An Obituary for ACAS (1977-2012)
ACAS was a nice little organization. It’s a shame that it hasn’t done anything since 2012 and that very few people appear to care any longer. Someone may tell you otherwise, but an organization that has no active members and doesn’t do anything isn’t real. And now it’s officially all over. We will never see its like again.
Rest in Peace.
Dear President Biden,
I write with deep concern over the situation in Sudan. The crisis is deepening, with no end in sight for the suffering of civilians in Sudan. Heavy weaponry including artillery, tanks and jet aircraft have been used in densely populated areas in Khartoum, killing hundreds and injuring thousands. The conflict has quickly spread across the country, making it difficult to seek safety. Human rights and aid organizations – including Amnesty International – are reporting that civilians are bearing the brunt of the fighting. Food and fuel prices have soared, and there are power and water outages. And the healthcare system has collapsed, with 60% of Khartoum’s hospitals closed.
With the lives of so many civilians at risk, I urge you to appoint a Presidential Envoy who can lead U.S. diplomatic efforts with Sudanese and regional partners to develop a robust policy response that centers itself on protecting civilians.
Specifically I ask you to appoint a Presidential Envoy who will report directly to you and lead a robust cross agency U.S. Government response. Given the magnitude of the crisis, a Presidential Envoy is necessary to lead a coordinated international community response.
This unfolding crisis is happening at the same time as the 20-year anniversary of the atrocities committed in Darfur. Civilians there remain at the mercy of the same security forces who committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur and other parts of Sudan. Longstanding impunity has allowed those suspected of war crimes in Darfur to remain in leadership positions today, contributing to the current violence in Sudan.
I implore you to take action – the Sudanese people must have our support.
David Wylie, Association of Concerned African Scholars
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Take action yourself in this Amnesty International effort at: Amnesty International USA | Amnesty International USA (amnestyusa.org)
Dear President Biden and Secretary Yellen,
The U.S. economy has created more than 12 million jobs since President Biden took office, thanks to the sound policies and leadership of your administration. But there is general agreement that the risk of recession is substantial.
The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates dramatically, and the impact of those increases is ongoing. This policy is intended to cause an increase in unemployment and appears to have contributed to the current instability in the banking system.
These conditions in the U.S. could worsen the already expected decline in growth and employment around the world. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s April World Economic Outlook concludes that “Risks to the outlook are heavily skewed to the downside, with the chances of a hard landing having risen sharply.” The IMF estimates that 56% of low-income countries are in or at high risk of falling into debt distress.
Downturn and recession around the world would eliminate many export-related jobs in the United States and reduce growth and employment here. From January 2020 to May 2021, the U.S. economy lost an estimated 2.2 million export-related jobs due to the fall in global demand for U.S. exports, as this demand fell during the pandemic and recessions in many countries. While some of these jobs have since been recovered, the current global downturn could reverse this recovery, potentially threatening the livelihoods of millions of U.S. workers.
Unfortunately, if more action is necessary to counteract economic slowdown and recession, a divided Congress is unlikely to be able to provide a new round of effective economic policies. But your administration can take effective action on its own by supporting a new issuance of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) at the IMF.
SDRs have zero cost to the U.S. federal budget or taxpayers. A new SDR issuance would create more than $200 billion worth of international reserves for developing countries, helping to stabilize global economies and U.S. export markets and therefore preserve and create U.S. jobs that would otherwise be lost to a global recession.
During the pandemic in August 2021, the U.S. supported the IMF’s issuance of $650 billion worth of SDRs. This measure was by far the single most important action taken to support the economies of developing countries in the face of combined global health, debt, economic, and climate crises. The amount of assistance received by developing countries from this SDR issuance was more than all of the development aid from high-income countries to developing countries over the span of a year. In the first year after the allocation, over 100 low- and middle-income countries used their SDRs in some form, including to stabilize currencies and avert balance of payments crises, to repay debts to the IMF, and to purchase critical imports such as food, vaccines, and personal protective equipment, including from the United States. Based on the Bank for International Settlements’ research on the relationship between mortality and global recession, the 2021 issuance very likely saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
Notably, this issuance did not benefit U.S. adversaries. Countries that are subject to financial sanctions or whose governments are not recognized by the IMF — including Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Russia, Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela — have not been able to use a single SDR from the 2021 issuance. Cuba and North Korea are not IMF members and are therefore ineligible for SDRs. And China has over $3 trillion in foreign reserves and therefore could not use SDRs under current IMF rules.
Leading your administration now to support a new issuance of at least $650 billion in SDRs is a simple, cost-free, and effective way of supporting the economic recovery of the U.S., while saving many lives in developing countries and mitigating the effects of a global recession. So long
Association of Concerned Africa Scholars (USA)
David Love’s article, “Deportation of African and Other Black Immigrants Is Quietly Increasing And No One Is Taking Note” (Altanta Black Star March 20, 2017) investigates a topic ACAS is following closely. Immigrants living in the US are increasingly insecure and worried about real dangers presented by the new strategies used under the Trump administration to harass, detain, and deport immigrants.
As Love writes: “Since the 2016 election, the ICE raids on Black immigrant communities have intensified. For example, in January, 86 men and women were deported to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, after being detained and imprisoned, as Africanews.com reported. In November, 108 immigrants were deported to Ghana and 20 people also were deported to Liberia, while 53 others were processed for deportation. Earlier this month, ICE deported 130 people to Senegal, six times the number recorded by the agency in its 2016 report.”
ACAS Executive expresses its concern at the Zanzibar election annulment, and agrees with the sentiments of a group of scholars of Zanzibar as below. (see link to full statement and initial signatories)
ZANZIBAR SCHOLARS’ STATEMENT OF CONCERN
1 November 2015
We, as concerned scholars of Zanzibar, write to express our dismay at recent events
following the elections of 25 October 2015.
We continue to be deeply thankful for the repeated opportunities afforded us by the
Government of Zanzibar to study, document, and try to understand the lives of Zanzibaris
– their complexity and inventiveness, their countless achievements, and the challenges
they face.
Our work – our research, writing, and analyses of history, culture, geography and
language – has given us a firm appreciation for the people of Zanzibar. Treating us with
enormous generosity and patience, they have repeatedly taught us the value of community,
hospitality, and perseverance.
In our many combined years of listening to and learning from Zanzibaris about so many
aspects of their lives, we have consistently been struck by their decency, kindness, and
their remarkable ability to meet adversity with grace and good humor. Today we extend
our deepest gratitude to them. And we beseech the Governments of Zanzibar and of the
United Republic of Tanzania to honor their commitment to multi-party democracy and to
keep all of their citizens well and free from harm.
We present this statement in the hope that both the Government of Zanzibar and the
Government of the United Republic of Tanzania will reassert their belief in democracy’s
core values; that they will resolve this crisis with wisdom and humility; and that security
organs will exercise restraint and good judgment, prioritizing at all times the safety,
dignity and rights of the people with whose protection they are charged.
Urgent Action Alert: Mozambique: Drop All Charges Against Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco and Fernando Mbanze (UA 162/15… http://ow.ly/31FXA3
see http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/uaa16215_0.pdf
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 1 SEPTEMBER 2015 TO:
Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs
Abduremane Lino de Almeida
Ministry of Justice
Av. Julius Nyerere, 33
Maputo
Republic of Mozambique
Fax: 011 25821494264 and 011 25821487853
Salutation: A sua Excelência
General Prosecutor of Mozambique
Beatriz da Consolação Mateus Buchili
Office of the General Prosecutor
Av. Vladimir Lenine, 121
Maputo
Republic of Mozambique
E-mail: pgr@pgr.gov.mz
Salutation: Exma. Dra.
Also send copies to:
Ambassador Amélia Matos Sumbana, Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique
1525 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036
Phone: 1 202 293-7146 I Fax: 1 202 835 0245 I Email: embamoc@aol.com
PETITION FOR THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
As members of the North Eastern Workshop on Southern Africa (NEWSA) and scholars of African Studies, we are deeply distressed by ongoing injustices in Swaziland. These include the current crisis engulfing the Swazi judiciary, the conditions of political prisoners such as PUDEMO President Mario Masuku, Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko, SWAYOCO Secretary General Maxwell Dlamini, Nation Magazine Editor Bheki Makhubu, MK and ANC cadre Amos Mbedzi and PUDEMO stalwart Zonke Dlamini, as well as the intensified persecution of political and civil society activists and trade unions. We express particular concern about the worsening health conditions of PUDEMO President Mario Masuku, who was recently hospitalized in relation to his poor prison conditions. Masuku’s alleged crime is calling for that which is already enjoyed in many parts of the world: the right for the people to elect a government of their choosing in a free and democratic environment.
We call for the release of all political prisoners in Swaziland and express our support for several movements campaigning for democracy in Swaziland, including the People’s United Democratic Movement, the Swaziland Youth Congress, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland, South Africa Lawyers for Human Rights, Southern Africa Litigation Centre’s, and the Congress of South African Trade Union’s Global Coalition for the Release of Swazi Political and Civil Rights Prisoners.
May 19, 2015
April 8, 2015
An Association of Concerned Africa Scholars (ACAS) Tribute to Terence O. Ranger (29 November 1929 – 3 January 2015)
Compiled by Timothy Scarnecchia, Teresa Barnes, and Peter Limb
April 8, 2015
This special ACAS Review pays tribute to Terence O. Ranger who passed on January 3, 2015, just after midnight just past his 86th Birthday. We sent out a call for tributes in January. We also know that Terry’s students, as well as the Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies, and the members of the British Zimbabwe Society will be producing their own tributes. We at ACAS who worked and knew Professor Ranger wanted to add our small contribution by focusing here on his role as an activist scholar.
This Review includes tributes, recollections, and comments from many who knew and worked with Professor Ranger. It also includes a Bibliography of his publications, with permission from Weaver Press in Harare and, as appendices:
Appendix A: Terence Ranger, “Remarks at Bestowal of Distinguished Africanist Award from the African Studies Association (U.S.) (2009)
Appendix B: Terence Ranger’s 2008 expert testimony in an asylum case for a Zimbabwean.
Terence Ranger was a giant of African Studies, active in support of African liberation, and long-term advocate for asylum rights. If you knew him, or were touched by his work, please consider sending us a reflection or remembrance; and by all means share this call with colleagues and faculty.
The Association of Concerned African Scholars (ACAS, founded in 1977 by scholars to organize scholarly analysis and action toward moving U.S. policy in directions more sympathetic to African interests), and the Zambezi African Studies Association, are putting together a tribute publication of ACAS Review and Blog celebrating the life and work of Terence O. Ranger who passed away peacefully on January 2, 2015. Teresa Barnes, Peter Limb, and Tim Scarnecchia would appreciate you sending your tribute/reflection piece/remembrance to us by January 30th or soon thereafter. Terry Ranger touched the lives and helped advance the careers of many students and scholars around the world, and his work contributed to the development of a counter-narrative to Eurocentric African studies, so we would like to hear from you and also ask that you share this invitation with others who you think would like to write something for this ACAS Review and blog. Please send your writing to either <tscarnec@kent.edu<mailto:tscarnec@kent.edu>> or limb@msu.edu<mailto:limb@msu.edu> by January 30th 2015