Nguzo Saba

Choosing to Be African: Struggling and Striving Ever Upward

Again, this is in sankofa remembrance for our 53rd anniversary of our organization Us in righteous and relentless resistance. And thus, it is about reaching back, retrieving, reflecting, reconstructing and recommitting ourselves to a radical and righteous reconception and transformation of ourselves, society and ultimately the world as was our founding mission in those turbulent and transformative years of the Sixties. In the 60’s when we first collectively declared that we are an African people, we did not do so simply to reaffirm our historical source of origin and reclaim a history as old as humanity itself. We did it also as an act of self-determination, a reaffirmation of our right as the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles, say, “to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.”

Message From Watts: Liberation is Coming From A Black Thing

The year 1965 began on an ominous and unsettling note—the assassination and martyrdom of Malcolm X, the Fire Prophet. Even in the white and winter cold of February, it was a sign of the coming fire. Indeed, it pointed toward the fiery fulfillment of prophecy which Malcolm, himself, had predicted. It was there, too, in the title of James Baldwin’s classic, The Fire Next Time. And it was the topic of countless conversations around the country. Baldwin had taken his title from a line in a Black gospel song which says: “God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water, the fire next time.” And this, for us, was the fundamental time of turning when the fire would be this time.

Institute of the Black World 21st Century Conference

More than two thousand came from the greater Newark/New York region, Black America and the Pan-African world, drawn by the urgent impulse to connect, network, bond, share and unite in the wake of the most hate-filled, demagogic and divisive presidential campaigns that produced a presidential regime, elected by less than a majority of the popular vote, embedded with racism, white nationalism and Islamophobia.  It was one of the most threatening moments since the arrival of Africans on these hostile American shores.

Continuing to Move Defiantly Forward: Righteously Resisting the Backward Thrust

Continuing to reach back and reflect on the ground on which we stand, the essential and upward lifting work we do and the righteous and relentless struggle we wage, this is a statement I wrote for our 40th anniversary and posted on our Us website. It is no less real or relevant today and merits critical consideration as we continue defiantly forward in the midst of the backward yearning, yelping and rightwing madness that surrounds us.

Holding the Line and Keeping the Faith: Marking Us’ Half-Century of Struggle and Achievement

From September 24-27 activists-intellectuals, social and racial justice activists, educators, ministers, teachers, professors, social workers and other professionals, students and everyday people from across the country gathered to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Organization Us and the African American Cultural Center, and of the introduction of the organization’s philosophy, Kawaida, and the Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles) at the Nguzo Saba 2015 Conference and Awards Luncheon held here in Los Angeles.

National Conference Celebrating 50th Anniversary of the Nguzo Saba, The African American Cultural Center and the organization Us

A wide range of Black scholars, activists, teachers, students and community members from around the country will gather together in Los Angeles, September 24 – 27, 2015 at the National Nguzo Saba 2015 Conference and Awards Luncheon to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles) the African American Cultural Center, and the Organization Us. This national conference will focus especially on the Nguzo Saba and its use by thousands of organizations and institutions in this country and around the world as a tool for cultural grounding, value orientation and programmatic initiatives. Among the major presenters will