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VIEWS/OPINIONS
J
Gary Convention t
. tori event to occur in 1972.
'1 om 20th
nive 0 th t 'be -
tion D y in the United Stat .
Li e the G ry Convention,
African Liberation D y (ALO) w
an event born of th tremendo
ideological and poli ti ferment of
the times. .
As civil rights and integration in­
creasingly came into que tion the
olution to the plightofBlac people
in America, Blac Power logan
and m thod of thinking exploded
into cendancy within th Bl c
freedom truggle.
In what could b char cterized
the econd cultural and political
"renai ance," a Blac conscio -
n movement swept through the
Blac Nation.
Th first casualty of the Black
Power and Blac Consciousne
movement was the term "Negro" and
the idea of, what Queen Mother Aud­
ley Moore would call, Negro think­
ing.
As radical Bl ck thinkers and ac­
tivi earcbed for a new identi ty
and new cultural and-political moor­
ings for the movement Africa was
re-di covered as the foundation for
what was to be transformed into a
nationalist and Pan-Africanist move­
ment.
The writings of Garvey, DuBois,
Padmore C.L.R. James and Kwame
Kkrumah and the teaching of Mal­
colm X re-directed the focus of the
movement to Africa and the pos-
ibility that African redemption
Dr. Martin L.
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OnSaturd y, M 27,. 1972,
more than 50,000 African
Americans and their allie staged
huge demonstration and rallie in
Washington, D.C. and San Francis­
co. Demo trations were al 0 held
in Canada and the Caribbbean.
African Liber tion Day 1972
produced the most m ive outpour­
ing of support for African liberation
in the U.S. and the Western Hemi­
sphere since the era of Marcus Gar­
vey and the Universal Negro
improvement Association «(UNIA).
In a ringing address to the en­
thusiastic throng of 35,000 thousand
in Washington, D.C., Owusu
Sadaukai climaxed a triumphant day
by proclaiming/affirming, "WE
� AN AFRICAN PEOPLE."
prophetic vlslon
WHETHER IN GOOD or bad
economic times, the critical dif­
ference that determined significant
progress in racial justice in the
United States was the presence of a
visible and viable social justice
movement that addressed all the
myriad of socioeconomic and politi-
cal issues. "
The vision of Martin Luther King,
Jr. helped to solidify a mass move­
ment that success full y changed the
course of American history. King's
vision was inclusive, not exclusive.
At a time when the racial
. demographics of the nation continue
to change dramatically, the civil
rights and human rights movements
of today must become more multira­
cial and multicultural, if these move­
ments are to be viable.
We agree with the current edition
of Ebony Magazine which em­
phasizes King's visionary remarks
aimed at African American and other
youth of the nation. Looking at
today's difficulties confronting the
youth of many of our communities"
the words of Dr. King back in 1961
ring true today, as reported then by
the Atlanta Inquirer: "If there are
lagging standards among the Negro
people, it is not because they are
inherently backward..
The causes are economic and en­
vironmental, not racial. At the same
time, our standards do lag in many,
instance. At the risk of being
misquoted by the enemy, I say that
we must improve our personal stand­
ards even within the limitations of
the ... system of segregation. Our
crime rate is too high. We must not
allow ourselves to become cynical
and disillusioned."
Dr. King was aware of dangers of
race-bating and racial stereotyping.
Today in many "people of color" ,
communities, there has been a resur­
gence of racial slurs and epitaphs
appearing on the walls of buildings
in urban America. The increasing
crime rate among the youth of many
communities is symptomatic of a
deeper problem.
REACflON TO racial oppres­
sion does at times cause profound
sense of alienation,
Dr. King's views are important
because he always dmonished
against becoming "cynical" or "dis­
illusioned" or "bitter." Too often the
violence in some of our communities
is romaticized and glorified in the
media or in movies. Yes, Dr. King'
views still offer hope for us today.
The key is not j t to read Dr. King'
speeches, but be challenged to live
by the truth of his principles.
Next year will mar the 30th an­
niversary of the historic 1963 March
RON
DA IELS
n
B on H r or, C n 9022
(61 ) 27·1527 FAX (616) 927·2023
KALA
·30
973 African Liberation
Support Committee (ALSC) w
created to advance the objective of
ALD.
The e te ive poli ti education
and organizing which went into
m king ALD'72 uch an enormous
ucce m de it po ible for th
ALSC to mobilize $75,000 to up­
port liber tion movement in
Southern Africa in 1973.
Indeed, the magnificent succes
of African Liberation Day '72 laid
the found tion for the emergence of
ALD as an institution which urvives
to this day as a focal point for politi­
cal education and political organiz­
ing around Africa. ,
Beyond being an annual event,
the political education and organiz­
ing around ALD a helped to create
a broader consciousnes and interest
in Africa issues. The result has been
a much greater focus and emphasis
on U.S. policy toward Africa within
. the African American community.
The Pan-Africanist movement
which burst onto the scene in the late
60' and early 7Q's put Africa bac
on the map in the minds of Africans
in America.
Indeed, the Pan-Africanist con­
sciousness which this movement
spawned is the real source of our new
found comfort with the concept that
_ "we are an African people."
Twenty years after ALD '72
much bas changed and yet for
African people wi thin the Pan­
African world very little has
changed. A "new world order," or a
different face of global white
. .. .' supremacy, is emerging which still
threatens the survival and develop­
ment of Africa and African people
everywhere.
It occurs to me that the 20th An­
niversary of African Liberation Day
should be an occasion for an assess­
ment of the lessons of the ALD ex­
periences in terms of the relevance of
those experiences to our current
crisis.
No doubt this would be a produc­
tive exercise in the use of historical
memory .
Ron Daniels serves as President
of the Institute for Community Or­
ganization and Development in
Youngstown, Ohio. He may be con­
tacted at (216) 746-5747.
CIVIL
RIGHTS
Publ; h r: Charles D. Kelty
Editor: Teresa K lIy
an glng Editor: Wanda F. Roquemore
Contrlbuto� : Bernice Bro n - Danny Coo s - ary Golliday·
Allison Jones - Flodean S. Riggs - Leah Samuel - hani I
sco - Ron Seigel - Carolyn Warfield - Vera White
Production n 9 r: K scene Barks
Production: Kai Andrich- Anita Iroha
AccountExecutlv : Earlene Tolliver - Bob Zwalak
January 15th has now become an
important national observance not
just for reflections on the past but on
how the nation views the future of
race relations. The birthday of The
.Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in­
creasingly is becoming a time that
more persons throughout the world
are affirming the wisdom and truth
of Dr. King's vision. .
The life, ministry and dream of
Martin Luther King, Jr. exemplifies
the courage and compassion neces­
sary to Challenge effectively the twin
evils of racism and economic ex­
ploitation. Dr. King's vision
. provided for the coming together of
all persons, without race being a bar­
rier to the struggle for justice and
freedom. .
Unfortunately today in 1992, as
we celebrate the 63rd anniv_ersary of
Dr. King's birthday, there is grow­
ing racial ho tility in nearly every
section of the nation.
There are some who maintain that
race relations are facing new ten­
sions in the 1990's primarily because
of the bad domestic economic itua­
tion. In other words, the improve­
ment in race relations in the United
States is in direct proportion to the
economic state. Of course, we do
not believe this narrow view i cor­
recL
BEN
CHAVIS
EDITORIAL
r y I
on Washington. Let us use 1992 as '
a 'year of planning to recapture both:
the spirit and the magnitude of that
great event as we move clo er to the:
beginning of the next century.:
W.E.B. DuBois stated that the'
greatest problem of the 20th century'
is the "problem of the color line."
It was the gifted vision of Martin
Luther King, Jr.lhat has helped us to
understand the necessity to demand
justice and to affirm the po itive and:
equal worth of ·all peopl of aU:
colors.
As we face the future we thank
God for Dr. King's prophetic vision
and li�long challenge.
"
-J'
•
•
In
o
•
Th annual Dr.Martin Luth r King Jr. celebration i over for
another y ar. The fe tiviti mar ed a new low and hame us all.
There i no way nyone n imagine Dr. King, if h were alive
today, iuin on orne tage, receiving a proclamation and telling us
all to "k ep th r am aliv ."
Actu By. we think Dr. Kin would do like Jesus nd throw th
Ph ri e from th temple.
Dr. King di d helping garbage workers get decent wage. He lived
leading a movement, ye movement. That means action, activity,
direct action that forced a whole nation to put its money where its
empty rhetoric had proclaimed to be: believing all men are created
equal. .
We have betrayed Dr. King. We moan and groan and let lip away
the very freed m he dedicated hi life to achieving.
He faced th threat of death that all could vote. We t y home and
let an Engler ride into office on our apathy only to strike out at the
very on le t able to defend them elves.
It' difficult to imagine Dr. King renting a hall to ee him elf
"celebrated II while homele s people trod the streets outside.
It's even more difficult to imagine a Dr. King itting ilently by
while 8la k p liticians bring workers into the city from every
community but theirs to lay idewalks, build home, cut grass, service
roads, ell Hart Plaza conce ions ... All this while the unemployment
rate in the Black community continue to spiral out of control.
Dr. King va a man of action and would be doing something about
the conditions in the community. The only meaningful celebration of
Dr. King i direct action demanding, like Dr. King,
job .justice and peace.
It all tarts with an attitude. Dr. King took on the mo t powerful
country in the world and forced it do right by. all its citizens.
If we just tart with our own community we can work the arne
wonders as Dr. King.
It' attitude. Self-respect. Belief in ourselve .
. Just as Dr. King believed this country was just as much his as any
other American, so we must come to believe that the community is
ours. '
The police work for us. The city is ours. The schools are ours. It
is our tax money that is spent by city council, the schools, the library,
all the board and commissions of government. Make it work for us.
Dr. Kingdid not leave the job to somebody else. He inspired others
to join him in attacking injustice. So must we find in the churches and
schools, block clubs and organizations .others who are ick of the
dope, dropout rate, poverty, joblessness, substandard housing,
mi education, unresponsive government.
Follow Dr, King in action. Take control. Take Charge. Force
change. What results will be beyond your wildest dream. ,
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