ON Sunday, hundreds of African-Guyanese will meet at the Critchlow Labour College for the third annual State of the African-Guyanese Forum organised by the Black Consciousness organisation, Cuffy250. The Forum will be addressed by President David Granger and others. Who is Cuffy250 and what is this Forum about? I have been a member of the organisation from its birth. The Cuffy250 Committee came together in 2013 to observe the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Revolt, led by Cuffy, against the Slave System.
We wanted to celebrate and draw inspiration from our foreparents who resisted slavery. We wanted people to remember that though enslaved against their will, they did not sit and not do anything. They did not accept that they were born to be slaves. They resisted and fought back. But more than that, we wanted to draw attention to the deteriorating economic, political, social and cultural conditions in the African- Guyanese community today and to say to our people that just as your foreparents struggled to change their situation, you can do so today.
We held a forum in Georgetown in August 2013. Over 400 people attended. We held another one at Bagotville. We learned that things were not that good in the African-Guyanese community. Education was in shambles; our children were not performing as they should.
We learned that the economic situation was equally bad – high unemployment and not enough resources to start businesses. We learned that the social situation was the same. Our young people were the subjects of police violence. Drugs and crime were taking over the communities. Violence against women and children were on the rise. We learned that our people are not sufficiently conscious of their African heritage –their history and culture. In short, the African- Guyanese community is in serious trouble.
There and then we decided something must be done to turn back this situation. We decided that we would do two things: first, we would embark on an education programme intended to make people more aware of our great contributions to humanity in general and to Guyana in particular. Towards this end, we have held Forums every two weeks in Georgetown. Second, we started to go into communities and work with them to use their own energies to correct the situation. We borrowed Walter Rodney’s concept of Self-Activity and Self-Reliance for Self-Emancipation.
In other words, we have been saying that people in your communities can use what you have to begin the process of revitalisation. We went to Linden, to Dartmouth to Sisters-Good Intent, Stanleytown and Bagotville. We encouraged people to form groups and begin to organise for change.
In August 2014 we held the second Forum. Again our discussion focused on revitalisation of the communities. We argued that the health of Guyana depends on the health of all of its groups. As a plural society we cannot ignore any one group. Guyanese nationhood means nothing if all groups do not feel an equal sense of belonging.
This year’s Forum is being held under the theme Guyana’s Renaissance: The 50th Anniversary of our Independence and the Positioning of the African- Guyanese. The Forum will discuss the way forward for African- Guyanese and help chart an African- Guyanese Cultural and Socio-Economic agenda as part of the larger national thrust for the next 50 years of independence. The Forum would also hear a report of Cuffy250’s work over the last year in communities across Guyana.
The Forum begins at 10:00 hrs at the Critchlow Labour College. Registration is $200. To pre-register call 663-1549. Apart from the President, other speakers include Nigel Hughes, Audreyanna Thomas, Royston Peters, Realene Andrews, Vincent Alexander, Comica Johnson, Osafo George, Elsie Harry, Dr. David Hinds and African American Civil Rights Activist Fiah Rose.

By David Hinds