------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Aug. 12, 2004 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
DEMANDING REPARATIONS: SOUTH CAROLINA KICKS OFF THE BLACK BELT SOUTH LONG MARCH
[Following are excerpts from an article written by Amadi Ajamu for the Millions for Reparations at www.millionsforreparations.com.]
The National Millions for Reparations Campaign kicked off the official Black Belt South Long March on July 24 with a rally in Columbia, S.C. Reparations demon strators hailed from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina as well as South Carolina proper.
The spirited throng assembled at Martin Luther King Park in the heart of the Black community and marched in the blazing sun chanting, "They stole us! They sold us! They owe us!" all the way to the State Capitol. Omowale Clay, the National Spokesman for MFR, said, "From Colum bia to Bed-Stuy--Reparations Now!"
Upon arrival at the State Capitol grounds, the masses rallied at the African-American History Monument, which depicts the struggle of African people in the United States.
The history of South Carolina is drenched in the oppression of African people. The ports of Charleston, S.C., were the epicenter of the trans- Atlantic slave trade, receiving enslaved Africans directly from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Congo. The principal crops produced by enslaved Africans on the plantations were rice and cotton.
Today, South Carolina is a bastion of right-wing conservatism and has seen a recent upsurge in Ku Klux Klan activities, according to community residents.
The march was hosted by the local South Carolina Statewide Maafa Reparations Committee. Doretha Bull, a member of the committee, said: "People are afraid to talk about what they deserve. For every person out here another 25 people wanted to be here but were afraid."
Nevertheless, the reparations movement in South Carolina is growing daily. For the first time in the history of the slave-constructed South Carolina State Capitol, a huge banner demanding "Reparations Now!" was draped across the steps.
In recent years the South Carolina State Capitol has been the site of many demon stra tions against the confederate flag, which flew atop. The Black community's consistent demands to take the flag down were successful. The flag no longer flies atop, but it still flies on the Capitol grounds.
One by one each speaker delivered a powerful message and urged everyone to keep up the fight no matter what. Roger Wareham, the lead attorney in the federal class-action lawsuit against several blue chip corporations, exclaimed, "Our greatest weapon in this struggle for reparations is the grassroots people in the streets making the demand at every turn!"
The Black Belt South Long March will travel to several locations throughout the south culminating in Mem phis, Tenn., in September. Omowale Clay stated, "Central to our efforts is the integration of reparations into the strategic liberation goals of African people."
The Millions For Repara tions campaign was launched from the victory in the United Nations World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, in September 2001, where the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was declared a "crime against humanity."
MFR National Chairwoman Viola Plummer said, "As we crystallize these mobilization efforts, we are also participating on the legal front in the ongoing federal class-action lawsuit and we're planning future World Court efforts."
For more information, contact: Millions For Reparations, 456 Nostrand Ave., Brook lyn, NY 11216; phone: 718-398-1766; fax: 718-623-1855.
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