Page 2, Section I, Portland Observer, July 27, 1983
NBUF takes on the ideas and issues of the '80s
"Essentially, what l i it s t required it that
we Warn io be loierant, undem and­
ing and flexible regarding each oth­
e r’s philosophies, programs and po­
litical ideologies at long as thete var-
iout philotophiet, program« and
ideologies promote in tome way the
kind o f fundamental cultural, polit­
ical, economic and social change for
Black people envisioned and cham­
pioned by the National Black United
Front” (Article 111, Par. ) - C o i u t i -
tution o f the National Black United
From ).
Land. Power and
Saif - Determination
Voting on Issuoa during a mooting
The meaning o f this section o f
N B U F ’ t constitution was displayed
in the workshop on Land, Power
and Self-Determination where par­
ticipants interviewed said three d if­
ferent solutions were offered to the
national delegation to solve this cri­
sis o f the Black experience in A m er­
ica.
Om ari Tahir, a citizen from the
Republic o f New A frik a, defined
the principles o f the Republic. He
said, " W e are fighting for five states
in the South where Black people
have traditionally lived and where
we have been enslaved.” The five
states the R N A wants seceded from
America are Mississippi, Georgia,
South Carolina, Alabam a and Loui­
siana.
This concept o f land incorporated
in the ideology o f the Republic o f
New A frik a, according to Tahir,
raises the struggle o f A fro-A m eri­
cans from Civil Rights to that o f
Human Rights. “ By emphasizing
the land question we are able to
stand up in the world and be recog­
nized as a people who are colonial-
ized."
He said he learned this interna­
tional principle o f land from the
Minister o f the Interior for the
A frikan State o f Ghana. ‘The num­
ber one thing he told me was, ‘As
long as you are not struggling to lib­
erate some land there is no govern­
ment on the earth who can help you
with your problem!* ”
Tahir said this concept o f land
was introduced in the 20th century
by Malcolm X who developed it
from the Honorable Elijah M uham ­
mad who led The Nation of Islam.
“ Elijah Muhammad said we must
have some land to call our own be­
cause everything you need to survive
on comes from the land. You can't
have any type o f economic system
unless you have some land to base it
o n .”
The citizens o f the R N A believe
the economic status o f A fro -A m er­
icans in America is steadily erod­
ing. "A fro-A m ericans were brought
here for one thing. And that was to
help develop America. America is
now developed and she has no more
use for the Afro-A m erican — other
than as coasumers.”
The Republic o f New A frik a
wants those five slates in the Black
belt South turned over to the m ajor­
ity o f blacks who live there to create
an independent government consist­
ing o f various branches o f adminis­
tration.
C o m m u n ity lo v a
an d C o n ao lld atlon
Brother Oba T'Shaka, from the
San Francisco chapter of N B U F and
the National Coordinator for the
Pan-Afrikist Secretariat, said the
Black Liberation Movement is in the
process o f consolidation and re­
building.
Brother T'Shaka said A fro-A m er­
icans must come to grips with their
historical situation. " I t is romantic
for us to treat our situation as
though we were living in A frika. It
is insane for us to treat our situation
as though we were living in the Peo­
ple's Republic o f China. It is
romantic for us to think that a situa­
tion where Blacks are in a majority
on their own land base is the same as
where blacks are not on a land base
that we have yet to agree on. I f we
think they are the same, then we
have been confused about the na­
ture o f our historical situation.”
T'Shaka said the nature o f A fro-
Americans* historical situation is,
" W e occupy the same economic,
geographical and political space as
does our oppressor. This is the reali­
ty that separates us from most o f the
situations in the world today. We
have to look at this reality inside o f
a declining power. However, it is
still (he most powerful industrial
and technological nation on <|rth
“ This proximity to our oppressor
comes in many different forms. One
is that Blacks have always been
much more affected by the shifts in
the economy. Whatever time this
economy has gone into contrac­
tions, racism, which is the prime en­
emy o f our people, has become
more
serious.
Whatever
gains
Blacks have made will be taken back
and it has meant that the Right
W ing, which has been vicious and
harsh, will become even more vic­
ious and harsher. I don’t need to tell
you we are going through that per­
iod right now .”
H e says he believes that the A fro -
American community in America
needs to develop more confidence in
itself and, most importantly, love.
* 'l f we don't develop an undying
love for our people, if we don’t de­
velop a sense o f nationalism or revo­
lutionary
Pan-Afrikaism
which
means a love not only for Black
folks in America but for Blacks
throughout the world, we can forget
about land. No one is going to pay
you for that struggle. The will to
struggle comes from w ith in .”
Brother Oba T'Shaka concluded
by stating that the Afro-A m erican
o f the 1980s occupies a unique pres­
ence historically. “ W e are not only
an A frikan people but a new A f ­
rikan people, with the mixture o f
the experiences o f America and A f ­
rika. In the bosom o f our people
evolved the only unique culture in
the history o f this country. W e must
build on the positive aspects o f that
culture if we are going to build a na­
tion among our people.”
Revolution
Jamila Rogers addressed the pan­
el from the League o f Revolutionary
Struggle and the St. Louis chapter
o f N B U F . She received a silent, but
respectful, reception from the as­
sembly. " T h e L .R .S . is a m ulti­
national communist organization
that is committed to the overthrow
o f the system o f Monopoly C apital­
ism. W e adhere to the principles o f
revolutionary thought o f M arxism ,
Leninism and M aoism .”
Although her philosophy differed
from those o f the other panelists,
Rogers praised the concept o f the
N B U F " T h e kinds o f discussions
that are going on here in Portland,
Oregon arc crucial in raising the
theoretical level o f understanding in
the Black Liberation Movement.
Right now, we all understand there
is no singular view giving leadership
to the struggle. It is important for us
to understand those views, along
with our differences and our unity.
Because finally, it will be the masses
o f Black people that will determine
what program o f liberation we will
pursue.”
Rogers supports the demands o f
the Republic o f New A frik a but
hopes a program is created for those
who have lived in that region who
are not o f A frikan descent. And she
called her M arxist, Leninist and
Maoist ideology a scientific, univer­
sal principle which could be applied
to the struggle o f Third W orld peo­
ple living in the United States.
Economic Independence and
Development
The other workshops conducted
by the National Black United Front
at their Fourth Annual Convention
were Police Brutality and Killings,
Issues Affecting Black W om en, O r­
ganizing Techniques for B U F t, and
Economic Independence and Devel­
opment.
The Economic Independence and
Development workshop was headed
by Robert John Abrams o f Wash­
ington. D .C . For the past ten years
Abrams orchestrated an economic
symphony which resulted in one of
the most successful community
Education workshop.
Bro Obe T'Shaka
A
The many
faces of the
Black United
Front
(Photoe by Richard J. Brown)
Workshop on Issues affecting Black woman
Rev. Herbert Daughtry. National
BUF Chalrpareon
owned and operated food cooper­
atives serving low to moderate in­
come families ever to have been es­
tablished along the Atlantic sea­
board. It was called Building Com ­
munity A rt 23-Cent Food Co-op.
“ W e as Afro-Am ericans have the
economic clout to develop economic
independence inside o f the United
States o f America. We have it at ev­
ery level o f Black society. I f we as
individuals or collectively choose to
we could have, at this very moment,
in abundance, the goods and ser­
vices that we need to support human
life ."
Abrams said that over fifty thou­
sand Black people in M etropolitan
Washington have chosen to control
their food expenditures by joining
the BCA's 23-cent Food Co-op. The
first part o f Abrams' experiment
was the 2)-cent Egg Workshop. He
explained, “ W e distributed to over
two thousand Black households
over 124,000 dozens o f large grade
A A eggs at the unchanged price of
23 cents per dozen. This was during
the time when the United States in­
flationary economy was experienc­
ing the highest rate o f inflation in
the dairy industry. Black people did
this because they chose to do so.”
He said the first step to accom­
plish this task was taking control
over the means o f production.
“ You can control the price o f the
food you eat, the quality and how
the food will be distributed. You
can build this system on unchanged
prices. Because Black people are
locked into fixed incomes that only
change downward. W e must build
an economy that reflects, embodies
and uses this reality.”
W ith the basic membership fee o f
23<, consumers were entitled to pur­
chase a variety o f fresh produce at
the unchanged price o f two pounds
for 23«. They were also expected to
pay S I.00 in monthly dues and pre­
order and pre-pay for their food.
" W e arrived at the understand­
ing,” Abrams said, "th at it it ex­
tremely difficult to persuade Black
people to make value judgments and
decisions. You must find a way to
trap people into making life deci­
sions. W e do this by creating an o f­
fer the people can't refuse. In the in­
stance o f food we produced a life
trap. W e produced and distributed
the finest quality o f food at the un­
changed price o f two pounds for
23«. No person who knows he has a
need for food can refuse that. By
saying / choasr to have two pounds
for 23« o f the finest food, he is par­
ticipating in creating an alternative
food system that affects himself, his
fam ily and all others who partici­
pated in it ."
Joan White. NW Regional repreeentattve, makes a point.
Robert John Abrams
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