This is a favorite site of mine, and organization that I have been
affiliated with for sometime. I thought it would be helpful and very
informative on issues affecting the African World "Diaspora". I will
continue to share information from this site along with upcoming events.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this list, go to:
http://www.transafricaforum.org/join/index.shtml
Tina Jones,
e-mails: [log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
"I am sick and tired of being sick and tired"
Fannie Lou Hammer
"No people can live successfully, fruitfully, triumphantly without strong
memory of their past, without reading the future within the context of some
reassuring past, without implanting reminders of that past in the present."
Randall Robinson
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 11:19 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: TransAfrica Forum News: A New TransAfrica Forum for a New Century
TransAfrica Forum News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A New TransAfrica Forum for a New Century
By Bill Fletcher, Jr., President of TransAfrica Forum
I am honored to be taking over as president of TransAfrica Forum as
we enter the 21st century. It is an awesome task and responsibility. Many
people have asked me how I plan on filling the shoes of Randall Robinson.
My short answer is that I cannot. Through Randall's leadership this
organization was built. It reignited the anti-apartheid struggle in the USA
and later awakened many people to the struggles for democracy in Nigeria and
Haiti.
Today we face a series of new challenges, and in that regard we need
to re-tool TransAfrica Forum as an organization. The last several years
have witnessed the growth of a mass, progressive response to neo-liberal
globalization. The global justice movement, as it has come to be known, has
mounted major demonstrations in cities such as Seattle, Quebec, Washington,
and Genoa to protest the destructive role of international financial
institutions and multi-national corporations both in the global North and
the global South. Missing from that response, however, has been the mass
involvement of people of color in general and Black people in particular.
This is paradoxical since globalization has had a disproportionate impact on
people of color, whether here or overseas. Whether one makes note of the
pharmaceutical companies which have held back on medicines because of low
profit margins; the restrictions which have existed on the right and ability
of countries to buy or produc!
e generic drugs; the egregious debt under which countries of the global
South have been suffering; the imposed economic 'reforms' which countries
have been forced to undertake in order to gain financial assistance (reforms
which all undermine self-determination); or, closer to home, the removal of
entire industries from the inner cities of the USA which eliminates the
ability for workers of color to gain a descent living standard, these are
all issues which should concern people of color generally, and Black America
in particular. These are not alien issues; these are not issues of
exclusive interest to white student activists. These are issues for us as
well.
Faced with this situation, an organization rooted in Black America,
as is TransAfrica Forum, must step up to the plate and join with others in
order to link domestic concerns regarding social and economic justice, with
global concerns about justice. In taking this on we are actively opposing
the marginalization of the Black World which globalization has brought
about.
Re-tooling TransAfrica Forum means, among other things, building the
Forum as an organizing and education center. It is my hope that we can join
with other organizations and individuals in mounting campaigns around issues
relevant to the Diaspora. Two areas that are of immediate importance are
global justice (as mentioned above) and support for labor movements in
Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. Unfortunately, the issue of labor
and workers is all too often ignored when there are discussions concerning
development and justice in the Black World. Not only is such an approach
morally wrong, but it is also archaic. One impact of globalization has been
an accelerated polarization of wealth internationally, but also within the
global South. Ruling economic and political elites have in many cases
aligned themselves with the interests of the international financial
institutions and multi-national corporations to the detriment of the masses
of their people. Trade union!
s in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America have become major vehicles for
advancing the struggle for political democracy and economic justice. There
is a long history to this, where the trade union movement, particularly in
Africa and the Caribbean, served as a leading force in the anti-colonial
movement. They now serve in the fight against what has increasingly been
described as efforts at the recolonization of the global South.
In order for any of this to succeed it will be essential that we
expand the influence of TransAfrica Forum among younger activists, unite
with the efforts and organizations of students, and develop a presence in
the student movement. Black students have historically played a critical
role in raising awareness about international justice issues. We, of
TransAfrica Forum, need to help to rekindle this.
Finally, our decision to sell the building at 1744 "R" Street, NW
was an important move by the Board. It represents a re-energizing of
TransAfrica Forum. In planning for the future the Board has been
considering what sort of building is necessary to meet the needs of an
organization that seeks to promote movement-building and the training of new
organizers and activists. As Board Chair Danny Glover said recently to me,
we need a location that is a hub of activity and excitement. We need staff,
volunteers and allies coming in and out on a regular basis, using the
building as a headquarters for the various campaigns we seek to mount.
Your involvement, as a supporter of the work of TransAfrica Forum
remains critical. As we move forward with the development of plans, we will
seek to initiate the sorts of campaigns mentioned above, campaigns that
cannot rely on staff alone but will need dedicated volunteers. We want to
build campaigns and initiatives that touch upon and activate the energies of
those within Black America who recognize that our domestic concerns always
play out in an international context.
Thanks for being there. We look forward to working with you, and,
as I like to say, let's rock and roll.
_____________________________________________
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this list, go to:
http://www.transafricaforum.org/join/index.shtml
To contact Bill Fletcher, send email to:
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Questions or comments? Send email to:
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News tips, press releases? Send email to:
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Copyright 2002 by TransAfrica Forum
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