Elombe Brath

Elombe Brath (died May 19, 2014) was a Pan-African activist, best known for founding the Patrice Lumumba Coalition. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Harlem and Hunts Point. He was an influential activist, recognized by Stokely Carmichael as the "Dean of Harlem Nationalists"[1] and by Dudley Thompson, an "Icon of the Pan-African Movement."[2] Brath died in Harlem at the age of 77.

Brath founded the Patrice Lumumba Coalition[3] with Irving Davis in 1975. The Patrice Lumumba Coalition supported the right to self-determination for Angolans, South Africans, and Namibians and other African liberation movements. In 1976, the Coalition released a policy memo calling for the support of the Zimbabwe Liberation Army.[4] They garnered attention for a 1977 boycott of Ipi Tombi, a Broadway musical that purportedly misrepresented life under apartheid.

Brath was the host of the radio show Afrikaleidoscope on WBAI in New York.[5] and often organized events and panels in New York City to bring attention to African politics and current events.

Brath fought to eliminate the usage of the term "negro" and, in 1961, launched a "Black is Beautiful" campaign with a series of Afrocentric fashion shows featuring African-American women who were known as the Grandassa models[6] and sported large afros.

In 2003, Brath cofounded the World African Diaspora Union (WADU) to advocate for the unification of the African Diaspora politically, culturally, and economically with Africa. WADU was officially launched in 2004.[7]

The great thinkers whom Brath counted as influences — Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Carlos A. Cooks, and his cousin Clenell Wickman — waged a political battle on behalf of working-class blacks in colonial Barbados.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Boyd, Herb. "Tribute to Elombe Brath". Amsterdam News. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Elombe Brath". World African Diaspora Union. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Patrice Lumumba Coalition". Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Patrice Lumumba Coalition. "Southern Africa Must Be Free! USA Subversion Must Be Exposed!" (PDF). African Activist Archive. Michigan State University. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Minter, Ed., William; Hovey, Ed., Gail; Cobb, Jr., Ed., Charles (2007). No Easy Victories: African Liberation and American Activists Over a Half Century, 1950–2000. Africa World Press. p. 199. ISBN 9781592215744.
  6. ↑ Ra, Amun. "Happy Natural Day". Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ "World African Diaspora Union". Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ Ransom, Jan (May 21, 2014). "Harlem mourns death of Elombe Brath, lifelong warrior in battle for pan-African empowerment". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
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