Reactions have been swift regarding the dominant vote by the people of Britain to withdraw its membership from the European Union. Most of the reaction has focused on the vote representing the growing right-wing and xenophobic consciousness of Brits of European/White descent. This reaction by and large is ignoring the fact that the European Union as a whole represents an organization designed to consolidate Europe's capacity to impose imperialist policies on the rest of the world. The idea of a united Europe has to have this goal as its priority because the economies of Europe are run based on exploiting resources that come from outside of Europe. In other words, there is no oil in Europe. There is limited access to fruits and vegetables in the UK. There is virtually no access to all the other vital mineral resources like rubber, uranium, coltan, diamonds, phosphates, and others needed to sustain a dominant industrial economy. All of these vital resources Europe steals from the technologically underdeveloped world, like Africa. For the last several centuries, European countries have engaged in this theft as individual empires, establishing their dominance over the rest of the world with some level of competition against one another. Examples are the historical dominance of Britain over the rest of the European colonizers as seen through the old saying "the sun never sets on the British Empire" which was designed to speak to the fact Britain maintained colonies on all continents and over all of humanity. More recent examples are conflicts in Africa, such as Rwanda. The conflict there, portrayed through movies like "Hotel Rwanda" is of Africans being unable to resolve issues among ourselves. This is a useful analysis for imperialism because it supports the racist theory that we are primitive and uncivilized. What is never widely discussed is how Belgium and France used their power to gain influence over the Hutu and Tutsi people to pit them against one another as a part of the European strategy to control all of Central Africa. The Berlin Conference in 1884 served to bring some organization to Europe's colonization of Africa, but the European Union came to take that organization to a much higher level. With one currency, shared trade relationships, and unified borders, the objective of the Union was and is to strengthen Europe's capacity to maintain its power, which is based on exploiting Africa and other places around the world. So, no one opposed to imperialism should see the weakening of the European Union as a negative as it relates to our struggle for self determination. The move to the right in Europe and America is a reflection of the decline of capitalism and its inability to provide privilege to the exploited people inside of the industrialized countries. The growing awareness of this lack of ability within capitalist countries is logically going to be expressed through xenophobic and racist reactions from the least oppressed in these societies. We shouldn't equate that negative reaction with a need to support the imperialist objective of the European Union because its agenda of dominance for Europe is against the interests of the masses of people on the planet today.
Although most people in the West, including most Africans, have no idea who Sekou Ture is, this great son of Africa predicted the fall of the European Union long before its emergence. He wrote in his 1974 article "Revolution, Culture, and Pan-Africanism" that Europe's history, quite different than Africa. He argued that movement for unity in Europe would never work because the foundation is based on the exploitation of Africa and its continued reliance on imperialism to fuel its existence at the expense of the African continent. By the contrary, Ture argued that Africa's rise to unification is fueled by its desire to liberate itself from European dominance. And, that Africa's march towards unification is based on Africa's advancement from smaller social aggregates to larger social aggregates. An evolution Ture argues was interrupted by European expansion and colonization in Africa. He continues that Africa's march towards unification is nothing except the continuation of the path we were engaged in before colonialism broke down our progress.
In other words, Europe's unity is based on maintaining exploitation. Africa's unity is based on eliminating exploitation. Europe's interest in a union is designed to consolidate its influence and power, which is based on stealing from oppressed peoples. Africa's interest in creating one unified socialist Africa is based upon creating the capacity we need to create our own self sufficiency. Two completely different things that can never be compared because Europe's domination of Africa has been based in keeping Africa separate in order to accommodate European interests. This is the reason the 59 countries in Africa (including the islands) were created in the first place. They serve no interest for Africa, only European neo-colonialist interests. And every reason reactionaries give to justify separation in Africa can easily be disputed by looking at European interests. The most recent example of the splitting of the Sudan is a clear one. This action has done nothing to improve the conditions for the people of Sudan. It has greatly benefited the imperialist interests from the U.S., Europe, China, etc., who are there to extract oil as cheaply as possible. It has benefited the cultural imperialists who were the primary sources advancing the lies about Arab/African conflict or Islamic/Christian conflict. Purposely hidden has been the clear statement from the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement of Southern Sudan (the unquestioned voice of Southern Sudan) who have stated since their inception that they want a secular government in Sudan e.g not Islamic or Christian in spite of what imperialism is telling you.
Unity in Africa is necessary to correct the problems indicated above. As well as to provide resources and dignity to African people outside of the African continent who are only in these European countries and the U.S. and Israel today because of the devastating impacts of colonialism and neo-colonialism in Africa. There are plenty of examples that can be provided to illustrate this, but I can choose one to make the point quite clearly. Today, it is a fact that the San Joaquin valley in Central California is one of the five largest producers of produce in the entire world. Its actually the truth to state that if you are eating fruits and vegetables, you are eating something that originated in the San Joaquin valley. That entire region is no more than approximately 75,000 hectares of arable land. There are 400 million Africans who are starving across the world today. This is true while Africa possesses 600 million hectares of arable land, of which over 500 million hectares are not even being utilized for anything productive today. This example clearly illustrates why Pan-Africanism or one united socialist Africa is the solution to the problems Africans face. The organization of just a small percentage of that arable land and its careful development is the key to wiping out hunger for the entire African continent and African people everywhere. The development of just a significant portion of that arable land is enough to wipe out hunger for all of humanity. Africans in the U.S., or Canada, or the Caribbean, or Europe, or any one country in Africa cannot accomplish this achievement, but the unification of Africa can and that is why a united states of Africa under one continental socialist government is necessary.
There's no question that White people across the world are being faced with challenges most of them are not accustomed to. The logical reaction to this is racism and the scapegoating of people of color. This has been the go to card for the imperialists against the masses of white people for centuries and since it continues to work, there is no reason for them to change that strategy. That doesn't change the fact that Europe will need to come to grips with the reality that its place on the top of the world has days that are numbered. This is true because that place was never established based on the virtues of Europe, but based on the theft, murder, and subjugation Europe has carried out. The challenges within the European Union and Britain are just manifestations of that struggle. And the challenges being faced with the upcoming election in the U.S. is more of the same. All of this is challenged by the fact the masses of people in the world are marching forward and as Africa unites it makes consolidation of power in Europe much more difficult under the current exploitation capitalist model. Whether White people like this or not, its inevitable. No where have you seen White people wearing shirts with all of Europe pictured on them. No where do European/White musicians sing songs about Europe's unity. None of this happens because the so-called unity of Europe is a forced component of a dying colonial/capitalist system. By the contrary, for quite some time now Africans from all over the world, from the Caribbean to South America to Australia, to the U.S., to Canada, to Europe, and across Africa; we are singing about Africa in multiple languages. We are expressing our cultural connection to Africa. We are looking more and more to one another across the African world. Even Africans who previously disputed our claims to Pan-Africanism who are traveling across the world are forced today to acknowledge this growing phenomenon. This is happening because unlike the European model, we recognize that our future is tied together and our unity is our salvation. For those of you who are true accomplices to our liberation, your role is to quiet the confusion in your communities from those misguided souls who will attempt to interpret our progress incorrectly. Our quest isn't an anti-European one and our cry out for African unity isn't a threat to Europe or her descendants. You must educate your people that we are simply correctly the wrongs of the last 500 years of which the White empires of the world have been built and maintained. Even European theorists like V.I. Lenin recognized this in his classic work "Imperialism" where he acknowledged that nationalism, being a dialectical phenomenon, has its place as a prerequisite in the struggle for socialism. You have much work to do with your folks, left and right. For us, we cannot shed any tears for the European Union. Yes, its demise will mean suffering for us, but what else is new. We must educate our people that the suffering of today has to become the key to the freedom of tomorrow. We must also make sure we understand the clear differences between our quest for unity and what is happening in Europe. We cannot let imperialism confuse us into believing the history off Europe is the history of the world. Our path is different and we have to understand this in order for us to do the work needed to solve our problems.
Although most people in the West, including most Africans, have no idea who Sekou Ture is, this great son of Africa predicted the fall of the European Union long before its emergence. He wrote in his 1974 article "Revolution, Culture, and Pan-Africanism" that Europe's history, quite different than Africa. He argued that movement for unity in Europe would never work because the foundation is based on the exploitation of Africa and its continued reliance on imperialism to fuel its existence at the expense of the African continent. By the contrary, Ture argued that Africa's rise to unification is fueled by its desire to liberate itself from European dominance. And, that Africa's march towards unification is based on Africa's advancement from smaller social aggregates to larger social aggregates. An evolution Ture argues was interrupted by European expansion and colonization in Africa. He continues that Africa's march towards unification is nothing except the continuation of the path we were engaged in before colonialism broke down our progress.
In other words, Europe's unity is based on maintaining exploitation. Africa's unity is based on eliminating exploitation. Europe's interest in a union is designed to consolidate its influence and power, which is based on stealing from oppressed peoples. Africa's interest in creating one unified socialist Africa is based upon creating the capacity we need to create our own self sufficiency. Two completely different things that can never be compared because Europe's domination of Africa has been based in keeping Africa separate in order to accommodate European interests. This is the reason the 59 countries in Africa (including the islands) were created in the first place. They serve no interest for Africa, only European neo-colonialist interests. And every reason reactionaries give to justify separation in Africa can easily be disputed by looking at European interests. The most recent example of the splitting of the Sudan is a clear one. This action has done nothing to improve the conditions for the people of Sudan. It has greatly benefited the imperialist interests from the U.S., Europe, China, etc., who are there to extract oil as cheaply as possible. It has benefited the cultural imperialists who were the primary sources advancing the lies about Arab/African conflict or Islamic/Christian conflict. Purposely hidden has been the clear statement from the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement of Southern Sudan (the unquestioned voice of Southern Sudan) who have stated since their inception that they want a secular government in Sudan e.g not Islamic or Christian in spite of what imperialism is telling you.
Unity in Africa is necessary to correct the problems indicated above. As well as to provide resources and dignity to African people outside of the African continent who are only in these European countries and the U.S. and Israel today because of the devastating impacts of colonialism and neo-colonialism in Africa. There are plenty of examples that can be provided to illustrate this, but I can choose one to make the point quite clearly. Today, it is a fact that the San Joaquin valley in Central California is one of the five largest producers of produce in the entire world. Its actually the truth to state that if you are eating fruits and vegetables, you are eating something that originated in the San Joaquin valley. That entire region is no more than approximately 75,000 hectares of arable land. There are 400 million Africans who are starving across the world today. This is true while Africa possesses 600 million hectares of arable land, of which over 500 million hectares are not even being utilized for anything productive today. This example clearly illustrates why Pan-Africanism or one united socialist Africa is the solution to the problems Africans face. The organization of just a small percentage of that arable land and its careful development is the key to wiping out hunger for the entire African continent and African people everywhere. The development of just a significant portion of that arable land is enough to wipe out hunger for all of humanity. Africans in the U.S., or Canada, or the Caribbean, or Europe, or any one country in Africa cannot accomplish this achievement, but the unification of Africa can and that is why a united states of Africa under one continental socialist government is necessary.
There's no question that White people across the world are being faced with challenges most of them are not accustomed to. The logical reaction to this is racism and the scapegoating of people of color. This has been the go to card for the imperialists against the masses of white people for centuries and since it continues to work, there is no reason for them to change that strategy. That doesn't change the fact that Europe will need to come to grips with the reality that its place on the top of the world has days that are numbered. This is true because that place was never established based on the virtues of Europe, but based on the theft, murder, and subjugation Europe has carried out. The challenges within the European Union and Britain are just manifestations of that struggle. And the challenges being faced with the upcoming election in the U.S. is more of the same. All of this is challenged by the fact the masses of people in the world are marching forward and as Africa unites it makes consolidation of power in Europe much more difficult under the current exploitation capitalist model. Whether White people like this or not, its inevitable. No where have you seen White people wearing shirts with all of Europe pictured on them. No where do European/White musicians sing songs about Europe's unity. None of this happens because the so-called unity of Europe is a forced component of a dying colonial/capitalist system. By the contrary, for quite some time now Africans from all over the world, from the Caribbean to South America to Australia, to the U.S., to Canada, to Europe, and across Africa; we are singing about Africa in multiple languages. We are expressing our cultural connection to Africa. We are looking more and more to one another across the African world. Even Africans who previously disputed our claims to Pan-Africanism who are traveling across the world are forced today to acknowledge this growing phenomenon. This is happening because unlike the European model, we recognize that our future is tied together and our unity is our salvation. For those of you who are true accomplices to our liberation, your role is to quiet the confusion in your communities from those misguided souls who will attempt to interpret our progress incorrectly. Our quest isn't an anti-European one and our cry out for African unity isn't a threat to Europe or her descendants. You must educate your people that we are simply correctly the wrongs of the last 500 years of which the White empires of the world have been built and maintained. Even European theorists like V.I. Lenin recognized this in his classic work "Imperialism" where he acknowledged that nationalism, being a dialectical phenomenon, has its place as a prerequisite in the struggle for socialism. You have much work to do with your folks, left and right. For us, we cannot shed any tears for the European Union. Yes, its demise will mean suffering for us, but what else is new. We must educate our people that the suffering of today has to become the key to the freedom of tomorrow. We must also make sure we understand the clear differences between our quest for unity and what is happening in Europe. We cannot let imperialism confuse us into believing the history off Europe is the history of the world. Our path is different and we have to understand this in order for us to do the work needed to solve our problems.
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