Sent: Wed, May 19, 2010 10:47:36 PM
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Webcast from the US Congress: Africa Liberation Day & Tribute to Dr. Height
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African Liberation Day Symposium
and
Luncheon Tribute to Dorothy Height
May 21, 2010 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
US Congress – Cannon Caucus Room, Cannon Office Building
Webcast Live.
Catered Luncheon Buffet. By Reservation Only
Musical Selections
Opening Prayers by Dr. Reverend Daniel Kapepula of Christian Victory Church
Target Audience: Representatives from the academia, civil society institutions, business and professional organizations, students, the diplomatic corps, researchers, lawmakers.
Lunch Tribute: The Height of Legacy Moderated by Millie Terry, Sierra Leone Office of Tourism and African Women Cancer Awareness Association and Dr. Ignatius “The Mayor” Ukpabi.
Tribute by African Traditional Rulers led by HRH Raymond Kangsen. Poetry led byMiss Guinea Fatoumata Soumah 2009-10 and Koffi Afful, Chairman of Council of Ghanaian Association. Skit by 5 year old Kevin Tchatchou of Wipapa African Footsteps of Tomorrow.
Live Performance by Amazing Grace Forlu. www.graceforlu.org
The Cake and Dedication of Awareness Program: The Height of the Legacy with Miss Ghana.
Special Award Presentation to the Symbol of the Spirit: Russ Campbell, Chair of the Human Rights Commission Montgomery County presented by Franklin Ekechukwu of Region 2 Representative of Nigeria In the Diaspora Organization.
For more information: 240-706-6885.
The Symposium
Topic: The Founding Patriarchs and Matriarchs
There is no single theoretical orientation that everyone can or should concur with. This conversation will feature liberation veterans and organizers who will reflect on African perspectives that underlined the quest of the founding Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the African Liberation and how their efforts were fostered or stalled in the day. What emerged? Who inherited the struggle?What was the role of African Liberation theology or did it exist? What are the roles and implications of US advocacy groups facilitating social justice in Africa? These bring to fore relevant lessons and implications in Africa today. How were the gains kept or dashed?
Lead Discussants: TransAfrica, Africa Action; Professor Sulayman Nyang; Dr. Rev. Dr. Mankekolo Mahlangu-Ngcobo; Chief Alexander Taku; Dr. Jesus Belai.
Focus Questions:
1. What inspired, influenced, and guided the philosophical thoughts of the Founding Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the African Liberation struggle?
1. How did the similar or dissimilar colonial political systems in their African colonies affect outcomes?
2. What were the goals of the Casablanca, Monrovia and Brazzaville Groups?
3. How are the goals reflected in current political dispensations, including the African Union?
4. How are US advocacy groups involved in promoting civil society institutions in Africa?
Learning Objectives:
The audience should have:
1. A clear understanding of self-defining African concepts; the diversity of political thoughts that influenced Africa’s political evolution or stagnation.
2. An appreciation for the importance of the historical legacy of the Founding Patriarchs and Matriarchs in framing contemporary political practice in Africa.
3. An awareness of the Founding Patriarchs’ and Matriarchs’ contributions to Africanhistory and society and also the ecumenical perspectives.
4. How US advocacy groups can be partners with indigenous groups in promoting and building civil institutions in Africa.
5. A better understanding of the complexity of political issues confronting contemporary African nation-states.
6. A better appreciation of African history and the ability to think more contextually about political problems, practice and relationships in Africa.
Topic: Political Independence and Economic Viability
The national-liberation movement and the people’s political consciousness deal with the quest for self-management both political and economic. Political independence and the Continent’s economic sovereignty should be in the hands of the people. This conversation will explore the dynamics of politics and economics. This includes inter-Africa trade, using indigenous resources and transferring of brain gain from the Diaspora. Lead discussants: Dr. Lawrence Bland; Africa Business Roundtable.
Focus Questions:
1. Did political independence aid the groundwork for the development of independent national economies in Africa?The interrelation between political and economic independence.
2. How can the African Union improve her economic self-reliance?
3. What mechanisms are used to tap the resources of the Africa Diaspora in reversing brain gain? Case studies.
Learning Objectives:
The audience should have:
1. A clear understanding of the relationship between political independence and economic development in Africa.
2. An awareness of regional economic blocks in Africa and its role in steering the development of African economics.
3. An awareness of the role of the global political economy in shaping contemporary African politics.
4. Mechanisms through which the African Union can tap her indigenous resources from Africa Diaspora.
Topic: African Union and Diaspora
A vibrant civil society is important to democracy. Public organizations provide citizens with the opportunity to be actively engaged in society. This conversation explores the emergence of African Union and its institutions and social ecology of the African Diaspora. This interesting and interactive dialogue addresses some of the provisions in the Constitutive Act of the African Union; lessons from community organizing and the pro/cons of putting emphasis on protests or charismatic leaders in defining community leadership; what is the general relationship between African governments and their African groups in the Diaspora?
Moderated byDr. Stanley Onye, University of the District of Columbia and the People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria.
Focus Questions:
1) What are the institutions and symbols of the African Union?
2) What role is the civil society playing in realizing the goals of the African Union?
3) Is there an “intellectual class” in Africa Diaspora, which contributes to the creative thinking in addressing Africa’s normative problems?
4) The role of the African Mutual Aid Associations - cultural, alumni and professional groups.
5) How is the Africa Diaspora organized, if at all? Who speaks for whom?
6) Studies on Africa Diaspora
Learning Objectives:
The audience should have:
1. A clear understanding of the African Union and her institutions.
2. How the African Diasporan groups are vested and organized in the United States.
3: How the Africa Diaspora and Mutual Aid Associations contribute to development in Africa.
We request your patronage and participation in a pioneering
program and African Community leadership in US-Africa Relations.
African Liberation Day
The Founding Patriarchs and Matriarchs of African Liberation:
The Legacies and Challenges, and Call to Our Generation.
Cosponsored by TransAfrica Forum and Africa Action.
Facility: By Congressional Sponsorship.
.
And
Tribute Luncheon to Dr. Dorothy Height: The Height of Legacy.
At the United States Congress, Cannon House Office Building,
Independence Avenue and 1st Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
In the
Cannon Caucus Room
on May 21, 2010: 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Contact numbers: 240-706-6885 or 240-304-6908
www.continentalafricancommunity.org
Featuring Height-Inspired Tribute from young African women.
Miss Guinea 2009-10Fatoumata SoumahSinger Grace Forlu www.graceforlu.org
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height.
Founding Matriarch of U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
March 24, 1912 to April 20, 2010.
The Godmother of Civil Rights paved ways for our civil liberties, ushered equity for women and stood fearless for a better Union.
President Obama, left, wipes away tears. He delivered a heartfelt eulogy at the Dorothy Height funeral on April 29. The executive flag order aren’t the first time Dorothy Height’s civil rights devotion has been honored by the President of the United States. Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. George W. Bush awarded Height Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.The Associated Press reports that when Bush awarded her the medal, he said that Height had met with every U.S. president since Eisenhower, and “she’s told every president what she thinks since Dwight David Eisenhower.” Read more
Background of the African Liberation Day:
When Ghana became the first African nation to gain independence from Britain in 1957, the poignancy of Africa's liberation movement was captured by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, as he put it, "theindependence of Ghana would be meaningless unless it was tied to the total liberation of Africa."
On April 15, 1958, in Accra, Ghana, African leaders and political activists met for the first Conference of Independent African States. Among the attendees were representatives of the governments of Egypt(which attended as part of the United Arab Republic), Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and representatives of the National Liberation Frontof Algeria, and the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC). The conference was significant in that it represented the first pan-AfricanConference held on African soil.
The Conference called for the founding of African Freedom Day, a day to mark the onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the determination of the People of Africa to "free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation.”
Five years later, another historic meeting was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. On May 25, 1963, leaders of thirty-two independent African States met to form the Organization of African Unity( OAU). At this meeting, the date of Africa Freedom Day was changed from April 15 to May 25, and Africa Freedom Day was declared African Liberation Day.
The African Union (AU), established in 2002 by the nations of the former (OAU, is the successor organization to the OAU with greater powers to promote African economic, social, and political integration, and a stronger commitment to democratic principles. The 53 nations of Africa are all members and the AU's headquarters are at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
For information on the African Union, visit: www.africa-union.org
The Continental African Union Community is a non-profit, non-partisan organizations dedicated to the promoting civic participation and US Africa relations as part of its goals. Visit us at www.continentalafricancommunity.org
The Symposium
Today, the early batch of countries that attained independence in the sixties have reached or are reaching the half a century anniversary.The Founding Patriarchs and Matriarchs: The Legacies and Challenges, and Call to Our Generation, allows for the examination of the rise of African Liberation and what was obtained.
With the participation of diverse academics, diplomats, public and private sector leaders, civil society organizations, faculties and students, the insightful conversations would highlight and record the works of African liberators and philosophers, and the philosophical basis that guides emancipation. Further, the discourse will focus on the role of African Union institutions in meeting the objectives of an integrated Africa and building viable civil societies. The symposium is intended to give a clearer insight on African and global dynamics, mechanisms to foster a vital African Union, and means through which Africa Diaspora can contribute in addressing developments.
Ultimately, the symposium hopes to enhance knowledge and systems rooted in African perspectives, which will contribute to the Arts and Humanities, public affairs, international relations and their interpretations.
Born in 1912, Dr Dorothy Height was a prominent activist for civil rights and the rights of women. For her later years with the National Council of Negro Women. Read More
Current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (then Senator) shakes hand with President George W. Bush (sitting). Award Recipient, Dr. Height looks on.
Other Insights
An icon of many hats, literally and figuratively, Dr. Dorothy Height is remembered as a pioneering voice of the civil rights movement whose life's work and activism stretched from the New Deal through the 2008 election of President Obama.
In a statement Obama called her "the godmother of the Civil Rights movement" and a hero for all Americans.
"Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality ... and served as the only woman at the highest level of the civil rights movement - witnessing every march and milestone along the way," said Obama
She was the female team leader in the Civil Rights Leadership, along with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. At the 1963 March on Washington, Height was on the platform when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
In 1966, Height participated in the White House Conference "To Fulfill These Rights." Along with other activists, she founded the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) in 1972.
Two years later, Height served as a delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Conference on Woman and Her Rights held in Kingston, Jamaica. Height also secured a grant from the United States Agency for International Development to hold a conference or women from the United States, South America, Africa, and the Caribbean.
The purpose of the conference was to promote greater solidarity between women throughout the world and seek solutions to common problems.
We pay tribute to an icon whose life paved the way for our civil liberties, as she championed equality, promoted solidarity among women of all races, raised the conscience of humankind and made the world a better place.
From TransAfrica.
Dorothy Height: An Enduring Spirit for Justice
Dorothy Height (pictured second from right) at TransAfrica founding event in 1977.
Often referred to as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, Dr. Height’s work for equality for all races and genders went beyond the shores of this country.
From an early age, Dr. Height saw the connection of the struggles for liberation worldwide. This was illustrated in her advocacy work for justice as an organizer in Pan Africanist Marcus Garvey’s organization, or as a visiting professor lecturing at the University of Delhi, India. As the longtime head of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Dr. Height’s tireless effort to work for women’s rights worldwide is apparent in many African nations.
Under Dr. Height’s leadership the NCNW has worked with national women's organizations in Benin, Eritrea, and Senegal on programs which support the improvement of women’s social and economic conditions, particularly in the rural areas. Ever mindful of the next generation, the NCNW conducted exchange programs between young people from United States and countries such as Uganda and South Africa. As the globe came together in Mexico City in 1975 for the first World Conference on Women, Dorothy Height was there as a participant in the International Tribunal.
We at TransAfrica Forum were privileged and honored to witness first-hand Dorothy Height’s international pioneering spirit. She was a founding Board member of this institution. She stood on the front lines at TransAfrica’s inception to fight apartheid in South Africa and human injustice in Haiti. Whether it was to support South Africans’ struggle to attain freedom, or Nigerians’ fight against the military regime of Abacha, or Haitians’ opposition to the dictatorship of Duvalier—Dr. Height was there with her passionate, gentle counsel. She was, and is, one of the African World’s most noted liberators.
Dr. Dorothy Height, you will be missed but we are comforted by the fact that your spirit is deep in our souls.
To learn more about US-Africa Relations, visit:
TransAfrica: www.transafricaforum.org
Africa Action: www.africaaction.org
Please register as an intern with TransAfrica Forum and Africa Action.
Decor by Gladys Taku Philanthropic Catering .
SAVE THE DATES
Day of the African Child.
June 16 -19 for youths...and activities to July 10
July 16
Society Gala for the African Child honoring Dr. Dawn Cooper Barnes, chairwoman of the African Diplomatic Spouse Association, a tireless champion for the special needs of Africa's children. Also meet usung heros.
http://continentalafricancommunity.org/DayoftheAfricanChild.aspx
Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved. Sample Florist
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