JUN 3-,,"" MlCHlGANCmZK .. PAG lYE
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The National 'alcolm X
omme oration in Omaha,
NI'J'WWEU the climatic event
in the African American
Progressive Action etwork has
declared, 1990 the Year of Mal­
colm x At imately 2:00
p.m. Central Standard time, the
s , clear, resooant voice of
actor Avery Brooks boomed out
the Decl . on hich officially
procl imed May 19, the
birthday of El Hajj Malik
Shabazz, NATIONAL MAL­
COLMXDAY.
The BI ck National had
spoken. As an act of Kujichal­
gulia (self-determination),
Africans in America elevated
Malcolm X to his proper place
the forefron of our struggle
for liberation.
As the weekend's activities
got underway in Omaha, Dr"
Debor h Robinson, Proj ect
Director for the . onal Mal­
colm X Commemoration Com­
mission reported that thousands
of igned Decl rations had
poured in from 76 cities in 25
states.
of the local committees
have yet to report of this writ­
ing d Declarations are still
comi
in.
THE GOAL 0 100,000
Charter Advocate for NA-
a co
110 AL MALCOLM X DAY
seems to be within reach. Clear­
Iy the National Malcolm X Day
Initiative has generated tre1DCD­
dous excitement and massive
support at the grassroots level
tbrougho the Bl Nation.
Scores of local celebrations
too pace around the country
on May 18-20. B this year the
eyes of the BlaCk N . on were
focused on ebrasb,
alcolm's birthpl ce, where
histOl)' was to be made o� May
19, Malcolm's 65th birthday.
Hundreds of people from
Omaha aod from colDlllllDities
across the nabon participated in
the weekend's activities begin­
ning with a Malcolm X Forum
on Friday, May 18.
One of the highlights of the
Forum were some reflections on
. Malcolm's early unbringing
provided by Wilfred Little,
Malcolm's oldest brother.
Robert Little, Yvonne Little,
Omar Little and two of
Malcolm's nephews were also
in attendance.
D MAULA A KAREN­
GA delivered a brilli orati�
on Malcolm's political ideas
and the relevance of Malcolm's
philosophy today.
Charshee McIntyre, who had
known Malcolm as a young man '
in Boston, offered seriee of
"THE REST OF 1ii JUST WEAR THE
T PlTIO L <'OURT ROBES"
informative insights on
Malcolm's growth aod develop­
ment. The most authoritative
words however, came from Dr.
Betty Shabazz, the wife of Mal­
colm X, who said that
Malcolm's vision w cxpan-
ive and inclusive and that this
was the true source of hls.great­
ness a leader.
Saturday, May 19 began with
a moving pilgrimage to the
homesite where the Little family
had lived UIdi1 shortly after Mal­
colm w born. libatiom were
poured OIl this sacred ground
and ecumenical p:ayers were of­
fered.
Rowena Moore, the 79 year
old President and founder of the
Malcolm X Memorial Founda­
tion, vigorously outlined het
vision of an international center
to be built on the Little homesite
THE OBSERV ANC the
homesite w followed by a
snappy parade through the
Black ccmmunity wch drew a,
large number of youth to Horace
Mann School where the Nation­
al proclamation Ceremony was
held. '
•
ay I
Inside the Auditorium there
a defmite air of anticipation
as speakers like S t te S eator
'Ernie Chamber of Omaha,
poets Haki Madhubuti and
Sonia Sanchez, social activist
Dick Gregory and Dr. Maulana
Karenga filed-to the podium to
pay tribute to Malcolm.
The magic moment, how­
ever, was reserved for Avery
Brooks, affectionately referred
to as "Hawk". Thi multi­
talented writer, actor and
vocalist was charged with the
responsibility of speaking the
words which would ma e
Malcolm's birthday a Nati ooal
African �rican Day of Com­
memoration.
As someone put it "Avery
read the hen ou of,lh:at Declara­
tion" . By the time Avery Broo s
uttered the final words 'of the
Declaration, the audience was
on its feet screaming, long live
MalCQIm, long live Malcolm!
A D SO IT w lis done.
Eighteen arduous months of in­
tensive work was consumated
with thi powerful Declaration
from the Bl e Nation.
Off-Campus study:
Extending the academic cur iculum
� .
Keith O.
Hilton
The opportunity to tudy
abroad, especially in Africa or
in Latin American countrie ,
po ition student on the cut­
ling edge f local, national and
world affairs, ju t a tudcnt
participants of summer inter­
nship are correctly viewed by
corporations as being h t com­
modities.
As more students of color
participate in study abroad
programs in such countries as
'Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, the
Cameroon, Kenya, Zimbabwe
and Egypt, they sec fir t hand
the similarities and dis­
similarities that they/we have
with Africa. ,
Just as there are differences
and similarities between folks
from the Sudan and the Ivory
Coast (in Africa), Trinidadians
and Jamaicans (in the Carib­
bean), Afro Br it ish (in
England) and the Aborigines
(in Australia), Afro Cubans and
Afro icaraguans (in the Latin
Americas), th re are differen- ,
res between U.S. Africans and
Africans throughout Africa.
However, 'in each of the e
cases, all of these people are
African, culturally and increas­
ingly, politically. Learning this
is usually one of the highlights
th t many tudents report upon
returning.
.8
a
More and more career savvy
students are strengthening their
resumes and skills level via off­
campus internships' and study
abroad programs.
These students realize that
grades do help get a job, but
people who don't have ex­
perience or outside intere ts
don't develop many manage­
ment skills.
HILTO: HIGHE
EDUCATIO has maximum
expectations for U.S. African
undergraduates enrolling in off­
campus intern hips and study
abroad programs. Those expec­
tation are based on extracur­
ricular partici pation,
interpersonal growth and out­
standing academic trac
, records that many students
bring to college.
With planning, the rewards
of off-campus tudy will be long
lasting.
A key and growing part of
the undergraduate educational
experience is this opportunity to
study off-campus for a
emester, summer or y .
Study beyond the campu .
designed to extend the
academic curriculum of the col­
lege and allow tudents to ex-
'I perience different life styles,
viewpoints and organizational
'- ------....:..__------------ p�oce es.
however, May
19, 1990 established a
�ork and laid the founda­
tion for utilizing Malcolm's
pwosophy and ideas to educate,
organize, and liberate our
peope.
Ndw Malcolm must live
through our acts deeds. Long
live coIm!
For further information on
the National Malcolm X Com­
memoration Commi ion please
write to the Commission P.o.
Box 11174, Washington, D.C.
20008.
Ron Daniels served Presi-
dent of the Institute for Com­
munity Org anizaiton and
Development in Youngstown,
Ohio.1 He may be contacted at
(216 J 746-5747.
, ,
HIGHER
EDUCATIO
The cultural bonds that stu­
dents of color have with these
first w rid nation (third world
is misnomer), will also lilcely
strengthen their fields nd
lengthen their careers.
"The world is my country:
spoke Thom Pine during this
nation's push for inde­
pendence.
inister Malcolm X would
1 ter tell students and all
Africans in American to thin in
terms of being internationalists
( opposed to integrationists).
Keep in mind that he was elud­
ing to the global village - twenty
fiv years ag .
Educators need to continue
to recommend that student
heed these poin and continue
to remain active as
hum nitarian - particularly
.witb regard to campus and
world affair .
,