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The United States' oldest organizations devoted to analysis and advocacy on African Affairs have successfully negotiated a consolidation of three institutions into one: Africa Action.

The United States' oldest organizations devoted to analysis and advocacy on African Affairs have successfully negotiated a consolidation of three institutions into one: Africa Action.

The three organizations forming this new union date back to 1953, the year South African liberation movement leader Walter Sisulu requested the creation of an organization to educate Americans about the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. We are the oldest progressive American organizations devoted to educating and mobilizing Americans to fight for positive US and international policies toward Africa and to supporting African struggles for political and economic justice, as well as combating global racism.

The American Committee on Africa was established in 1953 in New York to support the liberation struggle in South Africa. Its mandate grew rapidly to encompass solidarity work with independence movements throughout the continent. It founded The Africa Fund in 1966 to provide research, publications and public education for campaigns in support of African freedom. The Washington-based APIC was created in 1978 as the education wing of the Washington Office on Africa, itself originally an initiative of ACOA. Throughout the past decade APIC has pioneered the use of information and communication technology to support advocacy work on Africa. It became an independent organization in 1998.

Over the years, The Africa Fund and ACOA helped develop strong networks of Africa advocates among the African American faith community and black State and Municipal elected officials. Both networks were important participants in the anti-apartheid struggle. They have been active this year in pressing for the cancellation of Africa's illegitimate foreign debt and for equal access to life-saving anti-AIDS medicines. The New York organizations have also renewed a program to engage younger people in activism for Africa.
To these mobilizing strengths, APIC brings a proven capacity to reach diverse public constituencies with timely information and analysis of African affairs by e-mail and through our excellent website. APIC has also helped develop and co-chairs the Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA), a 200 plus strong coalition of organizations that monitor Congress and U.S. policy and advocate for positive changes in U.S. policies. APIC has also organized and moderated global electronic discussions on key social and economic policy issues that are helping to identify and facilitate communication among grassroots social movements in Africa concerned with the same issues the new organization will be working to address.

As Africa Action we will address Africa's priority issues by providing information and mobilizing for action to help shape new US and multilateral policies to support Africa's efforts to achieve economic, political and social justice in the 21st century. Shortly we will launch a campaign to support Africa's Right to Health as one of our major efforts. We will continue to share information and analysis on a wide range of African affairs to shape public policy debates. We will expand and strengthen our networks, empowering them to participate in influencing US and international policies toward Africa, democratizing US foreign policy and holding international institutions accountable for their actions.

The following are lists of the staff and Board of Directors of Africa Action.

Africa Action Staff

Salih Booker, Executive Director (analyst and activist; media commentator; former staff member in US Congress, TransAfrica, The Ford Foundation and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations)

William Minter, Senior Research Fellow (researcher, analyst, activist, author,information technology consultant; books include: King Solomon's Mines Revisited, 1986, and Apartheid's Contras, 1994)

Aleah Bacquie, Program Director/Religious Action Network (religious and civil rights activist; former Social Justice Ministry Director at The Riverside Church in New York and Media Officer at the South African Council of Churches)

Vicki Ferguson, Program Director/Public Education and Outreach (activist combating racism, sexism, & homophobia; trainer in gender analysis, and electronic and grassroots advocacy; former conference and demonstrations coordinator)

Muntu Matsimela, Program Director/State and Municipal Network (lawyer, activist and organizer on domestic and African human rights issues; former managing attorney for The Osborne Association providing legal services for HIV-positive prisoners and their families)

Aisha Satterwhite, Program Director/Youth Action Network (editor, researcher and writer; former Associate Editor of American Legacy magazine)

Ann-Louise Colgan, Research Associate (MA Graduate of University of Limerick, Ireland; former student leader on human rights issues; with APIC since 1999)

Annie King, Financial Officer/Office Manager (Church Administrator, One Way Church, NY; Financial Advisor, Project People Foundation, NY; with ACOA/The Africa Fund since the 1960's)

Sarah Ciapponi-Godfrey, Administrative Associate (BA Graduate of Trinity College, Washington, DC; with APIC since 1998)

Nechesa Morgan, Administrative Associate (BA Graduate of American University, Washington, DC; with The Africa Fund since 2000)

Laura Bryant, Research Assistant (BA Graduate of Syracuse University, NY; researcher in conflict resolution and faith-based advocacy; former development worker with African and Latino refugee communities in South Africa and the US)

Jeff Manchester, Bookkeeper (with APIC since 1995; former Accountant for Kraft General Foods)

Africa Action Board of Directors

Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, President (Senior Pastor, Canaan Baptist Church, Harlem, NY; former Executive Director for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference)

Adwoa Dunn-Mouton, Vice President (Consultant; former Staff Director, Senate Subcommittee on Africa, US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations)

Marvin Rich, Treasurer (Program Director, National Coalition Against Censorship)

Carolyn Long, Secretary (Consultant; former Vice President, InterAction, Washington, DC)

Elizabeth Calvin (Executive Secretary, Women and Children's Office, Mission Contexts and Relationships, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church)

Jim Cason (Journalist, La Jornada; Political Action Co-chair, Association of Concerned Africa Scholars)

Fantu Cheru (Professor of African and Development Studies, American University, Washington, DC; Independent Expert on Effects of Structural Adjustment and Debt for the UN High Commission for Human Rights)

Cecelie Counts (Assistant Director, Department of Education, AFLCIO)