You are the Makers of History!
  • Home
  • More Historic Pictures!
  • Books
  • Hit Us Up
  • Blog
  • Coming Events
  • Videos
  • Donations

Is There a Place for Europeans (Whites) in the African Struggle?

5/7/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture

We believe the answer to that question is technically yes, but not in the way you would necessarily think.  Historically, whether we are talking about Whites aligned with our struggle for liberation in Azania (South Africa) or in the U.S., etc., the model being discussed has always been around the question of multi-racial organizations.  This line has been certainly promoted within white left socialist formations.  Their position has been that the primary contradiction is with the capitalist system so only when people unite across racial lines to form a multi-racial class struggle socialist party will we see collective progress.

We believe the above analysis is far to simplistic.  Its wishful thinking on the part of white leftists who are unwilling to face the racist history of white left organizing efforts.  The reality is a major component of white supremacy, the core appendage of capitalism and imperialism, is its assertion that European culture is the driving force for the universe.  This thinking, which is dominant within every community on the face of the earth today, by extension suggests that no people can ever dream of addressing anything without a strong dose of European culture and European people.  By default, white people believe this and African, indigenous, etc., people believe this, whether its admitted or not.  

For us, a mutually respectful relationship between African revolutionaries and European revolutionaries must be centered around an anti-colonial analysis that respects the necessity for Pan-Africanism as African people's contribution to the struggle for justice for humanity.  You can count on one hand the number of European formations that are willing and active in supporting this requirement.  So, with this uneven level of respect dominant, even within so-called progressive and revolutionary circles, it is impossible for us to see how we can ever trust our future in the hands of multi-racial organizations where any agenda item focused on African self-determination will come down to a vote dominated by white people.  A clear example of this is the history of the Communist International during the 1920s.  The white left, anxious about the growing influence of the Garvey movement of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, came up with the idea, initially advanced by Russian revolutionaries (maybe Joseph Stalin or Leon Trosky), that a black belt South strategy in the U.S. should be supported by white left parties.  Yes, this means the idea of Africans getting the Southern U.S. came from a European and that idea wasn't even rooted in any real commitment to African self-determination, but an insincere desire by white leftists to attempt to control our movements.  This to us is a classic example of white revolutionaries subscribing to the most basic racist inclinations.  As Public Enemy said "can't truss this!"

Eighty years later, you cannot even find a dominantly European organization that even studies African liberation movements unless they make an effort to redesign our contributions within the framework of European focused struggle e.g. labeling Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Ture, Amilcar Cabral, etc., as Marxist-Leninists, ignoring each of those ideologues clear statement declaring their dedication to Pan-Africanism.  

No, the answer isn't multi-racial organizing for us, although we are not against anyone who chooses to follow that pathway because we stand supportive of any organizing work designed to bring progress to humanity.  We just believe that the role of white people in the African liberation struggle is in those Europeans working to bring revolutionary organizing to white communities.  Our question, which is the very same question the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee asked 50+ years ago, is where are the white people willing to organize among white people?  Where are the white people willing to de-colonize their people, educating them about the white supremacist system, and providing them an analysis that permits them to abandon their shock troop status for the capitalist system?

There are some groups active today who seemingly are attempting to engage the work we implore is needed.  Those groups should continue to build upon their work.  By doing so, they make a significant contribution to our struggle.  A conscious white working class is a major obstacle removed from our path for liberation.  Historically, whether on this continent, Africa, or wherever, every step we make forward, it is white working people who step in front of us to protect the capitalist system, despite their shared lack of access to the system alongside us.  So, we definitely welcome the efforts of white activists who are sincerely working to stem this tide.  We even look forward to the day when we can work alongside these organizations, coordinating our work - them in white communities, us in African communities - to advance our agendas for revolutionary organization and progress.  This type of reality is real solidarity that respects our self-determination as colonized peoples. Anything else, especially any insistence that multi-racialism is the only organizing way forward, is dysfunctional and heavily slated towards the wants of white activists, not the needs of African people.  And, we believe wholeheartedly that any white activists that truly want African liberation would not only respect this, but insist upon it. 

In 2019, there is no reason for white people to continue to come to us asking how they can become a part of our work.  Instead, go to your communities and start there.  If you need help organizing we are always happy to provide our experience, etc. to help you.  

I just released my third novel which is a story where a white woman is accepted into a revolutionary African organization.  Its a very interesting story line to me which stems from my imagination spouted from Kwame Nkrumah's statement in the "Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare" that "foreigners" who take a genuine interest in the African liberation struggle can be accepted as comrades in arms.  Don't be confused though.  Just because I expanded upon this concept in the fictional realm doesn't mean I see this happening in the real world.  The character in my book is someone I've never come close to meeting in real life.  In fact, if such white people really existed in real life, we probably would be much farther along in our struggle for justice than we are.  That's why that's fiction.  In real life, we have to be scientific in how we advance our work.  In this present world, that means we desperately need to work within our communities and grow to coordinate that work across communities. The more we do this work now, the better positioned we will eventually be to reach potential for that post-race society some people are so desperate for that they insist upon imposing their fantasies on our current reality.

We are a long, long, way from that point.  For now, we will continue building our Pan-African work and we implore white activists groups to continue to build for the massive amount of work needed in white communities.  We also implore them to continue to provide material support to African, Indigenous, Palestinian, Filipino, etc., organizations.  Our comradeship should be judged and based solely on our mutually respectful work to attack capitalist ideology at all tender points possible within each of our respective communities.  

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    I don't see disagreement as a negative because I understand that Frederick Douglass was correct when he said "there is no progress without struggle."  Our brains are muscles.  Just like any other muscle in our body if we don't stress it and push it, the brain will not improve.  Or, as a bumper sticker I saw once put it, "If you can't change your mind, how do you know it's there?"

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    June 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.