June 19 - The President of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America (BBHAGSIA), Siphiwe Baleka, who also serves as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika, made a stunning presentation at the Commemorating Juneteenth: Highlighting the Need for Reparatory Justice event hosted by Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
“Let’s go to the moment, June 19, 1865, “ said BBHAGSIA President & PGRNA Minister Baleka.
“At that time, those 260,000 people in Texas went from being chattel slaves, to something else. There was a status change. What was that status change? . . . At that moment, were they citizens of America? No. The 14th Amendment had yet to be ratified. . . . They were African people living in alien territory. . . . that new class of people had to decide what was going to be its future destiny. . . . We had the right to self determination. . . . In that moment, what was supposed to happen . . . . was a plebiscite. That is what should have happened January 1, 1863. That is what should have happened June 19, 1865. And that is STILL what needs to happen today.”
BBHAGSIA Member Kamm Howard, who is also the Director of Reparations United, stated,
“When we have these discussion around Juneteenth, we also want to have a discussion around the black Family. . . . We can’t talk about reparatory justice and not talk about the black family. . . . We are talking about wiping out every aspect of the crimes that were committed in the chattelization wars, the war crimes Siphiwe spoke about . . . . We don’t want reform. That’s not the purpose . . . . to maintain a subjugated, minority position in a particular nation . . . . Our purpose . . . is to have a sovereign consciousness, a self-determining consciousness and a self-determining reality. And as Marcus Garvey said, we need to be talking about building a super power somewhere on this planet for African people.”