----- Original Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2000 7:21 PM
Subject: BLACK WORLD CONFERENCE-ATLANTA-OCT 2001


>
> Date:  Mon, 11 Dec 2000 11:23:15 -0800 (PST)
> "Creating Our 21st Century" Is Theme For Black World
> Conference

>
> By Ron Daniels
>
> In an article some months ago, I wrote that into the
> 21st century, Africans in the U.S. and the world must
> prepare to "compete or perish," that greater unity,
> cooperation and collective action in pursuit of shared
> goals will be required if people of African descent
> are to reassume our historical role as a leading force
> for justice and humanity on this planet. It is to
> pursue this vital mission that the African American
> Institute for Research and Empowerment, the
> organization which convened State of the Race
> Conferences in Baltimore in 1994 and 1997, has asked
> me to serve as the Convener of the Planning Committee
> of what promises to be the first great global
> gathering of people of African descent in the 21st
> century - The State of the Black World Conference
> (SOBWC), October 10-14, 2001 in Atlanta. The online
> newspaper The Black World Today (www.tbwt.com) will
> serve as a major co-sponsor and principal source of
> information for the conference. The Call for the SOBWC
> was issued at a State of the Black World Forum
> convened at the National Press Club in Washington,
> D.C., November 21. The event was carried live on
> C-SPAN.
>
> The goal of SOBWC is to attract people of African
> descent from Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South
> America, Canada and Europe as well as the United
> States. An effort will also be undertaken to reach out
> to the Aboriginal people of Australia and the Black
> people of Papua New Guinea and the Islands of the
> Pacific. One of the major objectives of SOBWC will be
> to "bridge the gap and heal the painful and harmful
> divisions between various peoples of African descent
> within the African/Black family, e.g., African
> Americans, Africans on the continent, Africans from
> the Caribbean and Afro-Latinos." The thought is that
> Black people must comprise a global united front to
> work for the uplift of people of African descent and
> suffering humanity.
>
> To achieve these objectives SOBWC is designed to
> identify critical issues facing Black people around
> the world and to engage a dialogue about the true
> meaning of "freedom" and "liberation" in the 21st
> century. With all of Africa and most of the Caribbean
> "liberated" from colonialism and Africans in the U.S.
> and other parts of the world occupying prestigious
> positions of power, the question is why are the masses
> of Black people still suffering and what can be done
> to transform the oppressed condition of the masses of
> Black people as we enter a new millennium. Reparations
> for the holocaust of enslavement and the ravages of
> colonialism and neo-colonialism will be a major topic
> of discussion in this regard.
>
> Beyond the networking and information sharing that
> will take place at SOBWC, the organizers hope to
> create a Black World Network of organizations and
> agencies willing to work for the reconstruction and
> restoration of people of African descent and Pan
> African Councils to facilitate the forging of
> operational unity among Black people within particular
> cities, towns or geographic regions. The organizers
> also envision the creation of an Institute of the
> Black World to serve as the continuations mechanism
> for SOBWC and the clearinghouse for the Black World
> Network and Pan African Councils.
>
> As the Convener of the Planning Committee, it is my
> hope that thousands of people of African descent will
> heed the call and come to Atlanta for SOBWC. As the
> recent election in this country demonstrates, Black
> people continue to be disrespected and disregarded,
> the colorline is still a prohibitive barrier blocking
> the path to full freedom for people of African
> descent, particularly the Black masses. Africa is the
> richest continent on the face of the earth and yet the
> resources of this vast continent are not being used
> for the benefit of African people. The Caribbean also
> has enormous human, cultural and material assets but
> here again these assets are not being effectively
> utilized for the self-development of Black people.
> Some of the fault lies with corrupt, self-aggrandizing
> Black leaders who squander the people's resources.
> Other Black leaders simply lack the vision, commitment
> and will to fight for the kind of liberation that
> would transform the wretched condition of the masses
> of Black people. However, white supremacy, in all its
> manifestations -- slavery, colonialism,
> neo-colonialism and apartheid - remains the
> fundamental contradiction thwarting the forward
> progress of Black people. All over the world, forces
> external to Black nations and communities decisively
> control or influence the destiny of Black people.
>
> Obviously this circumstance must change. Though I am
> not one to cavalierly dismiss the importance of Black
> leadership, I believe that ordinary Black people in
> this country and the world must seize the moment and
> decide to make a difference. I believe that "we are
> the leaders we've been looking for" and I have faith
> that if we can bring people of like mind and spirit
> together at SOBWC, we will galvanize a movement to
> rescue and restore the race. At SOBWC we will
> definitely have high profile personalities and
> luminaries, but the real leaders will be the thousands
> of ordinary people who journey to Atlanta, determined
> to make history. Ordinary people must decide to affirm
> and act on Garvey's powerful exhortation, "up you
> mighty race, you can accomplish what you will."
> October 10-14, 2001, for people of African descent,
> all roads will lead to Atlanta, Georgia for the State
> of the Black World Conference as we prepare to
> undertake the vital task of Creating Our 21st Century!
>
> Ron Daniels can be reached at [log in to unmask]
>
> Click Here to listen to Taped segments of the state of
> the Black World Discussions
>
> Click Here for Herb Boyd's Report on the Seminar
>
> Editor's note: The views expressed in this commentary
> are those of the author and do not necessarily
> represent those of The Black World Today.
>
> Send your comments and suggestions to:
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
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