Durban: America Exposed as a Hypocrite and Coward Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Ron Daniels The Black World Today, Sept 3, 2001 http://www.tbwt.com Vantage Point: The World Conference Against Racism: America Exposed as a Hypocrite and Coward By Ron Daniels As thousands of Black people and people of color gather in Durban South Africa for the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) the United States government has been exposed as a hypocrite and a coward by its reluctance and outright refusal to discuss some of the burning past and contemporary issues of racism and white supremacy, not the least of which is the Holocaust of enslavement and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. How is it that a nation whose pledge of allegiance includes the words "one nation under God with liberty and justice for all" could refuse to face up to the past and present injustices committed against the sons and daughters of Africa in this country and the world? How is it that the world's one remaining super-power could cower before its responsibility to discuss the unconscionable deeds of the past and present, which are inconsistent with its professed creed? How is that a person of African descent, a person with a Black face, how is it that Colin Powell, the first African American Secretary of State could stall, filibuster and obstruct on an issue so vital to his own people? The answer is that America is a nation still in denial about the dastardly deeds of its past and the ongoing existence of racist policies and practices in the present, a super-power whose status has largely been built on "might not right." The behavior of Colin Powell, a "distinguished" son of Africa, is yet another testimony to the fallacy of skin politics. Simply exchanging White faces for Black faces in positions of power and authority does not necessarily translate into justice or empowerment for Black people. In a right wing, illegitimate, racist administration, Colin Powell or any other Black person must do as the master commands or suffer the consequences. Over the past several months it has been utterly amazing to watch the United States government and its European allies use every conceivable tactic to avoid having the issue of the Holocaust of enslavement and the trans-Atlantic slave trade placed on the agenda of WCAR. Nations from Africa and the Third World have reported that the U.S. has used threats, intimidation and bribery in its attempt to block a comprehensive discussion about slavery, particularly the notion that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity and the effort of people of African descent and their allies to have the conference adopt a resolution to that effect. The reason for this resistance is obvious; declaring the slave trade a crime against humanity would bolster the moral and legal claim of Africans in America, the Caribbean and the continent for reparations. Many of the nations of Europe are guilty of initiating and profiting from the enslavement and trafficking in human beings from Africa. The United States of America is also guilty of perpetuating and profiting from the slave trade and slavery. Much of the economic foundation and the wealth of Europe and America was constructed off the free labor of Africans in the most horrific Holocaust in human history, the rape and pillage of Africa during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As the late Walter Rodney cogently argues in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, a thriving commercial and industrial revolution and the prosperity of Europe and America was a product of the destruction of Black societies and civilizations in Africa. The free labor of Africans who survived their initial enslavement and the "dread middle passage" fueled the prosperity of Europe and America. The nations of Europe and America do not want to discuss the slave trade as a crime against humanity because the blood of our ancestors is on their hands. They are guilty of fostering and profiting from a criminal enterprise - an enterprise that continued and continues in various forms and manifestations - colonialism, neo-colonialism, domestic colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination and oppression - into the 21st century. America and the nations of Europe, the criminals have waged an unrelenting campaign to prevent a formal discussion of slavery at WCAR because there is a growing groundswell among the victims for reparations to repair the damages of centuries of degradation, exploitation, expropriation, oppression and genocide. The game is up, the bill has come due. The United States government and those who fostered and profited from the enslavement and trafficking of Africans can no longer deny or escape their responsibility. No matter what the formal agenda, the Holocaust of enslavement and the trans-Atlantic slave trade will be the major issue at WCAR. No matter what the formal resolutions or outcome of the conference, the sons and daughters of Africa and our allies have already won by educating millions of people about the role of the nations of Europe and the United States in fostering, promulgating and profiting from the destructions of societies and human beings in Africa and other parts of the world. The masses of the disinherited and dispossessed of the world are on the move, mounting an irreversible demand that the criminals be held responsible and accountable for their deeds. The tide of history is decisively turning in favor of the oppressed. No matter the outcome of WCAR there can be no turning back. There will be no peace without justice and no reconciliation without reparations. The perpetrators of the crime must make restitution for their deeds. The hypocrites and cowards must confess, apologize and pay up! Copyright (c) 2001 Ron Daniels. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRC-NEWS: Black Radical Congress - General News Articles/Reports Subscribe: | BRC | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-09.09.01-09:22:29-17642