.

I was immediately moved to write a feedback to the introduction. This is the feedback (which hopefully will be posted on OBV's comments, after it's been moderated):

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Whilst I'm glad to see Ade's article, which chimes with our TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) campaign, posted on the OBV site, I would like to clarify what seems to me to be Simon's conflation of black as a political construct with black as a race/ethnicity descriptor.

The political black was/is an umbrella term for mainly non-Europeans, as a political block - which at certain times include some discriminated Europeans, such the Irish, etc. On that basis, it's fine to have an organisation that's called Operation BLACK Vote, because the black is understood in terms of the preceding definition.

However when it come to a race/ethnicity descriptor, on what basis does Simon justify OBV's current terminology of "Black and Asian"? Who do the "Black" represent? Is it not essentially Africans or people of African heritage?

If the Asians can identify themselves in the context of the land mass from which they originated (never mind that most of them were born either in Britain, east Africa or the Caribbean), why should the Africans not be identified with the land mass from which they originated? 

Is the Asian racial identity not as equally "complex, multiple and forever shifting"?  But that has not stopped them from extricating themselves from the now nebulous "black" term.

My view is: yes, to the political black, a decidedly no, to black as a race/ethnicity descriptor.

Whilst I'm at it, I think when referring to Africans of Caribbean antecedents, the correct terminology ought to be African Caribbean, and not simply Caribbean. This is because Caribbean, strictly speaking refers to the indigenous Caribbean peoples such as the Caribs, etc, although generally speaking it can include anyone with a link to the Caribbean  - Europeans, Asians, and Africans.

Lastly, 25 years after the launch of Black History Month (BHM) in the UK, I also think we now have to think in terms of African, not Black History. African history is global and includes the histories of all its diasporas. Hence, BHM should be referred to as African History Month (AHM), in order to reconnect it with its original guiding principles: The African Jubilee charter, which many of the statutory bodies signed up to at the start of BHM, when the then current political terminology was Black, not Black & Asian!

Kwaku

TAOBQ co-ordinator

What Does It Mean To Be A Global African?

What: TAOBQ (The African Or Black Question) follows up on the 'Your Are African' discussion in January 2012 with 'What Does It Mean To Be A Global African?' A free presentation followed by workshops exploring issues around African values, perspective, etc.

It's an opportunity to input your views, and to catch a bit of 'The African Or Black Question' guerilla documentary. The event's led by TAOBQ co-ordinator Kwaku, hosted by Cllr Martin Seaton, plus experienced workshop facilitators.

Come and have your say on what a global African ought to be!!!!

When: Saturday, 28 April 2012, 6-9pm

Where: Browning Community TRA Hall 57-59 Browning Street, Walworth London SE17 (Elephant & Castle)

Cost: Free

To guarantee your place book via this Eventbrite link!

African, Not Black History: Arguments for “African”

What: Institute of Commonwealth Studies, in conjunction with the Black & Asian Studies Association, present Black and Asian Britain seminars: African, Not Black History: Arguments for “African”

“Black” in Britain used to be a “political colour of alliances”, but now whom does it represent? Should we not use “African”? Kwaku, a history consultant and community activist, will focus on the issue of African identity. Presentation is preceded by the screening of the short-ish version of ‘The African Or Black Question’ guerilla documentary and ends with a Q&A.

Kwaku, co-ordinator of The African Or Black Question (TAOBQ) campaign, is the founder of BritishBlackMusic.com/Black Music Congress, which highlights black music with a British bias, music industry issues and education, and offers a forum for debating and networking; and a pathway to music industry education.

When: Tuesday, 29 May 2012, 6-7.30pm

Where: Senate House (room tbc), University of London, 32 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DN (Euston Square or Russell Square tube)

Cost: Free

To guarantee your place book via this Eventbrite link!

Light At The End Of The Tunnel For International DECADE Of People Of African Descent?

Over 10 years after that Durban conference on Racism etc, it looks like the decade is finally here - 2013-2023 - hopefully this time round Africans will be aware of the UN International decade and what to expect from it!

Below is the OHCHR (Office For The High Commissioner For Human Rights) end of 2011 IYPAD report.

Kwaku
TAOBQ 

A year for people of African descent

“Millions of people of African descent around the world are still unaware that they have rights they can demand, and that their governments are accountable to them, and to a wide-ranging body of rights-based national and international law. Despite all our work over the last months, this International Year will pass many people of African descent by,” noted UN Human Rights chief, Navi Pillay, in a statement to mark the closing by the UN General Assembly of the International Year for People of African Descent.

During a high-level thematic debate, UN Member States, civil society representatives and human rights experts discussed the achievements of the Year.

The UN Human Rights office established the first-ever human rights Fellowship Programme aiming to empower people of African descent. Participants in the fellowship are given an intensive learning opportunity to deepen their understanding of the UN human rights system, instruments and mechanisms, with a focus on issues of particular relevance them.

In 2011, the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination adopted its ‘General Recommendation’ focusing on racial discrimination endured by Afro-descendants.

The General Assembly recently adopted a resolution encouraging the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African descent to develop a Programme of Action for a Decade of People of African descent (2013 – 2023) for adoption by the Human Rights Council.

Mirjana Najchevska, the Chairperson of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, noted however that the activities undertaken by States around the world to commemorate the International Year did not match the importance of the objectives: to fight the “invisibility” of Afro-descendants and acknowledge discrimination as a consequence of the slave trades.

“Proclamation of the Decade is more than giving the next 10 years a name … It is a chance to develop far more intensive measures for eliminating, or at least seriously reducing structural discrimination (against people of African descent),” said Najchevska.

At the meeting, participants urged the development of a UN declaration on the rights of people of African descent and greater efforts to build a memorial for the victims of the slave trades. The representative of civil society organizations also called for the creation of a special section within the UN Human Rights office to specifically focus on the promotion and protection of the human rights of people of African descent.

“Anti-discrimination work is a long-term process. It requires commitment and persistence. People of African descent need encouragement and support. Member States have the moral and legal obligation to provide sustained political and financial backing to continue our path toward equal and just societies,” Navi Pillay noted.

30 December 2011
[2011 was the International Year for People of African Descent © OHCHR]

‘Paving the Empire Road: BBC Television and Black Britons’

May 9 2012 UPDATE: Sorry, this event has been cancelled!

What:

Institute of Commonwealth Studies, in conjunction with the Black & Asian Studies Association, present Black and Asian Britain seminars: ‘Paving the Empire Road: BBC Television and Black Britons’

Professor Newton, Chair of the Department of Communication Arts at Salisbury University (USA), will be discussing how the BBC represented the impact of West Indian immigration, subsequent racial relations, and the efforts of Black British writers, producers, and actors to affect change. His book, published by Manchester University Press, will be on sale at a

reduced price.

When:
Thursday, 5 July 2012, , 6-7.30pm

Where:

Senate House (Second floor, room 264), University of London, Russell Square, London WC1 (Euston Square or Russell Square tube)

Cost:
Free

Booking:
Everyone is welcome. You do not have to pre-book/register. Contact:  CANCELLED

Reflecting On African-Americans Grappling With the Black Or African-American Issue

Although the term 'African-American' gained currency in the late 1980s, it has not stopped the issue of whether to call themselves black of African-American, rearing its head ever since.

You may recall in 1998, the actress and comedienne Whoopi Goldberg, declared: "I'm not an African".  For those that know what Ms Golberg (born Caryn Elaine Johnson) looks like, here's a photo to jog your memory.

In 2007 Gallup published its research carried between 1991 to 2007 in which although there was a consistent preference for African-American, the overwhelming majority had no preference for African-American or black.

A Miami-based African-American called Gibre George is one of those not comfortable with the term African-American. He has a Facebook page called Don't Call Me African-American. "If you have to call me African, then you have to call everyone African," states George. In other words, either you describe us all as African, being that is the origin of the human race, or else call be American. One wonders how he describes his ethnicity/race on the American census form, as American is not one of the options.

He one of his earliest posts, George had this to say: "It is obvious that the inspiration for the classification of African American has nothing to do with those born of African descent. It is a radical group of Black Americans who hold to the anti-American views of those shared by Jeremiah Wright, Professor Gates, Jesse Jackson, President Obama and many others who came out of the radical Civil Rights Movement. Because of these things, I now part ways with the classification of African American because I hold no allegiance to Africa. I embrace the American qualities of freedom to worship, freedom to have my own opinion, freedom to express my views, freedom to achieve whatever it is God has created me to achieve. I hope that I will find others like me who are willing to break ties with the things that divide us, and embrace the timeless principles that have made this country the greatest nation on earth. That is why, when the next U.S. Census occurs, I will be making a new category just for me, the classification of being an American."

George and his like-minded folks were featured in an article published in February 2012 by Associated Press race and ethnicity specialist writer Jesse Washington. the article entitled 'Some blacks insist: 'I'm not African-American'' was picked up by The Guardian. You are welcome to read the whole piece. However, I'll pick up on a few points worth making here. 

"I don't like African-American. It denotes something else to me than who I am," said Smith, whose parents are from Mississippi and North Carolina. "I can't recall any of them telling me anything about Africa. They told me a whole lot about where they grew up in Macomb County and Shelby, N.C." 

When I first read that paragraph, I wondered whether good ole Mr Smith would have been comfortable if his family had regaled him with stories of how they'd ended up in the US from Africa. It seemed to me like a lame excuse to disassociate one's self from any African connection.

George is quoted in the article saying: "We respect our African heritage, but that term is not really us ... We're several generations down the line. If anyone were to ship us back to Africa, we'd be like fish out of water."

I recognise that African-Americans, and for that matter any African who's lived in the diaspora, would have a different lifestyle and hence may not easily fit into life in Africa. That's a different argument as to whether they are not Africans, simply because they've lived outside Africa for generations.

Malcolm X had this response to the latter issue: "Just because a cat has kittens in the oven, that doesn't make them biscuits." I would develop it further by offering this argument: A lion that's been kept in a zoo may be pampered and not have the skills to fend for itself in the wild, but does not stop it from being recognised as a lion.  

Jesse Jackson had this to say in the early days of propounding the African-American term: "Every ethnic group in this country has a reference to some land base, some historical, cultural base." It sound pretty much like the quote by the late historian John Henrik Clarke, who said: "A more proper word for our people, African, relates us to land, history and culture."

Jackson has made several visits to Britain, often under the auspices of OBV ( Operation Black Vote), for whom the term "black" is useful politically, and dare I say, financially. OBV literature talks in terms of black and Asian, and I think this may have made the reverend and veteran civil right activist's position on  supporting African-British, rather than black, on this side of the pond a bit shaky.

Long before TAOBQ was conceived, I had written to Jackson to get his take on supporting the African/African-British terminology, simply because he's recognised as the one that popularised African-American, and sadly, the Brits often take their lead from the Americans, rather than those at home. I did not get an answer. However in August 2007, when I heard he'd be visiting Stonebridge in north-west London, and more importantly Life FM, the local radio station I used to present on at that time, I made sure I was there to meet him. I re-printed my unanswered letter and added a copy of a document with a local flavour - the Brent Black Music History Project book and DVD I produced for our Brent-based voluntary organisation BTWSC.

On that fateful day, I'm not sure whether he shook our hands, but he certainly gave those of us standing in line as he walked out of the station's corridor. I did try to hand him my package, but that didn't go down well. So I gave it to the then local MP, and official host of that leg of the visit, Dawn Butler. Whether it got to him, or even made it unto the Virgin Atlantic-sponsored Equanomics tour bus, I don't know.

Luckily in December 2011, a call went out about a hastily arranged press release with Jackson at the OBV HQ. This time round, not only was I able to put into his hands a copy of our latest book, 'African Voices: Quotations By People Of African Descent', the reverend was kind enough to actually pose with the book, although there was no time to capture it as properly as I'd have liked on my video camera.

Click to see very short video clip of Rev Jesse Jackson posing with 

'African Voices: Quotations By People Of African Decent' book

But perhaps even better was the fact that I managed to join Jackson and his entourage on the tube journey to St Paul's, where he was heading to lend support and address the Occupy London protesters encamped in front of St Paul's Cathedral.  On the way from the tube station to the Cathedral, I tried to get Jackson's take on the African Or Black Question filming guerilla style.

Perhaps it's because of his long-standing and strong relationship with OBV and its related organisations, or maybe because he was distracted, the man recognised as having popularised the African-American terminology, was not unequivocal in supporting the African-British terminology within the British "context". Instead, he suggested one recognised the "real value" provided by coalitions of "blacks, Asians, Caribbeans..."

I'm convinced this is not Jackson's definitive position on the matter. Perhaps one day, when he's not caught on the hop, and in more relaxed circumstances, we'll get a "proper" answer.

Going back one more time to Washington's piece, he highlights the views of Tomi Obaro, a young woman brought from London by Nigerian parents, and who's now a US citizen. African-American "sort of screams this political correctness" opines Obaro. She and her black friends rarely use it to refer to themselves, except when they're speaking in "proper company" - whatever that means.

This weekend, just before I got round to write this piece, I got a phone call from my friend Kienda (who's featured in 'The African Or Black Question' documentary), not only to inform me of the sad news of the passing of Whitney Houston (RIP), but also that he had come by BlackPlanet alert on an article and video dealing the Are You Black Or African-American? issue. The BBC World Service's World Have Your Say programme also recently dealt with the same issue - click to hear it.

Guess this issue is something that's going to run and run. But as per our first post-event press release, we've moved on from that discussion. TAOBQ's next phase is focused on dealing with what it means to be a global African.

Kwaku
www.TAOBQ.blogspot.com