African Heads Summit in US: Black Americans Must be Proactive

Excitement is indeed building around the upcoming first White House African Heads of State Summit, which will take place in Washington between  August 4 – 6th.  President Barack Obama will be welcoming about 50 African leaders to Washington for a series of discussions and meetings around ideas to increase US trade and investment on the continent.  The Constituency for Africa proposed the idea for the Summit to President Obama at the on-set of his presidency in early 2009.

While much of the Washington Africa policy community is now operating in high gear lobbying for agenda items, and staking out opportunities to engage African leaders while they are on the ground in Washington, very much left on the margins of the planning for this historic summit, is the African-American community as well as the African immigrant community. 

Confusion reigns supreme with these Diaspora groupings, and an absolutely lack of coordination and cooperation is very much evident!  For sure, some of us black folks will certainly be individually invited to attend the various high-level meetings, receptions and dinner events, but our ideas, suggestions and recommendations will be largely left out.  There will be no formal meeting of the African leaders with the Diaspora in the United States!

The few black voices being heard in the planning discussion are from official blacks in the administration and in Congress and from a few of us “trusted folks” on the outside.  It is also quite shocking that as the planning process moves forward, many of the powerful black Africa-focused organizations of the 80s and 90s anchored by Africare and TransAfrica, have now significantly curtailed their operations or ceased operations altogether.  Funding shortfalls and lack of leadership transition are obvious reasons. CONTINUES...