Contributors

LONDON—We hear less now of the special relationship between the UK and the U.S. The capitalist crisis is so severe that every imperialist is too busy looking after themselves. 

Washington begged the British to stay in the EU, as Obama travelled to the UK to lecture the British about the necessities of staying within the European Union and Western imperialist realm. 

But the British public, guided by various demagogue white nationalist leaders, who did not plan for the consequence or outcome they were fighting for, gave the leave EU campaign a resounding victory.

Now the effects of the victory are sinking in and a new round of contradictions are emerging. The first one is the crumbling economy. 

Last night’s final presidential debates between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton proved to be the pinnacle of the non-violent contest between the opposing sectors of the white ruling class.

We saw during the two-hour-long #debatenight, imperialism crumbling before our very eyes as Trump and Hillary each pushed their respective agendas, without even a thought given to the African community.

It is even clearer now that the time is ripe for Africans to forward our own political agenda, say “forget 'em both” and #vote4BlackPower!

The recent August elections have cut open the French neocolonial contradictions based on sucking the blood of Africans in Gabon for centuries. The highly-contested August 27, 2016 elections between Ai Bongo Ondimba and Jean Ping were an assault on African people’s consciousness and future, particularly the African working class.

It’s really important that when we begin this process of talking about the 50th anniversary of that mural being removed––which is December of this year––that we do establish some kind of historical context for the discussion. 

Otherwise, people are likely to think that this is just some kind of debate simply revolving around a picture, and what should go up on the walls of City Hall. 

But it’s more than that, it’s more than the discussion about a picture. So I’d just like to discuss more about the historical context, and that’s something that’s really important right now because, although we are seeing a lot of activism that is beginning to reoccur in the cities throughout this country, we went through a period of two generations, more than two generations, more than forty years of there not being much political action or much political consciousness even expressing itself in any organized way in this country. 

St. Petersburg, FL. Chairman Omali Yeshitela, leader of the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement addresses an enthusiastic audience Tuesday, Sept. 13 at Akwaaba Hall about the issue of the anti-African mural that hung in the St. Petersburg, FL city hall for 30 years.

As the local leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Chairman Yeshitela, then known as Joseph Waller, ripped down the offensive painting during a protest on 50 years ago on December 28, 1966.

So when they killed that twenty-three-year-old boy in Milwaukee last night, it wasn’t some mistake, any more than it was when that white man killed that child in Huntsville, Alabama.

Why did that white man kill the child? Why is there a George Zimmerman? Why do we have the Ku Klux Klan and all those other entities?

Because that is the way this whole entity was created. Because in England and France and European places where you had a  movement from feudal control.

I would like to thank you sister Njeri for extending the invitation to Uhuru movement to attend this important commemoration.

I would like also to extend the greetings from our Chairman Omali yeshitela and the central Committee of the African peoples Socialist Party to all of you present in this commemoration.

I would also like to salute the memory of sister Mawusi aka as sister Patricia Chambers.

Colonised people do not die naturally. Colonialism and neo-colonialism are the direct causes of our problems in our entire lives.

One of the things, that I certainly tried to do on yesterday with this conference was not simply to lay out the fact that we are consolidating this National Black Political Agenda for Self-Determination. Not simply talking about what we’re going to be doing coming forward. But also struggling to place what it is that we’re doing, in some, political context, because obviously, everything that we’re talking about requires struggle against white power, imperialism. And that is important.

But sometimes, imperialism doesn’t come in its own face. In fact, increasingly, over the last two or three generations, it has been extremely difficult for imperialism to step forward in its own face. And because of this, we’ve seen the emergence of what Kwame Nkrumah characterized as neocolonialism.

Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) will be honored in an evening reception where he will tell the story of the 1966 protest that culminated in his tearing down of the anti-African mural which had hung in St. Petersburg’s City Hall since the 1940s.

The event will take place at Akwaaba Hall at the Uhuru House, 1245 18th Ave. South, St. Petersburg on Tuesday, Sept. 13th at 6 p.m. and is sponsored by the Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM).

Chairman Omali, then known as Joseph Waller, will reveal his plans to counter the city’s current attempt “to whitewash the issue of the removal of the obscene colonialist mural and undermine its significance for the African community of St. Petersburg and the U.S.”