the new afro-american nationalism • by dr. john henrik clarke

8/13/2019 The New Afro-American Nationalism • by Dr. John Henrik Clarke

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-new-afro-american-nationalism-by-dr-john-henrik-clarke 1/11

THE NEW FRO MERIC N

N TION LISM

JOHNHENRIKCL RKE

T EBRUARY i g6i r i o t i n the gal l er y of the Uni ted Nati ons i npr ot est agai nst the f oul and cowardl y murder of Pat r i ce Lu

mumbai ntroduced the newAfro Amri can Nati onal i smThi s nati onal i sm s onl y a newmni festati on of ol d gri evances wth deeproots Nati onal i sm and a profound i nt er est i n Af r i ca act ual l ystarted amngAfro Amri cans duri ng the l at t er part of the ni neteenth century Therefore the newAfro Amri can nati onal i smi s

real l y not newThe demnstrators i n the Uni ted Nati ons gal l er y i nterpreted

the murder of Lumumbaas the i nt er nat i onal l ynchi ng of a bl ackmnon the al t ar of col oni al i smand whi te supremcy Suddenl yt o themat l east Lumumbabecame Emmtt Ti l l and al l of theother bl ack vi cti m of l ynch l awand the mbThe pl i ght of theAri cans s t i l l f i ght i ng t o throwof f the j oke of col oni al i smand thepl i ght of the Aro Amri cans s t i l l wai ti ng f or a r i ch strong andboast f ul nati on t o redeemthe promse

of f reedomand ci t i zenshi pbecame one and the same Through t hei r acti on theUN demonstrators announced t hei r awareness of the f act t hat they weref ar frombei ng free anda l ong f i ght s t i l l l ay ahead of themTheshort and unhappy l i f e of Pat r i ce Lumumbaannounced the samethi ngabout Af ri ca

Bel at edl y some Ameri can off ic ia ls began t o real i ze t hat the forei gn pol i cy of this country wi l l be af f ected i f the causes of thel ong broodi ng di ssat i sfact i on amngAfro Amri cans are not deal twth ef f ect i vel y Others qui ck to draft unfavorabl econcl usi ons andcomound msconcepti ons i nt er pr et at ed this acti on as meani ngthere was mre Afro Amri can i nt er est i n Afri can af f ai rs than i n

Repr i nt ed fromFREEDOMWAYS Vol No F a l l 1961Copyri ght 1961 by Fr eedomways As s o ci a t e s I nc Al l r i g h t s r eserved

285



FREEDOMW YSFALL 1961

the a f f a i r s of the Uni ted States Both i nt er pr et or s seemed t o have

mssed a vi t a l poi nt-the Uni ted States has never had an of f i i l

pol i cy based on the granti ng of compl ete ci t i zenshi p t o Af ro

Ameri cans, nor has the Uni ted States ever hadano f f i i l

pol i cy

basedon the compl ete el imnati on of or approvingof the compl ete

el i mnat i on of col oni al i smi n Af ri ca

Pat r i ce Lumumbabecame a hero and a martyr t o Afro-Ameri can

nat i onal i s t s becausehewas the symbol of thebl ack man s humani ty

st r uggl i ng f or recogni t i on The l i f e of Patri ce Lumumba proved

that he was a product of Bel gi an paternal i smand msrul e i n the

Congo I nmore favorabl e ci r cum t ances he mght have become one

of the most astute nati onal l eader s of thetwenti eth century When

the Congo emerged cl ear l y i n the l i ght of modern hi s tor y he was

i t s bri ght star Lumumbawas a t rue son of Af ri ca andwas accepted

as bel onging to l l of Af r i ca not j ust the Congo No other per -

sonal i t y i n Afri can hi s tor y has l eaped so suddenl y fromdeath to

martyrdom

Thi s i s whyLumumbawas and i s s t i l l bei ng extol l ed thi s best

son of Af r i ca thi s Li ncol n of the Congo, thi s B ack Messi ah,

whosest r uggl e was made nobl e bv hi s unswervi ng demnd f or

central i smagai nst l l form of Bal kani zati on Hs ef fo r t was made

more heroi c by hi s unyi el di ng r es i st ance to the f or ces of neo

col oni al i smwhi ch f i nal l y ki l l ed hi s body, but not hi s spi r i t The

spi r i t of Pat r i ce Lumumba w l l roamover the Afri can l and f or

many year s t o come

Thi s spi r i t was a natural choi ce t o reki ndl e the f l ame of Af ro

Ameri can nati onal i sm

Harl emhas always been the i ncubator f or bl ack nati onal i smi n

the Uni ted States Pr esent l y thi s nati onal i sm s bei nghampered by

too mny organi zati ons and too mny l eader s wth conf l i ct i ng pro

gr ai ns Some of these l eader s are sel f - seeki ng mney changers

whohave founda haven, and a bonanza i n the Afri can nat i onal i s t

movement Themaj or nat i onal i s t groups and t hei r program are

br i ef l y outl i ned here

Nati on of I sl am ati on-wde or gani zat i on dati ng to 1930 l ed

s i nce 1933 by El i j ah Muhammd born El i j ah Pool e i n Georgia

s i xt y- t hr ee years ago Headquarters i n Chi cago TemleNo 7 i nNewYork i s l edby S5- year - ol d Mni ster Mal col m TheB ack

Musl i mmovement i s pr esent l y the most dynamc f o rce f or - pr ot est

andchange i n the Uni ted States O al l the Afro-Ameri can nati on

286



AFROAMERICANNATIONALI SM CLARKE

a l i s t groups t h i s i s the one that i s most feared by whi te peopl e

More about them ater Musl i mBrotherhood Thi s group cl ai m t o be authenti c Musl i m

and i s hos t i l e t o the Nati on of Isl amgroup, whose fol l owers are

massi ve andgrowng fas t The h o s t i l i t y between t hese two groupshas been overpl ayed by the press Musl i mBrotherhood i s l ed by

Tal i bAhmdDawud, husband of si nger Dakota Staton Uni ted Afri canNati onal i st Movement Thi s group was s t a r t e d

i n 1948 by J ames Lawson, formerl y an o f f i c i a l i n the Harl em

Labor Uni on Lawson s mny enemes i ns i s t that hi s movement i s

mostl y on paper Thi s accusati on notwthstandi ng he conti nues to

be one of themost act i ve of theHarl emgroup of nat i onal i s t s Hemai ntai ns

l i a i s o nwth most

of theAri canmssi ons at the Uni ted

Nati ons he says to exchange i nformati on i deas and techni ques

and t o coordi nate demonstrati ons i n the commn cause

TheUni versal Ari canNati onal i st Movement Thi s organi zati on

has been l ed by Benj amn Gbbons f or over twenty years Thi s i s

one of the numerous groups that was formed af ter the breaki ng

up of the maj or Back To Ari ca mvemnt The Uni versal

Negro Improvement Associ at i on af ter the decl i ne of Marcus Gar-

vey whowas themost col or f ul and themost ef f ect i ve of al l Ari can

nat i onal i s t s of the l oth century Thi s group s t i l l uses Garvey s ol d

sl ogan Ari ca f or the Ari cans-those at home and t hose abroad

Cul tural Associ ati onfor Wmnof Ari canHeri tage Thi s group

i s i mportant because i t r epr esent s theentryof Aro-Ameri cans from

the entertainment f i el d i nto the nat i onal i s t movement Headed by

a dynamc pers onal i t y si nger Abby Li ncol n, who par t i ci pat ed i n

the demonstrati on at theUN In defense of her group, she says

WAro-Ameri cans w l l be heardbyanymeans youmake i t neces

sary f or us t o use She i s wthout r eservat i ons i n denounci ng,

crumb-crunchi ng, cockt a i l s i ppi ng Uncl e omeadershi p pai d

by col oni al i s t s

The Ari can Nati onal i st Pi oneer Movement headed by Carl os

Cooks, i s the most act i ve of the spl i nt er nat i onal i s t groups born

out of the breaki ng up of theGarvey Movement Oher groups i n

t hi s category are TheGarvey Cub, Uni ted Sons and Daughters

of Afri ca; and the Fi r s t Af ri ca Corps

Themost act i ve of the newnat i onal i s t groups are Li berati onCommttee for Af r i ca OnGuardCommttee f or Freedomandthe

Provi si onal CommtteeFor aFree Af ri ca

287



FREEDOMW YS

F LL 1961

The Nati onal Memri al Book Store operated by Lews Mchaux i s the mai n gatheri ng pl ace for Harl emnat i onal i sts I t

i s cal l ed the Hom of Common Sense and Proper Propaganda

Headquarters of Back to Afri can Movement . Thebackroomof

the book s to r e contai ns a col l ect i on of pi ct ur es of the great person-a l i t i e s i n the hi s tor y of Afro-Ameri cans The area i n front of the

store has been renamed Harl emSquare

O al l the nat i onal i s t groups i n the Uni ted States the Nati on

of I s l a m cal l ed theBackMusl im are the mst wri tten about and

themst msunderstood The i nt er pr et er s of thi s group have not

been abl e to deci dewhether themovement i s r e l i gi ous or pol i t i cal .

I na recent i ntervi ewwthMal col mX he sai d t o m Our r el i gi on

i s mi nl y t r yi ng t o f i nd away for thebl ackmn

t oget someheaven

wh l ehe i s down here on earth

Toaccoml i sh the abovementi oned obj ect i ve the BackMusl i m

movement w l l have t o bebothr e l i gi ous and pol i t i cal I t w l l have

to be a spi r i t ual pol i t i cal andaneconomc fo rce .

ecent convert t o the Back Musl i mMovement expl ai ni ng

whyhe j oi ned themovement and the basi s of i t s appeal t o an

i ncreasi ng number of Afro-Ameri cans sai d I ama mnof f o r t y

years of age I fought agai nst peopl ewhowere supposed t o be thi s

count r y s enemes i n theSecondWrl dWr andm f at her fought

i n the Fi r s t WorldWar I have been a pat r i ot i c ci t i zen and I have

always obeyed thi s country s l aws Yet I have never been abl e t o

f eel l i k e a ci t i zen or amn I was a 33rd degreeMasonand I have

been a deacon i n two di f f er ent churches . I ama f i r s t cl ass cabi net

maker and I ve had mownshop f or nearl y ten years I n spi t e of

al l of t hi s wh tepeopl e s t i l l t reated mas i f I was a boy TheMus-

l i m have taught m that I ama mn abl ackmn and that s

someth ng I can f eel proud of

Th s convert has stated the case for the BackMusl im i n cap-

sul e Thedrama of thi s search f or di gni t y def i ni t i on and di r ec-

t i o n i s ol d the cast of characters i s newTosome extent theBack

Musl i m are a l at t er - day versi on of the GarveyMovement wth a

newsoundi ngdogmwhi chi s bas i cal l y thesameas Marcus Garvey s

TotheBackMusl i m theAmeri can promse and the Ameri can

dreamhave grown sour wthout f ul f i l l ment They have l ost f a i t h

i n the Uni ted States as a demcrati c nati on

TheBack Musl i m i n the Uni ted States have created what i s

essent i al l y a pr ol et ar i an movement . Th s i s the l ar gest movement

288



AFROAMERICAN NATIONALISM L RKE

of t h i s nature t o emerge amongAro-Amri cans si nce the heyday

of Marcus Garvey and the col l apse of hi s back toAri ca dream

In the fol l owng quote fromEri c Li ncol n s book, The B ack

Musl i m i n Amri ca, he expl ai ns whythe B ack Bourgeoi si e l ead-

ers have been a compl ete f ai l ur e w th the Aro-Amri cans whomake up the grow ng B ack Musl i mMovement

Ogani zati ons such as the N Pand the Nati onal Urban

League, for al l t hei r vi rt ues have not caught the imgi nati on

andadherence of the Negro msses Thei r membershi ps tend t o

compri se mddl e and upper - cl ass Negroes andwhi t es i n each case

the l east di spr i vi l eged of t hei r race TheB ackMusl i m, by con-

t r a s t are undeni abl y a mss movement From hei r present base

of more than roo, ooomembers, t hey are reachi ng for the support

of the ent i r e Negro l ower cl ass-and ul t i mat el y of al l other bl ack

Ameri cans.

Wth t h i s programt can be cl earl y seen t hat the B ackMusl i m

have f l ung down a chal l enge t o al l other exi s t i ng Aro-Ameri can

organi zati ons Howt h i s chal l enge i s answered w l l determne the

future of the peopl e of Ari can descent i n the WsternWorld

Rel i gi ous convi cti ons i nvol ved

Theexpl ai ners of the newAro-Ameri can Nati onal i smhave gi ven

most of t hei r attenti on t o the bl ack nat i onal i s t spl i nt er groups,

hei rs to the once powerful Garvey movement , and the B ack Mus-

l i m In taki ng t h i s al l too narrow approach, they have negl ected

another vi t al mni festati on of thenewAro-Ameri canNati onal i sm

Aro-Amri cans are turni ngaway f romboth Chr i s t i ani t y and Isl am

There i s a grow ng tendency to study and adhere to rel i gi ons and

custom that ori gi nated and devel oped i n Afr i ca

Themost notabl e trend i n t h i s di rect i on can be observed i n the

r i s e of Voodoo cul t s i n Harl emandother l ar ge Aro-Ameri can com

muni ti es Thenameof the cul t l i k e the cul t i t s e l f i s of Wst Af r i

can or i gi n In Af ri ca t hese cul t s were oncepredomnant amongthe

Fonpeopl e of .Dahomey andtheYoruba peopl e of WsternNgeri a

Thi s Ari can rel i gi on nowbei ng rei ntroduced i s not newt o the

peopl e of Ari candescent i n theWsternworl d I n J anhei mahn s

book, Muntu, TheNewAri can Cul ture, he gi ves the fol l owng

report of theearl ymani festat i ons of Voodoo i n the sl aves whowere

brought t o Engl and, theWst I ndi es and the Uni ted St at es The reasonwhy i t (Voodoo) was the rel i gi ous concepti on of

Dahomey i n part i cul ar t hat came t o prevai l i n Hai ti i s apparent

289



FREEDOMW YS FALL 1961

fromaLondon report of 1789 whi ch t e l l s us that ten to twel ve

thousand sl aves were exported year l y fromthe Kingdomof Daho-

mey The Engl i shexported onl y seven t o ei ght hundred of t hese

the Portuguese about three thousand and theFrench the remai nder

I notherwordsmore than s i x to ei ght thousandayear were shi ppedt o the French Ant i l l es above al l t o Sai nt-Domnique, as the pri n-

ci pal French co ony of Hai t i was then cal l ed .

Moreau de Saint-Mery, a rel at i ve of theEmress J osephine, wrote

several vol ums on the pl antation l i f e of the transpl anted Afri can

i n the Wst I ndi es He descri bes among other t hi ngs a Voodoo

ceremony

Accordi ng t o the AradaNegroes Voodoomans a great super

natura bei ng, asnake

t hat knows the past and the presentand,

through themedi umof thehi ghpr i es tess f or et el l s the future These

twoare cal l ed Ki ng and Queen, Master andM s t r e s s or Papa and

Mama Themeti ng takes pl ace he says onl y secret l y and at

ni ght f ar fromprofane eyes Thei n i t i a t e d put onsanda s andwrap

themel ves i n red cl ot hes Sacr i f i ci al gi f t s are brought, the Ki ng

andQueen rece i ve themTherecei pt s are used t o met theexpenses

of the communi ty and as s i s t needymmbers Then fol l ows an oath

s i m l a r to t hat at the openi ng of the meti ng and As fearful as

the f i r s t , an oath of secrecy andobedience.

I n a recent announcemnt t o hi s Afro-Amri can br ot hers

Ofuntol a Oserj eman, the se l f procl ai med Pr i es t of the Yoruba

Templ e of NewOyo (Harl ems newAfri can nam) cal l ed for a

return not onl y t o Afri can re l i gi ons but t o an Afri canwayof l i f e

i n i t s ent i r et y I n hi s mssage he says :

290

Wmust Af r i cani xe everythi ng Our nams, our hats our

cl ot hes our cl ubs our churches, our re l i gi on our school s hom

f urni shi ngs busi ness es hol i days gams, arts soci al f unct i ons

pol i t i cal part i es our manners and custom, et c et c etc

Begi n wth your sel f today Youhave nothi ng t o l ose or fear

I t i s as natura for persons of Afri candescent t o take andmain-

t a i n the custom, dress and t radi t i ons of t hei r motherl and, as

i t i s natura for persons of European descent t o conti nue Eu-

ropean custom and t r adi t i ons i n Amri ca I t i s di s t i nct l y un-

natura and degrading, even r i di cul ous for persons of Afri candescent t o have and keep European custom and habi t s forced

upon themduri ng t hei r ensl avemnt Our l i ber at i on mst be



AFROAMERI CAN NATI ONALI SM CLARKE

compl ete Every techni queof sl aver y must be wpedout Wmust

begi n wth our so- cal l ed l eader s Support Af ri cani zat i on Note

t o men adopt theAri can l ook; cut the bri mo$ your hats you

w l l l ook l i k e you shoul d and l ess l i ke an i mtati on Change

ndthus the Aro-Ameri cans' search f or i denti ty conti nues he

search i s both heroi c and pat het i c I n growngnumbers A ro-Amer-

i cans are turni ng back t o ol d Ari can rel i gi ons andways of l i f e at

a ti me when some Ari cans are begi nni ng t o turn away f romthem

henewA ri can-mnded A ro-Ameri cans are accepti ngol d Ari can

rel i gi ons andways of l i f e l i tera l ly at a ti me when the fr i cans are

accepti ng these rel i gi ons andways of l i f e sel ecti vel y andwth some

r eser vat i ons

A l Ari can l i f e i s nowgoi ng through a peri od of tr ansi t i on and

moderni zati on n attempt i s bei ng made t o preserve the best of

ol d Ari can ways of l i f e In i ncreasi ng numbers, Ari cans wth a

western educati on and a western ori ented rel i gi on pr i nci pal l y

Chri sti ani t y are begi nni ng to f eel spi r i tual l y unf ul f i l l ed Now

wthnewi nsi ght Ari cans are l ooki ng back and reeval uati ng the

worth of ol d Ari can ways of l i f e whi l e concurrentl y l ooki ng for-

ward t o the bui l di ng of modern and i ndustr i al i zed Ari can states

Therefore, the di rect i on and predi cament of t he Ari can and the

A ro-Ameri can i s basi cal l y the same-bei ng both pr ogressi ve and

r egressi ve Di st ance years of separati on and al i en ways of l i f e i m

posedby rul ers not of thei r choosi ng have created msunderstand-

i ng anda l ack of coordi nati on o£ effort between these two Ari can

peopl e Thi s f act notwthstandi ng, theAri cans and the A ro-Amer-

i cans are t ravel i ng di f f er ent roads to the same ul ti mate goal -the

real i zati on and proj ecti on of themel ves as f ul l - f l edged and di g-

ni f i ed humnbei ngs heAri can heri tage of hi story and cul ture

i s bei ng recl ai med he noti on that Europe andNorth Ameri ca

represents the onl y accompl i shment that can be cal l ed a ci vi l i za-

t i on i s no l onger accepted and bel i eved heEuropean concept of

theAri cans and theNorthAmeri can concept of the A ro-Ameri can

i s nowbei ng both questi oned andchal l enged

mong the Aro-Ameri cans, part i cul arl y very of ten the questi on

i s awkward and the chal l enge i s i l l - prepared Thi s i s due i n part

to the f act that thenewnat i onal i st movementsamongA ro-Ameri -

cans are l ed mai nl y, by aroused prol et ar i ans unl i ke the nat i onal i st

movements i n Af ri ca whose l eadershi p consi st of a more art i cul ate

291



FREEDOMWAYS FALL 1961

educated e l i t e ThenewAfro-Ameri cannati onal i smwas born and

i s growng wthout the encouragement of the so- cal l ed Negro

l eadershi p cl ass .

ThenewAfro-Ameri can nat i onal i s ts , wth al l t hei r awkwardness

and i nadequacy, have l earned a l esson and di scovered agreat trutht hat s t i l l el udes the Negro l eadershi p cl ass re fe r red t o here They

have l earned the val ue of hi s tory and cul ture as an i nstrument

i n stimul ati ng the spi r i t ual r ebi r t h of a peopl e

The cul t ural heri tage of a peopl e i s di r ect l y rel ated to t hei r

hi s tory There can be no t rue understandi ngof the peopl e of Af r i -

can or i gi n i n the Uni ted St at es unt i l there i s a better understand-

i ng, andmore respect f o r t hei r Afri can background The cul ture

of a peopl e i s the f uel t hat feeds the f i r e s of t hei r ambi ti on, pri de

and sel f - est eem There canbe nomeani ngful advancement wthout

t hi s stimul ati on peopl e must t ake pri de i n t hei r hi st or y and

l ove t hei r ownmemori es i n order t o f u l f i l l themel ves Thi s i s the

l esson, I bel i eve, thenewAfro-Ameri can nat i onal i s ts are t ryi ng to

l earn and teach

I thi nk I canbri ng thepi cture cl earer i nto focus by paraphrasi ng

a statement made by Saunders Reddi ng at the f i r s t Ameri can Ne-

gro Wi ters Conference, i n March, 1959- peopl e s ul timate purpose i s t o use t hei r gi f t s t o devel op t hei r

awareness of themel ves i n order t o become a better i nstrument for

l i vi ng together wth other peopl e Thi s senseof i dent i t y i s the root

by whi ch al l honest creat i ve effort i s fed eopl e s r el at i on t o

t hei r cul ture i s the same as the r el at i on of a chi l d t o i t s mother s

breast .

I n spi t e of the char l at ans andmoney changers who occasi onal l y

i nvade the camps of the newAfro-Ameri can nat i onal i s ts , t hei r i n-

f l uence conti nues t o spread Thei r numerous and conf l i ct i ng pro-gram l eave much t o be desi red There i s a hunger amongAf ro

Ameri cans for a newand more dynamc l eadershi p Thi s hunger

of ten dr i ves themfromone i nadequate l eader t o another The

smug mddl e cl ass l eadershi p of organi zati ons l i k e the N CP

and the Nati onal Urban League have mssed ( or msj udged) the

newtempo of rest l essness amongtheAfro-Ameri can newy al er t ed

masses They s t i l l seemt o thi nkof t hi s group as bei nguneducated,

unwashed and unorgani zed-worthy of bei ng l ed but not worthyof bei ng touched or l i st ened t o The Ameri can dreamand the

Ameri can promse of f u l l ci t i zenshi p, wth di gni t y, af t er bei ng so

292



AFROAMERICANNATIONALI SM CL RKE

l ong del ayed, s nowbei ng di scar ded as a hope and an obj ecti veby l a r g e number s of Af r o- Amer i cans Af r i ca has become t he magi cword and t he newhope There s now i n Har l em an Af r i can

or i ent ed p o l i t i c a l party Thi s par t y- cal l ed t he NewAl aj o Par ty

r ec en t l y s en t out t he f o l l owng summons t o act i on t o t s

pr esentand pot ent i al f ol l owers

The r e - Af r i c ani zat i on of the bl ack peopl e of Ameri cahas begun

Li ke yeast i n a hot oven we aresuddenl y beginni ng t o r i s e Each

person must do hi s part

In t r a di t i onal Af ri ca everyperson of r¢ years of agemust j oi n

a soc i et y t o l ear n the cul t ur e , hi s t or y , and pol i t i cal aim of hi s

nati on and hi s peopl e For zoo years bl acks i n Ameri ca have

grownol dwth l i t t l e or no knowedge of themel ves or pol i t i cal

aim t o whi ch they shoul d aspi r e Now for the f i r s t time the

L JO RTYhas a school f or the t r a i ni ng o f our peopl e and

t hei r l eader s

Al l l eaders must be educatedby t hei r ownpeopl e i n t hei r own

aim Our present l eaders are not That i s why our power i s

wasted TheUS owes us m l l i o n s of dol l ar s i n i ndemni ty for

s l av er y Wmust have strong l eadershi p t o col l ec t t h i s money

whi ch i s due to each faml y Youand your f ri ends shoul d j oi n

the L JO RTYnowt o pet i t i on theUS t o pay i t s debt t o

us

UNTY ACTION POWR

Admt t edl y , t he chances of col l ect i ng t h i s v a s t i ndemni t y ar e

t h i n i ndeed That s not t he i mpor t ant poi nt her e The f a c t t h a t

t h i s i s s u e has been pl aced on t he agenda of t hi ngs desi r ed by t he

Af r o- Amer i cans and a demand has been made f or i t s consi der at i on

represent s a newand ext r eme appr oach t o t he pl i ght of t he peopl eof Af r i can or i gi n i n t he west er n wor l d Thi s appr oach a l s o repre-

s e n t s a concessi on There s nowa gr ow ng number of Af r o- Amer i -cans who have gi ven up al l hopes of ever bei ng compl et el y i n

t e g r a t e d Amer i can c i t i z e n s

The Pr i es t Rev Of unt ol a Oser j eman Adef unm , of t he YorubaTempl e, Ogboni Keeper of a n c e s t r a l cust om s a l s o c h i e f and

f ounder of t he Al aj o Par ty Accor di ng t o hi s l i t e r a t u r e

By hi s i n i t i a t i o n i nto the Pri esthood o f the Oi sha-Yudu-Rel i gi on he i s the f i r s t of the bl acks of Ameri ca t o return whol e-

heartedl y t o the cul ture and t r a di t i ons of Afri ca He i s bound

293



FREE OMW YS FALL 96

t heref or e to uphol d and establ i sh the nati onal custom of hi s

Ancestors Heand the members of hi s party, and al l who j oi n

themare addi ng newgl ory t o the pageantry of West Ari can

ci vi l i zat i on, as they sacri f i ce, not for barren i nt egrat i on or

separati on but to restore to Af r i cans, born i n Ameri ca, the foun-dati ons of thei r cul t ur al geni us.

Theposi t i on of Pr i est Rev Adef unm l i ke i t or not) i s clear-

muchcl earer than the posi t i on of the moderate Bl ack Bourgeoi si e

l eader s, whoare not l eadi ngTheA ro-Ameri can today represents

arevol uti onary force i n the Uni ted States Agai n, I thi nk I shoul d

emphasi ze, the l eader shi p of thi s force i s bas i cal l y prol etari an By

prol etari an I do not mean communi st The newAfro-Ameri can

nati onal i sts, l i k e the Ari can nati onal i sts, are gravi tat i ng toward aformof Ari can Soci al i sm Thi s newAri can Soci al i smw l l be

nothi ngmore than arehash andan updati ng of the ol dcommunal

Soci al i smthat exi st ed i n Af ri ca for more than a thousand years be

fore the European Karl Marxwas born n i ncreasi ng number of

thi nki ng Ari cans and A ro-Ameri cans are nowl ooki ng back at

thei r hi story and cul t ure, andwthi n t hemsel ves, f or the spi r i tual

andphi l osophi cal sti mul us for thei r sur vi val anddi rect i on

On thi s matter the posi t i on ofthenewA ro-Ameri can nat i onal -

i s t s i s extreme, and presentl y there i s no apparent mddl e ground

TheYorubaTemplenat i onal i sts represent amore art i cul ate man-

i f estat i on of thi s extreme posi t i on Unl i ke most of the other Aro-

Ameri can nati onal i sts, they have created a si zeabl e body of l i t e r

ature expl ai ni ng thei r poi nt of vi ew

The Yoruba Templ e, the Pr i est Rev Adef unm expl ai ns, i s

the advance guard f or the change nowbei ng fe l t i n the mnds of

every awaki ng A ro-Ameri can I t i s farther ahead i n i t s program

for the future of the A ro-Ameri can than any soci et y of i t s ki nd

I n fact i t i s the onl y soci et y of i t s ki nd i n Ameri ca I t i s the onl y

soci et y whi ch i s the same i n West Af ri ca, Cuba, Hai t i , Tri ni dad

and Brazi l , because i t i s Ari can throughandthrough

The soul of the b ack i s hi s rel i gi on TheYoruba Templ e does

not bel i evewecanever f ul l y succeedby t r yi ng to be Negroes, Arabs

or J ews Tobe f i r s t cl ass Ameri cans we woul dhave to be Europeans

f i r s t Wehave wasted i oo years t r yi ng to act andbe l i k e Europeans

Ameri cans) Thi s i s r i di cul ous when youstop to thi nk what f ool i sh-

ness thi s i s There i s onl y one thi ngwe can be-Ari cans, because

that i s what wewere meant to be- face i t l

294



AFROAMERI CAN NATI ONALI SM CL RH

Wel l l Let s brace our sel ves andface i t So f ar as the greater num

ber of Afro Amri can nat i onal i sts are concerned the showdown

i s nowThe i ssue i s cl ear l y j oi ned n spi te of the di versi t y and

cont r adi cti ons i n words and obj ect i ves, al l of the Afro Amri cannat i onal i st s basi cal l y are f i ght i ng for the sam th ng They f eel

that the Afro Amri can const i t ut es what i s tantamunt t o an ex-

pl oi ted col ony wth n a soverei gn nati on Thei r f i ght i s f or na

t i onal , andpersonal l i berat i on Nopeople are r eal l y f r ee unt i l they

becom the i nstrumnt of t hei r own l i berat i on Freedom s not

l egacy that i s bequeathed fromone generati on to another Each

generati on must take andmi ntai n i t s f reedomwth i t s ownhands

Inthi s regardtheAfro Amri cansnat i onal i sts havemovedf ar ahead

of the art i cul at e beggars of crums nowbei ng cal l ed l eader s

They f eel that the Emnci pati on Procl amti on has al ways been

i nadequate n t hei r f i ght f or asecondandmre mani ngfu l i bera-

t i on the Afro Amri can nat i onal i sts have extended the basi s of

t hei r f i ght t o i ncl ude the recl ai mng of t hei r Ari can heri tage In

i dent i f yi ng t hei r f i ght for nati onal l i berat i on wth the newre-

surgence of Pan Ari can sm ( act ual l y an Afro Amri can creat i on)

the Afro Amri can nat i onal i sts have real i zed the i mortance of

Pan Ari can smnot on y as an i nstrumnt f or the uni f i cat i on of

Af ri ca, but as a broader mans f or the uni f i cat i on of al l peopl e of

Ari can descent the worl d over n taki ng thi s hi stori cal step they

have turnedaway froma l eadershi p that was beggi ngandpl eadi ng

t o a mre dynamc l eader shi p that i s i nsi st i ng anddemndi ng

the new afro-american nationalism • by dr. john henrik clarke

Documents