The vibe was Afrocentric Saturday night at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Poet Akin Chinnery’s shoulder-length dreadlocks were draped over the back of his Malcolm X T-shirt. Chinnery walked into UVI’s Administration Conference Center with a portable stereo playing afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti’s "Gentlemen." He turned right and began talking to Maekiaphan Phillips, member of Opia International and the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP). Phillips offered Chinnery a slice of bean pie. After their discussion about her Taino heritage, Ras Amaha started the event through drums and niyabinghi chants.
"All praises to the most high. I’m glad we have an opportunity to share with one another," said Dr. Chenzira Davis Kahina, director of the Virgin Islands Caribbean Cultural Center.
Kahina and VICCC hosted its forum on "V.I. African Heritage and African Liberation Day" Saturday night at UVI’s St. Thomas campus. The informal forum featured poetry, singing, speeches and traditional African ceremonies.
All speakers talked about the need to raise awareness about issues confronting Africans and the African diaspora while also imploring Caribbean and Virgin Islanders to extend their loyalties toward the African continent. An audience of about 30 chanted, sang, recited poetry and spoke about African unity. The event ran from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Learning, understanding, education and research were topics guest speakers emphasized.
"Every day is black African Liberation day," said Amaha, local natural farmer and owner of We Grow Food, Inc. "Freedom is an individual thing. Once we come together nothing can break us apart."
The international theme for African Liberation Day is "Pan Africanism is Power: We Must Unite!" The theme ties into the African Union, which is hosting a summit in South Africa through Saturday based on "Pan Africanism and African Renaissance."
Monday the VICCC will hold an "African Heritage Parade/Walk and Roundtable" on UVI’s St. Croix campus. The parade will start at 1:30 p.m at the entrance to the campus and continue to the UVI Great Hall. Both activities coincide with Virgin Islands African Heritage Week, which began May 19 and ended Saturday.
Following the parade, a roundtable and Bamboula Marketplace in the Great Hall will include multi-media presentations, culture and unity statements and tributes. The events start at 3 p.m. and entrance is free.
One of VICCC’s goals is push for a curriculum that reflects an African influence, since a majority of residents in the region are African descendants, Kahina said. She said the center is pushing to document the cultural nuances of the community while preaching sustenance and resources for the community to sustain itself.
VICCC released its first publication in January and hopes a second issue will be released in the summer to further explore these issues.
Kahina also said the VICCC is attempting to document Caribbean culture through photos of marriages, ceremonies and Carnival. Kahina said she hopes this forum encourages people to show unity between their Caribbean, American and African heritages.
Leba Ola-Niyi, a member of the Pan African Support Group, spoke about Pan-Africanism. Quoting Jamaican political leader, publisher and activist Marcus Garvey, Ola-Niyi said land ownership, resistance to exploitation and the accumulation of power must be at the forefront of any political, social or economic movement to unite the African diaspora. But nothing is more important than being proactive, he said.
"Thought without action is empty," Ola-Niyi said.
Knowing one’s own history was a constant theme for each speaker. Kahina spoke about the Berlin Conference, which ushered in the height of European colonialism and the decline of African autonomy, and the First Council of Nicaea. Felicia Blake performed a libation ceremony honoring ancestors, such as those who died in the 1733 slave insurrection on St. John as well as Gaspar Yanga, a leader of a 16th century slave rebellion in Mexico, and labor leader and activist D Hamilton Jackson.
Moderator Stephen Isaac spoke about the writings of Edward Wilmont Blyden, considered by many to be the father of Pan-Africanism and a St. Thomas native. Kahina stressed educating oneself is the only tool one has to empower oneself.
"Powerful people will never give power to powerless people. Period," Kahina said.
Anna Wallace Francis, program manager of the Environmental Rangers in the Virgin Islands, said it’s hard to get Virgin Islanders to connect their lives with African culture and history. Francis is also founder of Camp Umoja, a summer program that sponsors the Rangers.
Francis implored women in the community to transform it through educating their sons and daughters. Francis brought this message with her when she recently traveled to Atlanta and New York. She asked who celebrated African Liberation Day and most people said they hadn’t. She was somewhat discouraged by this until she saw a group of people on a street corner informing passersby about the day.
"It was a handful of people but sometimes it’s the handful of people who make a difference," Francis said. "We are not alone."
Chinnery performed "Liberated" and "Love is Revolution Ya’ll" two poems dedicated to the event. Chinnery said most social, economic or political issues in the African community or African-American community for that matter, can be reconciled through healthy relationships.
"The highest form of loving yourself is when you love someone else," Chinnery said.
Kahina agreed, but with a caveat.
"Everyone is a temple," Kahina said. "Every articulation, every movement, every thought process, should based on truth, harmony and balance."
