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Africa Policy E-Journalgiven the difficulty in maintaining up-to-date links in old files. However, we hope they may still provide leads for your research. Africa: African Americans for Aid to Africa Date Distributed (ymd): 950517 National Phone Day May 25, 1995: African Freedom Day On this thousands of concerned Americans will call their members of Congress and the chairs of the Foreign Operations Subcommittees, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Representative Sonny Callahan (R-AL) to send this message: * Retain the Development Fund for Africa (DFA) and fund it at 1995's $802 million level. The DFA is the funding mechanism which assures that aid to Africa supports sustainable development and poverty alleviation projects. * Maintain the African Development Foundation (ADF) at its current level of $17 million. The ADF is a government organization which is mandated to support small community- based development efforts and African scholars researching grassroots development issues. * Oppose merging development programs into the State Department; such a merger further politicizes the aid process. President Clinton has included $802 million in funding for Africa in his budget proposal--this amounts to only $3 a year per U.S. household! Despite this inadequate amount Capitol Hill's conservative majority is determined to see it further reduced. Reach your Member of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at: (202) 224-3121. The numbers for the Foreign Operations Chairmen are: Senator McConnell: (202) 224-2541 Representative Callahan: (202) 225-4931 If you are only able to place one phone call, please prioritize a Foreign Operations Chairman. This project is sponsored by African Americans for Aid to Africa c/o the Washington Office on Africa, 110 Maryland Ave. N.E., Suite 112, Washington, DC 20002. WHAT YOU CAN DO! * Participate in the National Phone Day! May 25 has been identified as National Phone Day. On this day thousands of Americans will be calling their Members of Congress with one simple message: "Don't cut assistance for poor people in the U.S. and Africa. Retain the Development Fund for Africa and fund it at 1995's $802 million level." * Write. Write a letter to your legislator. As a voter your letter carries tremendous weight. * Encourage organizations, for example churches and social justice and civil rights groups, and individuals in your community to also write letters to save aid to Africa. * Hold a public Forum or Teach-in to orient and educate people about the provisions of legislative proposals that would undermine African and American poverty alleviation efforts. * Develop a Speakers Bureau to send people to churches, community based organizations, colleges and university groups. There are many in your area, including you, who are able to speak knowledgeably on these issues. Contact them and arrange for them to speak. If necessary, contact any of the resource organizations for speakers. * Network with others in your community who are lobbying for deep cuts in the military budget and reforming the structure of U.S. foreign assistance policy. Mobilize with those organizations and invite them to join your advocacy efforts. * Consider the use of direct action campaigns, including civil disobedience, to save benefits for those who need them, both at home and abroad. * Contact local media to cover your activities and the view of your organization. Encourage local media to report on Africa and other areas of interest to your community. Write an opinion editorial explaining how you feel about the attempts to cut aid to Africa. Contact the editor of the opinion page for instructions for submitting your editorial. * Fell free to contact resource organizations or agencies to assist you with the Save Aid to Africa campaign. Organizational Resource List For information on Africa and Congress's anti-Africa agenda contact: American Committee on Africa 17 John St. New York, NY 10038 Phone: (212) 962-1210 Fax: (212) 964-8570 Contact Person: Dumasani Kumalo Bread for the World 1100 Wayne Ave., Suite 1000 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: (301) 608-2400 Fax: (301) 608-2401 Contact Person: Sharon Pauling TransAfrica 1744 R St. NW Washington, DC 20009 Phone: (202) 797-2301 Fax: (202) 797-2382 Contact Person: Maryse Mills United Methodist Church* GBCS 110 Maryland Ave., NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone: (202) 488-5645 Fax: (202) 488-5639 Contact Person: Mark W. Harrison * organization listed for identification purpose only The Washington Office on Africa 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 112 Washington, DC 20002 Phone: (202) 546-7961 Fax: (202) 546-1545 The following organizations can be contacted for information to support your efforts: American Friends Service Committee 1501 Cherry St. Philadelphia, PA 19102 Phone: (202) 241-7179 Center for Democratic Renewal P.O. Box 5046 Atlanta, GA 30302 Phone: (404) 221-0025 Center for Constitutional Rights 666 Broadway, 7th Floor New York, NY 10012 Phone: (212) 614-6422 Break the Contract Hotline: 800-764-0235 Greenpeace Fund 1436 U St. NW Washington, DC 20009 Phone: (202) 232-1590 NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund 1275 K St. NW, #301 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 682-1300
Documents previously distributed in the e-journal are
available on the Africa Action website: To be added to or dropped from the e-journal subscription list, write to e-journal@africaaction.org. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the source mentioned in the posting.
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Africa Policy E-Journal
