Transition and Trajectories in Pan African Development

This Congress pressed for decolonization of Africa and first enunciated the vision of a liberated and united global Africa, closely linked with the diaspora. The landmark World Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa in August/ September 2001; the observance by the United Nations of the Bicentennial of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Trade in captive Africans in 2007; and the Global African Diaspora Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa in May 2012 should also be recalled as important historical markers.

We stand on the shoulders of many great Pan-Africanists whose vision and philosophy continue to guide our path to selfdetermination, such as Marcus Mosiah Garvey, National Hero of Jamaica, who articulated a vision for a new world, where all people of African origin are united, economically self-sufficient, and proud of their race.

Important Pan-African thought leaders include CLR James, Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta, Aime Cesaire, George Padmore, Henry Sylvester- Williams and Dudley Thompson.

I must also recognise the tireless efforts of former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Mr. P. J. Patterson through the Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy at The University of the West Indies, Mona, and Dr. Ralph Henry, Chairman of the Pan African Enterprise Research Council.

There is still much work to be done. More than half a century after formal independence, it is evident that Africa and its diaspora, including of course in the Caribbean, have yet to enjoy full political, economic, social, cultural and environmental freedom and sovereignty.

In 2013, two years ahead of the start of the International Decade for People of African Descent, at a meeting in Trinidad and Tobago, Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community unanimously resolved to pursue reparations for Native Genocide and Slavery from Europe on behalf of the people of the region. This led to the establishment of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, constituted by the membership of Chairpersons from national committees in 12 Member States, which has recently been expanded to include several civil society organisations.

This CARICOM initiative is building on long standing civil society activism by Pan-Africanists who have called for reparations for the crippling legacy of genocide against the first peoples of the region and centuries of enslavement and colonialism, with the attendant de-humanizing ideology of racism that continues to affect African people. This protracted period of exploitation is at the core of the contemporary reality of marginalization and persistent poverty which is highest among people of indigenous and African descent.

Systemic inequality and racism have more recently been starkly manifested in the devastating socioeconomic impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic, which has compounded long standing inequities in access to decent employment, education, health care, housing, other social services and importantly – to justice.

Continued on the website at www.nycaribnews.com