IANA Blog

Blog Happy August, Also, Happy Black August. For those that don’t know, Black August is a commemoration and acknowledgement of the many organizers, activists, freedom fighters and political prisoners who sacrificed their freedom and lives in the continued struggle for Black liberation in the U.S. It was initiated by the Black Guerilla Family in 1979, to commemorate the deaths of fellow freedom fighter George Jackson, along with his brother Jonathan.  August is just as important as Black History Month is, in some ways, even more important, especially since some dates are very important footnotes in Black History. August 1st is Emancipation Day in many Caribbean countries, August 17th is the birthdate of Marcus Garvey, August 21st was the beginning of the U.S. slave rebellion led by Nat Turner, August 23rd was the day enslaved Africans revolted in Saint Domingue in Haiti, which was the beginning of the Haitian Revolution and August 30th is the birthdate of Fred Hampton. I bring this ...

Blog Happy July, During this month, I was celebrating Nelson Mandela Day. July 18th would have been his 105th Birthday, and a couple months later would be the Tenth anniversary of his transition to an ancestor. So, I figured I would take some time to make this month’s blog on a man that influenced me, one of my favorite leaders, and in my opinion, one of the greatest men to step foot from the African continent, Nelson Mandela. Now I know what you’re thinking, what does Nelson Mandela have to do with IANA? He’s South African… I know…and for those that remember…he was a revolutionary…freedom fighter…philanthropist…leader of the African National Congress…former President of South Africa…the symbol of the Anti-Apartheid movement, a movement that impacted the world…and it wasn’t just South Africans fighting back against the Apartheid system, the whole continent of Africa joined the fight…especially Nigeria. Late Nigerian artists Sonny Okosun, Ras Kimono and Majek Fashek made Anti-apartheid ...

Blog Happy June, For those that don’t know, Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. This holiday commemorates the “emancipation” of Enslaved African Americans, especially the enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. In Texas and the American South, it’s been celebrated for years…in the Bay Area…especially Oakland and Berkeley, we’ve been celebrating Juneteenth. Like I said, now that it’s being celebrated as a federal holiday, and when I found that out, I already knew that…well…let’s just say…something was about to happen… First off, I know what you’re thinking…why am I bringing up Juneteenth…on the IANA blog, besides from the fact that it’s June. Well, Juneteenth did originate in Texas, and Texas is home to a lot of Nigerians, including members in our association, and a majority of Black Americans do have West African blood, especially Nigerian blood, so it’s all interconnected. I still remember in 2022, I was celebrating Juneteenth at the Juneteenth Festiv...

  Blog Happy May, This May 25th was Africa Day, formerly known as African Liberation Day. Africa Day is the commemoration of the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAAU) on May 25, 1963. It is celebrated pretty much everywhere in Africa. I remember last year as I was celebrating Africa Day, someone on Twitter talked about how Africa Day has turned into a co-op and how some use Africa Day just to celebrate, when in actuality, it should be used as a day to commemorate the many Activists, Revolutionaries and Freedom Fighters from the continent who fought for the independence of the countries they were from, especially Kwame Nkrumah, Haile Selassie and Julius Nyerere who helped form the OAAU.  I had to agree; of course, Africans should celebrate “Africa Day,” but also remember that it should be a call to action, because every African country still has problems that go all the way back to colonization. We should all be continuing to fight for the liberation of not just ...

  Happy April, As we all know, April 22nd is Earth Day. Of course, on Earth Day is the day that we support environmental protection. Hopefully, people don’t just wait til Earth Day to do some environmental work, especially with what’s going on with Climate change. A couple of my friends who are organizers talk to me every week about how Climate change is affecting all of us, especially in Africa. They would tell me how they were able to contact people in South Africa and how Climate change was affecting their country, especially last year, with the storms they were having during the Summer. The more I thought about it, it made me wonder how the Climate change affected Nigeria. I do remember them also telling me about massive storms that were hitting Nigeria too. They even asked me if any of my family members were affected by those storms, and from what I know, no one in my family died..or was fully affected. I even remember them telling me about how China is actually helping them p...