Pambazuka News 781: Soweto Uprising, Black Power and African struggles today
30 June 2016
CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Advocacy & campaigns 3. Jobs & announcements
Features
 The Soweto Uprising of June 16, 1976 did not just drop from the sky. The Black students of South Africa did not wake up one day and begin resisting Bantu Education. The uprising was carefully organized and led secretly by leaders of the underground political movement, most of them militants of the banned Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC).  Racism has succeeded not just in making anti-Black violence a part of normal human existence, but it has also succeeded in making Black people numb to their own pain and suffering, and in many instances, made it normal for Black people to become participants in their own oppression.
50th anniversary of the Black Power slogan and its significance  Kwame Ture was initially resistant to raising the slogan but after his unjust arrest took the podium and said "We Want Black Power!" The enthusiastic response would usher in a new era in the African American liberation struggle impacting the political discourse for at least another decade.
 Kenya seems to be hurtling inexorably towards another round of politically instigated violence connected to the 2017 elections. Hate speech is on the rise and there are even reports of groups arming themselves. Polarization is especially deepening between the Luo community on the one hand and the Kikuyu-Kalenjin ethnic alliance that rules Kenya.
Investigate use of excessive force in Western region, Human Rights Watch urges  Police in Kenya seem to have been under instructions to use lethal force against peaceful protesters in the Western region, which is an opposition stronghold. The Government of Kenya should publicly acknowledge and condemn the killings and maiming of unarmed people by members of the security forces and undertake credible investigations to bring the perpetrators to justice.  The racialized and queer groups that are interested in creating coalitions to fight police violence should give priority attention to the experiences of racialized and queer folks from the working-class. Homeless individuals, psychiatric survivors, sex workers, youth/young people, individuals in the criminal (in)justice system, and other groups that fall within Fanon's "wretched of the earth" should be at the centre of the organizing work against police violence.
 The famous college, the oldest institution of higher learning in West Africa, is collapsing under the weight of incompetent leadership, poor facilities and lack of capacity. Only urgent, thoughtful intervention can save Fourah Bay College from imminent death.
 Beyond the propping up of tyrannical leaders that have subjected their populations to widespread, systematic, pervasive human rights violations, the West's longstanding infatuation with Ethiopian autocrats is extremely problematic because it has encouraged Ethiopia's bellicosity and aggression towards its neighbours.
 When the purported leaders of two neighboring countries cannot even talk in a civil, well-mannered, courteous, respectful and thoughtful manner, is there any hope?
 Last week the South African Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin confirmed that foreign corporations are milking the economy, drawing away profits far faster than they are reinvested or than local firms bring home offsetting profits from abroad. Can anything be done to stop the hemorrhaging?
 Elections for the AU Commission should pass the same rigorous test and uphold the principles that the continental body requires from Member States. Intensive election competition, emanating from a genuine commitment to the Pan-African agenda and with a vision to provide better leadership, would signify marked differences from the past and would result in a more effective and efficient AU.
 The former Vice President is seeking election as Chair of the African Union Commission at next month's summit in Kigali. Her excellent academic and leadership credentials surpass by far those of her two male rivals, Dr. Venson-Moitoi Pelonomi and Mokuy Agapito Mba, foreign affairs ministers of Botswana and Equatorial Guinea, respectively.  African cultures contain elements that may enhance or undermine democracy and development. Because cultures change over time, it is up to Africans to critically examine their own beliefs and practices to see how best they can use these to advance the interests of their people.
 In his new book, South African academic Ndangwa Noyoo contends that Africans can longer continue to attribute their underdevelopment to the machinations of Europeans and other foreigners. Africans themselves are to blame for their own failings. An excerpt.
Advocacy & campaigns
 IS THERE NO JUSTICE FOR MURDER, EVEN AFTER 36 YEARS? COMMISSION REPORT ISSUED ON ASSASSINATION OF DR. WALTER RODNEY. HOWEVER, THE GUYANA GOVERNMENT HAS REFUSED TO MAKE THE REPORT PUBLIC OR ACT ON THE COI RECOMMENDATIONS.
Jobs & announcements
Johannesburg, Permanent $66,580 USD per annum  The Southern Africa Regional Office (SARO) of Amnesty International, is seeking a highly capable, experienced driven and team-oriented person to the role of Researcher covering Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Namibia, focussed on the critical human rights themes that are critical to delivery Amnesty International human rights strategy.
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