Samah Elsayed has been a shining example of the tenacity necessary to build local branches of organization.
Since taking the role as Chair of the AAPDEP DC, she has increased membership to eight active members and has created a strong network of supporters of AAPDEP’s work.
As a member of the African Liberation Day 2011 Coordinating Committee, Samah struggled to move the program from its old ways of the same speakers and format to a dynamic display of the Party and its organizations.
Even within the process, she struggled for the issue of the environmental war on the African Community to be in the program.
Samah was reluctant to give the presentation herself but fought through her subjective attitude, and with great poise delivered a ground-breaking presentation.
Her presentation, coupled with the presentation of Dr. Aisha Fields, enabled the All African People's Development and Empowerment Project (AAPDEP) to win approximately five new members to the movement.
Samah also understood that to make the Marcus Garvey Saturday School a reality we would need resources.
The unit decided we could all pitch in to cater the African Liberation Day (ALD) and use those funds for the Marcus Garvey Saturday School.
When the 12th Street Christian Church sabotaged the ALD event, some within the unit thought it would be too difficult to cater the ALD and carry out other responsibilities that day.
Samah struggled against this stance, and it was ultimately Samah who stayed up all night and cooked the bulk of the food for the ALD. Not only did we raise resources, despite the relatively low turnout, but the food was delicious.
Samah has also played a pivotal role in establishing the Marcus Garvey Saturday School in DC.
Like any good organizer, she was able to establish a good relationship with community leaders and won them to the importance of the Saturday School in Barry Farm, a historic project that is slated to be torn down for “mixed use” apartments.
Through these relationships she was able to win the community to AAPDEP DC starting a community garden near the Saturday School as well.
More importantly, Samah has helped recruit more than twenty volunteers for the Saturday School.
Through the process of building the curriculum, we can see that our volunteers have been won to the Party’s line of community controlled education.
In this quarter, Samah has shown outstanding leadership and organizing skills and should be Comrade of Quarter.
