Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

Invitations for a Seat at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Table Should Not Only Be Rejected, the Table Needs Turning Over!
Black Alliance For Peace
14 Dec 2022
Invitations for a Seat at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Table Should Not Only Be Rejected, the Table Needs Turning Over!
African Peoples' Forum, December 11, 2022 in Washington DC (Photo: Twitter @African_PF) @

The 2022 U.S. African Leaders Summit is the latest effort by Washington to exert influence on a continent where it habitually thwarts democracy, sovereignty and independence for 54 nations. 

This statement originally appeared on the Black Alliance for Peace website.

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) recognizes the “U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit'' — scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. December 13-15th — as nothing more than collusion between neo-colonial powers and U.S. attempts to advance and maintain dominance over the continent.

Liberal elements of U.S. civil society will preoccupy themselves with the issues they think should be addressed at the Summit, claiming to act in the best interest of Africa or, as with the Summit of the Americas held earlier this year, attack those who they say do not deserve to be invited. Such dispositions presume the U.S. has honest intentions for Africa and legitimizes/obscures its real interests and role.

Convened on the heels of Human Rights Day which is held every December 10, the Black Radical Human Rights and Peace Traditions must center the historical record of the U.S. in Africa and the geo-strategic interests it is committed to upholding. The carefully considered proceedings, side events, invitations, and public relations campaigns are designed to secure greater control of Africa’s abundant resources for U.S. “national interests” aligned with the interest of international finance capital.

Having assumed the racist mantle of the “White Man’s Burden” in the Global South in general and Africa in particular, the U.S. claims that this summit will “demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities.” Such statements should be exposed as being disingenuous and an effort to cover up the United States' malign intent.

African independence movements since the 1950s have been destabilized by U.S. administrations of both parties. Democratically elected leaders such as Patrice Lumumba of Congo, who was assassinated by the CIA, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who was overthrown in a CIA orchestrated coup, fell victim to U.S. government meddling, and they are only two among many. Contemporary U.S. interference has involved proxy wars in Congo with the assistance of Uganda and Rwanda, and in Somalia with Ethiopia (2006-2009) followed by a sustained drone war over Somalia under the guise of fighting extremists. In 2011 the U.S. led NATO in a regime change operation resulting in the total destruction of Libya. The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) occupies 53 of the 54 countries on the continent in one form or another for U.S. neo-colonial hegemony.

A core goal of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit is to challenge the inroads of the People’s Republic of China and to a lesser extent the Russian Federation vis-à-vis the continent. The political sectors of the U.S. oligarchy are concerned about regional cooperation initiated in the Horn of Africa since 2018, and anti-France and pro-Russia expressions among the people in countries like Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, which is invoking the legacy of the revolutionary Thomas Sankara.

Most notably, the complicity and silence of the Congressional Black Caucus members over the role of the U.S. federal government in Africa and the dereliction of their professed purpose to represent the interests of Black and oppressed people will undoubtedly find political cover in the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. CBC members will be key-note speakers, event conveners, and backdoor deal makers for the U.S. neocolonial, white supremacist, patriarchal order. 

In contrast, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is holding an anti-imperialist week of actions to raise public awareness related to the real issues that should be on the agenda for discussion at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.  BAP calls for the dismantling of NATO, AFRICOM and all imperialist structures. Africa and the rest of the world cannot be free until all peoples are able to realize the right of sovereignty and the right to live free of domination.

We demand:

  1. The complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Africa;
  2. The closure of U.S. bases throughout the world; and
  3. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to oppose the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and conduct hearings on AFRICOM’s impact on the African continent, with the full participation of members of U.S. and African civil society.

Join BAP for an anti-imperialist week of actions!

US Africa Policy
AFRICOM
Shut Down AFRICOM
US Africa Summit

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Black Alliance for Peace Africa Team
Now is the Time for All Anti-Imperialists and All Justice Loving People to Stand Unequivocally in Defense of Burkina Faso
07 May 2025
The Black Alliance for Peace demands an end to U.S.
Tunde Osazua
Dictating Security, Ignoring Sovereignty: The Arrogance Behind AFRICOM’s Strategy
23 April 2025
African Command's (AFRICOM) heavy-handed tactics in Africa have backfired, exposing U.S. arrogance and fueling a wave of resistance.
Youth pose behind a Mozambique flag
Black Alliance for Peace US Out of Africa Network
AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #54
15 January 2025
Mozambique is experiencing a period of unrest provoked by recent elections.
Sam Biddle
U.S. Military Makes First Confirmed OpenAI Purchase for War-Fighting Forces
30 October 2024
The Pentagon explored the AI software for research, but the new deal is the first by a combatant command whose mission is one of killing.
Black Alliance For Peace
AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #53
28 August 2024
The Alliance of Sahel States is still developing but offers hope for Africans around the world.
Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report Contributor
Mali and Niger Breaks Diplomatic Relations with Ukraine Accusing NATO Ally of Involvement in Terrorist Attacks
14 August 2024
The United States proxy war against the Russian Federation continues to impact the African continent.
Netfa Freeman
The Ruthless and Desperate Pursuit of U.S. Influence and Access Over Africa
31 July 2024
AFRICOM is growing more bold in its attempts to maintain dominance over the African continent.
Abayomi Azikiwe
Imperialist Weaponry and Shifting Alliances in the Sahel
15 May 2024
Reports of the downsizing of Pentagon troops in Chad comes as the United States continues to delay departure from Niger.
Map of Niger in West Africa
Abayomi Azikiwe
Russian Advisors Arrive in Niger While the Masses Demand the Immediate Withdrawal of Pentagon Troops
24 April 2024
Thousands gathered in Niamey to call for the departure of United States drone stations and soldiers.
Demonstrators in Niger
Black Alliance for Peace Africa Team
BAP’s Africa Team and U.S. Out of Africa Network Applauds Niger’s Move to Expel AFRICOM
03 April 2024
In another step toward the achievement of its national sovereignty, Niger recently declared the United State's military presence in the country

More Stories


  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 30, 2025
    30 May 2025
    In this week’s segment we talk about jails and prisons in New York City and State and the end of city control of the infamous Rikers Island jail. But first a Washington DC activist analyzes how the…
  • Democratic party where are you
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Afeni on Fighting the Bipartisan Fascist Consensus
    30 May 2025
    Afeni is an activist and lead organizer with Herb and Temple in Washington, DC. She joins us from Oakland to discuss politics in the U.S. and how the people can fight the fascism produced by the…
  • Rikers protest
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Eric Adams Loses Control of Rikers Island to Federal Receivership
    30 May 2025
    Our guest is Melanie Dominguez, Organizing Director, New York with the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. She joins us from New York City to discuss the federal takeover of Rikers Island…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Charles Rangel and the End of Black Politics
    28 May 2025
    The late Charles Rangel served as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus for more than 40 years. But the goals of Black politics and electoral politics are not necessarily the same.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: The Intellectual Origins of Imperialism and Zionism, Edward Said, 1977
    28 May 2025
    “In theory and in practice, then, Zionism is a degraded repetition of European imperialism.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us