We are excited to announce the newest members of our International Executive Committee, Aja Zola (Houston, TX) and Hadyah El (Philadelphia, PA). Both sisters joined AAPDEP as members, engaged in on-the-ground organizing as well as helping to build Zenzele Consignment, AAPDEP’s economic initiative.

Their willingness to take on bolder responsibility in AAPDEP, which is a 100% volunteer organization, shows tremendous commitment to our goals and objectives and to the masses of African people around the world.

We look forward to their enthusiasm and contributions to this work.

Special Note: We thank Jaleel Nash for his previous leadership as Membership Coordinator, he has transitioned to the position of Agriculture Director, which is more in line with his skill set. Jaleel has a degree in Forestry and Agriculture from Alabama A&M University.

In late June, AAPDEP launched a contest through our www.FaceBook.com/AAPDEP asking people to help us pick a name for our new Economic Development initiative. We received dozens of entries. Now we announce the winner, our logo, and the mission of our store.

Arlington, VA: Leading members of The All African People’s Development & Empowerment Project (AAPDEP) and Black Star Industries (BSI) attended the National Association of Resale Trade Professionals Conference at the Ritz Carlton in Arlington, VA, from June 27-June 30, 2014.

It was necessary to participate in this conference in order to gain access to information that will be helpful as AAPDEP makes moves to open a consignment store in Huntsville, Alabama in early 2015.

Jacqueline Morgan, Economic development coordinator for AAPDEP Huntsville, Dr. Aisha Fields, AAPDEP International Director, Yejide Orunmila, AAPDEP Information and Education Director and Ona Zene Yeshitela, Deputy Chair of APSP-USA and Director of Black Star Industries—the organization that runs the African People’s Socialist Party’s economic institutions like, Uhuru Foods and Pies, Uhuru Furniture Stores, Tyron Lewis Community Gym and so on—were in attendance.

Why open a consignment shop?

AAPDEP has struggled to sustain our work through donations and membership dues, over the past seven years.

We realized that, while these resources have allowed us to build many significant projects, in order for us to function at full capacity, we need a strategy to address the question of economic development that would sustain AAPDEP’s long term self-sufficiency.

AAPDEP’s consignment store will serve multiple purposes. It will be the National headquarters, where people can come in everyday to make donations and see who their donations benefit.

AAPDEP’s consignment store will allow us to put our perspective out in the world and showcase AAPDEP like never before by winning people to our mission and vision and by cultivating our donor base as a major funding source for AAPDEP international.

The conference helped us to get a sense of the successes and pitfalls of the resale business. We were able to network with longtime veterans who have opened consignment stores to fund their not-for-profit work.

What we learned is that we are right on track with our marketing ideas. Nonetheless, we have to dig deeper to develop a standard approach to our business.

This is important because what we are doing is in the interest of Africa and African working class people and we must ensure that our practices follow the African Socialist Internationalist business model and not some capitalist model of doing business, instead.

The topics of the session we attended spanned the areas of social media marketing, branding, window design, non-profit management, economic development, getting started, employee training and manuals, all of which were helpful in the development of our business plan.

We also gained access to a major supplies source, which could be integral to the start of our new business venture.

Next steps

AAPDEP and the Office of the Deputy Chair will be hard at work developing our business plan and startup funding strategy, in the next few weeks. We call on all of our supporters to help make this goal a reality with donations.

AAPDEP will announce the winning entry of the “Name It” contest and unveil the logo, tagline and mission and vision statement on August 9, 2014.

Stay tuned for all of these exciting developments.

Be sure to Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and request to be added to our email list.

Do for self!
Build our own institutions!

HOUSTON–Juneteenth is the oldest holiday acknowledging the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas during the year of 1865.

In honor of Juneteenth, the Houston chapter of the All African People’s Development and Empowerment Project (AAPDEP) hosted a jamming Juneteenth music and freedom festival.

The festival took place on Saturday, June 21 in the AAPDEP 5th Ward Uhuru Garden.

Indeed, this was probably the liveliest Juneteenth event in Houston!

The efforts of all the organizers, in particular Omowale Kefing, generously paid it forward.

The community left the festival full of fire, knowledgeable of our movement and thirsty for more.

In addition to this, new comrades joined the movement as members.

Once the festival opened, there was never a dull moment. The stage continuously hosted a bevy of talent.

The crowd was able to “Tighten Up” to the tune of Houston’s own legendary Archie Bell of Archie Bell and the Drells.

Although Archie Bell lit up the stage as always, his beautiful toddler granddaughter captured the hearts of the audience as she performed on stage with Archie Bell.

After a powerful opening by Omowale Kefing, the lovely Mother Aja Zola opened the ceremony with libations to the ancestors.

Mr. Las Vegas delivered a prized package of “oldies but goodies” that compelled the audience to swing-out, toe-tap and slow-drag.

The range of performers was quite suitable for all ages and genres of music.

12-year-old Yong Tonka performed an encouraging song for the youth entitled, “I Can Be President.”

O.G. Penguin of San Antonio rocked the stage with positive Hip Hop music.

Author and songwriter Trete Lo performed with grace and style, and the soulful violinist, Jonell certainly did not disappoint with her lovely rendition of the gospel hit by Isarel Hougton, “Moving Forward.”

Ali York, one of the speakers for the evening, shared an uplifting message for the community and inspired the community to think positively.

The Master of Ceremony, Dujan “Detroit” Harris and Mistress of Ceremony, Ashira Adwoa kept the continuity of the show upbeat and lively to the very end.

Attendees were able to peruse and saunter through the garden as Jody Burnett picked a bushel of okra, corn and peas while the show was in full swing.

A big Uhuru thanks goes out to the grand Jackie Miller, the vendor organizer who recruited 17 vendors with an array of items and food for everyone’s purchasing pleasure.

Another special note and thanks should also be given to the Idiginis Reggae Band who played into the night and gave us all the feeling of being in Jamaica. Yea Mon!

The festival culminated with a barefooted African dance circle around community elder, Ephfran (Pot) Boyd.

Thank you all!

On behalf of AAPDEP International and AAPDEP Houston, we would like to sincerely thank the following people who made this event not only an awesome and memorable success, but also possible:

Songstress Justice Belle, Junior and Black McHenry for use of their property for the garden, and the Brill Street neighbors who made their driveways and property available for people to park.

Danny Russo, who provided us with a world-class sound system, Mr. Livingston, who provided the stage, Archie Bell, his wife Juanita and their granddaughter.

O.G. Penguin, Mr. Las Vegas, Young Tonka, Idiginis, Trete Lo,Tenacious, and Tracy Vigilance, How Worthy Are You T- Shirts, IM HAPiLiNapi, and JMarie Designs.

We want to also thank Sylvia Price for her work at postering the community, and Demetra Brown for her foot-stomping gospel performance.

A special thanks to AAPDEP members Aja Zola, Aaron Ray, Joe Holley, Jesse Carldwell (who worked especially hard), Jody Burnett, Karen Berry and the host of neighbors and friends of AAPDEP who made this a success.

This includes Tommy Wesley and Chase Walker who handled all the parking and sanitation needs throughout the day.

Indeed, it is imperative to mention the extraordinary work of Omowale Kefing who existed as a primary organizer of the festival.

Mostly, we want to thank the people for coming out to join us in this auspicious occasion and celebration of the significance of Juneteenth and what freedom means.

UHURU!!

Did you see the touching story about Annmarie Richards, a woman who has taken in 32 homeless, abused and otherwise shattered youth and raised them as her own?

As the video of Annmarie’s story goes viral on the internet, we have to look at the underlying causes of the conditions that made her bold action necessary.

Despite what people are shown on television about Jamaica being the land of “don’t worry, be happy,” out of a population of 2.7 million people, a whopping 1.1 million people live below the poverty line and this number is steadily growing (The Gleaner, March 2014).

This is despite the fact that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been on the rise for the last couple of years, according to TradingEconomics.com, with tourism leading the pack as the top revenue producer for the country.

Jamaica is also the sixth largest producer of the bauxite in the world; the mineral used to manufacture aluminum, which is the most used metal next to steel.

There is no reason that the population should be experiencing these levels of poverty, aside from the fact that it is entrenched in a relationship with the World Bank and IMF, which are agents of imperialism that serve to rescue capitalism at the expense of African and other oppressed people by undermining the economies of colonized countries.

This process ushers in widespread poverty and destitution with its policies of repayment and debt. The tourism industry also plays a huge role in siphoning millions of dollars out of Jamaica’s economy because it is dominated by U.S. and European-owned hotel chains.

This does not absolve the responsibility of the neocolonial petty bourgeoisie in Jamaica that serves the interest of capitalism and allows for the continued exploitation of both human and natural resources.

We have to look at the attempt by humanitarian/philanthropic organizations to make a name for themselves by calling for people to watch a video 50,000 times by April 10 in order for them to donate a computer lab.

Why not just donate the lab in obscurity?

This is an example of the bankrupt parasitic nature of charity as the way to solve the problems of the poor by providing short term solutions without calling into question the role that capitalism plays in creating the conditions that they highlight in their stories.

The fact remains that Annmarie will continue to be a salvation for a handful of youth in need—but until parasitic capitalism is destroyed—the poverty, destitution and powerless of the masses will never see an end.

That is why it is necessary to expose charity schemes and organize to truly solve our the problems that African people contend with. The All African People’s Development and Empowerment Project (AAPDEP) is the organization that is leading on this critical question and we call on Africans who want to contribute their skills and labor to solving these problems, to become members and work with us to make it happen.

written by Samah Elsayed

The story of the exploitation of Africa’s resources for the benefit of a few is sadly an all too familiar tale across the continent. Despite the wealth of resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country is mired in poverty and conflict. Colonialism, corrupt elites, western companies and foreign governments are all complicit in the pillaging of the DRC’s rich resources and the dire situation faced by many of its people. Since the outbreak of fighting in 1998, resource fueled conflict and poverty have lead to the deaths of more than 5.4 million people. This is the largest loss of life since the second world war. Yet this shocking statistic often remains unreported and out of the media spotlight. This global silence on the atrocities taking place in the DRC is fueled by the fact that many of the most influential nations are also benefiting from the theft of the country’s natural wealth.

This exploitation is clearly illustrated by the rapid deforestation of the DRC’s vast rainforest. The 180 million hectare Congo Basin Rainforest spans across the Democratic Republic of Congo, most of Congo-Brazzaville, the southeast of Cameroon, southern Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. This vast ecosystem provides services such as food, water, medicine, livelihoods and shelter to over 75 million people and is also home to numerous endangered wildlife species. The DRC alone contains more than 12.5% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest, with only Brazil and Indonesia having larger areas. However unlike the much-publicized deforestation of the Amazon there has been little focus on the depletion of the Congo’s forests at the hands of Europe, America and Asia’s growing appetite for tropical wood.

Deforestation in the DRC

Any understanding of the current dynamics in the DRC must be rooted firmly in the historical context as the legacies of colonial rule are still heavily influencing modern dynamics. Western imperialism reached the nation in 1885 when King Leopold II of Belgium claimed the country as his personal fiefdom. A small but heavily armed Belgian army forcibly conscripted youth whilst taking women hostage in order to force the men to tap abundant rubber trees in the region, amassing his personal wealth as well as building that of Belgium. This relatively recent reign of terror was one of the most violent and atrocious periods in human history. Between 1880- 1920 the country lost around half its population, an estimated 10 million people. Whilst public outrage instigated a change in rule from King Leopold II to the Belgian government, the results were no less barbaric or exploitative. Forced labor continued but now also for ivory, diamonds and uranium. As a further insult, the uranium used for the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, came from the slave labor produced by the people of the Congo. Whilst the country officially gained independence in 1960, Belgium and other western countries still to this day retain economic power over the region. Attempts at control of the Congo’s resources, shrouded in a fear of communism, lead to the assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba in 1961. Speaking out against Western control of resources lead to Lumumba’s kidnapping, torture and murder by Joseph Mobuto under instruction from the CIA and Belgian government.

The effects of colonization are all too evident in the rapid deforestation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The colonial era saw a collapse in indigenous social structure and traditional land rights. Prior to the brutal rule of King Leopold II, there was a natural fluidity between communities. Potential conflicts were resolved by the movement of people from one village to another. Village elders or chiefs sought to attract people to their settlements in order to build strength and as a result, good leadership and equity was fostered within villages. Belgian colonial rule forced people to remain in the area in which they were registered in order to grow crops to be paid as tax. Chiefs were able to remain in power so long as they retained control over their community and extracted wealth from them for the benefit of the colonial rulers. This arrangement continues to this day. Villagers have no secure access to land and can be pushed off their land at the whim of those in power. This landlessness places additional pressure on the rainforests.

Diamonds: the stolen resources of the Congo

The control and pillaging of the Congo’s resources, which began under King Leopold still continues to this day. Whilst the names of the actors involved have become more sophisticated and exploitation now under the guise of multinational corporations rather than a murderous King, the outcomes remain the same. This stripping of the DRC’s resources for the wealth of the few at the expense of the indigenous masses is prevalent in the forestry sector where foreign logging companies and corrupt elites are still being granted titles despite a moratorium halting activities. Even multinational development actors such as the World Bank, who were instrumental in establishing this moratorium, were found to be complicit. Additionally, an investigation by Greenpeace found that the Bank has invested in a company that deals with illegal timber from the DRC.

The rape of the DRC’s wealth highlights the need to move away from this capitalist model of exploitation of land and people for profit. Even so called development agencies such as the World Bank are complicit. There is a need for a new paradigm of development that puts people at the center and encourages an equitable distribution of resources and skills. The All African People’s Development and Empowerment Project (AAPDEP) is an effort spearheaded by Africans for Africans. AAPDEP organizes the highly trained and skilled sector of the African population to use their skills for the development of Our Africa and African communities everywhere. True development is only possible through liberation.