December 28th, 2018

This week’s topic:
“DON’T WE NEED A PAN-AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE WITH MORE BLACK PEOPLE DEVELOPING PARTNERSHIPS IN AFRICA?”
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     My wife and I have watched numerous times “Blacks Without Borders.”  It is available on YouTube for any who have not seen this inspiring journey of repatriation.  The documentary focuses on several African Americans who go back to Africa – in this case South Africa – and establish thriving businesses there, join in with the local communities, cultivate active social lives, and build beautiful homes that rival any in the West and at incredibly affordable prices. The documentary warms your heart and is a clarion call for people throughout the Diaspora to consider coming back home psychologically, economically, and physically.    
     We feel the call and have made several trips back to the Motherland.  What I am writing to you now, however, is not so much a call for repatriation as it is a report on what we have seen firsthand. 
     On our recent trip a little further to the north than our friends in South Africa, we traveled to Botswana, one of the economically most sound nations in Africa, staying at the Grand Palm Hotel in the Capitol City, Gaborone.  Next door to the hotel was the Gaborone International Convention Center, which we strolled over to one evening just to take a look at the facility.  The reception area was full of people.  There must have been 200 or more there, men, women, and children.  What was most striking was that they were not of the country or even of the continent.  They were Chinese. 
    Back in the hotel dinning room we could not help but also notice the large number of Chinese present, families with children in toe and obviously planning for the long term.  It is safe to say that a good one-in-four of the guests at the hotel were from China. 
     The next day we went to the University of Botswana where I had a scheduled meeting with a few of its academic leaders.  One could not help but notice the many new buildings going up on campus, such as the new Confucius Center.  There were several other major buildings thanks to the contributions of the Chinese.  It was also fascinating to learn that the most widely taught language at UB was Mandarin Chinese.
     In West Africa, in Ghana, where we have been numerous times, one of the biggest construction programs occurring was the building of a massive damn, complements of China.  The project ended up garnering tremendous criticism from the local Ghanaians because of China’s insistence on bringing in and employing Chinese workers to build the damn rather than hiring indigenous Ghanaian laborers. “When the Chinese come to Africa, most of the projects are Chinese-built with Chinese labor and materials,” laments Kwasi Prempeh, Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development.
     Don’t get me wrong.  I am not pointing this out to criticize China’s interest in Africa.  I am simply noting that from a personal perspective, we can confirm that the Chinese presence in Africa is real and growing.  Neither am I saying that this is necessarily bad or good.  What I am saying is that – it is a fact to which we can bear witness.    
     The salient question is:  Where is the American presence in Africa?  We know that it is here and there, especially with some key military bases and the harvesting of pockets of the continent’s valuable natural resources.  There are small contingents of black repatriates in South Africa, West Africa, and a scattering in East Africa as well.
     At one level, the paucity of an American national presence throughout the continent -- in comparison to the increasing Chinese dominance on the ground – might be more good than bad, especially given the despicable nature of the Trump Administration and a President of the United States who characterizes the nations of Africa as “…. hole” countries. 
     The above having been said, the question is: 
       Should people of African descent around the world sit by and watch as their Motherland continues in the present direction or become active players in Africa’s future in the new millennium?   What should we do?  How should we do it?  What are your thoughts and suggested course(s) of action?
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