African Liberation Day: 1974
Thousands march through Washington, D.C. May 25, 1974 as they wound around the northwest part of the city, including marching down U Street NW, passing the White House and ending with a rally at Malcolm X Park.
This marked the third African Liberation Day march. The first was held May 25, 1972 when upwards of 15,000 people marched in support of struggles against White minority regimes and neo-colonial regimes in Africa.
By 1974, the ALSC was dominated by anti-imperialist trends. Owusu Sadaukai, an ALSC founder and former head of Malcolm X Liberation University in Durham, N.C.; the African People’s Congress led by Amiri Baraka; and the All-African People’s Party in the U.S. led by Kwame Ture were among the leaders and organizers.
The demonstration on May 25, 1974 drew over 5,000 people according to estimates in the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers as it wound around the northwest part of the city, including marching down U Street NW, passing the White House and ending with a rally at Malcolm X Park.
The main focus of the march was on deposing the White-minority regime in South Africa, but support was echoed for other Black liberation movements in the Caribbean and throughout Africa.
Other issues included attacking oil companies for the energy crisis, police repression and calling for President Richard Nixon’s removal from office.
The Washington Post reported “Baraka said the U.S. civil rights movement had put an end to ‘South African-style repression in the United States…but it began to create class differences.’ He said the gap is becoming more pronounced between the masses of Black people and the few with well-paid jobs ‘sitting by the doors’ at major U.S. corporations.’”
The Post also reported that when Sadaukai addressed the crowd he told them, “We are trying to address those issues that not only affect Africa but have an effect on people here. When you struggle in one place, you are helping the struggle of other people in other places, since the same system (imperialism) is everywhere.”
For more information and related images, see flic.kr/s/aHsjDjwNgU
Photographer is unknown. The photo was published in the December 1974 Vol. 1 No. 2 Finally Got the News published by the African Liberation Support Committee
African Liberation Day: 1974
Thousands march through Washington, D.C. May 25, 1974 as they wound around the northwest part of the city, including marching down U Street NW, passing the White House and ending with a rally at Malcolm X Park.
This marked the third African Liberation Day march. The first was held May 25, 1972 when upwards of 15,000 people marched in support of struggles against White minority regimes and neo-colonial regimes in Africa.
By 1974, the ALSC was dominated by anti-imperialist trends. Owusu Sadaukai, an ALSC founder and former head of Malcolm X Liberation University in Durham, N.C.; the African People’s Congress led by Amiri Baraka; and the All-African People’s Party in the U.S. led by Kwame Ture were among the leaders and organizers.
The demonstration on May 25, 1974 drew over 5,000 people according to estimates in the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers as it wound around the northwest part of the city, including marching down U Street NW, passing the White House and ending with a rally at Malcolm X Park.
The main focus of the march was on deposing the White-minority regime in South Africa, but support was echoed for other Black liberation movements in the Caribbean and throughout Africa.
Other issues included attacking oil companies for the energy crisis, police repression and calling for President Richard Nixon’s removal from office.
The Washington Post reported “Baraka said the U.S. civil rights movement had put an end to ‘South African-style repression in the United States…but it began to create class differences.’ He said the gap is becoming more pronounced between the masses of Black people and the few with well-paid jobs ‘sitting by the doors’ at major U.S. corporations.’”
The Post also reported that when Sadaukai addressed the crowd he told them, “We are trying to address those issues that not only affect Africa but have an effect on people here. When you struggle in one place, you are helping the struggle of other people in other places, since the same system (imperialism) is everywhere.”
For more information and related images, see flic.kr/s/aHsjDjwNgU
Photographer is unknown. The photo was published in the December 1974 Vol. 1 No. 2 Finally Got the News published by the African Liberation Support Committee