I feel the need to post the last few paragraphs first so no one misinterprets my intent and forces me to rip 'em a new on.

Fortunately, we have too the African Americans with their feet firmly on the ground. Their engagement with Africa dates back to the American civil rights and African liberation movements. They remain true to the values that inspired those movements but know that we are now in a different place. They pick their battles carefully, trying to add value to the work done by African governments and civil society organisations.

Take, for example, actor Danny Glover, who was in town this past week. In his capacity as Goodwill Ambassador with the United Nations Development Programme, he adds his voice to the range of issues relating to fair trade, such as commodity pricing. He was here for a coffee conference, but made time to meet with Kenyan artists and civil society organisations. In that meeting, he talked of his plans to develop a filmmakers" fund to support African productions. As chair of Transafrica Forum, a Washington-based advocacy organisation, he listened carefully to concerns about the US elections and America's hosting of this year's Group of Eight summit.

Maybe there is some hope for the relationship after all.

Now the whole article.

The East African (Nairobi)
COLUMN
February 23, 2004
Posted to the web February 25, 2004

By L. Muthoni Wanyeki
Nairobi

L. Muthoni Wanyeki is executive director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network

My tolerance for the back-to-Africa fantasies of African Americans broke on the back of several things.

First, the conservative, distorted and unabashedly patriarchal version of Islam followed by African American groups such as the Nation of Islam. Second, the reverence accorded to the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie by followers of Marcus Garvey.

Yes, the Ethiopians kicked the Italians out, thus achieving for Ethiopia the status of being the only African state never to have been colonised. But the Emperor represented a feudal system in which power relations were arguably as damaging as those of colonial systems elsewhere in Africa.

And third, a bizarre discussion I once found myself in during which some African American women - dutifully head-wrapped and beaded - were comparing notes on their respective trips back to the "motherland." When they began to assess the "authenticity" of "traditional spiritual practices" in African states as diverse as Ghana, Senegal and Zimbabwe, I walked away, too angry to speak.

Now, of course, there are new back-to-Africa variants. Those unashamedly being capitalised on by states such as Ghana and Senegal who, with their forts and other remnants of the transatlantic slave trade, target African Americans as a niche tourism market. Or those heralded by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, which sees the Diaspora as a source of finance for the continent.

Thus the latest troops back to the "motherland." But this time, it is not the dreadlocked African nationalists draped in African fabric, clutching worn copies of Walter Rodney's How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. No. This time, the troops are clean-cut, wear crisp suits and head start-up firms, venture capital outfits or African branches of American multinationals, particularly in South Africa. They have no time for nationalist fervour, let alone "traditional spiritual practices." No. They supply those intangibles of foreign direct investment - contacts, an "international standard" of professionalism, technology. In return, their companies make money off us - it's all about the Benjamins.

Then, of course, there are the super rich African Americans with liberal inclinations. Some own beachfront property around the Western Cape. They love South Africa - partly because they dutifully poured money into the anti-apartheid cause but also because South Africa is "a Third World country with First World amenities." Where else could one base oneself for those occasional forays into the rest of the not-so-civilised continent?

Of course, South Africa also continues to provide causes for those with sensitive souls. Children orphaned as a result of Aids, for example - throwing a Christmas party for them is just the thing! Or land redistribution - but contributing to land reform efforts is too complicated. Solution? Buy land! And give it away again.

Fortunately, we have too the African Americans with their feet firmly on the ground. Their engagement with Africa dates back to the American civil rights and African liberation movements. They remain true to the values that inspired those movements but know that we are now in a different place. They pick their battles carefully, trying to add value to the work done by African governments and civil society organisations.

Take, for example, actor Danny Glover, who was in town this past week. In his capacity as Goodwill Ambassador with the United Nations Development Programme, he adds his voice to the range of issues relating to fair trade, such as commodity pricing. He was here for a coffee conference, but made time to meet with Kenyan artists and civil society organisations. In that meeting, he talked of his plans to develop a filmmakers" fund to support African productions. As chair of Transafrica Forum, a Washington-based advocacy organisation, he listened carefully to concerns about the US elections and America's hosting of this year's Group of Eight summit.

Maybe there is some hope for the relationship after all.