The Myth of Speaking for the Voiceless, Part 2

Dear Friends,

Yesterday our Board Chair Danny Glover wrote to you about the myth of speaking for the voiceless. If you didn’t see his letter, you can read it here. TransAfrica doesn’t believe that anyone is voiceless, but we know that often the media and charities step in and speak on behalf of people who don’t have the access they need to make their own voices heard.

You are not voiceless either, and your voice is critical! That is why the other half of our work is about being a microphone and an amplifier for you. Without your input, U.S. foreign policy will never be in line with your values. TransAfrica is your ears in the halls of Congress and the places where decision makers are discussing policy that affect our world. It’s not enough to tell you what’s happening here in DC - we want to be your microphone, too! We want to make your voice heard so that policy makers will know what is important to you.

Will you make a donation to TransAfrica today so we can 

amplify your values and priorities to American foreign policy makers?

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The Myth of Speaking for the Voiceless, Part 1

A Message from Our Board Chair, Danny Glover

Photo by BVK.Dear Friends, 

Armed conflict in Goma, famine in the Nuba mountains, hate legislation in Uganda, wasted humanitarian aid and people under tents in Haiti... the list of life and death challenges faced by Africans and people of African descent around the world in 2012 is long.

As the media and charities told the stories of suffering and struggle in 2012, where was the perspective of those persevering and fighting for their lives? More often than not, the intermediaries have cast themselves as "a voice for the voiceless" and the individuals being described were never given the chance to speak for themselves.

At TransAfrica we don't believe in the myth of voiceless people. Like you, we know that the women, men and children of Africa and the Diaspora are self-determined individuals with their own rich stories, and we admire the strength that it takes for them to survive and even thrive despite the seemingly impossible challenges they face. Like you, we believe that our destiny is tied up with the destiny of families all over the world, in distant places we may never visit. We proudly declare "I Am TransAfrican" because to us it is a celebration of the ties that bind us to one another.

Will you make a donation before the end of the year to support TransAfrica?

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Together in the Storm

There are times in life when we feel the world shrink around us. I remember waking up during an aftershock in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, only weeks after a huge earthquake that rocked the country. In the darkness of the night I heard the din of thousands of voices - everyone awakened by the shaking.  Mothers gently calmed their children, fathers shouted out to people sleeping nearby, everyone checking on one another. In that moment we were all the same, united in the face of something so much larger than us.

Superstorm Sandy has brought us together in that same way. After watching with anguish as Sandy tore through the Caribbean, killing dozens in Haiti and Cuba, tearing up the newly planted gardens and turning roads and homes into rivers and lakes, we hunkered down around our televisions as Sandy roared through our own neighborhoods. In Washington, DC, in Virginia and New Jersey and Delaware and New York, all the way north to Connecticut and Massachusetts, Sandy brought us together. The boundaries and walls that normally separate us seemed to disintegrate as we watched the tunnels and subways of NYC fill with water, as we watched the boardwalk we once walked in Atlantic City or Ocean City wash into the sea, as even Coney Island became a series of streams and rivers. 

Our hearts and thoughts go out to each and every one of you who were personally affected by this incredible act of nature.

At TransAfrica, we were lucky to weather the storm with minimal damage. Our friends in Haiti were thrashed by the storm, which hovered over the island dumping rain for four days. Rivers swelled to proportions never seen in our lifetimes, and there was no escaping the wetness that permeated everything. You can see the conditions of homeless earthquake survivors still under tents in the video by our partners Bri Kouri Nouvèl Gaye, Noise Travels, News Spreads, here:

A storm like this is both a reminder and a wake up call. It reminds us of how little truly separates us from one another. When the upper class homes of SoHo and the poor neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince are facing the same challenges in terms of electricity, access to water and food - we can't help but realize how thin the line is that separates those who have and those who don't in our world today. Sandy swept through our communities without concern about where we lived or how we lived.

The wake up call is to pay attention to a phenomenon our partners in the developing world have been experiencing more and more every day - the concrete impact of climate change. Although it isn't unusual to see a hurricane in the Caribbean at this time of year, the size and duration of Sandy were truly astonishing. Many voices have been calling us to heed their warnings about the most horrifying potential of climate change, and Sandy has given us a taste of what is to come if we do not unite as members of humanity and curb our dangerous consumption.

We hope that in the aftermath of the storm, as these fleeting moments of shared experience are giving us an opportunity to recognize our interconnectedness, we can all pledge together that we will move forward to live more carefully, and to act more thoughtfully. The disasters of Haiti and other impoverished parts of the world can just as easily be visited upon us here at home. 

And when we wake up in the aftershock and hear the voices of everyone around us, united in our fear and humanity, let us heed the call to action for a better future.

Yours for a united and stronger world,

Nicole Lee, President

For the entire TransAfrica Team

TransAfrica Mourns the Loss of Congressman Donald Payne

The TransAfrica family mourns the loss of Congressman Donald Payne of New Jersey, ranking member of the Subcommittee for Africa, Global Health and Human Rights in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.  Mr. Payne died this morning in New Jersey after a battle with colon cancer. He was the first African American elected to Congress from New Jersey.  He was a leader in foreign affairs, as the Foreign Affairs Dean for the Congressional Black Caucus and serving as the Chair of the Africa Subcommittee until 2010.  Many called him “Mr. Africa” because of his tireless support for African nations and people of African descent throughout the Diaspora.

“Congressman Payne was a prolific leader on issues effecting Africa and her Diaspora.  He used his status to help the most vulnerable on our planet.  From Sudan to Colombia to Haiti, Congressman Payne stood for justice.  Despite much opposition, he kept the issues of Africa on the Congressional front burner.”, said Nicole Lee, president of TransAfrica.

Congressman Payne was a long time supporter of the work of TransAfrica.  He served on the board of directors and supported many TransAfrica campaigns including the end of genocide Darfur, freedom for Southern Sudan, rights of Afro-Colombians and the reconstruction of Haiti.

USAID Launches the Donald M. Payne Fellowship Program

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 2, 2012

USAID Press Office: 202-712-4320

USAID Public Information: 202-712-4810  

www.usaid.gov

  

USAID Launches the Donald M. Payne Fellowship Program 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced the launch of a new fellowship program designed to attract outstanding young people to careers in international development. The fellowship will encourage the application of members of minority groups who have historically been underrepresented in development careers, and is part of a larger Diversity Engagement Program being stood up by the Agency. The fellowship will be named in honor of longtime development champion, Congressman Donald M. Payne. 

 

“This new fellowship will help USAID to attract and support a diverse group of talented young people who are dedicated to public service and international development,” said USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. “It could not be more fitting that we are naming this fellowship after U.S. Representative Donald M. Payne who has led by example in dedicating his life to helping others around the globe. There have been few greater friends of USAID and Rep. Payne’s legacy of helping people and solving problems around the world will continue through this fellowship.”

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