ATTENTION AFRICANS IN THE DIASPORA
dlh ‘06
The African Union has invited Diasporans to become voting members of the AU
so that together we can move toward making the unification of the African
continent into the reality called the Union of African States (or United
States of Africa) in the near future. The AU designated the Diaspora as the
Sixth Region of Africa (the other five regions being North, South, East,
West and Central Africa). We are supposed to be ready with a Diasporan
delegation for the AU ECOSOCC Commission meeting in the middle of 2007 (We
have less than nine months and no time to spare). We are urging all Pan
Africanist organizers in the USA, Canada, Central America/South America,
Brazil, the Caribbean and Europe to take it upon themselves to make sure
that their individual state, region or country is represented in this
Diasporan delegation. This has been a critical goal of global Pan
Africanists since the concept was introduced to the world in the nineteenth
century.
How do we organize ourselves to accept this invitation? In every
geographical area in which Diasporans currently reside, please call Town
Hall meetings and caucuses (put out flyers, send out e-mails, newspaper
announcements, etc.) to explain the AU/Diasporan invitation and its
significance, and to get Pan Africanists nominated and elected as AU
Representatives. Diasporan AU Representatives must be elected, not
self-appointed. This has already occurred in California and the successful
method that state used is summarized below. That method has recently been
accepted by WHADN as one of the ones WHADN will advocate to help get the
Diasporan representation together. WHADN, by the way, stands for Western
Hemisphere African Diasporan Network, and it is the Washington, D.C.-based
group that has been designated by the AU as the official town-cryers for the
Western portions of the AU/Diasporan connection. WHADN will not organize the
Diasporaâ€"we have to do that for ourselvesâ€"but it will provide needed
information and support plus it will facilitate the organization of the
Diaspora.
Reparationists, Pan African nationalists, scientific socialists and other
community activists of the African community are all a part of this effort.
The AU invitation will certainly be accepted by elected members of the
Diaspora in 2007, so we all need to make sure we are represented within that
body. If you have any questions about the process described below, or need
any assistance in coordinating or conducting your area’s Town Hall
meetings and caucuses to elect AU Representatives, please contact either:
[log in to unmask] <meetingmaat%40aol.com> (David L. Horne, PAOC/RUF) or
[log in to unmask] <ras_nathaniel%40hotmail.com>
(Ras Nathaniel Blake, WHADN).
. METHODOLOGY FOR ORGANIZING THE DIASPORA
There are a few “facts†to re-state first. Even though there
have been clusters of groups mobilizing for particular events, or organizing
themselves in various parts of the Diaspora (e.g., Maroons against
plantation owners, Haitians against the French, Nicaraguan Afrodescendants
for Self-Sufficency, the many, many UNIA-ACL chapters throughout the world,
etc.) within the last four or five centuries since the Maafa dispersal that
created the Diaspora, the Diaspora has never been organized as a coherent
body. Thus, any effective methodology utilized to attempt a primary
organization of this amorphous group will, by definition, not be definitive.
At best, any effective methodology to organize the Diaspora will be a
Get-Off-The-Ground effort to Get Us Started. In actual practice, elected
Diasporans are expected to finesse, adjust, or even radically change the
primary methodology based on newer information that will emerge in the next
five years. This includes a future transformation of the current AU
definition of the Diaspora. Thus, the following “Methodology For
Organizing the Diaspora†needs to be seen as a continuing
Work-In-Progress, and not as a fait accompli.
To repeat: The AU Sixth Region is composed of African and African
descendants residing in the USA, Canada, Central and South America, the
Caribbean, and Brazil (Western Hemisphere) and in Europe. Neither one
individual nor one current organization in these six geographical areas can,
or is expected to, adequately represent the diverse interests of the
Diaspora at the AU meetings. However, it will be through the existing civil
society/community-based organizations that such AU representation will be
organized and chosen.
Organizing the Sixth Region
I. Each of the 6 sub-regions of the AU Sixth Region will hold Town Hall
meetings/caucuses at which representatives to the AU will be elected. It is
a requirement/expectation of the AU that such Diasporan representatives be
sent from a body comprising as diverse a number of Diasporans in the
particular area as is possible. In other words, Sixth Region representatives
are not supposed to self-select ‘themselves.’
II. Existing African-centered organizations, clubs and associations in each
part of the Diaspora must take the initiative in their own areas to call
forth at least one general Town Hall meeting/caucus of Diasporans interested
in the AU process. Thus, in the USA, existing Pan African organizations in
each state are expected to contact other African descendants in that state
to attend at least one organizing Town Hall meeting/caucus to be educated
about the AU, to discuss a Pan African agenda, and to elect AU
representatives from that state. If one meeting or gathering is sufficient,
great, but the expectation is that it will take at least two. Similarly,
African-centered organizations in Canadian provinces, in Caribbean
countries, Central/South American states and countries, and European
countries, are expected to organize, advertise and hold AU Town Hall
meetings/caucuses to elect representatives. The details of having such
elections are up to each sub-regional area.
III. The ultimate aim of sub-regional elections is to create a body called
the 6th Region Diasporan Caucus, which will meet at least once a year as a
collective group (a few days before AU Commission meetings, or some other
relevant times) and will include the elected members from each of the 6
sub-regions. It is also recommended that each of the areas of the sub-region
create an AU Sub-Regional Caucus that will meet at least once a year (prior
to the annual 6th Region Diasporan Caucus meeting) to organize itself and to
acquire coherency and clarity on the interest agenda it will represent from
its constituents to the AU.
IV. In each of the 6 sub-regions of the AU Sixth Region, it is recommended
that the following process (with situational adjustments as needed) be
followed. On May 20 and July 15, 2006, in Los Angeles, California, this
primary process was successfully tested and California elected 2 AU
representatives (plus 2 Observers), one from Northern California, and one
from Southern California.
(1) In each of the 6 sub-regions, there must be at least one
African-centered group that accepts the challenge of contacting other
groups, conducting educational gatherings on the AU, and assisting
sub-regional organizations in hosting and coordinating a Town Hall
meeting/caucus to elect AU representatives. In many cases, that group should
be and will be WHADN, the organization officially designated by the AU to
help educate the Diaspora about getting organized to participate in the AU.
In other cases, it will be a Pan African/Reparations group that has educated
itself about the importance of the AU invitation and is willing to extend
itself into a broader body of organizing work. In the USA, one such group
will be the PAOC/RUF (310-967-5871) in conjunction with representatives of
PANASTRAG-USA.
(2) In the USA, African-centered and Pan African groups in each state will
hold Town Hall caucuses/meetings in each of the 50 states of the USA, hold
candidates' forums and will elect 2 representatives from each state, and up
to 5 Observers. Voting eligibility will consist of having residence in the
particular state, being African American (Afrodescendant) or African
descendant, and being at least 18 years of age. In the USA, this will result
in approximately 100 elected representatives, who will each receive training
in international diplomacy before attending AU sessions, and who will meet
at relevant times in a body to clarify the African American/African
descendant agenda and then take that agenda to various AU meetings to help
build the Union of African states with the Diaspora’s voice included in
that process. From this body of 100â€"which will represent the AU
Sub-Regional Caucus-USA--- will be elected/selected the USA representatives
to the AU 6th Region Diasporan Caucus for each available AU position,
committee or working group.
(3) Elect each representative for the AU Sub-Regional Caucus position to
serve for a term of two years, and be eligible for election for a second and
final term of two years. In no circumstances will a representative serve
more than 2 terms of 2 years.
(4) These 2 representatives (and Observers) will be elected from eligible
candidates by simple majority votes (raised hands or paper ballots).
Representatives who violate the public's trust or who demonstrate disrespect
for the Black (African descendant) community can be removed by calling a
special Town Hall meeting in the city in which the representative was
elected, having a discussion on why/why not be removed, and a simple
majority vote that approximates the same number and/or percentage of
constituents who voted the representative into office. This can only occur
after the first 6 months, or after the first 12 months, or before the 18th
month of a final term. If the representative is in the last six months of
the fourth year of service, such representative will be allowed to finish
out that final term.
(5) For this method to be disseminated to other states, WHADN and
volunteers from the Los Angeles ROUNDTABLE/FORUM, and the PAOC/RUF will be
available to help facilitate state Town Hall meetings, and/or pass out
educational materials and advice on how to proceed, when they are requested.
RECOMMENDED MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR CANDIDATES TO BE DIASPORAN
REPRESENTATIVES TO THE AFRICAN UNION (USED IN CALIFORNIA TO ELECT ITS AU
REPRESENTATIVES)
1. As required by the AU, representatives from the Diaspora must be elected
by a
credible constituent body.
2. Representatives from the Diaspora must be at least 18 years of age or
older.
3. It is not expected that either one individual or one African-oriented
organization can
adequately represent the diverse interests of the Diaspora as the Sixth
Region of the
African Union.
4. A person desiring to be a representative must have a demonstrated history
of African-
centered work in and/or for the Black (African descendant) community.
6. A person desiring to be a representative has to identify with being a
member of the
African and African Descendants (Afrodescendants) population.
7. A person desiring to be a representative has to have consistent access to
financial
resources which will allow her/him to travel to Africa, and other sites
of AU and AU-
related meetings, and pay for related housing accommodations. At this
point in history,
the AU cannot be relied upon to provide consistent travel expenses for
Diasporan
representatives.
8. A person desiring to be a representative for the Diaspora must have the
ability to write
well, or to have access to someone who is able to accurately transcribe
meeting notes,
so that the representative will be able to regularly report the official
decisions of
meetings to the Black (African descendant) community to which the
representative is
accountable.
9. A person desiring to be a representative must have the time to do so,
including the
latitude to be out of the country sometimes for several consecutive days
or weeks on
AU business. There will be a minimum of four required meetings a year
for Diasporan
representatives, including two on the continent, at least one otherwise
outside the USA, and at least one national meeting (with the possibility
of several other special
meetings). Meetings on the continent usually last from one week to one
month.
10. A person desiring to be a representative must be willing to attend a
minimum of four
diplomatic training sessions in order to get properly prepared to
represent the
Diaspora well at the international level.
***For those nominated to be AU Representatives, they were then requested
to:
A. Please send a Resume or Activities Summary that directly relates to the
10 Minimum
Requirements items listed above.
B. Please send a brief essay (3-5 pages) stating why you feel yourself to be
well qualified
to be an elected Representative of the Diaspora to the African Union.
BRIEF BACKGROUND TO THE AU INVITATION TO THE DIASPORA
In 2001, the African Union (AU) succeeded the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) as the single, continent-wide body to represent the joint interests of
African countries. As the preeminent mission of the OAU was to assist
African countries in achieving political independence and economic
self-sufficiency, the primary aim of the AU is to achieve a Pan African
unification of the 54 African countries into a single Union of African
States. The need to involve the Diaspora in the relentless effort that is
required to achieve such a Union of African States was recognized and
codified in the original Constitutive Act that established the African Union
(and officially disbanded the OAU) in 2001. In 2003, and 2005, that
Constitutive Act was amended and clarified regarding the Diaspora, such that
the operative statement now is Article 3 (q) that the AU hereby "..
invite(s) and encourage(s) the full participation of the African Diaspora as
an important part of our continent, in the building of the African Union."
The AU is currently establishing several Diasporan Secretariats in various
parts of the world to help to facilitate bringing the Diasporans into this
process. There is one already established for the Western Hemisphere (in
Washington, D.C.) called the WHADN, one being established for Europe, and
one being set up in Ghana (to assist with Ghana's Joseph Plan strategy to
attract Diasporans back to Ghana and to Africa as a whole). The WHADN
(Western Hemisphere African Diaspora Network) out of Washington, D.C. has a
mandate to help Diasporans (who recognize themselves as Africans and African
descendants) organize themselves in six sub-regions--Canada, the United
States, Latin America/Central America, the Caribbean, Brazil, and Europe.
The WHADN has a fully formed calendar of educational trips planned for
2006-2007 to disseminate accurate information about the AU and the Diaspora,
and the trips have already started (Howard University, Harvard University,
community groups in Connecticut, etc.) There have been several pivotal
meetings thus far to push this agenda forward. As examples, there was a
meeting of Pan African scholars in Dakar in 2004 to define and analyze the
Diaspora, the AU-Western Hemisphere Diaspora Forum in December, 2002
(Washington, D.C.), Addis Ababa in 2003 and 2005 to approve a definition and
to clarify a stronger commitment to bringing the Diaspora in, two major New
York gatherings in 2004-2005 to begin organizing a Diasporan model, the Pan
African unification meeting in Atlanta in March, 2006, and the PAN AFRICAN
ROUNDTABLE/FORUM held in Los Angeles in April, 2006, which created the
current model. The issue of defining the Diaspora for purposes of
representation has been engaged, just not yet completely resolved.
In 2005, the AU submitted to us its own definition: "The African
Diaspora are peoples of African descent and heritage living outside the
continent, irrespective of their citizenship and who remain committed to
contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the
African Union." This was the definition accepted during the L.A.
ROUNDTABLE/FORUM in April, 2006, and used in the creation of the methodology
currently being used to elect AU Representatives. It means there are Pan
African Black and Brown folk who represent the African Diaspora and who will
be encouraged to come forward and invest some time, energy, will and money
to move Africa ahead.
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