Black Looks

Remembering the Soweto uprisings 33 years ago remains important as the dreams of equity and justice in a new post-apartheid South Africa remains elusive for the majority. Pambazuka News has two features this week on the importance of the uprisings in today’s South Africa.

Blackwash [a new initiative committed to black consciousness in post-1994 South Africa] writes an open letter to South Africa’s Black youth. Reading through this article I get the feeling that the Black youth being addressed are male. There is no reference to women nor to the crimes against women particularly rape and that many rapes are committed by young men – see the video “Corrective Rape“. Yesterday’s I posted a survey on rape in South Africa which found that one in 4 men had raped. Surey addressing the issue of violence against women is an essential aspect of Black consciousness?

Anti-Apartheid activist, Mphutlane wa Bofelo, questions why “considers why ‘former freedom fighters can sometimes be more vicious in attempts to abort freedom” as residents of a squatter camp prepare a class action suit against the government for decent housing.

How is it possible that we have arrived at the point where people take a people’s government to court for such basic things as water and housing, which the constitution fully enshrines? Just recently a South African court ruled in favour of the people for their right to water. Guess who took the people to the appeal court to try and overturn the decision of a judge who is probably inherited from apartheid era? The appeal court ruled in favour of the people. Guess who is thinking of appealing the decision through the constitutional court? Who stood against the decision of the victims of the apartheid-capitalism to take the big corporates that benefited from this system to the international court? Who? Who killed Biko and Hani and Solomon Mahlangu and Hector Peterson and Muntu ka Myeza and Masabata lwate and many others? The Boers and their vigilantes only killed the flesh. The spirit of Mahlangu, Biko, Hani, Peterson, lwate is being killed here and now by us. The Boers failed to kill Biko and Hani. We are succeeding where apartheid-capitalism failed. We kill the spirit of Tambo and Biko everyday. We hate each other. We kill each other. We rape our children . We burn our grandmothers. We love beautiful things for ourselves but ask our brothers and sisters to endure conditions such as Kenville squatter camp. for them Rome will be built in zilion years, for us it takes only one day in office as a CEO, counsellor, director, business big-shot to relocate from Zamdela to Vaalpark and from Mofolo to Hougton.

Today is the International Day of Solidarity for Troy Davis who remains on death row. His appeal has been denied and is now waiting for a new deathday date from Georgia State. PARTICIPATE HERE

Chibuzor Vitus Ezekwem is a Nigerian who was executed in China for drug trafficking. A further 18 Nigerians are on death row……….. My Pen and Paper wonders what attracks Nigerians to China – well clearly in these cases drug trafficking!

Three Nigerian NGOs have approached three tiers of the government to stop discriminating against LGBT people in the country.

Mahmood Mamdani still with the “Genocide Myth” attacks the Save Darfur Campaign as “ahistorical and dishonest”

African Loft has posed a question “Does Africa need Africom” and invited readers to join in a debate. Here’s my $1.

The question should not be whether Africa NEEDS Africom but why the US believes it NEEDS to have a military presence in Africa. We should be asking ourselves the following questions. Why does the US feels it needs a military presence in Africa? What will the US military presence consist of in terms of military hardware and numbers of personnel? How does the US intend to operate and in what circumstances will it’s forces be mobilized? In what way will the US military presence dictate or determine the price of Africa’s natural resources and who gets access to them? In what way will the US military presence infringe on the internal affairs of independent African countries and determine their foreign policy towards other AU members? How will the US military presence influence the foreign policy of independent African states towards non AU countries such as China? How will the US enhanced military presence infringe of the rights of African citizens? How will Africom impact on continental migration and the rights of the millions of Africans without citizenship and the rights of refugees?

With regard China’s growing presence in Africa and the accompanying Western paranoia over China in general. The US has always been at the forefront of Free Trade Agreements. Now it finds itself in $billions of dollars trade deficit with China it is crying, forgetting that China’s industrial growth and huge export market is part of the same globalisation that the US is itself the main proponent. The difference is simply that China is in the driving seat and not the US. The US has serious economic problems and high unemployment and they have to take responsibility for that rather than act out this racist paranoia against all things Chinese and blame them for everything. As for African citizens, China is doing to Africa what Europe and the US have been doing for 100s of years. Instead of joining in Western economic paranoia we should recognise this is merely an extension of colonialism / neo-colonialism and economic exploitation and deal with it as such. The US and the West have their own issues with China and to some extent this is played out on our soil. We should be seizing the time and using this as a weapon to ensure we get the best deal for our resources and citizens.

Links: Africom: The New US Military Command for Africa

US insist Africom will benefit Africa

*Title changed as original previously used.

Tags:
Africom
US Military
War on Terror
China

The final whistle blows, a united South Africa burst into a deafening mindless celebration. Vuvuzelas scream, cars hoot and spin, blacks and whites exchange heart felt hugs in suburban sport bars. Townships rupture into dance and song. Die Bokke have done it again – We are the World champions second time in 12 years! The Sowetan scribe Andrew Molefe says it better, “Colour didn’t matter. We hugged; we cried and kissed across the colour line. Our collective blood was green”.

Just how important this victory is for the country was signified by the tears of pride jutting from the eyes Frediricks/Pieteresen one of the two black players as he sang the national anthem. Who would have though that Rugby would unite a sad country? A country terrorised by crime, ravaged by HIV/Aids, and battered by poverty of its black citizens? When our President was hoisted high by the Bokke, lifted the cup as a symbol our collective victory many throats found lumps forming even against their owners desires, the incredible miracles of our beloved South Africa! Indeed green blood coursed through our collective blood vessels.

Well, take another look at the above picture, carefully, critically and you would see that actually this victory was victory against transformation of South Africa and sad admission that we have no project of change to speak about. This was victory for the acceptance as normal our abnormal society. If you bothered to look with care you would have also noticed the reluctant handshakes our president received, and that actually he was hoisted by black bodies. This was victory against the quota system and representatively. A victory for colour blindness. In short, it was victory for white supremacy in this black Country of ours.

The national rugby team in its compositions and victories is a perfect metaphor for our country and the place of blacks in it. We cheer for our defeat from the touchlines. Imagine if you knew nothing about SA and watched the world cup on TV, you would be forgiven for thinking that actually we are a white country which has the accident of having a smiling black president.

South Africa is a white country populated a by an impotent invisible black majority. I wonder what other African countries think about us? And the black Diaspora? What do they think about it? Since 1994, our Rugby team could only produce two black players for the national team. Incredible!

But there is also another element in the picture which can be now be more clearly seen, ours is a country which thrives on superficiality and a devastating lack of a perspective which is centred on the valorisation and well being of blacks. Blacks in this country want to celebrates their “own goals”, to borrow from a sporting metaphor. We are perhaps one of the few peoples on earth who believe we can derive freedom from placating those who stubbornly refuse to give up any of their ill begotten privileges and power. Are we blacks not asking for the contempt of whites, when we fail to exercise the massive political power we currently wield to change things around? But more importantly are we doing posterity a favour?
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24 years ago yesterday, the Prime Minister of Grenada, Maurice Bishop was assassinated effectively ending the Grenadian revolution and the “New Jewel Movement” led by Bishop and to the invasion of Grenada by Ronald Reagan’s US forces. The JEWEL Movement (The Joint Endeavour for Welfare, Education & Liberation) was originally started in 1972 and was largely a political movement centred around the agricultural cooperatives. A year later the New Jewel movement was created. The NJM along with Thomas Sankara’s (who was also assassinated, 20 years ago on the 15th October,1987) revolution, were two Black liberation movements that sought to tackle the issues of land rights, labour rights, corrupted leadership, a social democracy where everyone had access to decent health, education and housing. Like Patrice Lumumba, Maurice Bishop and Thomas Sankara were assassinated and Jean Bertrand Aristide was kidnapped and forced into exile by the same forces of neo-colonialism and their imperialist masters who saw these leaders as a threat to their explotiation of resources and access to cheap labour.

In memory of Maurice Bishop and the New Jewel Movement is Bishop’s Speech to the 34th General Assembly of the United Nations, New York

ROOTS OF THE PEOPLE’S REVOLUTION
As I speak before this body today, I do so as the representative of a small country which intends to speak with a resolute and principled voice on the issues of substantive concern to the world today.

The advent of our Revolution has signalled the beginning of the end of the most dangerous and vicious stage of the colonial experience, that which we recognise as neo-colonialism. This stage had seen us exposed to various constitutional manipulations, all of which had failed to hide the reality of economic bondage under imperialism. Moreover, this neo-colonial stage has also exposed our nation to the vicious, ruthless neo-fascist dictatorship of Eric Gairy. To you here at this renowned body, this petty dictator was known as “Mr. U.F.O.,” but to us in Grenada this amusingly descriptive title did not hide the reality of a dictator whose closest links were with imperialism and international criminal elements and openly fascist and dictatorial regimes.

Apart from his criminal record, Gairy left Grenada in an economic wilderness. Indeed, due to his neo-fascist regime we have a legacy of a total dependence on imperialism, a reality that has meant extreme poverty characterized by wholesale repression of the working people and their organisations, massive unemployment, with more than half of the work force out of work, high levels of illiteracy, malnutrition, superstition, “Mongoose Gang” brutality and murder of our people, poor housing and health conditions, combined with overall economic stagnation and massive migration.

Such a legacy was the motive force behind our Revolution, on March 13th of this year. Our Revolution had its roots with the formation of our party, the New Jewel Movement in March 1973. From that date till March of this year our party was subjected to various forms of the most gross and openly hostile brutality at the hands of Gairy and his fascist allies . I am proud to announce to this body today that such abuses of human rights ceased as of March 13th, 1979, (the day of our successful Revolution,) and since that time, the democratic rights and freedoms of the people have been restored and expanded……….Continue

This week’s Pambazuka News publishes an interview by Koni Benson and Mukoma Wa Ngugi with Aziz Fall, Co-ordinator of the International Campaign for Justice for Sankara (ICJS). Aziz discusses the fact that 20 years on those responsible for the murder of Thomas Sankara have yet to be brought to justice and remain in power.

Sankara’s widow, Mariam Sankara, and his two sons never abandoned their call to the international community to take action to bring his assassins to justice. Ten years ago, the Group for Research and Initiative for the Liberation of Africa (GRILA, an internationalist and panafricanist group) answered that call by creating an international campaign with a twofold strategy involving a political component and a legal one

Links:
Grenada Revolution

US Invasion of Grenada,

Thomas Sankara: Chronicle of an Organised Tragedy
Thomas Sankara

assassins

Completely forgot this despite constant reminders on Facebook and other blogs. This one from Kameelah writes

National Day of Panhandling for Reparations is a national street performance on October 10, 2007, led by conceptual artist damali ayo.

I am participating in this performance because I believe that a conversation about reparations has been pushed aside for way too long. This country has paid reparations for some of its past injustices, but not for slavery. Why not? I am sitting with this sign to show that I want reparations for American Slavery to move forward.

You can participate too. Bloggers- spread this post to any and all blogs that you belong to. This performance is a great way to generate dialogue and re-energize the stalled conversation about reparations, and a great way to show the power of blogs for connecting people, art, social issues and dialogue!

Here is How to Panhandle Online:

note: If you want to physically participate by panhandling on a street corner in your community, sign up here.

1-REPOST this post to your blog under the title “Virtual Panhandling for Reparations” Remember to include this entire post, including these instructions and the “about” section below.

2-TAKE A PHOTO of yourself with a handmade sign that reads “Reparations accepted here” or “I support Reparations.” Post this to your blog with the reason you find this performance worth your participation. Try to inspire others to participate.

3-EMAIL YOUR PHOTO with your name, city and state to pictures@reparationsday.com. A collection of all the photos will be posted here (include the link) on October 11th.

4- COLLECT ACTUAL REPARATIONS! Click here to make a reparations payment. The money will be collected and redistributed to individual African Americans. Those who make and receive payments will receive a receipt (via paypal).

5- CALL IN YOUR STORIES!
The National Day of Panhandling for Reparations Voice Mail is (971) 285-4820 Share your experiences, thoughts, opinions, excitements, concerns, and most importantly stories! On the day itself you can give this number out to people who can call in and share their thoughts.
Help us collect all the participating blogs and virtual panhanlders. Paste the following code at the end of your post Panhandling for Reparations

Make sure everyone knows that you are a virtual panhandler for reparations by posting a banner. Grab the code from Kameelah’s blog

Copy this code into your profile to display this banner!

learn more!

Copy this code into your profile to display this banner!

learn more!

About National Day of Panhandling for Reparations:

OCTOBER 10, 2007. People of all races across the United States will take an hour or two to sit in a range of locations in our communities: outside of businesses, libraries, museums, art galleries, or on busy street corners. We will wear signs reminding passersby of the history of slavery in the United States. We will collect reparations in the form of money from white Americans for the enslavement and free-labor of Africans and African Americans during the establishment and economic rise of this country. This money will be immediately paid out to black passersby. Both parties will be offered a receipt. We will do this to offer a convenient opportunity for American citizens to acknowledge, apologize and compensate the unpaid labor of African Americans, the travesty of slavery, and the rightful due of reparations.

This work began in 2003 as a street performance by artist damali ayo. In living flag: panhandling for reparations damali panhandled for reparations on the streets of various cities across the United States. In each of her locations she engaged a steady flow of reparations received and paid. October 10, 2007 marks the first annual National Day of Panhandling for Reparations where others join damali in this performance.

Even more Info:
The Basics Panhandling Instruction Kit, Video, Audio, Questions etc.

Q&A with Heather Day
Get Reparations Gear!
See all the Virtual Panhandlers! Photos will be posted on October 11, 2007
More on damali ayo



Also, find me at kameelahwrites
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via RaceWire: “Culture of Disrespect,” Ebony Magazine takes on bad words
RaceWire asks: “So 32 pages on the n-word and its cousins, ho and bitch. Is it time to move on?” Maybe so…I wonder if Ebony would ever spend 32 pages on the Prison-Industrial-Complex or Hurricane Katrina. And, why is Ebony taking the Don Imus bait? I wonder how much time was spent on the origins of these terms, because it certainly isn’t rap music.

via Field Negro: “So Easy a Black Man Could Do it”
Field Negro vents some frustration over Black folks,TV adverts and tokenism:

I guess “Charlie” is in a tough spot with this one. I don’t know, I just think they (The advertisers) go over board with the; we gotta stick a black person in here shtick. Two yuppie couples out on the town with no other black people in the sight. But of course one of the couples is a black one…High class wedding reception in the Hamptons, look around a little…. there they are, the token black couple, sipping champagne in the back ground.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

via Blackademics: The United States of Africa? The Jury is Still Out

Museveni argues that there are too many African languages, cultures and identities to smother into one group. Clearly he is unaware that the USA, UK and the EU were all able to unify, despite their cultural, historical and linguistic differences. We Africans are more than capable of accomplishing the same goals!

Really?! The USA, UK and the EU were all able to unify, despite cultural, historical and linguistic differences? Damn, I must have missed this unification in between race riots, anti-immigrant laws, language policy battles and the genocide and subjugation that created the aforementioned “unified” nations/conglomerates. The days of melting pot are over. As Immortal Technique says “There is no diversity because we’re burning in the melting pot.” Take it for what you will.

I am pretty sure that Africa should try and “accomplish the same goals” and replicate nation-building–well no in this case continental-building (new term?) using the West as a model of success. And how much are we ventriloquizing the dead–Garvey?

‘Racist’ Lima restaurant closed
“A popular restaurant in Lima has been temporarily closed down after several complaints that people with darker skin were refused entry.” Please be sure to check sokari as well. It is about time that Latin America comes to terms with that fact that America and Europe do not have the monopoly on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism.

Michael Savage is a Savage…and of Don Imus’ likeness?
On the July 5 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show Michael Savage discussed a recent hunger strike organized by five students in the San Francisco area to show their support for The DREAM Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship and other benefits for certain illegal immigrants who entered the United States before the age of 16 if they graduate from high school and enroll in either college or the military.

Savage stated: “I would say, let them fast until they starve to death then that solves the problem. Because then we won’t have a problem about giving them green cards because they’re illegal aliens, they don’t belong here to begin with.” and to top it off: “We don’t need you as engineers, go back to where you came from. … Go be an engineer there. You stole the education from us; now give it back to your home country. Go make a bomb where you came from.”

Hot damn. What’s next? When are we going to address this issue of immigration and “illegal bodies” in a productive way? And, what gives Savage the license to be…a savage?

According to Giuliani’s Co-Chair, Black Folks are Retarded
Giuliani selected Arthur Ravenel Jr., a former U.S. congressma as the new co-chair of his campaign in South Carolina. Never invested any hope in Giuliani, but Ravenel is the same man who called referred to the NAACP as the National Association for Retard People at a flag rally in 2000. Come on Giuliani…

BET Expands it Schedule…
With the introduction of 16 shows through 2008, the biggest lineup of debuts in the networks 27-years of existence, let’s hope that at least some of them do not involve “Pop, Lock and Drop[pin'] It” and have some time of educational value. But, who am I kidding? Its Black ENTERTAINMENT television, not Black EMPOWERMENT Television. And, who wants to see productive Black folks on TV anyway?

I am here in Nairobi at one of the most interesting gatherings I have attended in a long time. Fahamu have brought together some 40 African social justice and civil society activists to discuss and share ideas around the use of mobile phones as a tool for activism and advocacy. The workshop is being held in conjunction with Tactical Tech who will be holding their “techie” workshop on Thursday Friday and Saturday to develop a tool kit specially suited to an African environment – a broad term that will inevitably have to be customised by users from across the continent to accommodate, political, economic, social and cultural differences.

The main focus on day 1 (yesterday) was to take a broad look at the technology and how it is being used in Africa today, the challenges faced by existing and future users and the solutions.

We have had presentations from Ken Banks who developed the Frontline sms Software used recently to monitor the Nigerian elections. Dorothy Okello of WOUGNET (women of Uganda) gave a presentation on the use of mobile phones in a rural agricultural project in Uganda along with radio broadcasts. Everlyne Nairesiae – GROOTS Kenya’s presentation centred on community based organisations of women in Kenya using the technology in three specific areas: women and property, women leadership and government, resource livelihood. Mobile phones were used for communication between provincial administrators, para legals based in the community and rural women.

The main challenges were : the cost of handsets, the sim card, tariffs, literacy, languages, network jamming (Ethiopia), limits in characters (160), numbers of people sharing handsets, electricity supplies, record keeping, dependency on other media eg radio & newspapers, privacy, limited government policies eg in Ethiopia blocking sms, lack of knowledge of who is using what, replicability , where is the expertise if you want it, learning how to use technology, security issues (encryption technologies), not understanding how sms works (where are the cross points, vulnerabilities), harmonising as Africa not homogeneous (different cultural values), different structures needed and different challenges exist between countries.

The issue of how to deal with the ownership of technology and technological expertise was also discussed. All the technologists where white and tended to be white males. Why are African technologists not involved in development technology? And technology in general. These questions remain to be answered but definitely something that crops up repeatedly in any discussion on technology in Africa whether mobile phones or the internet.

Other questions raised were:

How useful or reliable is technology as an instrument of social activism
How is mobile technology shaping the democratic momentum in Nigeria and Africa
How useful is technology in the socio-economic empowerment of ordinary citizens

The most important and most exciting aspect of these workshops is the opportunity to meet and network with so many African social justice activists. It was a long day – more tomorrow and the final day on Wednesday.

Photos on Flickr

Tags: Mobile Activism; Africa; Kenya; Social Movements;

Bubele Mahanjana, the young scholar and economics lecturer at Wits University was a rare type of a person in a world which values crass materialism over the life of ideas. Very few people of my generation are moved, inspired and troubled by ideas to the extent they affected Bubele. He so much loved ideas that he sacrificed a fledging career in an internationally renowned accounting firm for the lonely, modest life of a university student. His untimely death met him whilst completing his Masters Degree in Economics at Wits.

A group of us have known Bubele as a brilliant thinker, a persuasive conversationalist and humorous individual. A debate with Bubele always lingered on long after the encounter. He forced us to think. He was so moved by a good debate that he was wont to jumping to his feet, raising his voice without threatening as he systematically developed his argument. At times too patiently for the impatient generation characterised by instant gratification and cosmetic intellectualism.

Whilst he had the aura of the distant professor, he carried with him a capacity to make us laugh hard, at our selves and the follies of life. One of his well remembered jokes was when he asked someone whether she was a nurse, because she had been nursing her drink for the whole evening.

What made Bubele a potential giant, was the fact that he combined his love for ideas with deep commitment to finding solutions for the problems which affect Black people and the African continent itself. Towards the end of his life he was becoming radicalised in his analysis and began to display signs of impatience with Africa’s progress and the direction of South Africa’s transition. He reserved the most scathing analysis for the African intellectual, following Frantz Fanon. On post colonial Africa and liberation he agreed with the Nigerian radical writer Chinwezu that Africa is weak, hence her position of being a play ground for foreign countries through her local elites. Bubele wrote,

“It is dealing with weakness and powerlessness of the African that is key. Everything else is nonsense. Admit that you are weak. Understand how you are weak. Rectify your weakness. This is the only path to salvation”.

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On Wednesday, 28 March, 2007, Professor Archie Mafeje passed away in Pretoria. In his obituary, Adebayo Olukoshi, Executive Secretary CODESRIA describes him as

A great pan-African, an outstanding scientist, a first rate debater, a frontline partisan in the struggle for social justice, and a gentleman of great humanitarian principles. We will surely miss his thoughtful insights, his strident rebukes, his loyal friendship, his companionship, and – yes, his wit, humour and expert culinary skills that included an incomparable knowledge of foods and wines from all corners of the world.

Below are some notes I made from memory following a meeting with Professor Mafeje in 2005 and which is my own personal tribute to the great man.

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“The warning came a few weeks before the actual encounter, “He is difficult”, we were told. We were part of at least a hundred people who waited for His arrival for a sermon at the University of KwaZulu Natal. He didn’t show up for the sermon, nor did he send an apology, he just changed his mind, as all gods are wont to do. So we decided if he cannot come down from his heavens we shall go to him, after all we know too well the story of Mohamed and the mountain. The truth is that the warning just increased the intrigue, what kind of deity is this? He seems not to care to coax disciples and followers, to build a legion of worshippers. Does his doctrine manifest in his behaviour? With these questions in mind the writer and an intellectual friend went to visit the late Prof Archie Mafeje in Pretoria the year was 2005 .

He stood like Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. He looked down on us as we approached his shrine, which hangs high up on the hill. His tall frame engulfed in bright rays, we had to cover our eyes with the palms of our hands, as if in prayer to avoid direct eye contact with the one above. His whole demeanour suggest that he neither asks nor demands to be worshipped, however, human nature demands that we worship beings higher than ourselves. His voice beamed with the force of a hundred chariots:

“So you are one and half hours late”.

That’s how he welcomed us into his house.

We were startled. This was not the last time we were to be startled that afternoon.

We had earlier called to ask for directions and indicated that we would be late.

He continued;

“In other words you chose to bother me one and half hours before you got here”.

We gave each other awkward glances, both in self pity and with a what’s up with him, kind of gesture. It was going to be a very long afternoon indeed.

He went on to say with great disinterest.

“I’m just checking how your heads function”

He was visibly irritated by our earthly ways. He beckoned us to join him. We instinctively took off our shoes and followed him towards the lounge. He found this shoe taking off ritual slightly amusing, “The Swiss do that all the time”, and he was talking to himself really.

Everything is neat and even stylish. The color coordination is pleasant. He dictates the seating order. The result of it all is that we ended sitting directly opposite him, our backs against the wall and much further from the exit. Trapped. Yes that’s how it felt.

And we started;

“We came to see you because we believe you have made a great and original intellectual and academic contribution…”

“Yes indeed I have made a huge contribution not only on the African continent but the world over”.

He interrupted and completed our thoughts. We felt uneasy about this unabashed self congratulatory gesture. But, he was right, and even surer about it than we seemed to be. The AmaXhosa say “he who knows himself is king!”

We wanted to see Mafeje for a number of reasons, some linked to an intellectual journey we were beginning- a search for a progressive race narrative (PRN), we called our clarion call. What more apt a person to ask about intellectual battles than a seasoned warrior of the mind? We knew and were very impressed with Mafeje’s demolition of Anthropology as a discipline. Mafeje, a trained anthropologist himself had systematically exposed the deep colonial structure of inquiry and analysis which forms the basis of Anthropology. That was besides the known fact that Anthropologists had actively assisted the colonialists. His combative style of engagement is something we also found very attractive. Suffocated and reviled by an academy and knowledge production sight which is white dominated, we had developed a deep desire to connect with a Black intellectual of Prof Mafeje’s stature.

I then continued,
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