A Pan-African Nationalist is a Black person who believes in the oneness of all African people worldwide, even though we are temporarily separated by space and thought; one who believes that all Black people have a common past and present, and if we work together, a common future. A Pan-African Nationalist is a Black person who overstands that we as a people will never be respected or taken seriously by ourselves or others until Mother Africa and her people are unified and empowered.
Sisters and brothers, the divisions that have been imposed upon us through “the rule of divide and conquer,” which led to the legacy of slavery and colonization, are still alive and well amongst us.
This is the main reason why I am dedicated, committed, and motivated to teach our youth about their glorious history in the classroom, author books about the World African experience, and write a weekly column in the powerful SCOOP USA newspaper. Our dis-unity is one of the main reasons I have been a (20) year member of the UNIA-ACL, which was founded by Marcus Garvey in 1914.
Marcus Garvey was a leader who fought for the rights of all Black people throughout North America, South America, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and any place Black people inhabited.
This (4) part series on Marcus Garvey and Liberia gave the readers a glimpse of the power of the UNIA-ACL and the collective efforts to secure a land base for all people of African descent. The series also highlighted the Black men who betrayed Mr. Garvey.
Marcus Garvey followed the Black print of courageous Black men who set out to give Africans in America an alternative to go back to Africa if they chose to do so. Black men like Bishop Henry McNeil Turner, Martin Delaney, Paul Cuffe, Edward Blyden, and Alexander Crummell helped Black families to successfully repatriate back to Liberia and Sierra Leone, West Africa, in the late 1800s.
In 2019, as the District-2 Commissioner of the UNIA-ACL, I had the opportunity to travel to Liberia with a delegation to strengthen our relationship with our sisters and brothers. The UNIA-ACL held our 62nd International Convention in Liberia, and since that historical time, progress has been made.
Prior to the convention in 2019, the last official visit to Liberia was accomplished by our 2nd Assistant- President-General-The Honorable Charles L. James in 1974. Prior to Mr. James’ visit, UNIA’s second President-General, The Honorable James R. Stewart, resided in Liberia and led UNIA’s activities in the mid-late 40s.
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Thank you for reading an excerpt of Khabyr Hadas’ article on scoopusamedia.com. To read more of the article, “Garvey, Liberia and Firestone Black Rubber and Redemption (Pt 4),” please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
