AFRICAN CONGRESS: A Documentary of the First Modern Pan-African Congress

A transcript of the major speeches, panel discussions, papers, and resolutions from the September 1970 Congress of African People held in Atlanta, Georgia, where a procession of American politicians, African leaders, poverty organizers, and civil rights spokesmen proclaimed the coming of the African nation, either in Africa or in the U.S. Ralph Abernathy counsels unity; Newark's Mayor Gibson promotes the status rewards of political action; Operation Breadbasket's Jesse Jackson says blacks need economic power; Whitney Young follows in reserved but accommodating tones on the theme of a ghetto Marshall Plan and political power. A Black Muslim echoes ""unity,"" Hatcher of Gary wants many more black mayors, Julian Bond eulogizes Du Bols, and Raymond Mbala (an Angolan guerrilla fighter) urges a boycott of Portugal. Workshops on political liberation, black technology, community organization, education, etc. are somewhat repetitive, the discussion papers banal or hortatory, and the resolutions heavy with statements of values but few specifics. Bibi Baraka (the editor's wife) advocates submissiveness for black women, Kinder, Kuche and nationalism. A final and substantial speech by Jones-Baraka heralds a black political party and counsels against blasting ""Super-Jew and the Zionists"" until its forces have grown. The book is poorly edited, with no identification of workshop participants an awkwardly indiscriminate compilation of materials, providing an insufficient feel for what actually happened, indexed with a list of participating groups.