Meeting on the occasion of Kwame Ture`s 60th birthday
To All African (Black, African American, New Afrikan, Continental, Caribbean, Latino, etc.) Student Organizations and Leaders/Organizers.
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29 June marks the 60th birthday of Kwame Ture, formerly known as Stokley Carmichael. You perhaps have heard of him and his work with the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG) at Howard University, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO), the Black Panther Party (BPP), the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG), the All-African People`s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP), and a host of other movements and organizations in Africa, the African Diaspora and the world.
For four decades, Kwame inspired, mentored and organized progressive and revolutionary students in every corner of Africa, the African Diaspora and the world. He challenged them to work, study and struggle on behalf of African and all Oppressed Peoples; and to organize, organize, organize! He made his transition to the ranks of the Ancestors on 15 November 1998 in Conakry, Guinea, his beloved homeland.
On the occasion of Kwame`s 60th birthday, the Kwame Ture Work-Study Institute and Library, the Alliance for Global Justice, the Black United Fund of Illinois, the National Black United Front and the Pan-African Liberation Organization invites all African Student organizations and leaders/organizers to attend a meeting from 29-30 June 2001 at Bowie State University in Bowie, MD. The purpose of this historic meeting is to provide African student leaders/organizers from every corner of Africa and the African Diaspora an opportunity to meet each other, to discuss how to build a militant and massive All-African student movement for the 21st century, and to plan an All-African Student Conference to be held in 16-18 November 2001.
The tentative/suggested agenda includes:
(1) Brief Welcome and Acknowledgment of Messages and Solidarity Statements.
(2) Discussion about the issues and concerns that affect African people in every corner of Africa and the African Diaspora, and what African students must do to help address/resolve them.
(3) Brief reports on the movement to free political prisoners and prisoners of war the struggles: to break the embargoes and travel bans against Cuba and Libya; to build the Student Sweat Shop Campaign and the Movement Against Environmental Racism; to demand Global Justice and to help build the demonstrations that are planned for 29-30 September 2001 against the military-police-prison-industrial complex, the World Bank, IMF and WTO; to free all political prisoners and prisoners of war in United States and South African jails; to help the Zimbabwean, Azanian (South African), Palestinian, Indigenous, Dalit, Irish, and all Oppressed Peoples return to and reclaim their land; to stop the “Drug War” and dismantle the prison industrial complex; to stop the US military exercises on Vieques Island in Puerto Rico; and other ongoing actions and struggles.
(4) Discussion about the role that African students can and must play in the struggle: (1) to demand that the transatlantic slave-trade, slavery, colonialism, settler-colonialism, segregation, apartheid and neo-colonialism be declared crimes against humanity without statue of limitations; (2) to demand that racism, racial discrimination, caste-based discrimination, gender-based discrimination, and related intolerance be declared gross violations of human rights; and (3) to demand that reparations and compensation be paid to the victims of these crimes against humanity and human rights violations, and to their descendants, collectively and individually. Report on the 3rd UN World Conference against Racism (WCAR) that will be held in Durban, South Africa from 31 August to 7 September 2001, and the efforts to build an International Day of Action Against Racism (IDAAR 2001) on 31 August 2001. Discuss how students can participate in the Youth Summit in Durban, and how they can help build IDAAR 2001 on their campus.
(5) Discussion about how best to organize an All-African student movement for the 21st century, and how to organize an All-African Student Conference on 16-18 November 2001.
(6) Discussion of other agenda items and concerns.
This historic Planning Meeting starts at 5:00 p.m. on 29 June 2001 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, 30 June 2001. All African students (Black, African American, New Afrikan, Continental, Caribbean, Latino, etc.), with a valid college ID, are invited to attend and participate. Non-student and non-African organizations and leaders/organizers are asked to enable and empower African students to attend and participate in this Planning Meeting; and to send messages of solidarity and support.
Registration is $50 per student, which covers overnight accommodations in the dormitory (two persons to a room) and four meals (dinner on Friday, and breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday). All students must register and confirm their attendance in advance (no later than 24 June 2001), in order to reserve housing and food. The Registration Fee will be collected at the door.
To register send reply to: allafristudconf2001b@yahoo.com
with your name, organization, address, telephone number, fax number, cell number and email address. We will send you a confirmation reply, and further information about the Planning Meeting, including the address for the Planning Meeting.
Students must provide their own transportation to and from Bowie, Maryland, which is 20 miles from Washington, DC. The MARC train stops at Bowie State University, but does not run on Saturday. It costs $7.50 round trip from DC.
African Students are the Spark of the African Revolution. Light the Fire!
See you at 5:00 p.m. at Bowie State University on 29 June 2001.
