Uhuru Furniture & Collectibles (UFC) stores in Philadelphia, PA and Oakland, CA marked their 25th and 30th anniversaries on July 20-21 and August 2-3, 2019, respectively.
This is a historic victory for the African People’s Education and Defense Fund, (APEDF), the non-profit arm of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and the worldwide Uhuru Movement for African self-determination!
Both stores held victory banquets to thank the broad and deep community base of support and appreciate some of the thousands of people who made these stores happen for 25 and 30 years by shopping, donating, and volunteering.
UFC Philadelphia hosted a community block party and launched “Buy Black Power,” a new institution that brings together black businesses, vendors, cultural workers and everyone who supports an independent African economy to benefit the whole black community.
Rasaq Lawal and baby Judah join Buy Black Power at the BBP Mitandao Chama Networking Party in Philly.
The Oakland store hosted an open house with a big sidewalk sale, live music and a chance to meet international leader Chairman Omali Yeshitela and Deputy Chair Ona Zené Yeshitela, APEDF Board President.
The Uhuru Furniture stores are part of the brilliant vision and strategy of Chairman Omali Yeshitela, building dual and contending power institutions in the tradition of Marcus Garvey today.
These programs and organizations are part of the Black Power Blueprint to empower the African working class to break the deadly dependency imposed by colonialism and build an independent, liberated economy—the only basis for genuine self-determination for the African Nation.
Uhuru Furniture is a part of the revolutionary process the APSP is leading to invest in and uplift the African community, which is starving under the colonial domination that enriches white power.
In recent memory, African communities had black business districts with stores, theaters, gas stations, and schools.
Today the African community experiences greater levels of hunger, homelessness, police terror, mass imprisonment, gentrification, poverty and early death than ever before.
In the majority African and Puerto Rican city of Philadelphia, only 2.5 percent of all businesses are black owned and in Oakland over 25 percent of the black population has been pushed out of the city.
We fight to govern
Under Chairman Omali Yeshitela’s leadership, the Party is creating the basis of African working-class self-government.
The Black Power Blueprint and Uhuru Furniture stores demonstrate how social and economic transformation can happen in the real world as the movement for African self-determination feeds, clothes, houses and employs our people while exposing the capitalist system as violent and irrelevant.
The block party featured a powerful presentation by the Chairman who explained how the Uhuru Movement originally came to Philly in 1986 to lead a political response to the bombing of the MOVE Organization and the black community by the city government with the slogan “Reinforcements are on the way.”
The block party was full of African vendors, live music and African dance.
LaySimoneDanceSensations kills it at the UFC 25th Anniversary Community Block Party in Philadelphia.
Pam Africa spoke about framed former Black Panther, Mumia Abu Jamal, who was infected with Hepatitis C by the PA prison system.
Three members of the MOVE 9 spoke: Janet, Janine, and Eddie Africa, who were imprisoned since 1978 after a cop killed another cop when the police department shot 10,000 rounds into the MOVE house.
Chairman Omali Yeshitela welcomes MOVE 9 members Janine, Eddie and Janet Africa.
Mike Africa Jr., born in prison and forced to grow up without his parents, who were both political prisoners, serving 40 years as members of the “MOVE 9,” performed his original resistance songs.
Chairman Omali Yeshitela and DC Ona Zené Yeshitela spoke to rapt audiences at both banquets. Karen Smith & Friends and Rugrat provided powerful African culture in Philly.
Percussionist Karen Smith performs at the Uhuru Furniture Victory Banquet in Philly.
The Uhuru Furniture staff were recognized for their tremendous work, carrying out the tasks necessary to keep the stores operating every day.
The banquet in Oakland featured a delicious dinner and desserts by Uhuru Foods and Pies, African drums by Michael Spirit and a moving personal testimony from the UFC Operations Coordinator, Cavin O’Ferral.
APEDF President Ona Zené Yeshitela presents the Buy Black Power campaign with Operations Coordinator Cavin O’Ferral.
Cavin spent 30 years in prison for a $10 robbery through California’s “3 Strikes You’re Out” law and Uhuru Furniture is the first job where he felt recognized and appreciated.
The Party’s economic work transformed and growing
Deputy Chair Ona Zené Yeshitela, took the reins of all the Party’s economic work in 2011 and immediately brought professionalism, style, and the science of African Internationalism to Uhuru Furniture and all the APEDF and Black Star Industries institutions.
DC Ona leads over 50 institutions worldwide to put political and economic power in the hands of the African community.
DC Ona showed the rapid expansion of Black Power Blueprint in St. Louis, and how these programs build the capacity of the African working class to govern ourselves.
As Chairman Omali Yeshitela says, the people are the real makers of history and the oppressed and downtrodden African working class—the most despised sector of the human population—deserves the finest quality, the best of the best.
Today, Uhuru Furniture stores are expanding services to include “NZO—African styles at home and abroad,” and “Uhuru on the Move” moving and hauling services.
Thousands of customers, donors and volunteers participate every month.
UFC picks up and re-purposes thousands of tons of donated furniture annually; delivers furniture; hires and trains staff, and through the Uhuru N2U program provides volunteer opportunities to people of all nationalities who want to get involved in creating a positive future under African leadership.
For more information on Uhuru Furniture & Collectibles, visit the Oakland site: uhurufurniture.blogspot.com; Philadelphia – uhurufurniturephilly.blogspot.com
Uhuru!
Congratulations UFC!
Forward to an independent African economy!
