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[/COLOR]By Hanna Tamrat, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated:11/03/2006 02:58:59 AM PST
OAKLAND Political and social activists, historians and educators from the United States and around the world are gathering in the Bay Area this weekend to discuss reparations for slavery of African people and colonialism in Africa.
"The wealth of the West is built on slavery of African people," said Penny Hess, chairwoman of the African People Solidarity Committee. "White people need to recognize it and support (reparations)."
Hess is one of nine speakers during the two-day event set for Saturday in Oakland and Sunday in San Francisco. The event celebrates African People Solidarity Day and calls for the white community to be involved in the Uhuru movement, the liberation of Africa and African people.
The Solidarity Committee, with a majority white membership, was formed in 1976 to support the black movement.
Helping to ease hardship in Africa should go beyond charity concerts and adoption of African children by movie stars, Hess said.
It is about a movement that recognizes resources that sustain the Western economy including oil, diamonds and coltan (a mineral used in the high-technology industry) come at the expense of African laborers, who work for the equivalent of $2 per day, she said.
"The question of reparations is so deep," Hess said, adding she thinks reparations should include the cost of damages for torture and lynching of blacks in the United States during and since slavery.Both the black and white communities
need to be educated about reparations, said Robert Smith, a political science professor at San Francisco State University.
"(The issue of reparations) has ambivalence in the black community," he said. "In fact, some black people oppose it ... They think it's very unlikely to happen."
Smith, who authored several books, including "Racism in the Post-Civil Rights Era: Now You See It, Now You Don't" and "We Have No Leaders: African Americans in the Post-Civil Rights Era," will speak at the event.
In the United States, the question of reparations is gaining popularity with cities across the country, including Oakland and Berkeley, passing ordinances requiring financial entities to disclose whether they or their parent companies ever profited from the slave trade. The ordinances also set the stage for companies to contribute to a voluntary fund to be spent in economically depressed areas. :food1:
At the international level, a coalition of organizations and individuals from various nations have scheduled a tribunal in June in Berlin for reparations against the United States, Europe and other nations.
Other speakers at the Bay Area events include keynote speaker Omali Yeshitela, leader of the Uhuru movement in the United States; Lumezi Kinshasa from Britain; Sibusiso Xaba from South Africa; Aisha Fields, who coordinates West African projects for Uhuru; Syllah Bacarra from Venezuela; Pierre LaBossiere, an Oakland-based Haitian activist; Omavi Bailey with Uhuru; and Union Del Barrio of San Diego.
Solidarity Day events, also taking place in Boston, St. Petersburg, Fla., and Philadelphia, are fundraisers for projects in West Africa, such as electrical infrastructure and water purification.
The Oakland event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St. The San Francisco event is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at The Women's Building, 3543 18th St. Donations of $5 or more are accepted to attend the events, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds, Hess tidhttp
And don't forget, whether your family owned a slave or not.......YOU SHOULD PAY SOMEONE............FOR IT......"JUST BECAUSE.:duh3:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_4596668
Article Last Updated:11/03/2006 02:58:59 AM PST
OAKLAND Political and social activists, historians and educators from the United States and around the world are gathering in the Bay Area this weekend to discuss reparations for slavery of African people and colonialism in Africa.
"The wealth of the West is built on slavery of African people," said Penny Hess, chairwoman of the African People Solidarity Committee. "White people need to recognize it and support (reparations)."
Hess is one of nine speakers during the two-day event set for Saturday in Oakland and Sunday in San Francisco. The event celebrates African People Solidarity Day and calls for the white community to be involved in the Uhuru movement, the liberation of Africa and African people.
The Solidarity Committee, with a majority white membership, was formed in 1976 to support the black movement.
Helping to ease hardship in Africa should go beyond charity concerts and adoption of African children by movie stars, Hess said.
It is about a movement that recognizes resources that sustain the Western economy including oil, diamonds and coltan (a mineral used in the high-technology industry) come at the expense of African laborers, who work for the equivalent of $2 per day, she said.
"The question of reparations is so deep," Hess said, adding she thinks reparations should include the cost of damages for torture and lynching of blacks in the United States during and since slavery.Both the black and white communities
need to be educated about reparations, said Robert Smith, a political science professor at San Francisco State University.
"(The issue of reparations) has ambivalence in the black community," he said. "In fact, some black people oppose it ... They think it's very unlikely to happen."
Smith, who authored several books, including "Racism in the Post-Civil Rights Era: Now You See It, Now You Don't" and "We Have No Leaders: African Americans in the Post-Civil Rights Era," will speak at the event.
In the United States, the question of reparations is gaining popularity with cities across the country, including Oakland and Berkeley, passing ordinances requiring financial entities to disclose whether they or their parent companies ever profited from the slave trade. The ordinances also set the stage for companies to contribute to a voluntary fund to be spent in economically depressed areas. :food1:
At the international level, a coalition of organizations and individuals from various nations have scheduled a tribunal in June in Berlin for reparations against the United States, Europe and other nations.
Other speakers at the Bay Area events include keynote speaker Omali Yeshitela, leader of the Uhuru movement in the United States; Lumezi Kinshasa from Britain; Sibusiso Xaba from South Africa; Aisha Fields, who coordinates West African projects for Uhuru; Syllah Bacarra from Venezuela; Pierre LaBossiere, an Oakland-based Haitian activist; Omavi Bailey with Uhuru; and Union Del Barrio of San Diego.
Solidarity Day events, also taking place in Boston, St. Petersburg, Fla., and Philadelphia, are fundraisers for projects in West Africa, such as electrical infrastructure and water purification.
The Oakland event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St. The San Francisco event is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at The Women's Building, 3543 18th St. Donations of $5 or more are accepted to attend the events, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds, Hess tidhttp
And don't forget, whether your family owned a slave or not.......YOU SHOULD PAY SOMEONE............FOR IT......"JUST BECAUSE.:duh3:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_4596668
