With the thousands of organizations that exist in the African Diaspora, many of which claim to represent the “voice” of African People worldwide, it should come as no surprise that real unity among people of African descent has been hard to come by. One of the great paradoxes of our struggle is the fact that there are so many activists, organizers and would-be leaders who all claim that we must be united as a people, but who have never even met each other, much less sat down at the table with each other to discuss how they can come together and build a true United Front for African Liberation.
When the African Union first made its invitation to the Diaspora to become involved in the formation of the United States of Africa through its Diaspora Initiative, the organization made it clear to the Diaspora that it would not be able to effectively work with so many different organizations that all seek to be the voice of the African Diaspora. Somehow, Africans and African Descendants in the Diaspora would have to find a way to consolidate the multitude of organizations and activists into some sort of manageable body with which the African Union could effectively build while still representing the entire Diaspora. Similar concerns are raised when the United Nations and other would-be global African organizations seek the uplift of Africans and African Descendants.
How can the 500-million-plus Africans and African Descendants in the Diaspora come together and chart a united way forward? Here, we will examine several past and current efforts to bring African People together, based on variations of the philosophy of “Unity Without Uniformity”. We will also discuss instances when organizations have successfully worked together cooperatively to accomplish important successes for African People on the ground.
Pan African Diaspora Union (PADU)
Cooperative Coalitions: the “Spokes of the Wheel” Model
SRDC and Sehwah-Liberia COVID-19 Food Distribution in Liberia
SRDC and Sehwah-Liberia Pan-Afrikan Virtual Summer Camp