Over winter break, Professor Jemadari Kamara of the Africana Studies department at the University of Massachusetts Boston hosted the 19th Annual Amilcar Cabral and Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative event.
With the theme of “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” a panel discussion was conducted with four students who traveled to Africa with UMass Boston. A Black Lives Matter (BLM) representative spoke and a community member sang the Black Nation Anthem as well as the Cape Verdean National Anthem.
Professor Tony Van Der Meer, also of the Africana Studies department, opened up the ceremony with thanking and recognizing African-American and Cape Verdean ancestors, even if they were immediate family, someone in history had paved a way for the Black community. He proceed to give some historical background on both Amilcar Cabral and Martin Luther King Jr.
“Our first step is to start within the now with our social situation. That should be the bases of our struggle: for national liberation, understanding the effect of this capitalist system, the effect of individualism, and the effects of colonialism and imperialism,” said Vanessa Silva, a Black Lives Matter representative.
She continues to discuss a quote by Amilcar Cabral: “He understood these concepts of reality. He understood the contradiction that not only existed in policies in Cape Verde, but around the world.”
“If [Cabral] can realize the urgency of change for his people in Cape Verde, as well as for other countries, there is no reason that people now cannot see the urgency of the BLM movement, among other organizations that represent minority groups,” said Silva.
Professor Kamara and the Africana Studies department recently put together a winter break trip to Cape Verde, Ghana, and Morocco for eligible UMass Boston students. Four of those students came and spoke about their trip. They spoke about what they saw in these countries and how those problems motivated them, when they came back, to implement change.
Towards the end, small groups came together to talk about a range of subjects, including the Flint, Michigan water situation.