Uhuru Comrades Sisters and Brothers,
The 2009 InPDUM convention will be upon us soon. So let's get ready. The Convention will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this year on Saturday and Sunday October 3rd and 4th under the slogan "They Say Cutback, We Say Payback, Reparations Now!" Our secondary slogan will be "Independence in our Lifetime". The International Executive Committee is excited about the convention this year for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons is the Revolutionary National Democratic Program (RNDP) that will be discussed as we approach the convention and at the Convention itself. InPDUM is now in the discussion stages of replacing our 13 point platform with the more in depth, RNDP. The RNDP sets a revolutionary agenda for InPDUM and helps to define our task more accurately than ever before. The program has more than 40 points covering everything from the struggle for African self determination to reparations to the budget cuts happening in every city in America at the expense of the African population.
Comrades, we need a clearer direction more than ever. The ongoing attacks from U.S. imperialism under their new neo-colonial strategy must be something that we can get political handle on. The U.S. is currently fighting two wars and has set up the African Command Center (AFRICOM), a military strategy right on the continent of Africa and the Northern Command Center (NORTHCOM) in our communities throughout the U.S. We have to sharpen the struggle of ideas against white power. I believe the RNDP can help us do that. We are already engaging the imperialists in places like Philadelphia where we are defending the Philly City Hall 2, comrades Diop Olugbala and Shabaka Nombatha, who were brutally arrested while protesting Mayor Michael Nutter's budget in the city of Philadelphia. We are struggling in Oakland, California around the budget cuts as well. In Saint Petersburg, Florida we are in a dynamic process of building a local InPDUM branch that will engage the local white power elite as is tradition in that "City of African Resistance".
We recently participated in the African Liberation Day event in Washington D.C. where we had a strong presence in the struggle to build the African Socialist International. We also were instrumental in building for the African Liberation Day event in Manchester , England. The development of a new program of action and new, enthusiastic forces coming into the organization gives me a great sense of anticipation as we move forward to Philadelphia. We need to organize study sessions and meetings to discuss the RNDP in depth.
I am calling on all our local organizers to bring buses to the convention this year. Every organization should attempt to fill a bus. If you live in a city where there is not a local organization you can build one by contacting our International Organizing office at 215-459-7551. The more people we get on board the more dynamic our process will be. Let's get out there and start fundraising and getting your prices for your contingent's bus.
The Convention fee is $50 and it will cover your convention materials, packet and continental breakfast for both days. We need you to send in your registration fees immediately so we can avoid difficulties with the reproduction of materials and other expenses. You can register online by clicking here, or you can mail in your registration fee to the following address:
Checks or money orders should be made payable to "InPDUM".
Forward to the Convention!
Chimurenga Waller, President InPDUM
