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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