Publication Details Reference Mthembu, Ntokozo  (2006) The role of white activists in the liberation struggles of the black race.. Centre for Civil Society : -. Summary South Africa, Africa and the so called Third World in general is in a time where everybody believes that at last colony of all colonies of the western world is “free” but the interesting part is that these ‘former’ colonies have become the cradle of poverty and further subjugation. This development has led me to start asking questions as the manner of trying to understand the role of the so called white activists towards the emancipation of the oppressed populace. I opted to select to scrutinise these ‘abelungu abasithandayo’ because they happen to be known as ‘great minds’ that are necessary for the liberation of the black people. In view of what is visible in the whole of Africa as it is alleged that is free but what is interesting is that these so called free states of Africa, they happened to be the replica of the former colonising states of Europe according to their varying interests in many facets. For example, the most overt issues of language and political philosophy – democracy. These are some of the issues that make one to scrutinise the white activists’ role because the interests of Europe remain intact despite their “commitment” to the liberation of black oppressed. These types of settings make one to keep on questioning, what is the real role of these ‘loving’ whities whether they are there to secure the spoils of colonisation at the expense of the colonised or not. It is a known fact that these whites ‘activists’ have been placed in high esteem by most black populace as they paraded as the “messiah” who knew exactly the sufferings of the black world. These ‘activists’ acted as advisors and fundis in almost in all spheres of liberation of the black world. In reviewing and comparing their importance we need to scrutinize their progress and achievements as compared to the progress and achievements of the blacks in the liberation of the black world. This also leads to another question: whether the African world is truly liberated from the yoke of the western and eastern oppression. It is known fact that most black people think that they are free but what they experience is the continuous of colonialist oppression in the modified manner, as they happened to be co-opted to the echelons of the oppressive machinery of capitalist production .The true experience of the oppressed black majority all over the world manifests itself in the various struggles that they are engaged in, explicitly through marches, strikes and implicitly by the number of black prisoners in the jails of the world and the precarious conditions caused by perpetual landlessness, are only some of the conditions that the majority of poor in the black race live with. On other hand the white activist continue to be the winners as they still enjoy almost the same rights, benefits and their values being uphold as the must be part and parcel of the liberation of the black world. They continue getting sufficient protection from their ‘comrades’ in all fronts as they treated as demigods, indispensable and no one should question their role despite their consolidation of their white world at the expense of the black world. For example, in South Africa to just to mention few works of the white activists played a vital role in securing the stolen land through the famous Sunset Clause proposed by Joe Slovo. Another current issue of which is the good example in this discussion, is the question of Zimbabwe’s total liberation of land back to the rightful owners. This corrective measure is being seen as bad by admire and protectors of the white world in the black skin. So, the black activists have been diverted from their initial mandate to lead, protect, advance and total liberation of the black world not what they have become the implementers/surrogates of what white activists feel is proper for the sustaining of their capitalism system as it has ‘become global’. This manifests itself when Africans activists have gained control over their state's apparatus; the colonialist's still controlled the economic apparatus of most African states (Bond, 2006:14). Maybe this confirms Clarkes argument when he highlights that the fact that a large number of the African activists, who had studied abroad were a detriment to the aims and goals of their nations. He argues further that is because none of them had been taught to rule an African state by the use of the best of African traditional forms and strategies (2004). As a result African states, in the main, became imitations of European states and most of their leaders could justifiably be called Europeans with black faces. They came to power without improving the lot of their people and these elitist governments continue until this day (Clarke, 2004). Anybody who raises a concern about these skewed developments is told is racist and a type of calibre of such people are not needed in the rainbow nation, as they are the threat to the stability of the western world capitalism that breeds inequality, racism, poverty and fallacy. Those few sons and daughters of this mighty land - Africa who still see fit and must advance the total liberation of black world are constantly told that they are not progressive, evil and full of hatred of white people, sidelined, denied excess to relevant resources, referred to by name callings, threatened by all other means and tricks available in the book and go as far as murdering to make sure s/he feel stupid and unreasonable to the fulfilment of their mandate of the liberation of the black race, as they have become apologetic. In view of this type of development that is championed by these “abelungu abasithandayo” can their input be regarded as the true vehicle for the total liberation of the black world or not? Anyone who is engaged in the particular programme evaluates whether the aims and objectives that were set prior to the commencement of such project. So, this discussion is based in such principle in view of the fact that the “liberation” is known that it has “reached” the shores of dispossessed black majority. Do you think these white activists have mastered the course of the liberation of the black people justly and to the teeth? These questions keep cropping up as especially presently, as the world witness the emergence of new or continuing of old struggle of which again are mostly headed or still adviced and funded by the same western world through the same white activists. What is most interesting is the manner in which they selectively and manipulate the documenting of the proceedings or processes that are meant to be led and to emancipate the oppressed black majority. They continue to be advisers and brokers of western cooked theories that maintain the status quo to the governments and activists on their own struggles. These white activists go as far as advising the oppressed to fight for low cost housing and ignoring health issues that goes along with such accommodation and entice people to fight for crumbs- in the form of denying the fact that African are entitled for their land but to be enslaved in the form of job or employment will address the issues of colonisation. In conclusion, do you think the white activists will ever be fully equipped to be the champions in the struggle for the total emancipation of the black race in all form of oppression? Do you think Marcus Mosiah Garvey was too pessimistic or not? When he calls: “AFRICA FOR THE AFRICANS, THOSE AT HOME AND ABROAD. We must regain our confidence in ourselves as a people and learn again the methods and arts of controlling nations. UP!UP! YOU MIGHTY RACE! YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU WILL!” (Clarke, 2004). Reference: Bond, P. (2006:14). Multinational Capital’s Responsibility for Africa’s Resource Extraction Crisis. OpenSpace, Vol. 1 No.4, June 2006. University of Botswana Clarke, John Henrik (2004). Black Nationalist, Pan-Africanist; The father of contemporary Black Nationalism.- www.swagga.com/marcus.htm- (accessed-10.05.2004).  Back