Afro-Americans, Africans ‘need to unite’

AFRICANS can acquire many skills and knowledge from Afro-Americans that will help them achieve their political, economic and social objectives, says a visiting Afro-American rights campaigner.

George Haley, former United States Ambassador to The Gambia, said this could be done through collaboration between African colleges and universities in the US. Haley was taking part in a public discussion at the Polytechnic of Namibia last week on what Afro-Americans and Africans can offer one another.Haley said although Afro-Americans had not been regarded as human beings in the US during the segregation era, they had fought hard against laws that kept them out of senior executive jobs.He applauded organisations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and the Urban League for having helped Afro-Americans to break the chains of segregation.”But black churches and schools have also been stalwarts in the fight,” he added.Haley, who is a brother of the late Alex Haley, author of the well-known book ‘Roots’ and a biography of the late Malcolm X, said there was a need for Africans and Afro-Americans to come together and see how they could help each other socially, economically and politically.Dr Elizabeth Amukugo, a Congress of Democrats (CoD) MP who was also a panelist, said there was no doubt that Afro-Americans could help Africans as the two shared the same roots.She said today’s Afro-Americans were the third or fourth generation of Africans who were taken to the US as slaves.”But Afro-Americans did not succumb.They fought segregation so that they could be recognised as equal human beings.They fought for change in the legislation, which brought civil liberty,” said Amukugo.She pointed that although Africans were poor, the continent itself possessed many natural resources which, if exploited to the fullest, could adequately develop the continent.Responding to a question on whether the current African leadership had not failed the continent by destroying its economies through corruption, Amukugo said this had been caused by selfishness, by “people who just want to enrich themselves”, adding that civil society should strongly condemn such leaders.One member of the audience said both Afro-American politicians and African leaders had failed to stand up against the western world and to stop it from taking away Africa’s resources because they were afraid of the white man.Another panelist, Tjitjai Uanivi, a senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said there were quality black colleges in the US where Africans could go and study and acquire needed skills.”Because what we do know about is capacity building,” he said.Uanivi said Africans should plan properly and look at what their main needs were, and then hook up with other countries where their resources were needed.The discussion was organised by the American Cultural Centre and the Polytechnic of Namibia.The discussion was part of the celebration of Black History.The Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr Tjama Tjivikua, moderated the discussion.Haley was taking part in a public discussion at the Polytechnic of Namibia last week on what Afro-Americans and Africans can offer one another.Haley said although Afro-Americans had not been regarded as human beings in the US during the segregation era, they had fought hard against laws that kept them out of senior executive jobs.He applauded organisations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and the Urban League for having helped Afro-Americans to break the chains of segregation.”But black churches and schools have also been stalwarts in the fight,” he added.Haley, who is a brother of the late Alex Haley, author of the well-known book ‘Roots’ and a biography of the late Malcolm X, said there was a need for Africans and Afro-Americans to come together and see how they could help each other socially, economically and politically.Dr Elizabeth Amukugo, a Congress of Democrats (CoD) MP who was also a panelist, said there was no doubt that Afro-Americans could help Africans as the two shared the same roots.She said today’s Afro-Americans were the third or fourth generation of Africans who were taken to the US as slaves.”But Afro-Americans did not succumb.They fought segregation so that they could be recognised as equal human beings.They fought for change in the legislation, which brought civil liberty,” said Amukugo.She pointed that although Africans were poor, the continent itself possessed many natural resources which, if exploited to the fullest, could adequately develop the continent.Responding to a question on whether the current African leadership had not failed the continent by destroying its economies through corruption, Amukugo said this had been caused by selfishness, by “people who just want to enrich themselves”, adding that civil society should strongly condemn such leaders.One member of the audience said both Afro-American politicians and African leaders had failed to stand up against the western world and to stop it from taking away Africa’s resources because they were afraid of the white man.Another panelist, Tjitjai Uanivi, a senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said there were quality black colleges in the US where Africans could go and study and acquire needed skills.”Because what we do know about is capacity building,” he said.Uanivi said Africans should plan properly and look at what their main needs were, and then hook up with other countries where their resources were needed.The discussion was organised by the American Cultural Centre and the Polytechnic of Namibia.The discussion was part of the celebration of Black History.The Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr Tjama Tjivikua, moderated the discussion.