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Volume
9 Issue 20…Dedicated to the Dialogue
on Race…May 19, 2006
Intuit’s
Vibe
African Phoenix
By Bashir Goth
Out of the ashes of a
phoenix
A new African phoenix
is born
As black and as
famished as ever
Carrying the same
loads of thorn
The same batches of
infamy
Of disease, of wars,
of hunger
The same scars in the
horn
As politicians to
each others whisper
Sweet lies; with no
conscience to scorn
As they exhale and
praises inhale over dinner
And more ranks to
their siblings adorn
Africa stands aloof
as distant as ever
As unique as an alien
unicorn
Writhing in mounts of
litter
Burdened, broken and
outworn
O' Africa!
You bleeding mammoth
of mother
You vale of tears; of
forlorn
Your love is ebbless
and silent as a river
Your smile as homely
as spring as morn
You cry for us when
we in far lands shiver
You sing for us when
we are buried and born
You grieve for us
when we in your arms suffer
You pamper us when we
are tired and torn
O' Africa!
You carcass for every
alien scavenger
You open wound to
every Jabir and John
How oblivious you are
to your Saracean slaver
What a merciful saint
you are; what a pawn
To every megalomaniac
and messianic vulture
Wasn't it Nkrumah who
first saw the throne?
They banished him; I
can vividly remember
They betrayed him for
few sacks of corn
And after forty years
of wines and winter
After lifeless,
loveless, long nights of lorn
After decades of the
eternal death's encounter
Do I see or do I
dream of the first signs of dawn
Oh! No; don't you
wake me up brother
No; not to the same
howls and horn
Not to the same
wolves' prayer
As the new century's
lonely lovelorn.
Hood Notes
Darfur Peace?
The conflict in the Darfur region of western
Sudan began in 2003, when rebels among the most disadvantaged groups rose up
against the Khartoum government. To defeat the insurgency, the Khartoum regime
employed Arab militia, called Janjaweed, and adopted a policy of ethnic
cleansing.
Typically conducted with Khartoum's regular
military forces, the Janjaweed assaults raped and killed men women and
children, burned buildings, poisoned wells, destroyed crops and fruit trees
and, in general, rendered villages unfit for human habitation. Survivors fled,
mainly to neighboring Chad. More than 300,000 people, mainly black Africans,
have been killed and millions more have been injured, raped and displaced.
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell termed the situation in Darfur
"genocide" as defined in Article 2 of the 1948 UN Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of Genocide
On May 5, 2006, a peace agreement was signed
between the Khartoum government and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). While two
of the insurgency groups refused to sign the peace plan, negotiators believe
the Abuja peace plan offers the best hope of ending the killing. Detractors point
to the lack of implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement struck
between Khartoum and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Front and Army (SPLA) in
2005. They hold out little hope for peace or change in how Sudan's wealth,
especially its oil wealth, is distributed.
Bit of History
Kwame Nkrumah
(1909-1972)
Francis Nwia-Kofi Ngonloma was born in Nkroful,
Gold Coast (Ghana) on September 21, 1909. Educated at Catholic mission schools,
Kwame Nkrumah was an excellent student. He taught elementary school, before
receiving his teacher's certificate at Achimota College (1930) in Accra,
capital of the Gold Coast.
Nkrumah came to the USA (1935), where he received
a BA in economics and sociology from Lincoln University (1939) and a theology
degree from the Lincoln Theological Seminary (1942). From the University of
Pennsylvania, he received a MS in education (1942) and a MA in Philosophy
(1943). During his studies in the USA, he formed an African student's
organization and became a popular speaker and advocate for the liberation of
Africa from European colonialism and Pan-Africanism, cooperation between all
people of African descent and for the political union of an independent Africa.
Nkrumah studied law at the London School of Economics (1945). After attending a meeting to organize the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England, Nkrumah began to work towards the decolonization of Africa. He ended his academic studies (1946) to become secretary general of the West African National Secretariat. That year, he became Vice-President of West African Students Union, a pro-independence group comprised of young, politically active Africans studying in Britain.
On December 10, 1947, Nkrumah returned to the
Gold Coast. Discontent with British colonial rule seethed as he began a series
of speaking engagements and joined the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), a
nationalist political party. In January 1948, he became General Secretary of
the UGCC.
In December 1949, Nkrumah formed the Convention
People's Party (CPP) and declared 'Positive Action' - mass action in the form
of boycotts, strikes and civil disobedience. Imprisoned by the British for
sedition (1950), he was released in 1951 when his party swept the general
election. Nkrumah was appointed prime minister (1952). The Gold Coast was
declared independent on March 6, 1957, and it became the Republic of Ghana
(1960).
A proponent of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah declared
in celebrating Ghana's liberation, "We again re-dedicate ourselves in the
struggle to emancipate other countries in Africa, for our independence is
meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African
continent." He offered generous assistance to other African nationalists
to achieve that goal. His efforts helped bring about the Organization of
African Unity (OAU), which promoted peace and cooperation between African
nations. In 1963, Ghana became a charter member of the (OAU).
Nkrumah served as prime minister of Ghana
(1957-60) and president of the republic (1960-66). Nkrumah established a strong
central government and tried to unify the nation politically and use its
resources for rapid economic development. The various economic projects that he
undertook were generally unsuccessful and enormously expensive. Moreover, Ghana
never became totally independence of Western imports as Nkrumah had hoped.
An economic downturn, political strife,
assassination attempts and general unrest led Nkrumah establishing Ghana as a
one-party state with himself as Life President (1964). He became increasingly
unpopular. On February 24, 1966, while Nkrumah visited Beijing and Hanoi, a
military coup overthrew his government. Nkrumah never returned to Ghana. He
lived in exile in Guinea; he died in Romania while seeking medical treatment in
April 1972.
Nkrumah wrote Ghana: The Autobiography of
Kwame Nkrumah (1957), Africa Must Unite (1963), African
Personality (1963), Neo-Colonialism: the Last Stage of Imperialism
(1965), Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah (1967), African Socialism
Revisited (1967), Voice From Conakry (1967), Handbook for
Revolutionary Warfare (1968), Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology
for De-Colonisation (1970), Class Struggle in Africa (1970), The
Struggle Continues (1973), I Speak of Freedom (1973) and Revolutionary
Path (1973) (Sources: www.aaregistry.com,
www.infoplease.com,
www.cwo.com
and www.greatepicbooks.com)
For the Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro, the 2005-2006 school year has been exceptionally long and difficult. He has been eagerly awaiting its end since the beginning of the second semester. Strangely, his outlook changed when this year's battery of tests ended. Teaching seems to have ceased; there is no longer homework. Schools act as babysitters and may as well have closed for summer vacation already. According to the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro, "School gets better as the time grows shorter."
By John Burl Smith
While clearing out and throwing away old papers,
Dot came across a little black book entitled Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah:
Freedom Fighters' Edition, published in 1967. Reading through it,
Nkrumah's observations regarding Africa then and his wisdom for Africans today
rose from it pages like a ghostly apperception! Reading his haunting
reflections, I wondered why Africans fail to trust his insightful analysis.
Here are some excerpts:
"Africa is marching forward to freedom
and no power on earth can halt her now! Africa must unite. It is within our
hands to join our strength and draw sustenance from the diversity of our rich
and varied traditions and culture. Together, acting for the protection and
benefit of us all, this is not only an opportunity but a historic duty. We
shall then be in a better position to liberate our brothers and sisters in
colonial bondage, drive imperialism and neo-colonialism from our continent, and
become a powerful ally of the Asian people in their own struggles against
imperialism.
What are the aspirations of Africans? They
desire to regain their independence and live in peace. They desire to use their
independence to raise their standard of living, create a union of African
states on the continent, and thus neutralize the evil effects of the artificial
boundaries imposed by the imperial powers at the Berlin Conference of 1884.
What does Africa need? Africa needs new types
of citizens that are dedicated, modest, honest and informed men and women.
Those who submerge their self interest in the service to the nation and
mankind. Who abhor greed and detest vanity. A new type of person whose humility
is their strength and whose integrity is their greatest.
It is said often, Africa is poor. It is not
Africa that is poor. It is Africans, who are impoverished by centuries of
exploitation and domination. Africa is a paradox of neo-colonialism. Her earth
is rich, yet the products that come from above and below the soil continue to
enrich, not Africans, but groups and individuals who operate to impoverish
Africa.
When studying modern Africa, we must think in
continental terms. Liberation movements which have emerged in Africa have all
been aspects of a single African revolution. These movements can only be
understood from the standpoint of the colonial situation in which they operate
and the special problems they face. These attempts to achieve political and
economic independence, and advance toward continental unity have been
consistently and insidiously sabotaged by neo-colonialist. For years, a virtual
state of war has existed in Africa between developing independent
states and foreign interests determined to maintain their stranglehold
on the economic life of our continent.
The only road open to Africa's survival is
unity. Africa must unit! If in the past the Sahara divided us, today it must
unit us because an injury to one is an injury to all! If we do not formulate
plans for unity, we will soon be fighting and warring among ourselves with
imperialists and colonialists standing behind the screen, pulling strings to
make us cut each other's throats for their diabolical purposes in Africa.
Divided we are weak: united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for
good and peace in the world.
Africans do not have to reinvent the wheel.
If the United States of America had remained divide into separate states, would
North America have the authority in councils of the world that the US exercises
today? The United States of Africa could be just as powerful!
Disgruntled feels: Neo-Colonialism!
Africa is beset by problems that include war, disease and poverty. Many look
upon the continent as poor and lacking leadership to bring it into modern
society. Yet, Africa is tremendously rich in many of the natural resources
highly prized by developed countries, particularly its former colonial masters.
While its people are some of the world's poorest, Africa is a chief source of
oil, gold, diamonds and tantalum, which is used in mobile telephones. Wherever
these precious resources exist, there is armed conflict. The indigenous people
suffer, while Western companies and their shareholders get rich. Colonialism
may have ended in Africa in the 1960's, but the flow of wealth from Africa to
the West never ended.
Disgruntled wants to
know: A May 13, 2006 www.truthout.org
article by Jason Leopold claimed Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald advised
Bush political advisor Karl Rove's attorneys that the grand jury investigating
the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame had indicted their client. Citing
sources close to the investigation, Leopold wrote that Rove has advised the
White House of his indictment for perjury and lying to investigators. There has
been no public announcement. Alas, is this some cruel joke?
Disgruntled says:
Like much of the West, France built its wealth on the backs of African slaves.
On the fifth anniversary of passage of a law recognizing slavery as a crime
against humanity, France held Europe's first national day of remembrance to
confront France's colonial history. In opening a Slavery Remembrance Day art
exhibition in Paris' Luxembourg Gardens, French President Jacques Chirac
declared the commemoration one of the keys to national cohesion. Ceremonies
were held around France and in Senegal, France's ex-colony from where slaves
were shipped to the Caribbean. Critics of the effort claim it does not address
the ongoing marginalization of slave descendants and France's colonial legacy,
which haunts contemporary Africa. Moreover, many in the diaspora are equally
ambivalent. While they see France's effort as a mere token, it far exceeds what
the rest of the West has done to acknowledge its colonial past and make
restitution for their crime against humanity.
Enterprise Africa!
With its myriad of problems, i.e., famine, disease, political corruption and
war, Africa has grown poorer with each decade since gaining its independence.
The continent faces a formidable challenge in improving the lives of its
people.
While western elites hold conferences on how best to redistribute wealth,
Enterprise Africa, which is based in the Mercatus Center at George Mason
University, believes the possibility of realizing the greatest benefits for the
people of Africa resides with Africa's people. It points to the hidden
successes that are making a real difference in the lives of Africa's people
today.
Enterprise Africa hopes to demonstrate that solutions need not be imported from
abroad, but only unleashed from within the continent. It provides resources for
people who care about the future of Africa and the rest of the world, so they
can make better decisions about what to do about the very real horrors of
extreme poverty on the continent.
Using scientific case studies, the Enterprise Africa team will identify and
learn from examples of how the institutional arrangements in different African
nations are facilitating enterprise and poverty alleviation and how
entrepreneurs are succeeding to the benefit of their communities. Sounds
exciting for the future of Africa? Learn more about Enterprise Africa at www.mercatus.org/enterpriseafrica/index.php.
Mailbox:
E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls
Email www.buzzflash.com
...The Times and USA Today have Missed the Bigger Story -- Again...By Greg
Palast..I know you're shocked -- SHOCKED! -- that George Bush is listening in
on all your phone calls. Without a warrant. That's nothing. And it's not news.
This is: the snooping into your phone bill is just the snout of the pig of a
strange, lucrative link-up between the Administration's Homeland Security spy
network and private companies operating beyond the reach of the laws meant to
protect us from our government. You can call it the privatization of the FBI --
though it is better described as the creation of a private KGB.
Email www.commondreams.org
The Real Oil Story: The Oil in Iraq...By Walter Simpson...Oil is pretty
slippery stuff. The press is playing up $3 a gallon gasoline, record oil
company profits, and the $400 million retirement package for Exxon's former
CEO. These stories are trivial compared to the war in Iraq. It's an oil war.
And you don't have to take my word for it. Read former Republican strategist
Kevin Phillips new book, "American Theocracy: the Peril and Politics of
Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century." The
corporate media may have failed us, but authors like Phillips are providing the
needed analysis.
Email www.chicagotribune.com Ghana plans to offer lifetime visas to slave descendants...By Laurie Goering...Ever since Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, invited his classmates from Pennsylvania's Lincoln University to come home with him to help build Africa, African-Americans have been coming to Ghana....Today the country, once at the heart of Africa's slave-trading routes, has the largest community of African-Americans in West Africa. Now Ghana, a poor country eager for more American tourists, donors and investors, is about to make life even easier for its far-flung black diaspora: It plans to offer slave descendants lifetime visas or dual citizenship.
Email barrieelaine1@yahoo.com "A tyrant
must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less
apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing
and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing
that he has the gods on his side." -Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
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