fly the red

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Fly the Red,

Black and Green

By

Eliyah X.,

The Afrikan/Black People of Love

28 December 2010

In Chicago, Illinois, you can always tell when the time for the

Independence Day Parade is at hand. Leading up to the Parade

red, white and blue flags with the stars begin to appear all

across the city, particularly in those neighborhoods with heavy

Independence populations. And on the day of the Parade theAmerican European Flags are in evidence everywhere, on cars,

flagpoles, in the windows and on the porches of people's homes

and adults and children carry banners or little flags to the

Parade. At least once a year, the whole city is aware of the

American European Pride!

For the past year, I have been promoting the idea, that as an

act of self-determination, Afrikan/Black people in this country

and Global Wide should declare The Red, Black and GreenFlag as our Universal Afrikan/Black Flag. August 17 of this

year will mark the 124" birthday of Marcus Garvey, one of the

most visionary, courageous and audacious Afrikan/Black

leaders the race has ever produced. A devoted Pan-

Afrikan/Black Nationalist, dedicated to breathing life into and



reconnecting the disjointed, disoriented, dry bones of a great

people beaten down and disconnected by the enslavement,

colonialism and rampant racial oppression, Garvey built the

Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) to carry out

his vision of Afrikan/Black redemption.

Garvey's vision was simple and ambitious - Africa, the

ancestral homeland of the Black race and the progenitor and

cradle of human life and civilization, should be reclaimed,

resurrected and reconstructed by the Afrikan/Black people, as

the anchor and base for global Black power. He proclaimed,

“Europe for the Europeans, Asia for the Asians, and Africa for

the Africans at home and abroad." Keenly aware of the need touplift the spirits of a battered and downtrodden Afrikan/Black

Nation, Garvey's prescription for Afrikan/Black sickness was a

heavy dose of History and Culture to inspire Black people to

engage in the struggle for freedom and self-determination. He

was a spellbinding orator whose lively litanies on the great

achievements of Afrikan/Black people throughout history were

a source of new hope for millions of Africans in this country

and the world. "Up you mighty race," he would often say,

"You can accomplish what you will."

Another of Garvey's formula for the psycho-cultural

rehabilitation of Afrikan/Black people, for him, was the

important to have a flag that would represent all Afrikaans

Global Wide. The function of this flag would be, as Garvey saw

it, is to capture the essence of the history and culture of US as

an Afrikan/Black Nation and serve as a unifying

“ Afrikan/Black body of people (meaning working for the well being of all and not self. One must be willing to lay their life

down if they would receive this New and Greater Life)” which

would be a symbol of our aspirations.



Garvey was determined that his Afrikan/Black people would

have a flag with such a purpose and meaning. I know, one of

his greatest gifts (and most enduring legacies to (US) an

Afrikan/Black Nation and Family) is sometimes referred to as

the "Black Liberation Flag," the Red, Black and Green. Ourancestor Garvey saw; the Color Red as a symbol of the blood

the Suffering and Sacrifice of us an Afrikan/Black people

historically. The Color Black for us the Afrikan/Black Nation

and all of our historical triumphs and achievements. The

Color Green for our Afrikan/Black Motherland that must WE

must reclaimed, so that we may give life and nourishment to

our Afrikan/Black family on the continent and in the diaspora.

What a magnificent gift to our Afrikan/Black Nation.

Unfortunately, far too many Afrikan/Black people in this

country and the Globe have little or no knowledge about the

Flag or its innovator, the Honorable Mucus Garvey. This

condition urgently needs correction. As Carter G. Woodson,

who is the father of Black History Month, might put it, there is

no greater impediment to Black progress than the mis-

education or lack of education of Afrikan/Blacks. Dr. Maulana

Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa has repeatedly warned that

the "key crisis in the Black life is the cultural crisis." If

Afrikan/Black people are to fulfill Garvey's vision (and

hopefully yours) of Afrikan/Black redemption, it is imperative

that we cultivate a greater consciousness and appreciation for

our history and our culture, heroes and heroines and the

challenges we face in rescuing and restoring the race into the

22st century.

I can think of no more worthy initiative than to have US as an

Afrikan/Black people Global Wide recognize the RED,

BLACK & GREEN FLAG as the Universal Afrikan/Black

Flag



Garvey never intended for the Flag to be for Afrikan/Black

Americans alone. The UNIA had chapters throughout the

Caribbean, Central and South America, Canada and Europe.

Wherever there was a UNIA chapter the Red. Black and Green

been always proudly and appropriately displayed. The Flagshould become a symbol of the aspiration of Afrikan/Black

people for unity, self-determination and development.

I dream of the day when the Red, Black and Green will be on

proud display by countless millions of Afrikan/Black people in

this country and the Globe everywhere, on cars, flagpoles, in

the windows and on the porches of Afrikan/Black people's

homes and adults and children carry banners or little flags tothe Parades. At least once a year, the completely Global

Universe is aware of Afrikan/Black Pride.

In honoring him, we really honor his legacy and all that he

stood for in terms of the resurrection of our people. Wherever

you are, I urge you to take up the cause of making Marcus

Garvey Proud of Us as an Afrikan/Black People Global wide,

by having a RED, BLACK & GREEN Universal Afrikan/Black

Flag, Let us get the “WORD OUT” so that we may be able toclaim it come the birthday of Marcus Garvey, one of our

greatest ancestors!

Copyright (c) 2000 the Afrikan/Black People of Love

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