New York, NY, January 15, 2013 – At the invitation of the Honorable Pedro Pires, former President of Cape Verde, West Africa, Dr. Ron Daniels, President of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century, will speak at an international conference dedicated to the memory of the late Amilcar Cabral. Mr. Cabral gained stature as a leading theoretician and practitioner of anti-colonial revolution during the struggle to liberate Guinea –Bissau and Cape Verde from Portuguese rule. As such, he had a tremendous influence on the Black liberation movement in the U.S., particularly during the emergence of the African Liberation Support Committees which focused on providing political and material support to liberation movements in Africa. In 1972, at the height of the African Liberation Support Movement, Cabral visited the U.S. where he delivered a lecture at Lincoln University. Dr. Daniels was among the leaders of the movement invited to attend this historic event. Commenting on the significance of that moment, Dr. Daniels said, “I count it as one of the greatest honors of my life to have been present for Cabral’s lecture at Lincoln University. Now I have the honor of addressing a major conference convened on the occasion of his 90th birthday.”
Dr. Daniels’s presentation, Cabral in Contemporary Context: “The Struggle Against Our Own Weaknesses,” will focus on the contemporary struggle against neo-colonialism; the need for new theories of democratic and revolutionary governance; and, the necessity for moral and ethical Pan Africanist leadership in Africa to fulfill the promise of an improved quality of life for the African masses. The Conference, which is scheduled for January 19-21, is timed to coincide with the observance of the Martin Luther King National Holiday in the U.S. and will feature a Panel: Amilcar Cabral and Martin Luther King, Between Utopia and Audacity. The Honorable Pedro Pires, who is the recipient of the prestigious Mo Ibrahim Award for Good Governance, serves as President of the Amilcar Cabral Foundation – which will host the Conference in Praia, Cape Verde. Dr. Daniels, who is also a Distinguished Lecturer at York College, City University of New York, will make a report to the community on the Conference at IBW’s first Forum after the State of the Black World Conference III – February 9th at the Martin Luther Labor Center of SEIU 1199.
For further information or to arrange post-Conference interviews, contact Carolyn McClair – 917.686.0854 — cmprnews@aol.com
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