By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
Lawmakers and African leaders gathered at the U.S. Capitol to host “Africa Diaspora Day on the Hill” as part of September Diaspora Heritage Month on Sept. 9.
U.S. Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.-20), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.-1), Troy Carter (D-La.-2), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.-37), Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.), bankers, business leaders and academics hosted a forum titled, “The Rise of Global Africa: Forging a New U.S. Economic Partnership with Africa and the Caribbean,” at the U.S. Capitol’s Visitor Center. The event was just one measure being used to strengthen ties between the U.S. and Africa.
Cheriflus-McCormick told the AFRO that this event was important to her and other lawmakers looking to “have control over our narrative,” and strengthen and stabilize African and Caribbean nations.
“When I travel throughout the United States we have one commonality, African Americans and Black people in the United States have a connection to their diaspora…and they want more mechanisms and means to connect,” stated the Florida congresswoman. “In Congress we’ve been looking at active ways to strengthen our relationships with Africa and the Caribbean, so this seemed like the merging of the perfect points where we can actually come together and talk about how the federal government can help.”
Jackson told the AFRO it was important for him to co-host the forum with fellow Democratic lawmakers because “Africa is the centerpiece of so much of the world’s future.” He added that the forum “reaffirms that.”
“Twenty-five percent of the world’s population will be in Africa in the next 25 years, so the question becomes how are we aligning ourselves to strategically work with Africa,” said Jackson. “We’ve had a long dark history with Africa and now we are well poised to have a beautiful future politically, economically and culturally.”
The Illinois lawmaker stated that African nations need fair trade agreements to help stabilize the continent.
“We’re going to champion to have fair transparent trade agreements, on the same terms with African people that we have with Europeans, Asians and others,” said Jackson.
The Democratic lawmaker also emphasized that “the wealth of Europe and the wealth of America came from Haiti and came from Africa,” which stripped Caribbean and African nations of their assets, leading to a lower quality of life.
Jackson stated, that is why it is imperative that U.S. lawmakers work to help these nations regain their economic strength.
The four-hour forum provided four sessions for attendees titled, “The Global Diaspora: Contributing to Our Common Destiny,” “Building Partnership and Sharing Economic Prosperity,” “Women Leadership: Is Gender Parity a Reality,” and “The New Africa: Defying the Odds in Innovation and Building Unity.”
Cheriflus-McCormick told the AFRO that these panels were designed to help Black Americans and lawmakers strategize how to move forward with policy and diplomacy that can strengthen the relationship between the U.S., Africa and the Caribbean.
“It’s important for Black Americans to be connected to Africa to ensure that our stories aren’t being erased. Our story began millions of years before slavery and now we’re connecting that,” said Cheriflus-McCormick. “This is an important time for us to show that we’re not just talking about strengthening our relationship with Africa, but we’re actually taking affirmative steps forward and we want to make sure that the diaspora is at the forefront.”
Lawmakers hope they will be able to pass legislation by the year 2050 to help strengthen nations in the Caribbean and Africa.
“We have to show up to the Congressional hearings and tell them what we want,” Jackson told the AFRO. “We don’t want other people making decisions for us…so we can build and grow our own continent.”
“Let’s look forward to the future,” Jackson added.