VISION
MISSION
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL AFRIKAN CONGRESS?
BACKGROUND TO THE GAC
THE FOUNDATION OF THE GAC'S VISION
THE STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES OF GAC'S VISION STATEMENT
GAC'S STRATEGY FOR ACHIEVING THE VISION
GAC'S STEPS FOR ACHIEVING THE VISION
GAC'S RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BLACK ORGANIZATIONS
VISION:
Back to top
That Afrikans and the Descendants of Afrikans in the Diaspora
will work together in unity to achieve the reparation of
our people, wherever they reside, and The Continent of Afrika.
MISSION:
Back to top
That the GAC will be a central catalytic agent in establishing
a mass movement dedicated to achieving unity among Afrikans,
on the Continent and In the Diaspora.
WHAT IS THE GLOBAL AFRIKAN CONGRESS?
Back to top
The Global Afrikan Congress (GAC) is an international non-governmental
organization network that was created by and caters to all
Afrikans and Afrikan Descendants both on the Afrikan Continent
and in the Diaspora.
The GAC organizes from the bottom up, emphasising the need
for local and international grassroots involvement. Focusing
on openness, democracy, self-determination, economic independence
and control of our communities, this network offers an opportunity
for local and international community solidarity, cooperation,
and empowerment.
The GAC seeks to be a venue that allows organizations from
different locations to work together toward common objectives.
The GAC values and respects diversity within the Afrikan
family from all geographical regions and aims to put an
end to the dislocation and disorganization of the Afrikan
and Afrikan Descendants communities caused by colonial and
neo-colonial domination.
BACKGROUND TO THE GAC:
Back to top
The GAC was created at the historic Afrikans and Afrikan
Descendants World Conference Against Racism (AAD WCAR) held
in Bridgetown, Barbados (2002). The Global Afrikan Congress
is dedicated to the ongoing Reparations struggle. The immediate
priorities, strategies and recommendations on how to address
the specific social, economic and political problems were
addressed and are contained in our premier document, the
Bridgetown Protocol.
This organization presently works with other partnering
Black communities for the benefit of the global Afrikan
community. The goal of this organization and its partners
if the compensation for the enslavement and inhuman treatment
of Afrikans and their descendants, and other less obvious
effects of colonial domination and its attendant racism.
Chattel slavery, the enslavement and torture of Afrikans
and their children is, always was, and always will be a
Crime Against Humanity. This event is indeed the worst crime
in all of human history.
We believe, Reparations (compensation) is a necessary first
step in repairing and healing the appalling damage done
to Afrika and her descendants by European powers (including
Canada and the United States of America).
THE FOUNDATION OF THE GAC'S VISION:
Back to top
The enslavement of countless Afrikans (Black people) was
the most heinous crime in history. It was a crime whose
effects destroyed the lives of enslaved Afrikans and continue
to affect their descendants today, i.e. racial profiling,
police brutality, lynching.
Slavery stripped Afrikans of their culture by erasing the
Afrikan memory and breaking the links to Afrikan cultures.
This was the worst dimension of slavery. The cultures that
suffered genocides of the twentieth century e.g. Armenians,
Cambodians, Jews - were able to keep their cultural memories
intact and use them to regenerate their societies by building
on their traditions.
The perpetrators of the enslavement of Afrikans appear to
have been given a free ride. The guilt of the slaveowners
has never been called to account. This guilt remains unadmitted
and unatoned. Over the centuries slaveowners and their families
have worked to hide the evidence of their crime and refuse
to pay their debt to the enslaved and their descendants.
Massive wealth was gained by the brutal exploitation of
the enslaved Afrikan. This wealth continues to be enjoyed
by the descendants of the slave-owners. At the same time,
enslaved Afrikans lived in poverty- the same poverty enslaved
descendants live in today. Today, Afrikans and their descendants
are victims of the structures of systemic inequality and
discrimination that deny Afrikans equal access to jobs,
positions of power and influence (promotion practices),
education, proper housing, and equality under the justice
system.
This history calls for an awareness and duty to guard against
Black/African oppression in whatever shape or form. It has
also demonstrated the need for Afrikans to demand the redistribution
of the world's resources. There is no good reason why Afrika,
which is one of the richest continents in the world, should
be the poorest.
The Global Afrikan Congress is dedicated to a just redistribution
of the world's resources and to combating the threat of
continued oppression. A fundamental element of the GAC strategy
is to force former slave-owners and beneficiaries (states,
corporations, individuals and their descendants) to acknowledge
and compensate for the crimes their ancestors and descendants
committed, and continue to commit against our people.
We believe reparations must be made for the wrongs done
to our ancestors and to us - psychologically, emotionally,
physically, culturally, economically and socially.
THE STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES OF GAC'S VISION STATEMENT:
Back to top
Among the core objectives of the Global Afrikan Congress is to function as first and foremost an umbrella organization, a collective of membership organizations and individuals that act as:
• A provider of expert technical and professional expertise, advice, resources and support;
• A global strong and forceful voice for Afrikan people world-wide, advocating justice for all victims of crimes against humanity;
• A solid source of research capability;
• A strong voice for Reparations: the payment of long-owned compensation for crimes against humanity;
GAC'S STRATEGY FOR ACHIEVING THE VISION:
Back to top
One of the basic principles of GAC's strategy is that those states and surviving corporate interests that were responsible for slavery must acknowledge their wrong doings and make restitution, with the form and amount of restitution being acceptable to the affected Black Community.
Using communication, planning and joint action, key elements
of the GAC-Black community strategy are to:
(i) Adopt a United Approach - African/Black organizations,
academics, professionals, politicians, clergy, activists
and individuals must unite as a force dedicated to Restoring
the Dignity of Black People.
(ii) Widen the Dialogue - Communities, Nations,
Regions, must share experiences, ideas, initiatives, etc
about Restoring the Dignity of Black People.
(iii) Create an Action Agenda - Incorporate local,
regional and international/global initiatives focused
on Restoring the Dignity of Black People.
Priority: Create a co-ordinated set of
actions to elicit the apology for the enslavement of Africans
and establish the basis for a reparations claim.
(iv) Identify Sources of Funding - Use a multi-level
approach to get funding from different sources e.g. community,
government, corporate, individuals.
GAC'S STEPS FOR ACHIEVING THE VISION:
Back to top
Using a united approach, the GAC & participating organizations
will:
• Work for the complete compensation
(restitution) and recognition by the international community
of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, slavery, colonialism,
and on-going atrocities as crimes against humanity.
• Demand Reparations for the long
overdue compensation for the exploitation of Afrikans
and Afrikan Descendants, that derived from the economic
basis of racism. This restitution for Afrikans and Afrikan
Descendants as essential to ending the inequality derived
from the slave trade, slavery and colonialism.
• Lobby for the adaptation of national
public policies that correct institutionalised forms of
racism with emphasis on education, health-care and environmental
racism.
• Call for the adaptation of culture-specific
development polices, to initiate a fundamental social
and political cultural renaissance among Afrikans and
Afrikan Descendants, for the restoration our cultural,
social and political integrity.
• Adopt, advocate and support mechanisms
to combat the interconnection of race, poverty and the
effect that globalization (government and private sector)
has on this interconnection.
• Advocate for law practices and
mechanisms to combat racism in the justice, legal, correctional
and penal systems and seek to implement laws that will
respect the dignity, rights and culture of Afrikans and
Afrikan Descendants.
• Adopt, and advocate and support
policies specific to Afrikan and Afrikan Descendant women
that recognize and address the intersection of race and
gender.
• A global strong and forceful voice for Afrikan
people world-wide, advocating justice for all victims
of crimes against humanity;
• Work for the full recognition
of, and respect for, all Afrikan and Afrikan Descendant
Rastafari and other underrepresented and marginalized
spiritual/religious communities for their contribution
to the struggle for liberation.
• Call upon Afrikan states to
ratify the Bridgetown Protocol and establish the Afrikan
Court on Human and People's Rights.
• Equally call on all states to
commit themselves to the Statutes of the International
Criminal Court.
• Call upon all Afrikan states,
and all governments in countries with Afrikan and Afrikan
Descendants communities, to adopt policies addressing
the plight of, and promoting justice for all Afrikans
and Afrikan Descendants, especially political and war
refugees, internationally displaced persons, stateless
persons, migrant workers, people living with HIV/AIDS
and other disabilities, victims of xenophobia and related
intolerances based on language, religion, national and
ethnicity, and skin complexion.
• Include youth to develop policies
and implement programs designed to afford our youth full
inclusion in the fabric of our societies, i.e. rite of
passage, mentoring and apprentice schemes.
GAC'S RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BLACK ORGANIZATIONS:
Back to top
The Global Afrikan Congress is an international umbrella organization.
