Africa Unite
The pan Africanist movement owes as much to Africans in the far flung African diaspora as it does to Africa based liberation heroes. In fact, many of the latter were themselves a part of this diaspora which also included Caribbean Africans. Descendants of slaves, the proud black populations of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, Haiti and other islands produced many pan African heroes. This week’s Liberation Heroes profiles George Padmore, a writer and standard bearer of the cause of the Black working class.
Liberation Heroes 5
Alphonse Nurse (not his name at the time) was brutally abducted from his native Africa – like millions of others, by rabid slave traders and transported across the Atlantic. The young African was then sold and resold until he was ‘settled’ after being bought by Belle Plantation on the island of Barbados a colony under the British West Indies. The enslaved Alphonse Nurse was then moved to the island of Trinidad where he eventually fathered James Nurse, who grew up to be one of the most famed Caribbean botanists.
Little could Alphone have imagined that one day a son of his would be a scientist while his grandson, born Malcolm Nurse but who chose for himself the alias George Padmore, would rise to be among the brightest stars to champion the pan Africanist movement.
George Padmore was born in Port- of –Spain, Trinidad in 1903. All who came into contact with this dynamic individual soon noted a fiercely independent nature and of how intensely he adhered to the cause of justice for the downtrodden.
Post college, George tried his writing hand at the ‘Trinidad Guardian’ but could not hold on to the job due to his headstrong individuality which earned him the disapproval of his editors.
In 1924 he was in the USA to attend Fisk, New York and Howard universities but this academic path was also cut short, again because George felt it his duty to make bold political statements. The incident was a visit to Howard University by the British Ambassador to the U.S., at which George vociferously launched a protest demonstration, lambasting the diplomat over British mistreatment of Africa and Africans. George needless to say, was immediately expelled.
Padmore became intensely immersed in the condition of the Black Working class and this passion soon drew him to the American Communist party which he joined in 1927. In due time, he rose to become the chief of the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers (ITUC – NW). Padmore was editor of the ‘Negro Champion’ (Liberator) and the ‘Negro Workers’ and also wrote for the ‘Daily Worker’, a communist publication.
Padmore has been hailed as the main force behind the international mobilization of the Black working class.
Communist theory was not however entirely palatable to Padmore and by 1935 he left the party and based himself in England where he continued in journalism, still on the theme of the Black proletariat.
In London, Padmore was amongst Amy Garvey (wife of Back to Africa movement leader Marcus Garey), Kenya’s future president, Jomo Kenyata, and Kwame Nkrumah, then a young student from Ghana.
After Ghanaian independence Padmore was appointed political advisor to Nkrumah in addition to launching Voice of Africa’, published by Ghana’s Bureau of African Affairs and one of the leading newspapers in post 1945 pan-Africanism.
Pan African movement
Time Line
1945 – 4th pan-African Conference. Manchester – 1945 – 1963 UK is chaired Trinidad’s by eminent Pan-Africanist, George Padmore and attended by Liberation Heroes such as Tanganyika’s Julius Nerere, the Gold Coast’s Kwame Nkrumah and Peter Abrahams. It was the first of such congresses to bring together participants from the so called Anglophone and Francophone elements of colonial Africa. Also, the Manchester Conference marks beginning of the eventual transfer of the movement from its base in the West Indies to the African continent.
1957 – 5th pan-African conference opens in Accra coincides with newly named Ghana’s independence celebrations. The presidency of the movement is officially handed to President Kwame Nkrumah in an historic and moving ceremony moment, by Dr. W.E.B. DuBois the great pillar of black redemption politics.
1958 - Ghana and Guinea (Conakry) formulate draft charter conceived to become a foundation of a future Union of African States (U.A.S.).
October 1960 – March 1961 – Three related conferences are held in Abidjan – Ivory Coast. Brazzaville – Republic of Congo and Yaunde – Cameroon by 12 so-called ‘Francophone’ countries. This group later excludes itself from Casablanca Conference which it perceived as ‘too Anglophonic’.
1961 – Casablanca Conference in Morocco. An African Charter is drafted which included instruments such as a joint military command and an African common market.
September 1961 – The Francophone bloc meet in Madagascar and drafts Antananarivo Charter establishing the Organization Commune Africane et Mauricenne (OCAM)
May 1961 – A Monrovia (Liberia) conference manages to gather 19 countries: Cameroon, C.A.R, Chad, Congo Republic, Dahomey (Benin), Ethiopia, Gabon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Tunisia and Upper Volta (Burkina Faso)
January 1962 – Monrovia conference has follow-up in Lagos, Nigeria with all 19 participants of former in attendance except Tunisia but with the addition of the Belgian Congo (later, Zaire and currently D.R.C). Lagos Conference approves draft charter for an Organization of Inter African and Malagasy States (OAMS) and forms a permanent secretariat as well as a standing committee of finance ministers.
May 22-25 1963 – Finally and none too soon at, the Addis Ababa Conference is achieved the long sought continental consensus, gathering under one platform the various blocs split along linguistic, regional and political lines. Also, compromise is brokered between the Monrovia Group which preferred a loose association and the Casablanca Group, led by Ghana, which was keen on a federal structure.
Ethiopia’s important role as symbolic African synthesis sealed not least due to the distinguished stature of Emperor Haile Sellasie and the huge respect accorded to his continental leadership. (Continues)
'Aldewelem'
By Kirubel Tadesse
Director: Yetnayet Bahru
Producer: Yetnayet Bahru
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Duration: 108 min.
Tehut was rushing to get out but also willing to spend several minutes in front of a mirror even it seems like she doesn’t need it at all. It was St. Valentines Day and there was no way she could stay at home with the parents. She bought four red roses on the way to a fancy restaurant, but sadly, with three other attractive girls like her sat down to mourn unsuccessful relationships.
Aldewelem (He didn’t call), a new Amharic film that hit two theaters last week ( Ambassador and Matti Multiplex) takes one directly to the center stage of its theme with a few silent but catchy scenes and later, with dialog that makes you laugh over each line. All the leading actresses [including Mafi, a girl that features on some video clips,) have this amazing quality that makes their dialog real so that you can easily picture somebody you know engaged in a similarly funny, but also honest conversation that tells their frustration with men who are convinced that they can date any girl if he shows her keys to a car.
It was during the same St. Valentine Day dinner that one of the girls played a practical joke on her cousin (Melhik), giving Tehut’s cell phone number saying it was Lily’s, fictional girl friend for Melhik to try for a date. The plan was for Tehut to tease Melhik when he calls but after a few calls, Tehut who identifies the caller starts falling for him, who like her was falling but with a girl named Lily that only exists in his mind. Tehut’s friend and Melhik’s cousin that started the whole thing becomes seriously concerned looking the unexpected twist as Melhik starts pushing to meet Lily (Tehut) and Tehut reached to a point that she would be hugely disappointed if he didn’t call, that’s how it ties with the film’s title. Will Tehut be brave enough to tell Melhik the truth and whether Melhik takes ease in conciliating the fictional Lily with the real Tehut, is for you to find out watching Aldewelem, which is worth considering.
Aldewelem is advertised on striking posters, an old style phone with the leading characters surrounding stylishly. It may seem for many producers that posters have little to contribute to a film’s success as many, simply display actor images Aldewelem’s, poster is a well thought and effective design.
Watching Aldewelem you may question how it is possible for a guy to not even have a little doubt about a girl who pretends to be someone else, bearing in mind that he has met her previously,
Next to its smooth flow and clever dialog, the film also displays fine shots and skillful editing. But eye jumps from scene to scene are among the weaker points. After the director created a very moving environment [Beyonce and Shakira’s beautiful liar song in the background] forecasting that the girls would go out partying, it transforms the ambience to a quite evening dinner. He could show us one of the clubs in town, which would punch things up since he offered plenty of settings. It would also work as being a more convincing story, since Tehut left the table upset, thinking the girl who was sitting with Melhik was his date [it seemed illogical to see the two coming for dinner and concluding it was date.]
Even if you are not big moviegoer, you would enjoy Aldewelem if you are fond of simple yet pleasing romantic comedies.
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