IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2010
World African Diaspora Union (WADU)
AU Ambassador Urged the African Diaspora to Act Now
“The time is now for Africa,” declared Her Excellency Madame Amina Salum Ali, Ambassador of the African Union (AU) Permanent Mission to the U.S./Diaspora. “This is the right time for WADU to be in Ethiopia,” she stressed during the World African Diaspora Union (WADU) Pan African Brief on June 21, 2010 to key leaders of the Pan African Movement. The historic meeting at the African Union Office in Washington, D.C was attended by representatives of major Diaspora organizations with long ties to the Pan African Movement and those with considerable interests in working with WADU to forge Africa forward in the 21st century.
The successful Pan African AU/Diaspora Briefing is the first annual meeting planned by WADU with other key organizations to ensure effective communication, coordination and promotion of a Pan African agenda with the African Union leaders. The delegation was led by Dr. Leonard Kweku Jeffries, Vice President of WADU and attended by organizations such as the National Coalition of Black for Reparations in America (NCOBRA), Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA/ACL), African American Unity Caucus (AAUC), December the 12th Movement, All African Peoples Revolutionary Party (AAPRP), the Sullivan Summit, the RHAW Pan African Ministers (PAM), Emancipation Committee (Trinidad), Rastafari Movement, Global African Congress (GAC), Harambee International Development, Association for Study of Classical African Civilizations (ASCAC), Bring Back Black Coalition, and the New Future Foundations, Inc.
During the opening, Minister P.D. Menelik Harris stated that the purpose of the meeting was to expedite Africa’s second liberation for economic empowerment and he reminded the leaders of Kwame Ture’s enduring wisdom for victory, to “strive to be the perfect instrument for African liberation, unification and salvation.” The Pan African Brief was held to build consensus among key Diaspora organizations around the WADU African Diaspora Declaration (ADD) to the African Union; to update the AU ambassador regarding WADU Pan African Diaspora mission to Ethiopia this July 2010; and to promote the WADU Political Council representing diverse Pan African organizations as a strategic instrument for decisive actions on cultural, economic and political issues.
During the meeting, Queen Mother Dorothy Lewis warned of the current land grab in Africa as a stark reminder of our close proximity to colonialism and slavery and the need for Africans to act on the unfinished business for Reparations. Other major issues discussed were: Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakely’s work with the New Future Foundations, Inc. of young entrepreneurs interested in investment opportunities in Africa; the Sullivan Foundation upcoming economic conference in Atlanta; and the December 12th Movement urging continued support for Zimbabwe and Haiti.
After a special meeting on the WADU mission to Ethiopia with some leaders such as Dr. Desta Meghoo, now residing in Ethiopia, Ambassador Madame Ali encouraged WADU to continue building the Diaspora and Africa as one united people, and that the AU office also belongs to the Diaspora. For more information on joining the WADU economic, political and cultural councils or to participate in the 2010 Summit in Ethiopia, please contact us at WADUPAM.ORG or wadupam@aol.com. Also, you can call our office in New York at 718-523-3312 or in Atlanta, Georgia at 404-527-7756.
