Theme: Africa for Africans: Revolutionary Pan-Africanist Unity Across Borders
in the Battle for Socialism Against Imperialism
March for Unity: 3 p.m. SHARP!
Program: 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.
• Keynote Presentation: “Africa for Africans: Revolutionary Pan-Africanist Unity Across
Borders in the Battle for Socialism Against Imperialism”
• African Dancers and Drummers
• Revolutionary Greetings and Solidarity Messages
• Martial Arts Demonstration
• Poetry
• Children’s Activities
In Africa, without crossing bodies of water, one can travel from Cape Agulhas in South Africa (the southernmost tip of Africa) to the Cape Ben Sakka in Algeria (the northernmost point on the African continent). Historically, Africans have traversed the continent for trade, conquest, protection, prospecting etc. For generations migration of Africans to different parts of the continent was the norm. What changed was the imposition and maintenance of colonial borders that allow Africans to be branded as illegal immigrants even on their home continent.
Africa’s colonial borders have little utility for the challenges faced by Africans today. Recent generations of Africans from different parts of the continent have had to leave their home countries due to war, political instability, land-grabbing, deforestation, and extraction of raw materials. It all results in the dispossession and displacement of massive numbers of people who are often forced into migration. The disunited, balkanized states of Africa cannot effectively resist domination by united, well financed, militarized, external capitalist and imperialist powers. These forces lack any interest in the people of Africa. Their only concern is profits.
Liberating Africa from the control of African puppet leaders, large corporations and foreign military forces that have locked down Africa’s oil, valuable minerals and other natural resources for capitalist exploitation must be the highest priority of Africans across Africa’s borders and worldwide. Capitalism in Africa must be replaced by a socialist government and economy that integrates the entire continent into a single country. Socialism is essential because, unlike capitalism, which allows wealth and power to be concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority, socialism places all wealth and power in the hands of everyone.
The total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism is known as Pan-Africanism. Achieving it will not only place Africa’s resources in the hands of Africa’s people, it will also make Africa a resource for forces struggling against capitalism around the world, including here in Michigan. We must all struggle for Pan-Africanism because a liberated, united and socialist Africa will be regarded as the most powerful of superpowers. Those who oppress, harass, exploit and discriminate against us today will tomorrow end their oppressive practices because they will fear a powerful united African continent. Poverty, police brutality, miseducation, poor health care, bad housing and other problems will evaporate once Africa is liberated, united and socialist.