Chicago, IL—On Saturday, January 12, 2013, the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) kicked-off the first of a multi-city tour of worldwide African Community Conventions to Defend and Protect Our Own.
Comrades convened with reformers, revolutionaries and visionaries who are ready to bring peace and structure to the African communities of Chicago and worldwide.
As the convention opened, we were honored with reciting the African Pledge and opening remarks from the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement’s International President, Diop Olugbala.
The first of the three workshops, Protect and Organize the African Woman, was paneled by two phenomenal sisters, Marissa Brown and Lia Crawford, who displayed the power and influence of the organized African Woman.
InPDUM Membership and Outreach Coordinator, Sister Zenobia Spencer, opened the workshop with an introduction to the topics. Within her introduction, we were gifted with some pointers on improving the state of life for the African community such as utilizing the bartering system, lifting and encouraging our men and developing a positive image of our men, just to name a few, a fantastic grabber that drew many into focus on the discussions to come.
The first panelist, Marissa Brown, started off the panel with an informative insight of the African woman’s significant role in the creation and development of the community and in the struggle against the oppressive State. She also spoke of the breakdown in the structure within African families and the ills that contribute to it.
The second speaker on the panel, Sister Lia Crawford, picked up the reigns and continued to enlighten the audience with points on why our communities are failing and how the oppression of the African woman has contributed to the downward spiral of our communities.
The lack of trust between the African man and the African woman, the lack of support from the community for the African woman, our actions to reach outside of our communities for healing instead of within, and the systemic barriers of welfare and housing are some of the topics Lia addressed and expounded on leading up to an energetic and engaging question and comment period with the audience.
Our second workshop, Message to All Ghetto Youth, was opened with the moving and profound words of InPDUM member, Brother Korvell. The convention was on fire and we had yet to experience all of the energy that was to come out of this event.
The first panelist, Brother Jokarhi “Pantha” Shakur, a member of the Black Panther Party Chicago Chapter, gave an in-depth political view of society’s ailments and how he and his comrades are utilizing social media as a tool instead of a weapon. He spoke on their efforts to communicate with the ‘street tribes’ of the city to assist in finding solutions to the violent atmosphere which has engulfed our African neighborhoods.
The second panelist of the workshop was Sister Jasmine from Milwaukee. Sister Jasmine followed up on Brother Pantha’s critique of our street youth by offering her own experiences growing up as a ghetto youth in that street environment.
She also spoke on how positive messages of hope and revolution can be brought to our youth through media and stage.
The third and final panel, Black Power meets LGBT, gave the entire audience a look at the struggles of Africans who are homosexual.
The panel was comprised of Brother Cleo Manago, Frank Walker, and Max Smith, who shared their stories, their politics and their views of the national LGBT movement as it is relates to the Black Power struggle.
It also offered educational discussion among the audience and panel of the history of homosexuality in the African communities, how AIDS and HIV are used as a biological weapon and the various assessments of those beliefs.
This tour is to promote InPDUM’s International Convention, “One Africa, One Nation! Build Revolutionary Organization to Defend and Protect our own,” to be held March 23-24 in St. Petersburg, Florida to liberate the African nation from imperialism.
The workshops will include the same topics of women’s rights, the struggle for bread, peace and black power, and what do gay rights mean for African people.
Invited guests from around the world will attend and discuss how to build a campaign to address every sector of the African population to come under the banner of the African Revolution!
UHURU!
Join InPDUM Chicago at 312-307-0426, chicago@inpdum.org
