a good base of operations? more and more i am starting to think so. i believe that black people in america, all america's, should look towards setting up a strong base of operations in africa. marcus garvey's movement was the most successfull in numbers and the most promising for affecting real change in the african condition. solidarity.

yuck. thinking of that, what if we are psychically diseased? what if the poisons we've picked up whilst struggling to survive in this land have left us tainted like a radioactive mutant toad? what if in returning we poison the land with our 'western' me culture?

in saying that, it seems that is happening anyway, the way you have mentioned the clubs and 'hip hop' culture as being detrimental to the mindstate of native africans in the same way it's being used to subjugate us on this side. the difference is you have a buffer of african culture and a solid connection to the land that isn't so easilly eroded by a foul media wind.

the clincher would be numbers. is afro american (yuck) culture worth holding on to? will we be able to become something new? and what will it cost the environment?

liberia.

i think what happened in liberia was compounded by foreign financial interest. disputes which should have been settled by diplomacy and actual understanding were blown out of proportion by the third party of foreign cash and influence. if we could minimise that kind of situation we could come up with a better outcome than the usual petty bourgeois corrupt political dictator despot civil war destabilization free market siphoning of resources from the local ecology and economy situation. i vote we remain mindfull and vigilant to such an incursion. the kind that historically and currently exists throughout the african diaspora.

nigeria.

would you suggest ghanna over nigeria as a base of operations for repatriating africans from america?

egypt/ethiopia/kenya.

whilst there is a lot of history here, it is mainly that the accomplishments and influence of this region on europe that makes it an issue to africans in latin (north and south america/europe) speaking countries, even though the bulk of us come from west africa! i do not denigrate the achievements of the ethiopian army after world war two in the african liberation movement, however i think that gaining a greater knowledge of the history and achievement of west africans and central africans outside of areas of contact with europeans is paramount. we need to thoroughly dispel any and all myths around african cultural inferiority. so when we get there we don't think ourselves more 'civilized' or worthy of making decisions than our brothers and sisters on the continent...

starting to slip into my rhetoric, sorry. please have a good time and post pictures!

how do you think we can address the 'hip hop' invasion and it's culturally subversive doctrine?

do you think that the weight of local hip hop/music, the fact that it still has it's african soul intact will be enough to turn the tide? do you think that we could create/expand an african music industry that remains intact and in african hands, so it can't be subverted by external interests to the tune of the american music industry? how do you think we can achieve that aim?

i am planning a trip back to africa. i can only really afford it as part of a musical tour or some sort of documentary project.

have you heard of daara j? that's what i mean by africans positively influencing the industry and the artists over here. zapp mama etc.

thanks for the club list!

i have so many questions. most can only be answered when i get there myself. in the meanwhile to satisfy my souls desire to go forward to africa, for the unification of black people around the world, for an end to tribal war, and for something solid to come out of our 400 years of suffering, i will keep researching. it inspires me every time i hear of someone going forward home. thanks.

ok!