Washington, DC — The degree to which the United States comes to respond to Africa, economically, politically and on a humanitarian basis, will depend largely on the lobbying efforts of African Americans.
It stands to reason that if African Americans are seen not to care about Africa - then why would Irish, Polish, Jewish, Italian and the myriad of hyphenated-Americans care?
On the other hand, if African Americans can successfully demonstrate why Africa does in fact matter, then the potential for U.S. engagement with the continent in a meaningful way to promote progress and development is unlimited!
Efforts to identify with, mobilize and unite Africans throughout the Diaspora are not new. Beginning in 1991, a biennial summit of Africans and African Americans has been convened in Africa by the now late Rev. Dr. Leon H. Sullivan. In Ghana in 1999, nearly 5,000 delegates from the United States and throughout Africa met to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the people of Africa in the areas of health, education, infrastructure and trade. In his memory, the summit will continue in 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria.
The results of these efforts have varied. The fact that African Americans and Africans are today not fully united means there still is work to do. Progress has been made, but a challenging road is before us. The challenge is that African Americans must realize and embrace the importance of economic, political, social and cultural linkages with our brothers and sisters on the African continent. Not only is this important in real terms - building a global constituency of more than 1 billion people - it is also important for the psyche of African Americans. Here, in the United States, we are constantly reminded of our "minority" status and of obstacles to achievement. Imagine the impact on the dreams and aspirations of our children when their daily images focus not only on athletes and entertainers - but on black heads of state, prime ministers, leaders of industry, intellectuals and scientists making contributions on the global stage.
This history extends back hundreds of years and is expressed within the names of some of our endearing institutions, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Formed in 1816 in Philadelphia, the AME Church was a direct response to the fact that African Americans were not allowed to worship with the white members of St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church, also in Philadelphia. The identification with Africa was clear.
Probably the most famous of the "Back to Africa" movements was led by Marcus Garvey. Born in Jamaica, in 1887, Garvey came to Harlem in 1916. Shortly after his arrival, Garvey established a political and economic movement, embodied in his Universal Negro Improvement Association, that sought to free, unite and uplift all people of African descent worldwide. His plans also focused on collective economic development, which included the establishment of the Black Star Line, a shipping company.
In 1919, The First Pan African Congress was convened in Paris by W.E.B. DuBois. This Congress was attended by 57 delegates from more than 15 countries. The resolution from this Conference demanded international protections and rights in regard to land, capital, labor, education and governance for Africans and people of African descent.
These efforts have given way to modern-day efforts by our leaders such as Sullivan; Randall Robinson and the efforts of TransAfrica to end apartheid in South Africa; and C. Payne Lucas and Africare, which has undertaken more than $300 million in development projects in Africa over the last 30 years.
Great men and women have dedicated their lives to mobilizing African Americans to care about Africa. Where do we go from here?
The Constituency for Africa, a 12-year-old Washington, D.C, based education and advocacy group, has as its core mission the education and mobilization of Americans to care about Africa. CFA is one of many organizations that has an important role to play and is especially focused on galvanizing the African-American community - the natural constituency - to play a more active and strategic role in formulating U.S. policy toward Africa. In this regard, CFA organizes town hall meetings, African business roundtables and other educational forums in cities and towns across the United States, to raise awareness and improve understanding about the critical issues affecting Africa and her peoples.
African Americans in the U.S. Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus, have a particularly important role to play in this process. As elected officials, they have the mandate from the people to help shape and define the U.S. national interest. The CBC is adopting a new theme as "The Voice for Global Understanding," and is uniquely positioned to seize the role as the leading voice to mobilize support in the United States for Africa, particularly with African-Americans. To be successful, the CBC must effectively communicate and sell a comprehensive, practical agenda for Africa to their U.S. constituents. This agenda must be developed in consultation with Africans.
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This road is not without obstacles, Africanists acknowledge. The argument must still be made as to why the hopes and dreams of African Americans are interwoven with the hopes and dreams of Africans and Africans throughout the Diaspora. Other obstacles remain, including a lack of human and financial resources to support constituency-building efforts and a negative slant on Africa's problems reported in the U.S. media. These and other factors have contributed to a sense of hopelessness.
We must acknowledge that Africa does matter. The hopes, dreams, and aspirations of African Americans and Africans are forever interwoven. The quality of life we hope to provide our children is the same as every African parent's. Just imagine the political, economic, and social strength of African Americans and Africans with a global constituency of 1 billion people - we would be a strong coalition that global leaders would be forced to reckon with.
Melvin P. Foote is president and CEO of the Constituency for Africa, a Washington-based advocacy group that works to educate Americans on African issues. He wrote this article for New York Newsday
