We are confronted with the Africa that doesn’t tell her own story, we have the Africa whose story is told by Europe and America, the CNN, Global Radio Dutchville, CBC, Radio France, etc.

 

Kombii Nanjalah

Black History Month and our African Heritage Event 2021

Four organizations coming together to unite with purpose.

DECADE FOR PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT

 IJzeren voetring voor gevangenen transparent background.png  Strength to celebrate the SCARS during our annual Mashujaa Achievement Celebrations making the African Heritage Month every February
The issue of slavery was historically treated with concern by the Catholic Church, throughout most of human history; slavery has been practiced and accepted by many cultures and religions around the world. Certain passages in the Old Testament sanctioned forms of slavery, this was not an endorsement of slavery, but an appeal to Christian slaves to honor their masters and accept their suffering for Christ’s sake, in imitation of him, in proclaiming baptism for all, the Church recognized that all men were fundamentally equal.    After the legalization of Christianity under the Roman Empire, there was a growing sentiment that many kinds of slavery were not compatible with Christian conceptions of charity and justice; some argued against all forms of slavery while others, including the influential , argued the case for penal slavery subject to certain restrictions. The Christian west did succeed in almost entirely enforcing that a free Christian could not be enslaved, for example when a captive in war, but this itself was subject to continual improvement and was not consistently applied throughout history. The middle Ages also witnessed the emergence of groups like the Mercedarians, who were founded for the goal of freeing Christian slaves.  Although some Catholic clergy, religious orders and Popes owned slaves, and the naval galleys of the Papal States were to use captured Muslim galley slaves, Roman Catholic teaching began to turn more strongly against “unjust” forms of slavery in general, beginning in 1435, prohibiting the enslavement of the recently baptized, culminating in condemnation of the enslavement of indigenous peoples by Pope Paul III in 1537. However, when the Age of Discovery greatly increased the number of slaves owned by Christians, the response of the clergy, under strong political pressures, was confused and ineffective in preventing the establishment of slave societies in the colonies of Catholic countries. Earlier Papal bulls such as Pope Nicholas V’s 1452 Dum Diversas, or Romanus Pontifex from 1454, permitted the “perpetual servitude” of Saracens and pagans in Africa, were used to justify enslavement of natives and the appropriation of their lands during this era. The depopulation of the Americas, and consequently the shortage of slaves, brought about by diseases brought over by the Europeans as well as slaughter of the native populations, inspired increasing debate during the 16th century over the morality of slavery. The first extensive shipment of black Africans to make good the shortage of native slaves, what would later become known as the Transatlantic slave trade, was initiated at the request of Bishop Las Casas and authorized by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1517.   Las Casas later rejected all forms of unjust slavery and became famous as the great protector of Indian rights. No Papal condemnation of Transatlantic slave trade was made at the time. La Casas in 1547 declared that the Spanish never waged a just war against the Indians since they did not have a just cause for doing so. 

Promote respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by people of African Descent, as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At Great Lakes, we empower the "Boy Child" (Male) If we are striving for a gender-equitable society, a sole focus on women is not enough; we must also empower men, of course, not in the conventional sense by giving men more power over women and over other men. Rather, by empowering men to challenge the prevailing social norms that lead to gender imbalances and by giving them the space to adopt new roles and behaviors as men At Great Lakes Society, the Male Empowerment is not the same as power over someone or something. Instead, empowerment to us stands for Male's self-awareness, self-esteem, integrity, and the ability to uplift others.

Promote respect, protection and fulfillment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by people of African Descent, as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies;

Adopt and strengthen national, regional and international legal frameworks according to the  Durban Declaration and Programme of Action  and the  International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination  and to ensure their full and effective implementation. Prime Minister of Canada during the World Day 2021/01/24
https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2021/01/24/statement-prime-minister-world-day-african-and-afrodescendant-culture

LYRICS

Ah eh Nakomitunaka x2 (Ah eh I keep asking myself)  Nzambe oh Nakomitunaka oh x2 (God I’m asking myself) Poso moyindo ewuta wapi oh x2 ? (Where does a black skin come from?) Moto moyindo a wuta wapi oh x2? (Where does a black person come from?) Poso moyindo ewuta nde wapi oh? x2 (Where does the black skin come from?) Koko na biso ya kala ye Nani eh x2? (Who are our ancestors/grandparents?) Yesu mwana nzambe ye nde modele (Jesus son of God is white) Adamu na Eva bango nde mindele (Adem and Eve are white) Ba santu nionso bango se mindele (All the saints are white) Pona nini oh (Why is that?)

Ah eh Nakomitunaka (Ah eh I keep asking myself)  Nzambe oh Nakomitunaka oh (God I’m asking myself) Nzambe oh Nakomitunaka oh (God I’m asking myself) Ba buku ya nzambe tomonaka boye (All the books of God we see) Ba santu nioso photo se mindele eh (All the saints pictures are white) Ba angelu nionso bango pe mindele (All the angels are white) Soki zabulu photo moto moyindo (But when it’s the devil, it’s a black person) Injustice ewuta wapi oh? (Where does injustice come from?) Ah mama (Ah mama) Ah eh Nakomitunaka (Ah eh I keep asking myself)  Nzambe oh Nakomitunaka oh (God I’m asking myself) Nzambe oh Nakomitunaka oh (God I’m asking myself) Moto moyindo awuta nde wapi oh (Where does a black person come from?) Ba noko ba kanga biso mayele boye (They make us think we are not smart) Bikeko ya ba koko bango ba boyaka (They say no to our ancestors Statues) Kisi ya ba koko bango ba ndimaka te (They don’t believe in our ancestors medicines) Kasi na ndako ya nzambe biso tomonaka (But in Gods house we see) Toko sambelaka chapelet na Maboko (We pray with chaplets in our hands) Toko sambelaka bikeko etondi ndako (We pray with statues all over the house) Kasi bikeko yango se mindele (And all these statues are white) Pona nini nzambe (Why is that oh God?) Ah eh Nakomitunaka (Ah eh I keep asking myself)  Ba prophet ya mindele biso to ndimaka (White prophets we believe in) Kasi ya bato moyindo bango ba ndimaka te But the black people’s, they don’t believe in) Pona nini nzambe osala biso boye? (Why did you make us like this God?) Africa miso efungwami (Africa has opened its eyes) Africa tozonga sima te (African let’s not go backwards) Ah eh Nakomitunaka (Ah eh I keep asking myself)

Where does a black person come from?
All the books of God we see.
All the saints pictures are white. All the angels are white.
Where does injustice come from?
God I'm asking myself.
Where does a black person come from?

President John Magafuli of Tanzania

Our countries are not poor, they are very rich.  We have all the resources to make us rich,”  We must, therefore, work together to ensure that we utilize and exploit these resources for the benefit of our countries and people.

This is important because it is only through cooperation that we will be able to utilize these resources effectively and achieve our objectives.”