Zimpapers Logo

Obi Egbuna Jnr Simunye

The culmination of this extremely special day must lead to a commitment on a Pan African scale to an intensification of the struggle to lift US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe.

It is exactly one week from June 16 which marks the 50th anniversary of Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokely Carmichael), and Mukasa Dada (formerly known as Willie Ricks) on behalf of SNCC popularising the concept of Black Power in Greenwood, Mississippi after the shooting of James Meredith during the march against fear, which will coincide with commemorations of the 40th anniversary of the Soweto uprising and the 25th anniversary of the Day of the African Child.

The culmination of this extremely special day must lead to a commitment on a Pan African scale to an intensification of the struggle to lift US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe.

We salute those amongst our ranks of organisers, who through political education traced the concept of Black Power from the lips of Frederick Douglass, Richard Wright’spen, Adam Clayton Powell’s tongue, SNCC’s marching shoes to the father and chief executioner of modern day Black Power, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. The land reclamation and indigenisation movement in Zimbabwe is ideologically and practically in sync with the African historical and cultural reclamation movement that sees the Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey as the father of modern day African nationalism, Dr WEB DuBois as the father of modern day Pan Africanism and the Osagyefo’s image as the face of Black Power theoretically and practically in Mother Africa.

Because this numerical year also marks the 50th anniversary that US-British imperialism spearheaded the coup that ousted the Osagyefo from power, it is our historical obligation to note that both Kwame Ture and Mukasa Dada did more than any of their contemporaries to introduce activists from the 70s 80s and 90s generations to the works of the Osagyefo. Without being blasphemous or offensive, it is comparable to how we are told the disciples of Jesus Christ spread his work and deeds as chronicled in the holy gospel. We also must acknowledge that President Mugabe and the late national hero Amai Sally Mugabe’s ideological foundation stem from the Osagyefo and the Convention People’s Party in Ghana.

In his pamphlets The Spectre of Black Power and Message to the Black People of Britain, the Osagyefo gives us two lucid and concrete definitions of Black Power. The first is “Black Power is part of the world rebellion of the oppressed against the oppressor of the exploited against the exploiter. It is linked with the Pan African struggle for unity on the African continent, and with all those who strive to establish a socialist society”.

The second is “What is Black Power? By Black Power we mean the power of the four fifths of the world population which has been systematically damned into a state of un-development by colonialism and neo-colonialism. In other words Black Power is the sum total of the economic, cultural and political power which the black man must have in order to achieve his survival in a highly developed technical society and in a world ravaged by imperialism, colonialism neo-colonialism and fascism.”

A very crucial aspect of the black power narrative is Kwame Ture would remind us that power begins with conception, meaning that Africans individually and collectively must first arrive at the conclusion that power is our birthright and destiny, not a political favour or gift from our former colonisers and enslavers. This explains why US-EU imperialism’s propaganda apparatus is so relentless in their attempts to demonise President Mugabe and zanu-pf, especially when they target so-called African Americans who because they have yet to lift the blindfold placed over their eyes by the Democratic party, still primarily for the most part look at the political and economic developments on their very continent of origin as foreign policy.

What makes analysing this dynamic delightful and uplifting is we are granted the opportunity to show how even though the militant energy of Black Power when articulated by Kwame Ture and Mukasa Dada made Ambassador Andrew Young so uncomfortable, that he even resorted to shouting green power in attempt to dilute what he deemed to be a threat to the non-violent philosophy of Dr King and SCLC, when it comes to defending President Mugabe and zanu-pf, particularly in civil rights circles, Ambassador Young truly has stood alone.

As Zimbabweans of the born free generation continue to penetrate so-called African-American circles in the United States, because many of them are members of MDC-T, therefore are committed to the regime change agenda, their goal is to convince anyone who will listen that democracy and human rights as defined by US-EU imperialism take precedence over self- determination and sovereignty.

This reactionary and neo-colonialist disposition will be music to the ears of a so-called African American cultural bourgeoisie who have spent nearly 50 years avoiding confrontation with the Democratic and Republican Party concerning their seek and destroy US Africa Policy. There are even examples of MDC’s support systems in the Diaspora marrying into this so-called African-American cultural bourgeoisie, who in turn are spreading falsehoods about the work of President Mugabe and zanu-pf and creating a climate of confusion, doubt and hesitation among those who are in capacity to contribute in any sincere efforts aimed at lifting US-EU sanctions on Zimbabwe.

In the book “None but Ourselves: Masses VS Media in the making of Zimbabwe” by J Fredericke, it was revealed that the book Black Power written by Kwame Ture and Charles Hamilton was banned by white supremacist regime of Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith. This shows that the call for Black Power and the Zimbabwean revolution are truly joined at the hip because this also marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Chimurenga, when Zimbabweans began their heroic armed resistance against the Second most powerful colonial army ever assembled in Africa.

The so-called African Americans remember Kwame Ture saying that Africans in the Democratic Party were the best illustration of visible powerlessness. This explains why President Mugabe does not waste anytime responding to the childish insults and criticisms of President Obama or the Congressional Black Caucus.

In the case of President Obama, he knows while those are his lips moving, the analysis comes from George W. Bush, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Gavin and for the sake of inclusion, let’s include the modern day slave catchers Colin Powell, Susan Rice and Johnnie Carson who find solace standing next to the former enslaver and colonizer.

We are well aware of pseudo-intellectuals who are Johnny come latelys writing about and discussing black power, who when providing an academic framework will not recognize President Mugabe and zanu-pf and the Second and Third chimurenga, in the same manner our enemies gloss over Muhammad Ali’s historical visit to Ghana in 1964 wearing kente wrapper next to Nkrumah but celebrate him fighting in the Congo under the watchful eye of one of Patrice Lumumba’s assassins, the neo-colonialist butcher Mobutu Sese Seko. This includes opportunists who only praise Zimbabwe when they are physically in Zimbabwe, but when they return to Babylon resume their favourite pastime, chasing whatever issue is politically fashionable at that moment.

If Africans on the continent and diaspora are truly committed to Black Power in the 21st century, we urge them to refrain from working for the US-EU imperialist regime change in Zimbabwe under that very banner.

Obi Egbuna Jnr is the US Correspondent to The Herald and the external relations officer to ZICUFA(Zimbabawe-Cuba Friendship Association). His email address is [email protected]