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South African
Oppression and Poverty
Under Mbeki and
Mandela—“Worse than Apartheid!”
Mfanelo Skwatsha,
Executive Secretary of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)
of Azania (South Africa), will be a featured speaker at
African People’s Solidarity Day events, October 13-21 in
cities throughout the U.S.
During the PAC’s first U.S. tour in more than 25 years,
Mr. Skwatsha will discuss the urgent need to build
political and economic power for the growing millions of
South Africans who have been pushed into greater poverty
and oppression by the ruling African National Congress’
“Rainbow Nation.”
As Wendy Snyder, organizer of African People’s
Solidarity Day, explains, “Many people around the world
who supported the struggle against the apartheid system
in South Africa erroneously believe that since the
installation of Nelson Mandela and the African National
Congress in 1994 conditions in South Africa have
improved.
“However, as Mr. Skwatsha will show, the reality is the
opposite. Many African workers say life in South Africa
today is ‘worse than apartheid.’”
Statistics from the Southern African Regional Poverty
Network (SARPN) expose that since the official end of
apartheid in 1994, “those households living in poverty
have sunk deeper into poverty and the gap between rich
and poor has widened.”
Sixty-one percent of people in South Africa now live
below the poverty line, with more than a third
subsisting on less than $2 a day. The racial gap is
greater with 96 percent of arable South African farmland
still owned by white people who make up only 13 percent
of the population.
Formed in Soweto, South Africa in 1959, the Pan
Africanist Congress was the popular party that led the
campaign to end the notorious pass laws that required
African people to present official identification to
police upon demand under the apartheid system. PAC led
the South African-wide movement following the
Sharpeville Massacre against pass law protestors in 1960
and is the party of Steve Biko, leader of the Black
Consciousness Movement.
PAC is still based in African communities throughout
South Africa today. PAC organizes on many fronts for
“true self-determination for African working people with
the belief that Africa’s colonial borders must be
abandoned in favor of one united Africa,” according to
Snyder.
Mfanelo Skwatsha has been a member of the Pan Africanist
Congress for more than 20 years. He has been a leading
member of the organization on regional and then national
levels since his student days at the University of
Transkei where he holds degrees in social science and
labor law.
Sponsored by the African People’s Solidarity Committee
and the Uhuru Movement, African People’s Solidarity Day
events will take place:
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October
13 – 14 in Oakland, CA at Beebe Memorial
Church, 3900 Telegraph Avenue
October 16 in St. Petersburg, FL at The
Studio@620, 620 1st Avenue South
October 20 – 21 in Philadelphia, PA at
International House, 3701 Chestnut Street |
Source:
Skwatsha Burning
Spear Uhuru
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The Haitian Revolution, 1791 to 1804: Or,
Side Lights On the French Revolution
By
Theophilus Gould Steward
This is a reproduction of a book published
before 1923. This book may have occasional
imperfections such as missing or blurred
pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc.
that were either part of the original
artifact, or were introduced by the scanning
process. We believe this work is culturally
important, and despite the imperfections,
have elected to bring it back into print as
part of our continuing commitment to the
preservation of printed works worldwide. We
appreciate your understanding of the
imperfections
in the preservation process, and hope you
enjoy this valuable book.—Amazon.com |
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The Haitian Revolution, 1791 to 1804. By T. G.
Steward. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 1915. 292
pages. $1.25.
Reviewed by J.R. Fauset. The
Journal of Negro History.
Vol. I., No. 1, January. 1916.
In the days when
the internal dissensions of Haiti are again thrusting
her into the limelight such a book as this of Mr.
Steward assumes a peculiar importance. It combines the
unusual advantage of being both very readable and at the
same time historically dependable. At the outset the
author gives a brief sketch of the early settlement of
Haiti, followed by a short account of her development
along commercial and racial lines up to the Revolution
of 1791. The story of this upheaval, of course, forms
the basis of the book and is indissolubly connected with
the story of Toussaint L'Overture. To most Americans
this hero is known only as the subject of Wendell
Phillips's stirring eulogy. As delineated by Mr.
Steward, he becomes a more human creature, who performs
exploits, that are nothing short of marvelous. Other men
who have seemed to many of us merely names—Rigaud,
Le Clerc, Desalines, and the like--are also fully
discussed.
Although most of
the book is naturally concerned with the revolutionary
period, the author brings his account up to date by
giving a very brief resumé of the history of Haiti from
1804 to the present time. This history is marked by the
frequent occurrence of assassinations and revolutions,
but the reader will not allow himself to be affected by
disgust or prejudice at these facts particularly when he
is reminded, as Mr. Steward says, "that the political
history of Haiti does not differ greatly from that of
the majority of South American Republics, nor does it
differ widely even from that of France."
The book lacks a
topical index, somewhat to its own disadvantage, but it
contains a map of Haiti, a rather confusing appendix, a
list of the Presidents of Haiti from 1804 to 1906 and a
list of the names and works of the more noted Haitian
authors. The author does not give a complete
bibliography. He simply mentions in the beginning the
names of a few authorities consulted.— J.
R. Fauset.
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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If you like this page consider making a donation
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Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
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Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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posted 30 September 2007 / update 9
July 2008
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