This is the first of a two-part article
on the origin and development of African Liberation Day (ALD). The celebration
of African Liberation Day in the United States began in May of 1972 in
Washington, D.C. More than 60,000 people participated in this historic
event.
In 1973, ALD was decentralized and Chicago
sponsored its first ALD celebration in May of that year. Since that time,
we have celebrated ALD in various ways, with parades, rallies, and cultural
programs. From the 1980's through 1997, NBUF, Chicago Chapter sponsored
ALD on the Westside where we marched down Madison Street and culminated
with a rally and cultural programs in Garfield Park. These ALD events have
been very successful and we have been honored to sponsor them. In recent
years, we have moved the celebration to the Southside of Chicago and have
changed the format of our festivities.
This year, the National Black United Front,
Chicago Chapter, in conjunction with The Conscious Music Coalition, and
The Legacy Theater have decided to expand the celebration into a weekend
of events and activities with an African Marketplace beginning Friday,
May 19'" through Saturday, May 20th.
This celebration will take place at The
Legacy Theater located at 12952 South Western Avenue. On Friday evening
May 19th we pay tribute to the 75th Anniversary of the birth of Malcolm
X beginning at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday, May 20th there will be a special
showing of the movie Sankofa at 12:00 p.m. Dr. Leonard Jeffries
of New York will be our keynote speaker beginning at 3:00 p.m. and on Saturday
evening Kwame Steve Cobb, Chavunduka, Maggie Brown, Michael Ross,
Keith M. Kelly, Sherrie Scott, and others will perform. Show time begins
at 7:00 p.m. (For more information call: 708-389-9929, 773-268-7500, ext.
144, 773-667-7578, or 708-293-0925.)
African Liberation Day has become an institution
throughout the African world. It is a day when all people of African ancestry
should come together. Whether you were born in Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia,
Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Haiti, Jamaica,
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Belize, Bahia, Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico,
or Chicago, as long as you are Black, you are an African, with a common
heritage, and a common set of conditions.
As we prepare to participate in the upcoming
weekend of events and activities, we must always remember the origin and
development of African Liberation Day. Our ancestor, Kwamé Turé
explained 'ALD' was founded by Kwame Nkrumah on the occasion of the First
Conference of Independent States held in Accra, Ghana and attended by eight
independent states. The 15th of April was declared African Freedom Day
to mark each year the onward process of the liberation movement, and to
symbolize the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves
from foreign domination and exploitation."
Further, the AAPRP (All-African People's
Revolutionary Party) points out that, "On the 25th of May 1963, 31 African
heads of state convened a summit meeting to found the Organization of African
Unity. They proclaimed May 25th as ALD and called for mass demonstrations
and manifestations in every corner of Africa and the African Diaspora."
The idea of ALD has its origins in the
long history of African people to break free of the yoke of European domination
and white supremacy. This is a time in which we emphasize our a common
past, common set of problems, and a common future.
The capturing of millions of African people,
who were placed in slavery and introduced into the western hemisphere as
property and commodities, is the backdrop upon which we commemorate African
Liberation Day.
It was the slave trade industry of the
fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries involving Britain, France,
Portugal, Spain, and Germany that served as the foundation for these western
powers and provided them the margin of profit in getting the greatest return
off of their investment. The western world still seeks to keep Africa and
African people worldwide in bondage, so they can continue to maximize the
greatest return off-of their initial investment.
After chattel slavery was abolished in
England and the United States, the slave trade industry began to wind down.
The former slave-trading nations found themselves no longer needing slaves,
but yet stumbled upon the natural resources of Africa. They began to fight
each other over the gold, diamonds, and other mineral resources they were
discovering.
This resulted in the calling of the Berlin
Conference in 1 884, where the European powers united to divide the continent
of Africa among themselves. It has been discussed, historically, that those
who control Africa, control the world. Therefore, the Berlin Conference
was a crowning blow in African history. The results of this conference
led to the carving up of Africa so that France, Britain, Portugal, Spain,
and Germany controlled separate territories throughout the continent. This
became known as the colonial period in African history. The colonial period
in Africa, just as the enslavement of African people captured and brought
to North : I America, had a devastating impact on Africa and African people.
It was not until the early 1950's that the first African country gained
political independence in the movement to reclaim Africa. That country
was Ghana under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah who led the Ghanaian people
in their fight against British colonialism.
I will continue the discussion of the origin
and development of African Liberation Day in next week's column. Don't
forget to support and participate in the African Liberation Day 2000 weekend
of events beginning Friday, May 19th through Saturday, May 2nd at The Legacy
Theater located at 12952 South Western Avenue.