Mama Africa’s New Body

As the Pan African Parliament meets for the first time can this body help the continent rediscover its’ greatness?

By Angela Hinds

At last the Pan African Parliament has commenced a five year mandate that promises rapid change for Africa. In a continent torn apart by wars and internal conflict, and host to some of the poorest nations on earth, many look to this organisation to implement change and implement it fast.

On this years United Nations Human Development Index, twenty three out of twenty four nations in the low human development category were on the African continent, the only exception being Afghanistan.

On Wednesday in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Pan African Parliament opened its first ordinary session with host President Jacob Zuma (pictured above) urging African leaders to speed up regional integration efforts.

He added that South Africa was committed to ‘the aim of the pan African Parliament to evolve into an institution with full legislative powers.’ This is the first meeting under the leadership of the new president Idriss Ndele from Chad.

Established in 2004 the Pan African Parliament is the legislative organ of the African Union promoting amongst other things the principles of human rights and democracy in Africa and collective self-reliance and economic recovery.

Although in the past there have been attempts to dismantle the Pan African Parliament, many today hope they will be instrumental in building a more united and strategic Africa, resulting in governance that will bring much needed political stability to the continent.

Zuma reminded Parliaments members that the continent could not become complacent while its people remained among the poorest in the world. He also observed:

Our electricity, transport and telecommunications infrastructure is fragmented, and often not compatible. We do not collaborate in scientific development and technological innovation. Most of our countries have a greater volume of trade with countries across the ocean than with those with whom we share the same soil.”

Traditionally Africa has too often been the host of, willingly or unwillingly, those who have arrived on the continent to take a great deal and give precious little back to its nations or citizens.

Decline has been accelerated by often inept and corrupt leadership, allowing this great continent to fall further and further behind the ‘modern’ world.

Whilst no-one is suggests there should be Starbucks on every corner, advancement is needed in many major areas and many see the role of the Pan African Parliament to ensure that talking leads to some positive action before it becomes physically impossible for this great continent to catch up.

Phat Girlz got Substance

A new film about an obese teenager is not as negative as it may first appear, especially if the book is anything to go by, says Angela Hinds

Precious, a film based on the book called Push by Sapphire, which has just been released in the United States, looks certain to ignite debate on these shores too, once it hits UK cinema.

It is a controversial film that delves into topics such as rape and abuse, and has already won a host of awards such as the Audience Award and The Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival as well as the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, won last year by the film Slumdog Millionaire.

It is now being touted for an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, quite an achievement for a film whose main character is a black, obese teenager living with her family in Harlem.

The story centres on the horrific life led by Precious Jones, played by Gabourey Sidibe. Raped and impregnated by her father twice, when she gets a chance to go to illiteracy classes at an alternative school she starts to turn her life around.

This film doesn’t deal with lightweight topics and Cinderella it certainly isn’t but Gabourey gives a fantastic portrayal. When asked why with so many positive African American stories out there, Sidibe felt this story needed to be told.

‘Because no one has told it and its reality. Think about how many people you walk by, how many people you know, and you don’t know what their story is because no one is saying anything.’

Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe, 26, is the daughter of Gospel artist Alice Tan Ridley. At 350 lbs is getting noticed because she is not your typical Hollywood ‘babes’.

Surprised at her rapid rise to fame she says ‘A girl like me, there’s no way, because I don’t look like most actresses do, I didn’t think I could. I’m just a girl from Brooklyn.

The film also features Mariah Carey, Mo’nique and Lenny Kravitz. African Americans wary at yet another negative film depicting their stories and gathering a host of awards are comforted by the fact that it is sensitively produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry.

No Winners in Good Governance Award

And this years’ prize for good governance in Africa goes to… erm, sorry, there are no winners this year. Angela Hinds reports.

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has announced their decision not to issue the annual prize for Achievement in African Leadership this year.

As their organisation prepare for their award ceremony in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania next weekend (Nov 14/15th) the Committee have announced that: “This year the Prize Committee has considered some credible candidates. However, after in-depth review, the Prize Committee could not select a winner.”

Dr Mohamed Ibrahim (image above) is the Sudanese-born British mobile communications entrepreneur who is the founder of Celtel, the African mobile phone network. Although he founded the organisation he is not personally involved in the decision making process on who wins it.

He said: ‘The Prize Committee is independent of the Board. It is the Prize Committee’s decision not to award a Prize this year and we entirely respect it. We made clear at the launch of the Foundation that there may be years when there is no winner.”

The Prize Committee consists of members such as former United Nations secretary-General Kofi Annan, Graca Machel – the wife of Nelson Mandela – and former Ireland premier Mary Robinson, amongst others.

The aim of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation is to support great African leadership and stimulate debate around and improve the quality of governance in Africa.

In 2007 the Mo Ibrahim Foundation created the Prize for Achievement in African leadership, a $5 million prize awarded annually to a former African Head of State or Government who has demonstrated excellence in leadership and has left office within the last three years.

The first recipient of this prize was Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, the 2008 winner was Festus Mogae, President of Botswana. This prize is widely recognised to be the most valuable annual prize in the world.

They also publish the Ibrahim Index of African governance, ranking the performance of the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Although there will be no prize-giving this year, other planned events will go ahead, these include a cultural event where Angela Kidjo, Youssou N’dour (Senegal) and Lady Jaydee (Tanzania) will appear.

There will also be a discussion forum where topics such as Agriculture and Food Security, Regional Economic Integration and Climate Change and Climate Justice will be discussed.

Dr Mo Ibrahim and his foundation need to be applauded for taking the opportunity to acknowledge good governance in Africa. He says:
“At a time when we are seeing overall progress in Africa, despite worrying setbacks in some countries, it is vital that together we look for a way forward on the major challenges facing the African continent.”

Press Release – THANK YOU PARTY – Voice of Africa Radio 94FM

PRESS RELEASE

Voice of Africa Radio held a huge end of year ‘THANK YOU PARTY’ on 29th December 2009.  Hundreds of listeners turned out to celebrate with this much loved East London radio station based at 24 Swete Street in Plaistow, London E13.  Voice of Africa Radio is the only licensed African radio station on the FM frequency and this fabulous celebration was held for the Friends of Voice of Africa Radio who have supported and assisted the station throughout the year and was held in the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah Hall at the station head office.

There was a lot to give thanks for as this year has been a bumper year for events at the radio station.  Celebrations have included African Liberation Day, the 2^nd Anniversary Party to celebrate the FM licence followed by a Thanksgiving Service and a Kwame Nkrumah (Father of Pan-Africanism) Centenary celebration in September. All of the events included luminaries, diplomats and activists, live performances, fashion shows, multi faith observances, stalls selling cultural wares and a wide range of African foodstuffs.

The Thank You party was a dinner and dance with a range of delicious food provided by sponsors Aburi Gardens restaurant based in St James Street in Walthamstow and Caribbean Scene restaurant based in Stratford.  The menus consisted of jollof rice, jerk and barbecued chicken, rice and peas, fish, mixed salads and yam porridge amongst other mouth watering dishes.  There was also an endless flow of drinks and champagne provided by Waris wholesalers and Baawa.

There were some of the best newcomers on the scene as entertainment for the night including Mizz Teejah, Joy, Simba, High Comissioner, Shakara and Deoba and the fantastic Deoba Authentic who was the host and DJ for the night.  The party was also a much appreciated opportunity to meet some of the presenters from Voice of Africa Radio. There was also a screening of the family legacy educational DVD about Sickle Cell and its effects by a representative of the NHS Sickle Cell Screening Programmes Iyamide Thomas.  The night ended with everyone out on the dance floor saying goodbye to the decade and during the Michael Jackson tribute we saw some serious Michael moves going down.

The next celebration to look forward to from this great station is the Ghana 53rd Independence dinner and dance party due to be held at the station on 6th March 2010 which promises to be the biggest and best Ghana Independence party in London.  Don’t miss it!

To join friends of Voice of Africa Radio and enjoy the benefits please go to http://www.voiceofafricaradio.com.

Ends

NHS Brent B.A.M.E Network Launch

 

On Monday 9^th November the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Steering Group officially launched The Brent BAME Network.  Current BAME chair Margaret McLennan felt it was imperative to launch this scheme as Brent, with an estimated population of 263,464 has a BME population of 60%, which is the highest in the UK.  Recent figures put BME staff within the NHS at the national figure of 102,000, however Brent National Health Service which consists of a 75% BME population again ranks amongst the highest rates in this country.  It was recognised that although the BME population is well represented at a junior level within the NHS, there is a noticeable absence of representation at a senior level.  Margaret feels compelled to work alongside the NHS in order to break this glass ceiling and bring down barriers.

The BAME network had a formal launch in order to have an official starting point and a separate body whereby funding can be obtained and as importantly time, focus and emphasis given to their range of schemes such as mentoring and shadowing.  Official membership forms were available for the first time at the event on Monday.

Margaret said the basis of the scheme was fundamentally ‘to support our people in all areas.’

The event hosted a lively discussion panel and was attended by amongst others, Marcia Saunders, Chair of NHS Brent, Nolan Victory, Equality & Diversity Advisor of NHS Brent and Thirza Sawtell, Director of Strategic Commissioning.

Dawn Butler, Labour M.P attended the event and has given her wholehearted support to the venture.

Margaret who is also a participant on the BAME Women Councillor Scheme, will be shadowing Cllr Lincoln Beswick MBE as part of the recently Launched Operation Black Vote project.

ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA – NEIGHBOURS IT AIN’T – By Angela Hinds

On November 6^th 2009 John Pilger, the renowned Journalist and Filmmaker was awarded the Sydney Peace prize at the famous Opera House.  Unfortunately for some hoping for Mr Pilger to accept the prize quietly and exit without due comment, he used the opportunity to express blistering views in a speech entitled ‘Breaking the Australian Silence.’  A silence of many levels to which he urges his fellow Australians to open their eyes and see what so often stares them in the face and yet still appears to go unseen.

Pilger in his speech remembers a time as a child when he would go to stare at those he had been told were ‘dirty and feckless’, celebrated historian Russel Ward stating ‘we are civilised today and they are not.’  The ‘they’ that were being referred to were the indigenous people of Australia, the Aboriginals.

On visiting an Aboriginal compound for the first time in the 60’s, Pilger says he was shocked by the evident poverty, sickness and despair.  For the first time the Australian Silence started to carry a sound, the sound of the quiet anger and despair of Australia’s first people.

I lived in Sydney in the 90’s.  Like many others, despite my own research, I allowed some of my opinions to be shaped by those glossy Australian soap operas we are privy to on British TV.  However what I found, except for the glorious weather bore little similarity to Neighbours.  Don’t get me wrong, Sydney is a beautiful city with a great deal to be proud of and Australia has made great progress since its humble beginnings, however it has to be acknowledged that it is a progress that has rarely included or integrated the original occupants of this land.  There was open racism and hostility towards the Aboriginal community.  Instead of a people visible on all levels of society I found Aboriginals to be almost totally marginalised in Australia.  Even in Sydney, the majority of Aboriginals were located in what can only be best described as the ghetto, with hugely disproportionate problems like alcoholism and unemployment.

Australia is often referred to as a country ‘discovered’ by Captain Cook.  The only problem with this oversight is the 300,000 Aboriginals already resident there at the time of the Captains arrival in 1770 when he claimed the territory for Britain.  Eighteen years later the first fleet arrived at Botany Bay to establish the settlement as a penal colony.  The date of his arrival the 26^th January is now celebrated as Australia Day.  However there was little to celebrate for the Aboriginal occupants as then commenced a period where they were driven out of their homes, killed and wiped out by diseases new to their land and people.  The early part of the 20^th century saw legislation introduced to further control the Aboriginal population.  There were moves by the government to assimilate this community.  It was felt this could be best achieved by taking away all of their rights, including land rights and attempting to ‘Europeanise’ them.

Uluru, the famous sandstone rock formation near to Alice Springs, recognised as one of the great wonders of the world was renamed Ayers rock in 1873 by European explorers.  This land considered by Aboriginals to be one of their most sacred sites was handed back to the local traditional owners, the Anangu in 1985.  It is now known as Uluru/Ayers Rock.  Aboriginal traditions states that:

‘The world was unformed and featureless until ancestral beings emerged from the void and journeyed across the land, creating all living species and the features of the desert landscape.’

Uluru is regarded as a physical manifestation of the ancestor’s activities during this creation period known as ‘Dreamtime’.   It is written that the path to the top of this sacred site was the traditional route taken by the Anangu when they arrived at Uluru during creation.  They believe that by touching the rock, an Aborigine can invoke the spirits for blessing and communicate with Dreamtime.  The Anangu ask visitors to respect the spiritual significance of Uluru and not to climb it.  It is said that those who take rocks from the formation will be cursed and suffer misfortune.  There have been a number of unexplained deaths and disappearances that have taken place at Uluru/Ayers Rock, amongst them the disappearance of nine week old baby Azaria Chamberlain in 1980, said by her mother Lindy Chamberlain to have been taken and killed by Dingoes.  Today the management of this site is mostly undertaken by the traditional owners and local Aborigines.

On the 13^th February 2008 a formal apology was made to the ‘The Stolen Generations’ a term given to Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families under the Aboriginal Protection Act of 1869.  This contributed to all Aboriginal people effectively being made wards of state. At a time when wide scale democratic processes were being implemented for white Australians such as free public education, Aboriginal people were having controls implemented on their communities that limited where they could live and work, what they could do and even who they could meet and marry by the Board for the Protection of Aborigines, destroying communities and tearing apart families.  This begs the question of whether the greatest ‘protection’ needed was from those who claimed to be ‘protecting?’

In 1886 under the Half Cast Act they started to implement a policy to remove people of mixed descent, referred to as ‘half cast’ from Aboriginal reserves in an attempt to assimilate them into white society.

The award winning film Rabbit Proof Fence based on the book Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara depicts accurately this disturbing period of history.  It tells the true story of two mixed race Aboriginal girls who escape from the Moore River Native Settlement after being brutally stolen from their families. It depicts their attempt to track along a 1,500 fence in order to be reunited with their family whilst being tracked down by authorities.

In the Bringing Them Home – The Stolen Generation Report of 1997, it is conservatively estimated that at least 100,000 Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families between 1910 and 1970.  Aboriginals were finally given full status as Australian citizens in 1967.

Australia fundamentally operated a controversial White Australia policy for a number of years, a policy that basically placed tight controls on immigration by people from certain countries under the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901.   In 1941 Prime Minister Curtin reinforced Australia’s dedication to this policy by stating‘

‘This country shall remain forever the home of the descendants of those people who came here in peace in order to establish in the South Seas an outpost of the British race.’

In 1973 the Australian government implemented policies which effectively brought this

policy to end including  making all migrants, regardless of origin, eligible to obtain citizenship after three years of residence and instructions to overseas posts to totally disregard race as a factor in the selection of migrants.

Today Australia’s indigenous population still have a host of issues to contend with.  Despite 460,000 Aboriginals making up 2% of the general population, they make up 20% of the prison population.  Figures show an indigenous Australian is 11 times more likely to be imprisoned than any other Australian.  In 1987 a Royal Report into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was carried out due to concern over the high levels of suspicious aboriginal deaths in custody.  The New South Wales Bureau of Crime statistics recently released research that shows indigenous imprisonment rate rose 48% between 2001 and 2008, compared to 7% for non indigenous people over the same period, this despite a national commitment to reduce Aboriginal over representation in prison.  A 2008 report shows a life expectancy 17 years shorter for Aboriginals than other Australians and some States of Australia show Aboriginal unemployment running at 20.3% compared to 7.5% for the general population.

The Aboriginal story is not an easy tale.  It is the often hidden face of modern Australia, a face that many neither want to see or acknowledge. The Aboriginal experience is one where the level of inhumanity unleashed upon a native people by those for whom the power to do so came easily, often beggars belief when explored in its fullness.  Pilger says the Australian Silence has unique feathers:

 ‘In my lifetime, we have become one of the most culturally diverse places on earth, and it has happened peacefully, by and large. That is a remarkable achievement, until we look for those whose Australian civilisation has seldom been acknowledged, whose genius for survival and generosity and forgiving have rarely been a source of pride. For they are what is unique about us.’ 

Despite the challenges there are many Aboriginals groups striving to make a difference in their society.  Don from Babana, an Aboriginal men’s group based in New South Wales says:

’ There are still problems and the community is responding to those problems as best we can, with little support from government departments and other funding bodies.  Yes things are changing, positively changing. This is in spite of the funding authorities and their idea of controlling Aboriginal organisations by withholding funding, in spite of the empire builders who like to think this is their territory, in spite of the drinkers and the drug takers.  It will keep on changing too as the men and women of New South Wales, black and white work to create a more positive community for themselves and their children.’

 We can but hope that the positive change Don speaks of can heal the scars of the past and allow Australia’s indigenous population to be afforded the full scope of rights afforded to other inhabitants of this nation but denied to them for so long.  This must happen sooner rather than later.

Maybe it’s time for the great Australian Silence to end before it transcends into a deafening roar.

© 2012

YOU SEE THE BIG TREES IN THE FOREST? THEY STAND ALONE – The Life And Times of KWAME NKRUMAH by Angela Hinds

Back in the 80’s when I was still in secondary school, during the course of our history lessons, a special tutor was bought in to teach us about the transatlantic slave trade, a period of 400 years in which millions of Africans were shipped to America and the Caribbean islands, a time of great inhumanity and horrific suffering, during which millions of Africans lost their lives  By the time the tutor had finished teaching us, it was almost possible to have more sympathy for the enslavers and plantation owners than for the slaves.  With the exception of that special teaching on the slave trade and another short segment on the American civil rights movement with a brief input on Martin Luther King and a even briefer input on Malcolm X, didn’t want anyone getting too radical now, we were taught precious little on the history of people of African blood in the world  Whilst great focus was given to the contributions of various empires and races to building this modern world, I was left wondering what the contributions of my people were, surely there was something else other than the slave trade and civil rights movement that gave us definition historically

I had heard of Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast and the man responsible for the independence of that nation.  On recently reading’ Kwame Nkrumah, an Autobiography’ by June Milne and The Conakry Years, a chronicle of his life through his letters written after his government was overthrown in a coup in 1966 and during his exile in Guinea, I was left pondering why the life and times of people like this man, often described as ‘The Greatest African’ are not given greater focus in the general historical curriculum.  I was amazed to see the changes and developments this great man of vision was trying to bring to the African continent and to African unity before I was even born.

Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah was born in 1909 in Nkroful, Western Ghana.  The term Osagyefo meaning redeemer was given to him by his people in dedication to the work he done in and for the people of Ghana.

Kwame Nkrumah was the only child of his mother although he had other siblings by his father, when young he complained to his mother of being an only child, he was told ‘You see the big trees in the forest?  They stand alone.’  Little did his mother know how prophetic her words would become in the future life her son was to lead as one of Africa’s greatest leaders.

Nkrumah first entered politics as the general secretary of the United Gold Coast convention (UGCC) in 1947, breaking way to form his party, the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) in 1949, its motto ‘Forward Ever, Backward Never.’

His biggest initial aspiration was to win independence for his country from Britain, he stated ‘I have often been accused of pursuing the impossible  but I cannot believe in the impossibility of attaining African freedom’

To achieve this he implemented a strategy of positive action towards this goal which included political agitation, newspaper and educational campaigns, constitutional application of strikes, boycotts and non co-operation.  For this he was arrested and charged in Jan 1950 for inciting people to strike and sentenced to two years imprisonment  He was given a further year to run concurrently for sedition.  He served 14 months of his three year sentence.  In 1951 whilst Nkrumah was prison the CPP won the national elections with a resounding victory, as leader of the CPP Nkrumah was released and invited by the then governor, Sir Charles Arden-Clarke to form a government with the position to be ‘bogus and fraudulent’ but as leader of the predominant party but allowed it so it could be a stepping stone to total African governance.  Due to pressure on the British government by 5^th March 1952 the position of Leader of Government Business was dissolved and Nkrumah was re-instated as the Prime Minister, making him the first African to hold this position.

On 10^th July 1953 Nkrumah introduced into the Legislative Assembly, the Motion of Destiny, calling upon Britain to make arrangements for independence stating ‘if there is to be a criterion of people’s preparedness for self government, then I say it is their readiness to assume the responsibility of ruling themselves for who but a people themselves can say when they are prepared.’

Britain heeded the demand for independence but called for another election in 1954, once again the CPP won power with a massive majority, despite promises however independence was still being stalled by political and party disagreements.  In 1956 the British government announced yet another general election should be held and stated ‘If a general election is held, her majesties government will be ready to accept a motion calling for independence within the commonwealth passed by a reasonable majority and then to declare a firm date for attainment of this purpose.’

The CPP manifesto for the forthcoming election was summed up in seventeen short words, ‘Do I want independence in my lifetime?  Or do I want to revert to feudalism and imperialism?  Nkrumah wanted to stick to that one outstanding issue, pointing out at mass rallies that this was no ordinary election and the future of the country was at stake.  The 1956 election brought yet another resounding victory for the CPP, winning them eighty two percent of the total votes cast.

Finally and at long last on the 18^th September 1956 amongst great jubilation, the news was given to the Assembly by Nkrumah that the date for independence had been set for the 6^th March 1957.  By this stage of ghana’s history it would have been 113 years since the Bond of 1844 which ahd led to the British colonial government of the Gold Coast.

At midnight on the 6^th of march 1957 outside the Assembly building the Union Jack was lowered and the new red, green and gold flag of Ghana was raised  Nkrumah then proceeded to the polo ground where tens of thousands had gathered along with representatives of 56 countries  On the podium, Nkrumah stood side by side with his CPP founders, A.Casely-Hayford, Minister of Communications, Kojo Botsio, Minister of Trade and Labour and AK Gbedemah, Minister of Finance.

Kwame Nkrumah at 48 had achieved his first and most important political goal, the independence of his beloved Ghana, he stood to speak to roaring applause,

‘At long last the battle has ended, and thus Ghana your beloved country is free for ever.  We shall no longer go back to sleep.  Today from now on, there is a new African in the world.  Above all there remains the need to re-dedicate ourselves in the struggle to emancipate other countries in Africa, for our independence is totally meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.’

Nkrumah saw independence however not as an end of an attainment of a political goal but as very much the beginning.  He hoped an independent Ghanaian state would be a beacon of hope for the rest of the African continent.  He acknowledged there was a great deal of work still to be done but said ‘Those who judge us merely by the heights we have achieved, would do well to remember the depths from which we started’

Right from the start of the CPP government in 1951, foundations had been laid for the creation of a modern state, a network of roads considered to be among the most modern in Africa were constructed.  Houses, schools, colleges, hospitals and clinics were built.  Piped water supplies were provided to villages, new industries were developed and existing ones built upon.  Two cocoa-processing plants were built, sugar refineries, a textile printing plant, a glass factory, a chocolate factory, a radio assembly plant, a meat processing plant and printing works in Tema were established.  There was advanced work implemented on a gold refinery at Tarkwa, new work started on asbestos, cement, shoe and rubber tyre factories in Kumasi and a factory for the manufacture of prefabricated houses.

In the first seven years of the development plan alone 489 million pounds was spent on new development projects.

In terms of education the CPP government made all education from primary to university level free, along with all student textbooks provided free of charge.

Nkrumah wanted to bring industrialisation to his nation in order to standardise and bring it up to date with the rest of the world.  The CPP government planned to establish industries which would be large consumers of power and for which raw materials would be locally available.  Other industries would be established which could utilise cash crops and provide employment in rural areas  Lighter industries were to be set up for the production of such goods as textiles, shoes, clothing and furniture.  For all of these programmes of industrialisation, massive amounts of hydro-electric power had to be provided which was the purpose of the Volta River Project, which was also to provide enough electrical power for the whole of Ghana.

Nkrumah on addressing the issues of the proposed Volta Dam Project stated ‘Our continent certainly exceeds all the others in potential hydro electric power, which some experts assess as 42% of the worlds total.  What we need is there for us to remain hewer of wood and drawers of water for the industrialised areas of the world.’

Nkrumah had a vision for Ghana and Africa, whereby its own resources would be used to uplift the continent and its citizens, he said in 1962,

‘All stock exchanges in the world are pre-occupied with Africa’s gold, diamonds, uranium, platinum, copper and iron ores.  Our capital flows out in streams to irrigate the whole system of Western economy.  Africa provides more than 60% of the worlds gold.  A great deal of the uranium for nuclear power, of copper for elections, of titanium for supersonic projectiles, of iron and steel for heavy industries, of other mineral and raw materials for lighter industries, the basic economic might of the foreign powers comes from our continent.  Experts have estimated that the Congo basin alone can produce enough food crops to satisfy the requirements of nearly half the population of the whole world.’

Nkrumah strived to make the separate countries of the continent into one community as he knew an united continent would be the best strategy for the progress of individual countries and its citizens  For this purpose, he called other independent African nations to form the Organisation For African Unity (OAU ) in 1961.

He said in his address to the conference of African heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa on the 24^th May 1966 on the eve of the foundation of the OAU, ‘We have been too busy nursing our separate states to understand fully the basic need of our union rooted in common purpose, common planning and common endeavour.’

He said of his plans under the OAU for a united African continent,

‘We shall accumulate machinery and establish steel works, iron foundries and factories, we shall link the various states of our continent with communications by land, sea and air.  We shall cable from one place to another, phone from one place to the other and astound the world with our hydro-electric power, we shall drain marshes and swamps, clear infested areas, feed the under nourished and rid our people of parasites and diseases.  It is within the possibility of science and technology to make even the Sahara bloom into a vast field with verdant vegetation for agricultural and industrial developments.  We shall harness the radio, television, great printing presses to lift people from the dark recesses of illiteracy.

For us it is a simple matter of grasping with certainty our heritage by using the political might of unity.  All we need to do is to develop with our united strength the enormous resources of our continent.  A united Africa will provide a stable field of foreign investments, which will be encouraged as long as it does not behave inimically to our African interests.

Only a united Africa fundraising under a union government can forcefully mobilise the material and moral resources of our separate countries and apply them efficiently and energetically to bring rapid change in the conditions of our people.’

Nkrumah created a blueprint under the OAU for an united Africa, one that is very reminiscent of what would become the European Union some 50 years later along with the need for an All Africa High Command, a joint African military to be used continent wide again the USA Africom many years later would appear to base many of its tactics on Nkrumahs teachings , he said ‘If we do not approach the problems in Africa with a common front and a common purpose, we shall be haggling and wrangling among ourselves we are colonized again and become the tools of a greater colonialism than we suffered hithrerto.’

We need a common defence system with African High Command to ensure the stability and security of Africa.  The first step towards our cohesive economy would be a unified monetary zone, with initial an agreed common party for our currencies.  When we find that the arrangement of a fixed common parity is working successfully, there would seem to be no reason for not instituting one common currency and a single bank of issue.’

Amongst Nkrumahs predominant wishes for a united Africa were a common Africa citizenship, a common system of defence, a common market for Africa, an African currency and monetary zone.

On the 25^th May 1963 the OAU was signed by Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Libya, Malagasy, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Egypt and Burkina Fasso.

However although Nkrumahs leadership generated a remarkable succession of developments throughout the contininent of Africa and in the diaspora which instigated economic, political and social upliftment for a great deal of Africans, this did not bode well for these whom were determined to see a continent, a nation and its citizens kept from attaining the standards and improvements that Nkrumah had set out for Ghana and the African continent.  Amongst Nkrumahs own government there were agents plotting his downfall and that of the CPP government in collusion with western intelligence agencies, particularly the British and Americans, by this stage there had already been six unsuccessful assassination attempts on Nkrumahs life

Nkrumah was in talks with the leaders of Vietnam, who had asked him to come to Hanoi to try and broker peace talks.  On the 21^st Feb 1966 he was seen off by a small party of chiefs and his officias at Accra airport, amongst them two of his officials Harlley and Deku.  In his book ‘Dark Days in ghana’ he described the occasion and the ‘handshakes and expressions of good wishes from Harlley and Deku.’  He goes on to add ‘These men smiling and ingratiating had all the time treason and treachery in their minds.  They had even planned my assassination on that day, though later abandoned the idea.’

The coup took place on Wednesday 23^rd Feb 1966 with army officials Colonel Kotoka and Major Afrifa playing a pivotal part.  Troops were told that Nkrumah had left Ghana for good, taking 8 million pounds and that Ghana was without a government and it was therefore the duty of the army to assume control to maintain law and order.  Although it was presumed to be a bloodless coup in fact over 1600 people lost their lives

Major General Barwah, who was the Deputy chief of Defence Staff, was shot dead in front of his wife and children at his house.  Practically the entire CPP leadership was arrested in the day which followed the coup.  Nkrumahs statue was pulled down outside the parliament building and his books burned.

Nkrumahs wife and children fled to the Egyptian embassy and were flown to Cairo a few days Lter, his mother returned to the village of Nkroful where Nkrumah was born.

After the coup those responsible for the coup set up the National Liberation Council (NLC) with the eight leaders being JA Ankrah, EK Kotoka, AK Ocran, AA Afrifa, JW Harlley, BA Yakubu, JE Nunoo and AK Deku.

The sixth of March is the date which more than any other is associated with name of Kwame Nkrumah and the CPP.

©

 

TROUBLE IN THE CRADLE OF CIVILISATION Kenya’s Political Unrest By Angela Hinds

I landed at Nairobi airport in November 2007 for my second three-month trip to Kenya in ten years.  I noticed straight away the improvements at Jomo Kenyatta airport, situated on the outskirts of  Nairobi, it was a great deal more structured than previously.  As the busiest airport in East &Central Africa, this must certainly be one of the more modern international airports in Africa.  Built in the 1970’s, it handles flights from all over the world and a large amount of the estimated two million tourists who visit Kenya each year, although a larger amount fly directly to Mombasa, Kenya’s ‘second city’ and the hub of Kenya’s tourist industry with its white sand beaches, safari’s and top hotels.

As I settled into my first six weeks in Nairobi, I familiarised myself with the delightful sights, smells and sounds of Africa.  As a British born black woman of Caribbean descent, I find it fascinating to be in Africa.  I am always intrigued by how many similarities there are between the Caribbean and Africa, from the foodstuffs to the rhythm and the pace of life.  Kenya has an estimated population of 34 million and the national language is Kiswahili although English is widely spoken.  The name Nairobi originates from the Masaai word ‘ewaso nairobi’ that means valley.  Nairobi is a modern city with well over a million residents and is the capital of Kenya.  It is also the financial and business centre of East Africa.

As Presidential elections neared, campaigning for the two major political parties, the Orange Democratic Party (ODM) headed by Raila Odinga and the Party of National Unity (PNU) headed by the ruling President Mwai Kibaki was fervent.   Many Kenyan people are passionate about politics.  Kibaki had been President since 2002 and Raila Odinga had actually worked under his administration as Minister for Roads, Public Works and Housing for 2 years.  Raila Odinga is the son of the first vice President of Kenya Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, he was previously suspected of collaborating with the plotters of a failed coup attempt against President Daniel Arap Moi in 1982.  He was charged with treason and detained without trial for six years.

Campaigning was peaceful and people looked forward to the upcoming elections with great anticipation.  Since the colonial days and  the Mau Mau revolt by Kenyan rebels that lasted from 1952 to 1966 and which hastened Kenyan independence in 1963 and resulted in the countries first President Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya had previously enjoyed 44 years of peace and stability.

By the time the Presidential elections were due to take place in December 2007, I had moved on to a traditional African village on the outskirts of Mombasa to stay with my Giriama friends. The Giriama people are the largest amongst the coastal tribes of Kenya.   Mombasa is one of the oldest cities in Africa, its origins dating back to the 12^th century.  Records of this city exist as early as1151.   My temporary home consisted of a small cluster of villages.  Accommodation was a small mud hut made with the traditional thatch roofing.  There is no running water, toilets or electricity in the village.  On the occasions that I returned to the village after dark, I marvelled at the way locals seemed able to find their way in almost pitch blackness while I dropped and stumbled into every hole and pit on route!  Villagers rely on men who bring water around the local areas each morning on a donkey, selling it for around 50p for 10 litres.  There is only one house in the vicinity that has electricity and they run a much needed small cinema and meeting place for the locals.  This house also serves as an electricity point to which people take their mobile phones to be charged.  Not surprisingly even in a remote village in Africa, the mobile phone is king.  With no chance of any other hi-tech method of communication hitting their village any time soon, a mobile phone is an essential and affordable tool for keeping in touch with others. Believe me when I say mobile phone snobbery is an international phenomenon with many even in this remote village questioning why I did not have the latest Nokia handset!

Mobile communication in Kenya has expanded vastly in the last 10 years.  In 1999, there were 15,000 mobile phone users, this has risen to nearly 8 million in 2008.  SafariCom and Celltel are the largest mobile phone subscribers in Kenya.

There was excitement in the air as the 27^th of December loomed, the day of the Presidential elections.  Many people altered their entire holiday plans to ensure they were in the required place to vote on that day.

By the 28^th of December, most of Kenya sat as near as possible to the nearest available TV set or radio.  As events started to unfold little did Kenya and Kenyans know what horrors were about to be visited upon them.

Kenya is arguably one of the most beautiful countries in the world.  It has every conceivable wildlife resident there, savannahs, beautiful beaches on the Indian Ocean, deserts in the north and a combination of some 40 indigenous tribes.  The Rift Valley which runs through the centre of Kenya has long been regarded as the cradle of civilisation after some of the oldest bones dating back two and a half million years were unearthed near Lake Turkana by the archaeological team of Mary and Louis Leakey.  Some have described the bones as belonging to ‘Eve’ the first woman in creation.  One memory that comes to mind is sitting on a beach on the North coast of Mombasa watching the sun rise over the Indian ocean, dhows and fisherman leaving out for their daily catch in the rising light, white sand under foot and Masaai men in traditional wear strolling along the beach, a truly breath taking scene.

However great ugliness was soon to rear its head in this beautiful nation.  Early indicators appeared to show signs of an ODM victory and at one point I even saw lorries dressed in the ODM banners and colours cruising through the nearest main road with ‘victory is ours’ banners.  Nevertheless as counting progressed, chaos seemed to entail.  A worrying number of districts had not returned their votes and it appeared no one could make contact with these polling stations.  The Kenyan Election Commission, the body entrusted with overseeing elections appeared powerless to get the required votes returned and when some of them at last reached central office, the amount of votes presented sometimes outnumbered the amount of people registered to vote in those areas. There were accusations of vote rigging and although there were independent international observers there to oversee that these were ‘free and fair ‘elections, they too seemed uncertain of what to do in that situation.   Eventually after several days where most of Kenya seemed uncertain as to what was happening, the Kenyan Election Commission held a final count.  At this stage, there were still provinces that had not returned their votes, however it was decided to do a final count anyway.  As votes were counted, the gap narrowed between the two candidates.  Finally 3days after voting took place, Mwai Kibaki the serving President was announced the winner by a margin of 230,000 votes.  Kenyans noted that unusually the new President was sworn in later on the same day, instead of days later as was the norm.  Raila Odinga insisted he was the legal and rightful President and that he had been cheated out of the Presidency.  Kibaki insisted that he had won the elections fairly.  There were calls for a recount and/or a completely new election.  According to the European Unions head observer in the election Alexander Lambstorff, ‘the election was flawed and the Electoral Commission failed to establish the credibility of the tallying process to the satisfaction of all parties and candidates.’

Within hours violence erupted in some provinces of Kenya.  What was to follow was several weeks of violence which almost threatened to bring this great and peaceful nation to its knees.  Each day, even in the village, everyone would sit huddled around the radio, listening anxiously to stories of death and destruction in their country.  Being in the village, people regularly thanked God for being far from the source of trouble and violence and for them mostly it was business as usual.  In some parts of Kenya such as Navaisha and Kibera, neighbour turned on neighbour, friend became foe.  In one of the most inhumane acts of violence, 50 people who had fled from the violence in their areas and sought refuge in a local church, were barricaded in by a gang of men and burned to death, others trying to escape were bludgeoned to death.   According to media sources increased sexual assaults and gang rapes on both males and females occurred.  In some areas, shopping malls and businesses were looted and burnt to the ground.  Gangs armed with machetes, sticks and poisoned arrows attacked people.  Disturbingly what started out as political troubles started to descend into outright tribalism.  At the root of this was the tribes of the two political contenders, Odinga is a Luo and Kibaki a Kikuyu.   These two tribes held an uneasy peace in Kenya since a political incident when the first President of Kenya had visited a predominately Luo area and apparently been pelted with eggs by the locals.  Apparently he then ordered the Luo men of that area to be circumcised, a great insult to a tribe who do not circumcise their boys.  Whether or not this was just folklore, it had been burned into the consciousness of both of these tribes. What emerged from this show of tribalism was the unease and unhappiness felt by some Kenyans about what they felt were unearned privileges given to the majority Kikuyu tribe in Kenya.  Two out of the three Kenyan Presidents have been Kikuyu.   I heard this view expressed many a time by non-Kikuyu Kenyans and equally I heard Kikuyu Kenyans express the view that they worked extremely hard for anything they had.

I held and expressed the view that they were all Kenyans and the mindless killing would solve nothing.  Memories of Rwanda surfaced and at one stage many a Kenyan questioned whether their country was headed the same way, tribal genocide.  Rwanda in their 1994 genocide suffered the loss of an estimated one million Tutsis in the period of a hundred days.   A situation that arose from similar dispute over so-called favouritism given to one tribe over another.

Each day there were tales of more killings and mayhem, however there was also a lot of rumour and speculation.  One day rumour of people being murdered en masse in Nairobi reached the village but thank God I was quickly able to lay that rumour to rest by calling a few friends in Nairobi.  Friends emailed me from various parts of the world begging me to leave Kenya as they were under the impression that the whole country was up in arms and about to burn to the ground.  I had to reassure them as bad as things were, the violence was isolated and in certain areas only, it was not countrywide.  The coast of Kenya remained calm and relatively untouched by any violence.  Both political parties laid the blame for the violence solely on each other supporters.

After a miserable and uncertain New Year 2008 for many Kenyans, mid January saw the arrival of a peacekeeping force consisting of amongst others Kofi Annan from Ghana (former UN secretary General) and Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania and chairman of the African Union whose role it was to oversee peacekeeping talks between Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki.

By this stage, most foreign consulates and embassies had advised their nationals and tourists to leave Kenya as a matter of urgency.   Flights to and from Kenya by most of the international airlines were greatly reduced and the impact of the troubles started to trickle down to even the Kenyans not directly involved in the troubles.

On the coast, in the areas that run from Mombasa to Lamu, the majority of Kenyans depend on tourism for their livelihoods.  Foreigners who have holiday homes employ many as house staff.  Many others work in hotels and for safari and tourist orientated businesses.  As the tourists left, many Kenyans on the coast found themselves out of work as hotels and local businesses closed down.  Many had to return to their family villages around Kenya as they increasingly found it difficult to survive with no income and no imminent prospect of a job.  Food production in Kenya is predominately centred around Nairobi and upcountry, so due to the disruption to many farms around that area and disruption to the transport system, food shortages on the coast became more common and the price of food was greatly increased.

It was with great trepidation that I left the coast at the end of January 2008 to return to Nairobi to prepare for my flight back to London.  What would I find after all those worrying stories of the violence that had taken place there?  On arrival in Nairobi, I was amazed to find not much had changed.  Nairobi town was still bustling with people going about their everyday lives.  There had been disruption to some businesses there and some levels of violence especially in the slum areas on the outskirts of Nairobi and on occasion at political rallies but it was hard to tell looking at Kenyans going about their business.   One noticeable sign of the troubles was an increased army and police presence in some central parts of Nairobi but even that was not on a large scale.

As the trouble started to abate, hostility remained between some tribes, particularly the Luo and the Kikuyu people.  I heard many a bitter and vicious word exchanged by members of these tribes against each other. One Luo couple I knew were forced to fire all the Kikuyu staff from their nightclub as their Luo regulars threaten to boycott the club, similarly one Kikuyu friend recounted the tale of all the Luo people in his area being given the ‘choice’ of leaving or being forcibly removed.   It must be stressed however that even at the height of the troubles, there were many Kenyans of all tribes, striving for peace and understanding for the good of all Kenyans.  Being in East Africa and being surrounded by troubled nations such as Somalia, Sudan and Uganda many people were fully aware of what could lay ahead for Kenya if a solution was not found.  Even amongst the hatred that raised its head, many more Kenyans were advocating for a quick end to the violence and tribalism.

Unfortunately, I left Kenya in early February 2008 before a peace agreement had been reached between the leaders of the two political parties.  I wondered what would become of this beautiful country and how peace would be restored.

Finally, on Feb 28 2008 a peace deal was brokered.  Mwai Kibaki of the PNU Party remained President whilst Raila Odinga of the ODM Party was made the Prime Minister in a power sharing agreement.  Kenyans around the world wait to see what these two great African leaders can do for and with Kenya.

In those few weeks of turmoil that Kenya experienced, an estimated 1,500 people lost their lives and 600,000 were displaced from their homes.

To date Kenya is still recovering from the troubles and although it may be quite a long road to recovery, it is testimony to the spirit of the Kenyan people that every Kenyan I have spoken to has no doubt that Kenya will once again return to the great and peaceful land it once was.

© 2012

HIP HOP AND RAP: A Cross Atlantic Perspective by Donald Taylor and Angela Hinds

A Sister From London, England asks: What has happened to American Rap lately? Originally when hip-hop came to the attention of an international audience it was a much-needed breath of fresh air, an exciting flavour. A new voice for a new generation, black American youth, challenging the status quo. Even for black people around the world who were not living in the United States, the message was one that appealed to us, we understood it loud and clear. The international black audience was captivated by this new genre. When one listened to Rap, the words, the messages were as captivating as the beat, so what has happened to American Rap lately? Watching more than one hour of MTV becomes mind-numbing listening to repetitive lyrics about money, women and cars. Every video is just a slight variation of the last, same song, different dancers. Scantily clad young black women, easily purchased, easily discarded, easily used “bitches” and “ho’s.” Ghetto bad boys hyping the thug life, glorifying ghetto fabulous. These values, these aspirations are presented to us by rappers who have left the ghetto a long time ago, moved on and up by those exploitatively gained US dollars they used to complain so bitterly about.The lifestyle portrayed in many of those rap videos of big sumptuous houses, big sumptuous cars, champagne, free flowing dollars and women with large sumptuous behinds waiting in a bikini to greet you at the door each evening was amusing for a while, now it’s boring. What is that all about? Whose version of keeping it real is that? You can watch as many episodes of “Cribs” (the celebrity homes programme shown on MTV) as you want it still won’t teach you how to become a homeowner any quicker. Can someone please tell me where the choice of rap with a message has disappeared? Rap that seemed to represent fairly accurately black youth and the black situation. Who does Rap represent now? It makes one wonder if after watching these videos it doesn’t have the cumulative effect of making black folks feel as disaffected as watching white corporate America spouting some impossible dream. I see very little in these videos that represent me these days. Nobody is suggesting that all Rap music needs a conscience, let’s all hold hands and save the world type of music, but a choice is needed nevertheless. Even when people were putting music out there with a different message that may not have been our flavour, at least there was scope for being original and different and it provided variety. Why is this entire crotch grabbing, “ho,” “bitch” it’s all about the Benjamin’s type of Rap being promoted above all others? Why is it some of the most thought provoking Rap of late has come from the mouth of the only prominent white rapper, Eminem? Is it because he is the only one making it? I very much doubt that. It would appear black Rap that is actually saying something is/has been forced underground for some reason in favour of this “about nothing” bullshit that is the records companies marketing dream. One has to remember because of the power of the American media, Rap music videos are often the only images that countries and people around the world who have no contact with the black race have of what the “black” situation is about. I don’t know about anyone else but that is not what I would wish to have my people anywhere in the Diaspora represented as to the unknowing. Whether we acknowledge it or not, images stick. The power structures that be are well aware of this; one has to wonder if some of those Rappers couldn’t care less as long as they are getting paid. Maybe they would say they are taking their slice of the pie. Maybe some would ask at what cost? If this is the newest voice for a newer generation, it is a sad reflection. Like many other black people I have tired of listening to the nonsense that now masquerades as hip-hop. One of my old time favourite Rap songs was “don’t believe the hype”. Seems to me that is a message that someone, somewhere needs to rework and quick. A Brother From America writes: I was born and raised a black male in some of the poorest American neighbourhoods, often referred to in popular American culture as the ghetto. Some people have said that the ghetto is more a state of mind than a physical place. I believe the former and have seen with my own eyes that the ghetto state of mind can be detrimental to many people, especially the black males’ psychological and social development. I have watched many a potential businessman, lawyer, doctor, poet, devoted husband and loving father destroyed mentally and physically because they believed more in the false manhood attributes of the ghetto than they did in their true selves or the examples of strong black men and women that came before them. Today, trying to be true to our black selves and ancestors is much harder because we have allowed outsiders to teach us how to be black. Corporate America for one, has found a way to market black behaviour to blacks and all people in the form of “ghetto fabulousness,” seen by most in the world of rap videos. Most of the ghetto lifestyle presented to us thought the media is materialistic, misogynistic, anti-intellectual and unrealistic. Basically, it is escapist bullshit promoted as “reality” to make millions off of the role model starved but miss-educated Negroes and now black culture hungry suburban white teens that crave that lifestyle that is Hip-hop culture. Hip Hop is supposedly “keepin’ it real” as far as what is means to be black in America. Many people have come to believe that the hip hop/ghetto life is the true life of all black people. Unfortunately, many black Americans who should know better are willing participants in helping to promote this foolishness to their own people around the world. Thanks to my mother and a host of aunts and strong male role models I was never allowed to be totally consumed with the false manhood beliefs the ghetto lifestyle teaches and let that become my state of mind. Many blacks in America have done the same and come out of the ghetto and remained in the ghetto as solid and successful citizens but many more have fallen for the hype of hip-hop culture and its symbol: ghettofabulousness. I can empathize with some blacks who are “proud” to be ghetto because it is a resource they have to increase their self esteem and show pride in their communities in a society that is very willing to acknowledge and shower attention on blacks who are singing and dancing. But in the end thinking ghetto is of not much social value in my opinion. I loved the old-school hip-hop from the 80’s because it was not just fun but enlightening. Today we are bombarded with the absurd and the redundant in hip hop and rap. We are presented with a modern day black mistral show starring those who are quick to play buffoons in quest of the Benjamin’s. If you think I am just a “player hater” the next time you meet a young promising black child in America, the UK or Africa who can recite the hottest rap lyrics without missing a step but can”t speak a complete sentence coherently because they believe getting an education is for white folks and all he or she can aspire to be in life is a rapper or other entertainer when the chances of that happening are slim to none, please ask yourself this question: if having a strong work ethic, positive social values and studying reading, writing and arithmetic and speaking coherently, the stuff that makes you successful is acting white to our children then what is acting black supposed to mean to them.

CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN? Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign By Angela Hinds

As the November US Presidential elections move closer, the spotlight is firmly on the Democratic candidate Barack Obama.  The 47 year old junior Illinois senator emerged onto the international stage last year as the presidential campaign heated up and quickly became a front runner to become the Democratic presidential candidate. Barack Obama was born inHonolulu ,Hawaiiin 1961, son of a Kenyan father and white American mother.  Obama a graduate of Colombia University and Harvard Law School practiced as a civil rights attorney before joining politics in 1997 and was elected to the Senate in 2004.  In his pursuit of becoming the first African American President he ran a close race for months with Hillary Clinton, wife of ex President Bill Clinton.  Many onlookers noted that the further ahead Obama forged, the more personal attacks Hillary’s camp made on Obama.  In particular one attack had Hillary stating that ‘there’s a big difference between us, speeches versus solutions, talk versus action.’ In another barely concealed attack on Obama she said ‘I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House and Senator Obama has a speech that he gave in 2002.’

In 2008, Obama detractors were rubbing their hands with glee when Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ inChicago, a church that Obama had strong links to was broadcast making what were said to be anti American comments in some of his sermons.  Some of his comments referred to historical American foreign policy that he disagreed with, the basis for war inIraq, racism inAmericaand the standing of the African American community.  The furore that arose saw Obama forced to denounce Jeremiah and resign from the church he had attended for 20 years.

Although Obama, the first African American to win the Presidential nomination of a major US political party has a great deal of support in the African American community and prominent black Americans such as Oprah Winfrey, Jesse Jackson Halle Berry and Stevie Wonder have added weight to his campaign, there are others who have questioned his lack of commitment to tackle or even address any of the major issues that affect the black community in America.  There was anger from some in the African American community on Fathers day in the USwhen Obama made a speech denouncing absent black fathers.  Obama himself outlines some of the racial issues he faced growing up as a black child in a non-black family after his father left in his 1995 autobiography ‘Dreams From My Father.’  His 2006 second autobiography ‘The Audacity of Hope’ won the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Awards.   However the black community waits with bated breath as to whether this charismatic man can actually make it into office.  Barack Obama is frequently described as the black John F Kennedy, similarities arise from his style as a great orator, general popularity but also from his almost celebrity like status.

As with the time in history when John .F.Kennedy rose to power, many in America await change.  After eight years of George Bush, many want to see what a new face in the White House can achieve.  It is not lost on the majority of Americans that if Obama becomes the 44^th President and the first non white man to lead the United States it could be seen as potentially blowing in the winds of change in a country that less than 50 years ago barred black people from sitting at the front of a bus, a nation that has many openly racist and fascist groups.  From the back of the bus to the White House?  Obama’s secret service protection is said to rival that of President Bush and he was reportedly given secret service protection far earlier in his campaign than any previous candidate following worries about racist threats.  Many black people note this shows that despite what is said publicly, not everyone is ready to see a man of colour leading the world’s only superpower.

In mid August just days before Obama was due to address the Democratic convention, a NBC/ Wall Street Journal and a Newsweek poll put Obama and Mccain as practically running neck and neck in popularity.

Much has been said lately about Obama’s lack of political experience on an international level, compared to his Republican opponent John Mccain.  Despite Obama’s short international tour which took in Germany, France, Britain, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Palestine and Jordanin which he met world leaders and which saw him greeted like a superstar by large crowds in some countries, he is seen as lacking relevant foreign policy experience.  On the 23^rd of August Obama picked Joe Biden to run alongside him as his vice President.  Biden, a Catholic has been a Democrat Senator for 36 years and has twice run for President, in 1988 and alongside Obama in this campaign.  Strategically he is seen as having the necessary foreign policy and national security experience that Obama lacks and is considered a man who can appeal to the blue collar workers and white working classes, many of whom supported Hillary Clinton in this campaign.

Obama has been married to Michelle since 1992 and they have two daughters Sasha (6) and Malia (9).  However throughout Obama’s campaign, his wife has met with often unnecessary, ignorant and racist commentary from the media.  A Fox News segment, Americas most watched news channel captioned a picture of Michelle as “Obama’s Baby Mama”, a disrespectful term for unmarried mothers.  She has been referred to by some commentators as ‘one of those scary and dangerous black women’ and been called ‘Obama’s bitter half.’  Michelle Obama, a lawyer, was the former vice President of Community and External affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals who attended Princeton and then Harvard Law School.  Barack has apparently warned the Republican Party and the media ‘to lay off my woman’.  Michelle will make a formidable first lady should her husband become President.

At the Democratic Party Convention in August 2008, Obama’s wife Michelle addressed the nation, she spoke of her and Obama’s vision forAmericaand gave some insight as to who they both were as individuals.  Her speech was met with rapturous applause.  She stated ‘one day, they, and your sons and daughters, will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They’ll tell them how this time we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time, in this great country, where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House, we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.’  At the same Democratic convention, the elusive Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late John F. Kennedy in her speech said that ‘two men have inspired me politically, my father and Barack Obama.’

There has been much made of the animosity some of Hillary Clintons supporters have towards Obama, as they feel she should have been the rightful Presidential nominee, some have said they would rather vote for John Mccain than Obama, However in her speech at the Democratic Convention Hillary Clinton appealed to voters to unite and get behind Obama to seal a Democrat President in the White House in November.  Notably she made reference to the words of slavery freedom fighter Harriet Tubman when she said ‘If you hear the dogs, keep going, if you see the torches in the woods, keep going, if they’re shouting after you, keep going.  Don’t ever stop, keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.  She ended her speech by saying ‘That is our duty, to build that bright future, and to teach our children that in America there is no chasm too deep, no barrier too great  and no ceiling too high.  For all who work hard, never back down, always keep going, have faith in God, in our country, and in each other.

On August 28^th 2008 in Obama’s speech at the Democratic Convention in Denver, 45 years to date after Dr Martin Luther King gave his visionary ‘I have a dream speech’ in Washington, he accepted the Democrat Presidential nomination in front of an estimated 84,000 people packed into the stadium and countless millions around the world.  He stressed point for point some of the changes he hopes to implement when he becomes President, amongst his intended policies are tax cuts for almost all working class families, an end to the war in Iraq, an end to America’s dependence on oil from the Middle East within 10 years and affordable and accessible health care.

Barack Obama has stated ‘I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming.  Because I’ve seen it.  Because I’ve lived it.  My attitude about something like the Presidency is that you do not just want to be the President, you want to change the country and you want to make a unique contribution.  In short you want to be a great President’.

That, Mr. Obama is exactly what many would like to see of you this November.

The world awaits.

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