Vice President Alex Cantave chaired the meeting. Others attending were Ousmane Ba and Deborah Evans (visitors), Willard Johnson, Winston Langley, Sheila Nutt, James Pritchett, Pearl Robinson, Joyce Hope Scott, and Emira Woods. During his Boston visit, Randall Robinson spoke of possible civil disobedience regarding Haiti, but we have no new information about this. The project for a new immigration bill to provide Temporary Protective Status to Haitians is thought to be continuing. Willard reported that the two national Boards of Directors met concerning a financial crisis regarding loan payments on the headquarters building. There was the expectation that over $2.5 million for the next three...
Vice President Alex Cantave chaired the meeting. Others attending were Ousmane Ba and Deborah Evans (visitors), Willard Johnson, Winston Langley, Sheila Nutt, James Pritchett, Pearl Robinson, Joyce Hope Scott, and Emira Woods. During his Boston visit, Randall Robinson spoke of possible civil disobedience regarding Haiti, but we have no new information about this. The project for a new immigration bill to provide Temporary Protective Status to Haitians is thought to be continuing. Willard reported that the two national Boards of Directors met concerning a financial crisis regarding loan payments on the headquarters building. There was the expectation that over $2.5 million for the next three years would come from foundations and USAID. Willard reported on the "Constituency for Africa'' initiative and the coming conference on U.N. peacekeeping and peace enforcement. Pearl Robinson stated that in the longer term the U.N. should be strengthened; there are difficulties with peace keeping if not more institutionalized, as James Jonah has noted. The U.S. puts constraints on how peacekeepers would be used, which leads other countries to take the brunt of the damage. There will be a Cambridge Forum on the South African elections on the evening of election day, April 27. there might be a celebration at M.I.T. organized by the African students, along with FEDSA (Fund for Democratic Elections in South Africa). FEDSA is working to raise funds to permit the African National Congress (ANC) to campaign for its own program and candidates; Willard is FEDSA Board President. Deborah Evans, President of the Harambee Students at Harvard Divinity School, said her organization and the Graduate Student Coalition wanted to affiliate and collaborate with TransAfrica. The minutes mention CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa), grass roots involvement, the Scholar's Council, the Overseas Development Council, the Rockefeller Foundation, Africare, a seminar on Islam, Charles Ogletree, cable TV, militarization, Ade Ademola, the O.A.U. (Organization of African Unity, OAU), non-governmental organizations, human rights, the Rio conference on environment, Europe, and Russia.
