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Africare Honors Sen. Lugar and Rep. Payne for Their Service to Africa at 2004 Gala Benefit
Two thousand guests at Africare gala dinner receive "Afropop Stars Salute Africare" CD, produced by Afropop Worldwide. Report and photographs by Afropop Worldwide producer Sean Barlow
On Friday, November 5, 2004, Washington DC-based Afropop Worldwide Board members and long-time Africa advocates Sandra Rattley and Timothy Bork, Afropop Worldwide President and Executive Producer Sean Barlow and Development Director, Fiona Dunne were among the two thousand guests who attended the 2004 Africare Bishop T. Walker Memorial dinner. This event, the largest annual fundraiser for Africa in the U.S., raises money for Africare's humanitarian work and service to Africans across the continent. The Afropop Worldwide staff and board were guests of the ChevronTexaco Corporation, who were the lead corporate sponsor of the gala event, and who also provide support to Afropop Worldwide. Many in the Washington Hilton ballroom commented that the evening felt like a homecoming as leaders from across the nation, as well as Africa came together to support Africare, and to honor Senator Richard Lugar and Representative Donald Payne in recognition of their leadership in bipartisan Congressional engagement in support of peace and development in Africa. The guest list at the dinner and VIP reception which preceded it read like a "who's who" of notables from national politics, including cabinet secretaries of current and former US administrations, African ambassadors, members of the foreign service corps, representatives of corporate America, NGOs, media, the arts, and African advocacy organizations.
The theme of the benefit dinner was "through the eyes of a child." In the printed program for the evening, an Africare health worker in Niger is quoted as saying, "Even if we save only one child, it's worth it. Every child is a precious individual. And you may never know what he or she may go on to do." The theme of Africa's potential resonated throughout the evening in the words of the featured speakers and was reflected in the video montage featuring striking images from A Day in the Life of Africa book. The video was accompanied by music from the "Afropop Stars Salute Africare" CD produced by Afropop Worldwide. The annual event honors the memory of Bishop John T. Walker, a leader of the Episcopal Church and the first Chairman of Africare's Board of Directors until his untimely death in 1974 at the age of 64. The benefit raised nearly $1 million to support Africare's efforts to improve the quality of life for families and rural villages, through its food security and agriculture, health and HIV/AIDS, water resource development, and micro enterprise projects, as well as emergency humanitarian aid efforts, in 25 countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Founded in 1970, Africare is the oldest and largest African-American organization specializing in aid to Africa. Over the course of its 34 years, Africare has delivered more than $450 million in assistance to Africa. Africare's workforce numbers 1,200, 90% of whom are Africans working on the ground in their own communities. Thanks to ChevronTexaco, every attendee at the dinner received a gift CD produced by Afropop Worldwide which presented the best of Afropop musicians who have accomplished significant success musically and through their music connected Americans to Africa. The compilation was entitled "Afropop Stars Salute Africare." Internationally celebrated Afropop stars Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, King Sunny Adé, Oumou Sangare, Habib Koité, Thomas Mapfumo, the Mahotella Queens, and Khaled and their record labels all donated tracks for the Afropop CD. These artists are among the most popular and recognized of Africa's cultural ambassadors to the world. Also donating their music to benefit Africare are less well known but fantastically talented artists: Gangbé Brass Band (Benin); Gigi(Ethiopia); Jaojoby (Madagascar); and Gidigidi Majimaji (Kenya. Gidigidi represents Africa's exploding hip-hop youth music movement.
Besides their outstanding talent, all the artists featured serve powerful and unique roles as commentators, opinion-shapers, and mobilizers of action on the vital issues of the day facing their societies. Bios and photos by Afropop.org Senior Editor Banning Eyre, as well as web site and contact information for all the artists, were included in the booklet which accompanied the CD. The Afropop Worldwide team sincerely hopes the movers and shakers at the Africare event will be inspired to spread the good word about the artists, buy the their CDs, attend their concerts, and include them in their own events. The annual Africare dinner program featured a tribute to Bishop John T. Walker led by his son Tom Walker. A short video on Bishop Walker included testimonials from his colleagues and underlined his commitment to social justice, racial reconciliation, and his devotion to improving the quality of life in Africa.
The film flashed a blurry black and white photo of Bishop Walker as a high school student at St. Paul's Academy in New England. Who should be his classmate standing nearby with his signature prominent jaw but the teenage John Kerry! When John Kerry was shown next in the film delivering a passionate tribute at Bishop Walker's memorial service, the room erupted in spontaneous applause. The printed program included these words of Bishop Walker: "Those of us who have had the privilege to live and work in Africa have, if we are wise, learned that anything worth striving for --whether it is freedom or a self-help clinic--comes only to those who can stay the long, hot course." Amen.
This evocative remembrance of Bishop John T. Walker was followed by the keynote address delivered by David J. O'Reilly, Chairman and CEO of ChevronTexaco Corporation and National Chair of the 2004 Africare Bishop Walker dinner. O'Reilly described the company's humanitarian activities in Angola and elsewhere, and also emphasized that business investment is key to Africa's future. He added that caring for Africa is not only the right thing to do morally and ethically, but it also makes good business sense. ChevronTexaco is Sub-Saharan Africa's largest U.S.-based private investor. Secretary of State Colin Powell was a surprise guest who was warmly applauded when he took the podium. Powell began his remarks joking that during the past three days after the Nov. 2nd election, he'd been spending most of the time "hiding under my desk." Then, adopting a more serious tone, Powell related an anecdote about speaking informally the other day with a group of African Muslim youth visiting the country. He reported many of them said they were confused by the noise and strife surrounding the election. Powell said he told them, "That's democracy."
Secretary Powell spoke forcefully against corrupt regimes in Africa whom he charged, "stole food from the mouths of their countries' children." Powell cited HIV/AIDS as the greatest "weapon of mass destruction" facing the world. On a positive note, he pointed out that eight of the countries chosen for support from the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) are African. The MCA provides development assistance to those countries that rule justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom. Secretary Powell spoke with deep appreciation for the work of the two recipients of the 2004 Bishop T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award-Senator Richard Lugar (Republican) and Congressman Donald Payne (Democrat). Senator Lugar is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Powell cited Representative Payne's leadership in legislation such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Sudan Peace Act, work for democracy in South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria, Zaire, as well as Payne's former chairmanship of the Congressional Black Caucus. In his remarks, Representative Payne thanked Secretary Powell for declaring the human catastrophe in the Darfur region of Sudan "genocide." He commended his colleague, Senator Lugar for his leadership on African issues and for all he has accomplished on Capitol Hill. Payne also spoke of feeling a love of Africa that began at an early age and has remained a guiding force in his life. Rodney Slater, former Transportation Secretary in the Clinton administration, introduced honoree Senator Lugar as the co-author of the original African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and congratulated him for his leadership in passing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 (casting the deciding vote to override President Reagan's veto). This legislation imposed economic sanctions against apartheid South Africa. Many attribute the Senate's sanctions against South Africa as one of the key factors leading to refusals by international capital markets to finance South Africa's debt which in turn helped force the end of the racist, anti-democratic apartheid regime.
Senator Lugar recounted in his remarks how in 1995 during the kick-off debate in the key primary state of New Hampshire for his party's nomination for president, he had talked about Africa and other areas of the world as priorities in his proposed agenda. Members of his own party cited this as evidence that Lugar "suffered from an eccentric obsession with foreign policy." The dinner audience laughed heartily. Then Lugar said that, post 9-11, Americans should see that "caring for Africa is not eccentric" when you consider security, health, and trade development concerns. Lugar cited African leaders rising to the challenge of fighting HIV/AIDS, the growth of regional trade associations, and the emergence of the African Union replacing the less effective Organization of African Unity as evidence of Africa's progress. He declared that Africa must have opportunities to grow in the global marketplace, that the benefits of the oil boom should go to Africa's masses, and that the U.S. must embrace Africa as a full partner, and not as a charity case.
Africare President Julius E. Coles was euphoric as he wrapped up the evening. He acknowledged his predecessor, Africare founder, President and CEO for thirty years, C. Payne Lucas, and expressed his gratitude to Africare's sponsors. In announcing that the benefit dinner had raised nearly one million dollars, Coles' parting words to the attendees of the 15th annual Bishop John T. Walker Memorial Dinner were simply, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!"To learn more about Africare and for videos of speeches delivered at the 2004 Africare Bishop John T. Walker Memorial Dinner, visit: www.africare.org Afropop Worldwide is the ground-breaking weekly public radio program that is hosted by Georges Collinet and distributed by PRI to over 100 stations in the U.S. and by XM satellite radio. Since 1988 the program has introduced Americans to the sounds and stories of contemporary African and African Diaspora music. The program, its companion web site, weekly e-Newsletter, archives and collaborative projects inspire music fans, journalists, concert presenters and educators, thus building the market for African artists. To learn more about the Afropop stars featured in the special edition "Afropop Stars Salute Africare" and to subscribe to the Afropop e-Newsletter, visit www.afropop.org
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