Abdul Alkalimat at 1988 London Intnl Black BookFair

SPEECH BY JOHN LA ROSE AT OPENING OF THE 7TH

INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR OF RADICAL . BLACK AND

THIRD I , IORLD BOOKS.

0n behOl f o f t he Organ is ing Commi t tee I w iSh to we lcome you to the 7 th

In te rna t i ona l Book Fa i r o f Rad i ca l B lack and Th i rd Wor l d Books .

Each Book Fa i r , each Book Fa i r Fes t i va l , se ts us on the road o f exp lo ra t ion ,

o f d i scuss ion , o f d ia logue , o f d i scovery , o f the re la t ionsh ips be tween

cu l tu re , soc ia l I i f e , po l i t i cs , sc ience and soc ie ty tha t w i l l b ind us in an

unswerv ing t ie in the s t rugg le fo r change. Each s tage, each mornent o f g loba l

e f fo r t to bu i ld a soc ie ty roo ted in the idea ls o f the French Revo lu t ion o f

1789 , soc ie t ies s t r i v ing genu ine ly fo r L ibe r ty , Equa l i t y and Fra te rn i t y ,

each hercu lean e f fo r t encounters i t s b ru ta l ru th less and uncompromis ing

oppos i te . Today we remember the Sharpev i l le S ix in South Af r i ca and thepeop le o f the N icaraguan Revo lu t ion whose l i ves are th rea tened by the ru th less

in te rvent ion o f the U.S.A. We express f rom th is p la t fo rm our so l idar i t y w i th

the Sharpev i l le S ix , w i th the peop les o f Southern Af r l ca and o f Cent ra l

America who are commit ted to creat ing a better wor ld. Whatevgr the con-

sequence, however long i t takes or the d i f f i cu l ty , the v ic to ry ro f the s t rugg le

fo r wonkers and peop les power i s cer ta in .

We have inv i ted to open th is book fa i r Abdu l A lka l imat , A f r i can Amer ican

academic , i n te l lec tua l , ac t i v i s t w i th whom th is book fa i r has fo rged l i nks

a lmost f rom i ts incept ion . A t th is t ime when Af r i ca6Aner icans a f te r th ree

Iong , hec t i c decades have been s t r i v ing , a t tempt ing , w i th o ther g roup ings ,

to put a more humane stamp on the face of America we welcome him to open this

Book Fa i r .

76 Stroud Green Road Finsbury Park London N4 3EN EnglandTefephone numbers 01-272 4889 01-737 2268 01-579 4920

ADDRESS BY ABDUL ALKALIMAT AT THE

OPENING OF THE 7 th INTERNATIONAL

BOOK FAIR OF RADICAL BLACK AND

THIRD t^ lORLD BOOKS AT THE CAMDEN

CENTRE, LONDON, 17 th MARCH 1988

Th is address i s ded ica ted to the s tuden ts who have g iven the i r l ' i ves

in the democra t i c s t rugg les ' fo r qua l i t y educa t ion , and fo r fundamenta l

soc ia l change in genera l . These s tuden ts can be found in every

coun t ry as s tuden ts a re a lways found among revo lu t ionar ies w i l 1 ing

to g ive the i r l i ves so tha t o thers m igh t bene f i t , so tha t o thers

migh t f i na l l y rea l i ze the fu l l po ten t ia l o f wha t i t i s to be human.

Spec i f i ca l l y , my ded ica t ion i s to :

Sammy Young Jun io r

Samue l Hammond Jun i o r

murdered in Tuskeeg€o , A labama in 1966

De l ano M i dd l e ton

Henry Smi th murdered i n

s tuden ts a t

the 0 rangeburg

South Caro l i na

ma s sac re o f

S ta te in 1968

Bunchy Car te r

John Hugg i ns

Denver Smi th

Leona rd Brown

murdered i n

a t U .C.L .A .

the f igh t fo r

i n 1969

B lack S tud ies

murdered in 1972

i n Ba ton Roug€,

a t Sou thern Un i ve rs i t y

Lou is iana

There a re no monuments to these s tuden ts excep t in the r i tua l i zedmemory o f ou r l j v ing movements . I t i s c ruc ia l to ca l l the names

of those who have fa l len , fo r i n them, we bu i ld s t reng th andcourage ' i n those ye t to march in to ba t t le .

76 Stroud Green Road Finsbury Park London N4 3EN EnglandTelephone numbers 01-272 4889 01-737 2268 01-579 4920

Today t he -you th o f many coun t r i es a re a t t he cu t t i ng edge o f t he

ba t t l e f o r democ racy and soc ia l i sm , f ac i ng t he ru l e r s o f se t t l e r

co lon ' i a f i sm , neoco lon ia l i sm and t he s ta tes o f advanced cap i t a ' l i sm

and deve l op i ng soc ia l i sm as we l I . l . l e see cou rage and commi t tmen t

t ha t shakes t he wo r l d impe r i a l i s t o rde r as we w ' i t ness t he b i r t h o f

a new revo l u t i ona ry gene ra t i on o f you th , a gene ra t i on bap t i sed i n

b lood , nu r t u red i n p r i son ce ' l l s and bu rn ing w i t h t he des i r e t o

rea l ' i ze t ha t un i ve rsa l s l oqan "FREED0M N0 | . l " .

l , l e can see t he you th o f Sou th A f r i ca (Azan ia ) who emerged on t he

scene ' i n t he 1970 ' s i n a new way a f t e r t he Sowe to up r i s ' i ng aga ' i ns t

t he cu l t u ra l ag ress jon o f Ban tu educa t ' i on schemes ; t he A rab and

A f r i can you th i n F rance who cha l I enge rac ' i s t dom i na t ' i on i n t he 1980 ' s

and who beg in t o merge w i t h t he b roade r F rench s tuden ts movemen ts

and con t r i bu te t o t he rad i ca I i za t i on o f t he ' i r cha l I enge t o t he

educa t ' i ona l po ' l i c i es o f t he F rench s ta te ; and mos t r ecen t l y t he

Pa les t i n j an you th who da re t o cha l l enge t he au tho r i t y o f t he

fasc i s t I s rae l i s t a te f r om w ' i t h i n ' i t s dom ' i na t i on o f t he l , r l es t Bank

and Gaza .

I n eve ry soc ie t y , t he you th o f eve ry gene ra t i on a re caugh t be tween

the necess i t y o f abso rb ing f r om the i r e l de rs t he i r soc ' i a l i den t i t y

and sk i l l s t o su rv i ve , and ye t t he i r ve r y su rv i va l o f t en requ i res

the nega t i on o f wha t t he ' i r e l de rs o f f e r . Th ' i s ' i s as t r ue f o r t he

dom ' i na ted and exp lo i t ed peop les as i t i s f o r t he ru l e r s . 0ne can

see a d i a l ec t i ca l t ens ' i on be tween t r ad i t i on and i nnova t i on . S ' i nce

the con t i nuous emerEence o f cap i t a l i sm and j t s h i s t o r i ca l mo t ' i on

based on con t ' i nuous revo l u t j ons i n sc i ence and t echno ' l ogy ,

i nnova t i on i s t he l ead ing aspec t and mus t a lways be so , wh ' i l e t r ad i t i on

i s t he f ounda t i on f o r and t he u l t ima te rese rvo j r f o r change . Th i s' i s an e te rna l d ' i a l ec t .

I n eve ry soc ie t y t h i s d i a l ec t ' i ca l ' i n t e rp l ay be tween i nnova t j on and

t rad i t i on comes i n to sha rp f ocus w i t h i n t he p rocess o f educa t i on .

The you th mus t be educa ted , mus t possess t he know l edge , cu l t u re and

sk i l l s c rea ted by a r l d passed on f r om p rev ious gene ra t ' i ons ( f r om the i r

own soc ie t y and f r om th roughou t t he wo r l d ) . As we l l , t hese you th mus t

no t be ' imp r i soned by t h j s t r ad ' i t i on , bu t a rmed w i t h i t , so t ha t t he ' i r

expe r i ences can be con f ron ted anew enab l i ng t hem to make t he i r

d i s t ' i n c t i ve con t r i bu t ' i on t oo , T0 NEGATE, T0 TRANSF0RM AND T0 AFF IRM. .

For opp ressed peop les and exp lo i t ed c l asses , howeve r , f o rma l educa t i ona l

expe r i ences have , . been a t e r r i b l e t r i c k , a p rocess whe reby t he you th

a re f o r ced t o i n t e rna l i ze t he l anguage , cu l t u re , and an ou t l ook t ha t

ra t ' i ona ' l i zes and I eg i t ima tes t he i r opp ress i on . The re f o re , t he p r i ce

fo r sk i l l s and ogcupa t i ona l s t a tus has o f t en been t he nega t i on o f se l f ,

commun ' i t y and c l ass .

I t has been ou t s i ' de o f schoo l ' i ng t ha t t h i s opp ress i ve educa t i on has

been cha l l enged and t he s ' l ogan ra i sed EDUCATI0N F0R S0CIAL L IBERATI0N .

The two mos t powe : r f u1 f o r ces have been t he t r ad i t i ons and j nnova t i ons

o f popu la r cu l t u re and po l i t i ca l r es i s t ance , espec ' i a l l y when t hese

merge i n t he r i t ua l s , l i f e s t y l e and co l l ec t i ve consc iousness o f r ebe l

you th . Th ' i s has been t he power o f r eggae , no t on l y j n Jama ican

soc ie t y bu t t h roughou t t he wo r l d . P rog ress i ve reggae mus ' i c i ans have

been t he mas te r mus ' i c i ans o f t h i s new revo lu t i ona ry gene ra t i on .

0u r expe r i ences i n B lack s tud ies re f l ec t s an a t t emp t t o b r i ng t he

po f i t i c s and cu l t u re o f ou r movemen t o f r es i s t ance and change i ns i de

o f t he a l i en educa t ' i ona l schoo l s . | . l e adop ted t he s l ogan "ACADEMIC

EXCELLENCE AND S0CIAL RESP0NSIB iL ITY" as a way t o gu ide ou r s t r ugg le

and s tay on cou rse .

Academic exce l l ence ' i s a un i ve rsa l s t anda rd f o r a l I educa t i on , bu t ' i t

i s N0T t he mos t impo r tan t va l ue . Ra the r , t he c r i t j ca l po i n t mus t

f i r s t and a lways be soc ' i a l r espons io i 1 i t y .

To mas te r na tu re one mus t be academica l l y exce l l en t i n t he na tu ra l

sc i ences , ma thema t ' i c s and compu te rs . Howeve r , we f ace eco log i ca l

d i sas te r and nuc l ea r an i h i I a t i on because t he mos t exce l I en t academ ' i c s

se rve t he rea l r u l e r s o f sc i ence and . t echno logy who a re soc ia l l y

IRRESP0NS iBLE j n t he i r r u th l ess p l unde r o f t he wo r l d , t he i r w j l d

and amb i t i ous g reed , and t he ' i r f a ' i l u re t o p repa re a l egacy o f

su rv i va l f o r t he gene ra t i ons ye t unbo rn . So t he rea l cho i ce i s

p ro f i t s and pob ,e r f o r a f ew ve rsus we l I be ing and f r eedom fo r t he

many . The m ind less mer j t oc racy o f cap ' i t a l i sm mus t be cha l l enged

because i t sus ta ' i ns a sys tem o f opp ress i on and dea th . 0u r goa l mus t

be educa t i on based on a democ ra t i c p rocess o f mee t i ng peop les needs

to l ' i ve t oge the r and i n na tu re w i t hou t an tagon i s t i c con t rad i c t i ons .

The g rea

goa 1 f o r

, . t . , . l . , \ :

t A f ro -Amer i can i n te l : l ec tua l , l r { .E . Du rEo i s pu , t ou r educa t i ona l

soc ia l l ' i be ra t i on o f human i t y qu i t ' e c ' l ea r . 1y :

h rh i l e i t was t r ue a t housand ' ye i r s ag t , t ha t human

to i l and ene rgy was unab le t o ' i eed , c l o the and she l t e r a l l

mank ' i nd , t h ' i s has no t been t he case s i nce t he beg inn ing o f

the n jne teen th cen tu ry ; and today , w i th wha& we J<now o f

na tu ra l f o rces ; w i t h t he I an -d . and 1 .4bour a t ou r - d ' i sposa ' l ,

w i th the known techn ' i ques o f . p loce .ss ing ma te r ia ' l and

t ranspor t i ng goods , t he re ' i s no adequa te reason , y ' l hy a s ing le

human be ing on ea r t h shou ld no t haue su f f i c i en t f ood , c l o th i ng

and she ' l t e r f o r hea l t hv I i f e .

To accomp l i sh t h i s i n t he soc ie t ' i e s o f t he wo r l d j

f ac i ng human i t y , Sp€c i f j ca l l y t he l abou r i ng masses

We mus t f ace t h i s cha l I enge i n t h ree ways :

i t he g rea t cha ' l I enge

and the i r a l l i es .

i

1 . The cha l l enge t o be hones t . Th ' i s means f ac i ng U ,p t o t he BARBARISM

o f ou r expe r i ences , ob j ec t ' i ve l y and sys tema t ' i ca11y by u t ' i I i z i ng t he

too l s o f sc i ence , h ' i s t o r j ca l and d i a l ec t ' i ca l ma te r i a l i sm . 0n l y' i n t h i s way can opp ressed : , peop1es and exp lo i t ed c l asses o f any and

a l l . o f t he na t i ons o f t he wo r l d be t r u l y and essen t i a l l y hones t

abou t t he wo r l d and t he i r cond i t i on i n ' i t :

2 . The cha l l enge t o d ream. Th i s means da r i ng t o imag ine a wo r l d f r ee

o f opp ress ion and exp lo i t a t ' i on ( INDEED, i f ou r r u l e r s ge t us t o

d ream o f nuc lea r w in te r su re l y we can coun te r t h ' i s w ' i t h v i s ' i ons

o f a c ' l ass l ess soc ie t y ) . We mus t imag ine a wo r l d i n wh i ch human

I j f e i s sac red above a l l e l se , and exp lo i t a t i on o f human soc ' i a lg roups i s f i na l l y and comp le te l y ended .

3 . The cha l l enge t o w jn . Th i s means t he f i gh t t o o rgan i ze and mob i l i ze

mass res i s t ance , c l ass wa r on a l I l e ve l s t o ach ieve peop les power

and democ ra t i c soc j a l ' i s t soc j e t ' i e s i n wh i ch K ings and Em i r s can ' t

ex ' i s t bu t common peop l e a re empowered as t he j r . own I eaoe rs .

I n sum, i n t e l l ec tua l s , a r t j s t s , and ac t i v i s t s mus t a l l become s tuden ts

o f r evo lu t i on and immerse t hemse l ves i n t h ' i s po l i t i ca l wo rk . 0u rpo l i t i ca l v l o r k mus t be roo ted among t he masses and ca r r i ed ou t on a

p ro fess jona l l eve l . l , Jha t ' i s r equ i red ' i s t ha t ou r f ee t r na rch j n t he

s t rugg l es waged by t he masses , ou r hea r t s t h rob i n empa thy w i t h t he i r

7 O . :

i oys and sor rou ,s , wh ' i l e our heads ra t iona ' l l y use the sc ience o frevo l u t i on to deve l op s t ra tegy and tac t i cs .

0ur march ing o rders a re no where more c lear l y pu t than in tha t g rea tpoem F0R MY PE0PLE wr i t ten by Margare t t ' {a l ke r egaZ) :

Le t a New ear th r i se . Le t another wor ld be born .Let a bloody peace be wri t ten in the sky.Let a second generat ion fu l l of courage issue forth,Let a people: loving freedom come to growth,Le t a beauty fu ' l l o f hea l ing and s t rengtho f f i na l c lench ing be the pu ls ing in our sp i r i t s and our b lood .Le t the mar t ia l songs be wr i t ten , Ie t the d i rges d isappear .Let a race of men now r ise and take control !

I t i s ' i n th i s sp i r i t tha t I cher i sh my task today . so , fo r thes tuden ts and you th espec i a 1 l y , and - io r a l I o f us as we f ace theawesome task o f c rea t i ng the Z ls t cen tu ry , I DEcLARE THIS 7 thANNUAL RADICAL BLACK AND THIRD t . lORLD BOOK FAIR TO BE OFFICIALLYOPEN.