Genocide And The Reawakening
Of The African Mind
By Dr. Conrad W. WorrillOn October 25, 1996, the National Black United Front (NBUF) launched its Genocide and Human Rights Campaign against the numerous genocidal policies of the United States Government.
This campaign was developed in response to the revelations of the San Jose Mercury News stories, written by Gary Webb, that documented "the Contra-run drug network [that] opened the fast conduit between Columbia's notorious cocaine cartels and L.A.'s Black neighborhoods. The flood of the insidous white powder helped to make crack affordable in poor communities where its use eventually became epidemic."
Webb's series revealed, "The local dealers' profits from the crack sales also made it easier for vicious street gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips to buy Uz's and other assult weapons. That, in turn, made it easier for the gang to try to slaughter each other in turf wars, taking the lives of children and scores of other innocents in drive-by shootings."
in the September 3, 1996 issue of the Final Call newspaper this story was headlines. Most the white media in this country did not respond to these allegations. The Final Call headline article and subsequent articles on this issue made it possible for large numbers of Africans in America, and around the world, to be informed about the Webb series.
The white media that did respond, ran articles challenging the validity of Webb's research.
NBUF developed a Petition Declaration Campaign, "charging genocide by the U.S. Government against the Black population in the United Sates." This petition was circulated throughout the African Communities in the United States, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.
Additionally, NBUF, with the assistance of Bob Brown of the All African People's Revolutionary Party, coducted intensive research on the various aspects of genocide being committed against African people in this country. Also, NBUF developed "38 Counts of Human Rights Violations" by the United Sates Government and its co-conspirators against the African Community.
In our efforts to reenact the 1951 Genocide Campaign launched by William Patterson, Paul Robeson and W.E.B. DuBois, we travelled to Geneva, Switzerland and submitted 157,000 signatures on the petitions to the Offices in Charge of the High Commission of Human Rights of the United Nations on May 21, 1997.
NBUF submitted our petitions and complaints of Human Rights violations by governments, the United Nations established in 1970, after many years of debate and discussion, what is called the 1503 procedure. The 1503 procedure if the outgrowth of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that adopted this "procedure for dealing with communictaions realting to violations of human rights and fundamental freedom."
According to this procedure our petition and complaint will be elgible to be considered in July of this year.
It is important that we remind ourselves of the definition of genocide that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted in the Genocide Convention in 1948. It is different to understand our present condition in the world without understanding the meaning of genocide.
Article II of the genocide Convention defines genocide as; "Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a nation, ethnic, racial or religious group as such:
A. Killing members of the group;
B. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to memebers of the group;
C. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical; destruction in whole or in part
D. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
E. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group;"
The NBUF Genocide and Human Rights Campaign officially concluded in March of 1998. We are grateful to the more than 250,000 African people who signed our petitions and agreed with our complaint that the United States Government, through numerous of its policies, is committing genocide against African people in this country.
Dr. Asa Hilliard recently wrote a most insightful book (1997) titled SBA: The Reawakening of the African Mind. He explains that the United Nations definition of genocide clearly indicates that African people are victims of genocide.
Dr. Hilliard points out that "The genocidal practices of slavery, lynching, colonization, etc. are easy to identify, but the more recent institutionalized recent and covert froms of genocide produced by legal systems, educational systems, public health systems, etc. are difficult to distinguish."
In this regard, Dr. Hilliard writes - "There is no public outcry over these latter forms of genocide for two primary reasons: 1) active propoganda disseminated through the media keeps the mass of people ignorant of, and agents in, their own genocide; and 2) lack of media access alows those who are knowledgeable about genocidal practices from sharing that knowledge with and empowering others."
SBA, according to Dr. Hilliard, is a Kemetic term (Egypt) which refers to teachings, wisdom, and study. He says that it was through SBA "that the great African civilizations of antiquity were produced."
We hope that he public outcry and organizing by NBUF around the Genocide Campaign has helped awaken the minds of thousands and thousands of African people.
In order for the liberation of African people to take place, we must awaken the African mind! Hotep!
Posted:06/25/98 05:04:43 PM
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