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(TALKZIMBABWE) Former Ambassador Haley completes Zimbabwe lecture tour

Former Ambassador Haley completes Zimbabwe lecture tour
Our reporter
Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:34:00 +0000
Former U.S. Ambassador to Gambia, George W. Haley

FORMER U.S. Ambassador to Gambia, George W. Haley, concluded a series of lectures in Mutare and Harare in Zimbabwe, in which he talked about the history of the African American experience in the U.S. summing it as a journey from Kunta Kinte to President Barack Obama.

“From the stand-point of African- Americans, we have come a long way in getting to the President of the United States. I generally think in terms of a theme, like from Kunta Kinte to now, to Obama, that’s a long trip in the history of America,” said the former Ambassador, who is also the brother of novelist Alex Haley who wrote the novel "Roots", in his address to nearly 50 members of the media at the Quill Press Club in Harare on Friday February 6th.

“ There is no doubt in my mind that it (Obama’s presidency) should benefit not only us, but the motherland too…There is great interest in Africa now and it becomes our mission, our responsibility, our challenge to take advantage of these experiences in the United States and certainly yours here,” said Haley.

During his discussions, Haley echoed his experiences during the peak of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and challenged Zimbabweans to make positive contributions to achieve peaceful and positive social change.

“I cannot do everything, but I can do something and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do,” said Haley, citing from a poem during his youth.

He added that a peaceful approach, advocated by the Martin Luther King Jr., “certainly had that impact on our being able to elect President Obama. We weren’t able to do it from the standpoint of blacks. So, it took our being able to convince ourselves and others that here is the best person in the country to serve us and certainly to serve many parts of the world.”

Speaking on the general expectation among many Africans that Obama’s ascendancy will help emancipate African Americans, Haley said “He represents all of the United States. There are economic problems that do not only involve blacks; but all of the United States.”

Echoing the non-violent strategies adopted by the civil rights movement in the U.S., Haley cited education, communication and the role of the black Church as key elements to the African American struggle.

“Education was so important to make American minds really come about and do something,” said Haley.

Haley reflected on his experience as a law student at the University of Arkansas, which was one of the first to admit black students “even though they were admitted under totally segregated circumstances.”

“The black church was of extreme importance when we talk about where we are, where we have come, even from the beginning the black church has been there and still remains the basic institution of learning. Martin Luther King was a minister, so was Jesse Jackson. The church has been the real local force.”

Haley (aged 83) was in Zimbabwe courtesy of a U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs to conduct a series of lectures and programs on the civil rights movement in the United States.

During his visit, Haley held formal and informal meetings with members of Zimbabwe’s civil society, religious leaders and gave a public lecture at Africa University in Mutare.

Haley is a lifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a member of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, The Masons, the Board of Directors of Africare and an active member of Israel Metropolitan CME Church in Washington, D.C.

Labels: ALEX HALEY, GEORGE W. HALEY, USA

posted by MrK @ 6:07 PM