The following is a letter from www.ifacouncil.com/maafa. Obviously this organization is not aware of our activities in the San Francisco Bay Area, or maybe they are and are just disconnected. I have printed the letter here because the dates are to be noted and certainly we should remember our ancestors all the time and expecially on significant historic dates whether there is a program or not, whether one is going to Ghana this spring or not.
In the San Francisco Bay Area we have hosted Emancipation Day Celebrations on January 1 in conjunction with the Kwanzaa celebration of Imani or Faith. We have also hosted celebrations of African Love in March. All the events including the Black Holocaust or Maafa Ritual in October, this year October 7 at sunrise, are associated with Lest We Forget, the philosophical intent behind all we do organizationally to keep alive historic and contemporary African Diaspora memory.
Maafa San Francisco Bay Area is grounded philosophically in the work of scholar Dr. John Hendrick Clark. Visit http://www.africawithin.com/clarke/part30f10.htm.
Peace and Blessings,
Wanda Sabir
Co-founder and CEO
Maafa San Francisco Bay Area
From: Kori Awoyinfa Ifaloju, Executive / Coordinator At-Large, International Council for Ifa Religion
Where were you on August 23rd, 2004? Do you remember? did the day just pass like any other, what did you do? I say this since it is very sad since we all have seemingly missed a prior very important historical victory of our ancestors and which was not celebrated in a grand fashion (nor has ever been celebrated) with the pageantry that it deserved, which was the bicentenary 200th year of the establishment of the first independent African State now known as Haiti back in Aug 23rd, 2004.
The question is why we missed this important date, even thought the United Nations asked all nations around the world to commemorate this day and even declared it “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition” and the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2004 “International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition”
These dates are symbolic to the African enslaved peoples revolt led by Mr. Toussaint L’Ouverture on the island of Saint Domingue (Haiti) in 1791 which lasted until 1804 and created the first independent African State which had Mr. L’Ouverture and his supporters defeat Napoleon’s army, which at that time in the late 1700’s was among the most highly regarded military powers on the earth, speculations was the support of the various deities (Orisa/Loa) noteworthy Ogun, Sango and Esu Legba that the Haitians sought assistance.
So once again how did we miss this important date? and opportunity to acknowledge and praise our ancestors who shed blood to allow us the positions we have today. I will tell you, it was not well known and no one came and put it in front of us, nor should they, if we as a people fail to recognize and search out ourselves and our own victories, we can not fault another race for not presenting our own historical facts, dates and data.
The Gov’t here has more important things to do, but concern itself with something it wishes people will forget and more so a historical date that was a slap in the face to the European colonizers and all oppressors including the US Gov’t.
Matter of fact, to date, no country other then France has formally acknowledged wrong doing in trading in African’s as slave labour, yet to speak of the US govt. So, the Haitian revolution does not have anything to do with the USA nor should the US Gov’t find the need to uphold the 2004 UN declaration as it had no affect on US soil, and remained a African / Haitian anniversary.
But, wait a moment, perhaps it does, considering this for a moment when the French colonizers had control over Saint Domingue (Haiti) and at the same time the French portion of Canada – Quebec, they often times exchanged cargo and “property’ between these places and one very important massive land holding for the French settlers at that time that was a very important trading & strategic place for France was lower Louisiana, a French settlement and stop over place for ship cargo & property from Saint Domingue, St Marteen, Guadulope and others into mainland North America, then transport by land north all the way to Montreal, Qc Canada.
Unquestionable and likely, as need be, “cargo” and “property” would have been exchanged or sold as needed in all places in between which included human “property”.
Maybe the US Gov’t had forgotten or choose to forget that the Haitian revolution also had a political impact on “trade” in US mainland and may have contributed to the reason why France sold its settlement – Louisiana to USA (which is part of the reason USA is called the United States of America, with the other acquisitions from Spain, namely California, Texas and Florida among others “states”)
So I have said all this to point out, we missed a date, because no one told us and we failed to inform ourselves properly and show our freedom fighting ancestors, those male and female warriors who had managed to defeat Napoleon’s army revolting in a bloody war. That to this date the “developed” world is still holding a grudge against Haiti for the arrogance of being the first to successfully rebel and defeat the then lead military strategist (France) over the course of a 13 year long war.
What will we do differently? do we have another chance to commemorate another important marker in our struggle and perpetual liberation? This year we have that chance, as this March 25th, 2007 marks the 200th year since the British Gov’t signed the declaration in 1807 making it illegal to transport African’s to the New World and abolished the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, making it illegal for all nations to transport African’s from any point in Africa to the America’s, were patrolling the Atlantic ocean, at the same time UK established FREETOWN Sierra Leone and conducted surveillance of the Atlantic ocean by British Naval ships, since at the time Britain was a Naval power known worldwide.
This shocked the European world and all those dealing with enslaved African’s (USA) which caused great economic hardship (since the price for enslaved people went much higher suddenly), so countries like France, Spain & Portugal had illegal slave trade (to keep up with demand for slave labour) and once the British ship caught a ship carrying “contraband” sometimes the illegal smugglers would push these Enslaved African’s over board to avoid getting arrested by the British (this happened many times and those numbers of who were lost will never be known, this was also part of the story we saw in movie Amistad, and the illegal slave raiders transporting Africans over the Atlantic, yet claiming they were coming from Cuba – since at that time still legal, the US honoured the British treaty but this did not preclude African’s enslaved within the US nor those within the Caribbean from moving back and forth to the US, but only those leaving the west coast of Africa and coming to the New World via the Atlantic, were included in the UK declaration), essentially this upcoming event is what makes the movie Amistad relevant and help people to understand the story.
Those ships that were crossing the Atlantic and were caught by the British were redirected to Freetown, Sierra Leone and the British had “devised” yet another way to enrich themselves at the expense of our people, by making these “newly freed” African’s as “indentured servants” to the British Royalty for “freeing” them, and had to work off that debt for the course of approx. 7 years in either Sierra Leone or the British colonies of Barbados, Guyana or Jamaica.
Now it is important to note that Jamaica was the first place to remind and impress upon the UN last year, to declare 2007 as the year to mark The 200th year – International Day for the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade” signed on March 25th 1807 by the British Parliament, it is also important to note that USA under the presidency of Jefferson knowing the concerns from the northern states who were also aligned with the movement in Britain, signed the bill on March 3rd 1807 to take effect on beginning Jan 1st 1808, so another date worthy of celebration is the signing and the official cease date on Jan 1st 2008 will mark 200 years the US ceased exporting African’s as enslaved people, we ought to recognize.
Britain was the country that first started dealing in transporting African’s as slave labour and others countries saw the benefits and quickly followed suit in the name of enriching themselves, causing this horrific chain of events.
So when Britain stopped March 25th, it was the first important marker in what has shaped history and made this horrific institution of legalized transport of enslaved people to begin to grind to a slow halt, still slavery lasted approx. 80 more years before official end in the New World (Brazil was last in 1888).
Again this British circa 1807 declaration did not end slavery nor indentured servitude in British colonies of the Caribbean & Canada nor did it affect the slavery within South America, the Caribbean islands, and the slavery within USA and trade between / within USA, again often times as contraband, but totally legal, so ensure you know your dates and don’t get mixed up. These events DID however slow the exportation and make it illegal to continue to enslave people from Africa, it was the beginnings to slow and cease the slave trade and eventually slavery.
So it is important to mention that this important date March 25th has impact in our own back yard, as it also shaped the reality on ground within the USA, stopping the massive exodus of more African’s from going through the dreaded Middle Passage and arriving to work as slave labour and adding more to our people here still enslaved, before emancipation.
This is a very important marker and one we can not forgo as we as adults will not have an opportunity to be here at the next marker – the 300th year and may not be here for the other important dates of emancipation which ranged in the mid 1800’s to late 1800’s depending on the country, so we stand to wait 60-80 years until the next big commemorative date of 200 years of emancipation.
The prior dates we may not have had the opportunity nor realization that the first 100 year marker of emancipation had passed some 40+ years ago and 100 years ago for this specific date of this British declaration.What have you done within your lifetime to commemorate the efforts of those that came before you on a large scale like we are proposing?
The British Federal Gov’t plans to fund national events with 20 million British pounds (approx $40 million US dollars) for events and activities with the main event at the national memorial service outside of London, UK. The Jamaican Gov’t is already into its year of commemoration that began Jan 2nd 2007 and will run until Jan 25, 2008 and their theme: Our Freedom Journey….Honouring our Ancestors.
I am calling on any interested person and group to help us – Ifa Council – Maafa Project to generate a theme and ideas to commemorate this important bicentenary with several major activities in honouring the sacrifice of our ancestors, which we plan to begin on March 3rd with offerings and prayer at the African Ancestral Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan NYC. We will have formed a committee to plan other activities and welcome your suggestions.
We at the Ifa Council – Maafa Project, have established an email to accept your commentary, email us at: maafa@ifacouncil.com and check our website often for updates www.IfaCouncil.com/maafa
Call for committee action team to help coordinate and facilitate the Ifa Council – Maafa Project USA
We are calling on the supporters and believers of Ifa Religious Philosophy to lend your support and assistance in helping to plan this event, we need 10 core team planners and 30 auxiliary planners to make this commemorative ceremony a reality and an inclusive effort.
We plan to host several events, in key locations throughout the USA with first one March 25th. This will be a combined effort of Ifa Priest and Egungun Priest to officiate the ceremonies with libation and offerings, we also call for the inclusion of the representative elders from the other Orisa groups to support and lend assistance during the opening ceremony and libation, noteworthy is Priest of Sango & Oya, I am also asking for support from the other African Traditional systems of the Voudou, Akan and others for support – this is a must.
The 3 key activities I wish to acknowledge our progenitors & their struggles are:
1) Ceremony to those that did not make it through the middle passage (the 8+ weeks on the slave ships when disease, infections, rapes and mass murder were rampant, which had no formal burial rites or anything as yet
2) Memorial event should be used to acknowledge those that did make it to New World, yet either died holding onto and refusing to give up our ancestral ways, or for playing African drums and not hiding the practice of the traditional rites and were massacred for openly practicing our
traditions
3) Then honour those that managed to survive and hold on to the Yoruba & other traditions that was carried to the New World (America’s), by hiding the practices, covering it with what was more acceptable by the slave master / colonizer and by calling it something else, all in order to allow what we believed inside to survive, until another day – today. All these our ancestors need special recognition since it was them that
taught and preserved what they had for all us people today to worship all around the world. We need to appease them on a grand scale, all of them for what they have done and given us – only this is befitting and right, it is our duty as followers of Ifa and other traditional philosophies, what else could we be here for or be more important in life, but to pay homage to those who came before and made it possible for us to BE.
We those that follow Ifa’s Religious Philosophy and other African systems have this as our responsibility to give our efforts and support, to make this years events memorable and serve our progenitors justly and rightly for what they have done for us to be standing where we are today, had it not been, where would we be ?
Remember the Ifa proverb -If we stand tall it is because we stand on the backs of those who came before us …. Odu Ifa Orangun Meji – Hepa Odu
I will not apologize for the length of this email and salute those who saw it necessary to read until the end, nothing less do our ancestors deserve, but our time and effort as indication of appreciation for the centuries they worked for us to be here in this time and this place, to hopefully make a profound difference and allow their voice to be heard.
May our progenitors bless our efforts and allow this to be the impetus that will propel our people progressively forward and may many of our great ancestors start to return to this plane through our children to make us proud as parents and for the betterment of our people over all.
Ase O
Ela Moyin’Boru
Ela Moyin’Boye
Ela Moyin Abosise
Irunmole a gbe wa (divinities of this earth, bless and protect us, those who appease you) TO !
Expecting to hear from you,
Awo Kori Ifaloju
Kori Awoyinfa Ifaloju
Executive / Coordinator At-Large
International Council for Ifa Religion
Awoyinfa@IfaCouncil.com
www.IfaCouncil.com