The African People’s Socialist Party’s 1st Plenary following our Seventh Congress was a time to report on the work of every organization of the Uhuru Movement. The African National Women’s Organization was no exception. We chose to focus on our growth in the past five years; our strengths, weakness and opportunities.
The Strength of Theory
Our strength lies in our theoretical development.
Using the theory of African Internationalism, we are able to better articulate how African women who join the African Liberation fight are engaging in and working toward a world free from the oppression of African women and girls.
The socialist theory of African Internationalism is a theory of practice which can be seen throughout the ranks of the Uhuru Movement organizations.
Women are visibly part of the rank and file and they are integral to the development of campaigns and the Movement’s leadership.
As deserved leaders, African women have led and are leading areas of the work, which requires people under her leadership to report their work to her – Democratic Centralism.
African Internationalism, for the masses of African women not in the Party, offers a future where the leadership of women is not tokenism but necessary to the growth of the nation.
African women will be released from the expectations of colonial roles and duties, ushering in a new African woman responsible for the birth of a free African Nation where women and girls are protected, because we will be the part of the revolutionary State.
Our theoretical development has also pushed away from gender pop politics which splits us into multiple identities. Gender politics have become all the rage in academia, where it is taught.
Whereas before, African women were trained in the struggles of our people to fight for their independence through liberation.
Theory without practice is meaningless
Our weakness has been that our membership has been overrun with petit bourgeois feminists or feminist leaning women who would get in the way of progress. That is due to how we’ve recruited women into the work.
A heavy concentration of our members over the last five years have come through their attraction to us on social media.
Less comes from what we are doing on the ground. However, not all of our members who meet us online are the petit bou.
But their expectations of the type of work they will be engaged in is limited to social media content and “thought work”.
For us, the measure of our effectiveness and recruitment will be in how we politicize and recruit from women who are the poor and working class. Front line women whose close proximity to the State has resulted in micro and macro confrontations that deeply impact the African community.
Opportunities lie ahead
Our opportunities rest in going back to the basics.
Organizing 101, how to build a branch or unit. It requires the constant measured work of contact collection, calling, and engagement that allows the working class to lead on the issues that impact us.
This process creates leaders of African proletariat women.
So ANWO will be creating activities that will get our members in the streets.
We will organize and continue to build monthly events and create strong committees that can expand the work of our economic development projects which are geared toward the benefit of African working class women.
Summary and moving forward
This Plenary more than many others before it represents a shift in the trajectory of our Movement. It is rooted in the intensity of the time and a recognition of a dying imperialism.
African workers have to be poised to take power in our hands in our own interest.
The Black Women’s Convention happening in Philadelphia, March 27-29, 2020 is following the example of the Party’s Plenary providing a big picture opening to the lives of African working class women and our leadership.
Our Pre-Convention Conference is happening in Soweto, Occupied Azania (South Africa) on March 7, 2020, organized by ANWO forces and Party forces who live in the settler colony of South Africa.
We recognize that much of what is written about women doesn’t offer us a future, however, ANWO is strengthening ourselves so that we can lead ourselves to the future of our own.
Join us at our convention and conference by registering at convention.anwouhuru.org and/or call us if you have any questions at 240-326-3959 (U.S.) or 061 319 8765 (Occupied Azania).
We are sisters united by revolution uniting to win bread, peace and Black Power for the entire African Nation!
African women must lead!
African working class women to the forefront!
Leave a Reply