In Praise of Mother Africa; The 61st Commemoration of African Liberation Day

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

On Saturday, May 25^th, 2019, The All African People Revolutionary Party celebrated the 61^st African Liberation Day, at A Different Booklist located at 779 Bathurst St. The venue was perfect for this event with its endless shelves filled with rich African History, and the earthy browns, creams, taupes, reds, and gold that adorned the room, helping the space look natural and inviting.

The Queen, Sister Thandiwe Chimurenga, wearing all white (which in Africa symbolizes: peace, purity, goodness, and good luck) was the host for the evening, and when one gazes on her six-foot (plus), slender frame, she is all the she-warrior that she is renowned for being. Since joining the All African People Revolutionary Party in 1988, she has remained committed to the struggle to liberate Africa and all African people. This is demonstrated in her willingness to travel wherever the revolution takes her, and she has had the opportunity to be involved in AAPR-P delegations in Libya, Uganda, and Azania. As a revolutionist and now a lawyer in the city of Toronto, no one understands the importance of liberation more than Sister Thandiwe.

African Liberation Day is a fundamental of Pan Africanism. The A-APRP is building with communities all across the diaspora who face the challenges of: observed police brutality, war, theft of natural resources, widespread poverty and illness, racial discrimination, inadequate education, and other systemic roadblocks. On May 25^th, the African communities in Toronto were able to sit with each other, encourage each other, learn from each other and share ideologies with each other, all with the goal of the inevitable destruction of capitalism, imperialism, racism, apartheid, and neo-colonialism. The guest speaker that day was Bro. Akubundu, who was accompanied by his beautiful wife, and he spoke boldly about the steps Africans living in the diaspora need to take in order to truly liberate our people.

 “We have to continue to build and organize people.” (Bro. Akubundu)

During his address, one thing that he noted was that the total liberation of African people would require more than: local government positions, ownership of small business, memberships on corporate boards of directors, or even the support of non-governmental organizations. In his 40 years of service to the African people, he has worked in coordinating efforts to fight for: democratic rights, national independence and the unity of all African people. He has learned that this fight cannot be fought alone; great ancestors including: Henry Sylvester Williams, Bishop Alexander Walters, W.E.B. DuBois, Jababu, the great Marcus Garvey, Joseph Casely Hayford, and Jose Magalhaes all worked in tandem, at different stages of the revolution, and all realized that “Being Black,” was not enough.

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“We could not be this far if we were standing still.” (Bro. Akubundu)

Since the emergence of the Pan-African movement in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it has been about building a mass movement and organizing efforts to educate and liberate the minds of African people. The first A-APRP work-study cells emerged out of Guinea Conakry in 1968 and were later born in the United States in 1972. The A-APRP has recruited Africans born in over 33 countries in Africa, as well as Africans living in the Caribbean, North, Central and South America, Europe, and Canada. The focus; with oil, gas, timber, gold, coltan, bauxite, and diamonds being some of the natural resources being extracted from Africa at steadily increasing rates, Bro. Akubundu stressed that the fight has to be about regaining control of our resources. The revenue from their extraction could provide the funds needed for the development of Africa. Unfortunately, the resources have fueled corruption, environmental degradation, poverty, colonialism, and violence. What was given to this beauty as a gift, has now become a curse because the rest of the world continues to lute Africa for all that they have, and leave the people there with not much to show for themselves.

With knowledge comes liberation, the liberation of the mind, body, and soul. We are thankful to Sister Thandiwe and the A-APRP for inviting the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper to be part of such a momentous gathering. It gives us an opportunity to do our part and share the great work that is being done on behalf of Africa.