Recently, crowds of people all over the world cheered the coming of a new year, a new century, and a new millennium, all rolled into one. The African was in this crowd, by the way. But it was unclear what his purpose for cheering was. Perhaps, he remembered his glory past and beamed with joy at the mere thought that his time might yet come again. Or it may be the cheering was contagious as he became afflicted by other people=s occasion to rejoice at their accomplishments. For whatever reason, let the African cheer, and should cheer, at the dawn of the new millennium for at least one reason.

As the other races and nationalities parade the numerous attainments made by their people during the last century, it will be interesting to know that this reality has not escaped the African who somehow believes that Anow is the time@ . . . Now is the time for Africans to begin with some degree of seriousness to turn their eyes inward, on Africa, to re-evaluate themselves and their station, to study themselves, and try to discover what possibilities lie ahead and try to see what obstacles stand in their way of achieving their heart=s desires. Unquestionably, by so reflecting, the African will become interested in himself again and by so doing command the respect of others. Invariably, the African will be saying to himself and to the world, that he is no longer content with being a passive observer, a silent onlooker on the world stage, while his character and interests are under discussion.

Survival is magnificent. Patient endurance and fortitude, even under tremendous affliction, dejection, and ridicule are characteristic of the quality that has made the Negroid race an enduring race. Our elastic resilience to withstand affliction and our adaptability to varying painful conditions are a bewilderment to others. But most marvelous of all is our grace under pressure as we continue to provide calm and rhythm to a world raging with fury, anger, and destruction. So, let us cheer! We must cheer because our fortitude in servitude and our grace in freedom have guaranteed the survival of the race. But as we cheer, let us examine our other quality - flexibility. We are possessed of a nature very easily molded, swayed and persuaded. We yield to circumstances very easily and succumb just as easily to the seemingly glittering gold of others to our detriment. Perhaps, it is this quality that has allowed the African to survive. And that is the danger, the African merely survives, but we must do better than simply survive, we must grow and develop as well. Perhaps, the beginning has dawned, so we should cheer, but let us make a difference as well!

Yes, the new beginning starts with us realizing that we Africans have marginalized ourselves and consequently have permitted Africa to be marginalized by others. There can be no replacement for this brutal fact or the need to tell it to ourselves like it is. After all, only we ourselves know what is amiss with us, and who can tell it better to ourselves than ourselves? In the last century, we witnessed Europe=s growing economic unity. Next in the agenda of their leaders might be political unity. We also witnessed the thriving Asian countries, the AAsian Tigers,@ they are called, which were as poor if not poorer than most African countries at their independence, grow and develop. These countries are now referred to as the NDCs (the newly developed countries).

The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. is dedicated to a crusade of reversing Africa=s course for the better. We will engage in programs that will consist of seminars, lectures, studies, and reports to provide a pool of competence and integrity at the top of Africa=s leadership. We do not harbor any illusions that these efforts alone will be enough to reverse Africa=s decline in the foreseeable future. But we harbor a conviction that it is the essential way to start, promoting self-reliance and the need for the African intellectual, who is abroad in foreign lands, to return home to Africa and lay the golden egg for our children yet unborn and for the new Africa of the 21^st century. The time is now!!

The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. is prepared to lead this crusade, it is ready and willing to follow as well, if necessary, but let it be resolved for the Council never to sit or stand idly by. It will continue to speak out and encourage us to do more for ourselves and to become self-reliant in our economics, politics, and security. If that is all it can do to free us from our tranquilizing Ado-nothing ism, then, nothing can be more redemptive.@

Thus, as we march into this young century, let it be resolved that we wish to march forward to freedom. What does this rhetoric mean? It means that Africans should regain their independence and to live in peace. As Kwame Nkrumah said at a symposium in Central Hall, Westminster, London in 1960, A[Africans] desire to use their freedom to create a union of African states on the continent, and thus neutralize the evil effects of the artificial boundaries imposed by the imperial powers and promote unity of action in all fields. These are Africa=s ideals.@ In his book, Africa Must Unite, page 130, Nkrumah has given the Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. its ideal, the ideal that AAfrica needs a new type of citizen, a dedicated, honest, informed man [and woman]. A man [woman] who submerges self in service to the nation and mankind. A man [woman] who abhors greed and detests vanity. A new type of man [woman] whose humility is his [her] strength and whose integrity is his [her] greatness.@ As we begin to search and develop this new African citizen, beginning with our children, ages two years and younger, and through their willing parents as guardians of this new treasure, we hope to realize a dream that one day in Africa unity among its peoples will become real. There can be no question in our mind that security of the African states cannot be achieved unless AAfrican leaders . . . have realized beyond all doubt that salvation for Africa lies in unity.@ The prophecy of Nkrumah has become real when, in a speech at the closing session of the Casablanca Conference, January 7, 1961, he warned us, A[i]f we do not formulate plans for unity and take active steps to form political union, we will soon be fighting and warring among ourselves with imperialists and colonialists standing behind the screen and pulling vicious wires, to make us cut each other=s throats for the sake of their diabolical purposes in Africa.@ A cursory look through the continent will reveal the numerous conflicts, fighting and warring taking place today. We seem to know the root of all the evils, we even know and have the answers. What we lack are leaders who have the will and the resolve to act boldly because we have mortgaged our integrity as a people coupled with our morbid fear that, perhaps, death may befall us if we try. This our love for living, even as servants in servitude, has become injurious and detrimental to our growth and development, both as a people and as a continent. We must reject this state of mere survival and have the audacity to invent our future, constantly reminding ourselves that without patriotic political education, we will become a people without a history worth mentioning, and end up with a humanity not worth protecting.

The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. also draws inspiration from another indomitable son of Africa, Thomas Sankara. In his speech at the 1984 UN General Assembly, Sankara boldly stated, A[i]n these tempestuous times, we must not leave the monopoly of thought, imagination and creativity to our enemies of yesterday and today. Before it is too late -and it is late already- these people of Africa and the Third World must come down to their societies, to the wretchedness we have inherited, to understand not only that the battle for thought at the service of the disinherited masses is not in vain, but also that they themselves cannot become credible on the international scene unless they produce a faithful image of their peoples. An image which enables them to make profound changes in their political and economic situation, capable of wrenching us away from the foreign domination and exploitation which leaves our states with the sole perspective of bankruptcy.@

We, in the Africa Solidarity Council, Inc., take tremendous courage from a speech that will go down in history as one of the best from an African leader in the last century. It was eloquent, bold, dignified, and straight to the point. We lament, however, that the third World, except Africa, that Sankara spoke about has paid heed to his call as people from Asia and Latin America have Acome down to their societies . . . to produce a faithful image of their peoples.@ Thus, we remind ourselves that it is time for us now to Acome down to [our] societies [and] produce a faithful image of [our] peoples.@

Patrice Lumumba, another indomitable son of Africa and the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo, once said, A[w]e are Africans and wish to remain so. We have our philosophy, our customs, our traditions which are as noble as those of other nations. To abandon them merely to embrace those of other peoples would be to depersonalize ourselves. Our objectives . . . must be to unite and build our nation [Africa] through mutual understanding.@ Another indomitable son of Africa, Mazi Mbonu Ojike, once reminded us that we are Aa community too stable to be unproductive, too dynamic to be static, too dignified to be unimpressive, and too African to be Western.@ In his book, My Africa, pages 106-107, Ojike advocates a Akind of plasticity for the African; a plasticity that does not destroy and sandwich one into another; a plasticity that enables the African to remain African socially and politically. He should not be a mere imitator who makes a fool of himself and his culture.@ Amen. This is a new century, and timing could not be better!!!

The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. spearheads this crusade, beginning with its plan to host a two-day conference and workshop later this spring in Washington, D.C. There will be many more workshops, seminars, and conferences to come. As a kick-off, we have chosen this conference to focus on Dialogue Among Leaders of African Organizations, Immigrant and Non-immigrant Africans, and Our Diplomatic Community, with the theme: Building Solidarity Through Friendship and Dialogue. We believe that energizing our grassroots through our various organizations and making friends to rebuild trust in one another will form the basis for our crusade and for our crusade to be successful, hence we chose this as the theme for the kick-off campaign and for the realization of our ideal - our belief that AAfrica needs a new type of citizen, a dedicated, honest, informed man [and woman]. A man [woman] who submerges self in service to the nation and mankind. A man [woman] who abhors greed and detests vanity. A new type of man [woman] whose humility is his [her] strength and whose integrity is his [her] reatness.@ Join us, won=t you? A definite date will be announced as soon as all the logistics are worked out. But please mark your calendars and commit yourself to attend. We will make it worth your while. But most important, we want to make it worth the while for Africa. The conference com-mittee is working hard to put together a soccer tournament that will feature about 10 to 12 twelve teams competing in the Africa Solidarity Council/Kwame Nkrumah African Unity Cup SoccerTournament Prizes will be given to all the participating teams. The champions will be awarded the tournament’s trophy. We hope that a son or daughter of Africa would be kind enough to donate a cup to the Council for the tournament. The soccer tournament kicks off the con-ference on the first day, a Friday evening. Finals will be on a Sunday, the last day of the conference. In between, we will provide some cultural attractions, in what we hope will be a dyna-mic conference and concluding with dinner and a ballroom dance on the last day. Details will be posted on our web site.

We have established some contact stations in these states outside the Washington Metropolitan Area: North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, and California. We are looking for more volunteers from these and other states. Please call (202) 387-4039; (301) 773-2443. Or you may write,

The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc., P.O. Box 77352, Washington, D.C. 20013. Or you may fax us at (301) 773-1663. Equally important, we need you to make tax-deductible donations to this effort. Here is what your gift, when combined with those from other friends, will allow us to do:

1. Run an ad campaign in local papers throughout the United States to promote the conference/workshop. We need to get out the reasons for the conference and workshop.

2. Produce a video of the conference and workshop for reference and continuity.

3. Provide stipends for speakers/facilitators or help defray their travel/accommodation costs.

4. Provide continental breakfast, light lunch -snacks, drinks, and other refreshments to conference participants throughout the conference.

5. Organize "African Friendship/Unity Cup" Soccer tournament (as part of the activities marking the starting and conclusion of the conference and workshop) and present participating teams with prizes and other awards.

6. Assist with accommodation and travel costs for those coming from out of town/out of state.

7. Provide free (or at reduced cost) buttons and pins to conference participants.

8. Establish a web site

This is an ambitious under-taking. But we can=t think of any cause closer to the heart of the Council than organizing an effective African organization as a harbinger to cultivating friendship between Africans and rebuilding trust for the eventual rebuilding of the African continent. We urge you to send in your suggestion . . . and include a large tax deductible gift. Thank you.

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An elder statesman, who was instrumental in efforts to forge African unity, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, died on October 14, 1999 in London, England. The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. sends its heartfelt condolence (though belatedly) to H.E. Mustafa Salim Nyang=anyi and the staff of the Tanzanian Embassy here in Washington, D.C. and to all the people of the United Republic of Tanzania.

The Mwalimu, in his life, forged a rare thing in Africa by establishing a strong national identity that united about 120 ethnic groups. In 1964, merely two years as Tanzania=s first president, Nyerere engineered the union of Tanganyika and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba to create the United Republic of Tanzania. This is a proud legacy the Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. is proud to co-opt in her crusade and advocacy for African unity. Mwalimu, you thought us that it can be done, only if we have commitment and courage. You once reminded us that A[p]eople have gone to the moon and we are still trying to reach the village and the village is getting farther away.@ You also thought us the virtues of leaving office voluntarily. That your people, our African people, climbed trees, sat on tree tops, just to catch a glimpse of you, the streets below overflowing with ocean of people, even while lying in your casket, to bear you farewell, is an attestation of the love we bore you. Thank you Fare well. We will miss you. Long live the United Republic of Tanzania

We are happy to publish the names of those friends who were gracious enough to assist us in this crusade by responding in cash to our initial request for donation. We are very thankful to all of you. The friends are:

Name                                     City/State                     $

Ms. Elizabeth Bateky             Silver Spring, MD           25.00

Mr. & Mrs. Ibrahim Savage    Wheaton, MD                50.00

Mr. & Mrs. Hassan Kamara    Springfield, VA             40.00

Mr. Wayne Jennifer                   Washington, DC        100.00

Mr. Chudi Anwusi                        Houston, TX              50.00

Ms. Sarah Thomas                        Columbus, OH           25.00

Mr. Segun Obebe                        Washington, DC          25.00

Mr. Wilson Iminephro                    Durham, NC           100.00

It is special person who gives from the heart so that Africans can find new life, hope, and love for Africa. And each of you is such a person. Please accept the sincere thanks of everyone here at the Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. for your generous gift. If you have questions or need more information about our crusade, please call us at (202) 387-4039. You will be able to visit our web site soon. If you wish to make an additional donation at this time, you may do so. We hope to see all of you in Washington, D.C. come this spring as we host the Building Solidarity Through Friendship and Dialogue conference and workshop.

Whole Family, if You Can.

Building Solidarity Through Friendship and Dialogue Conference

We Love You, Africa