#BlackLivesMatter: There is no freedom, without economic freedom.

#Date: 28 August 1963.

#Event: The March on Washington.

#Notable #Attendee: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

#Historic #Incident: King's speech - "I Have a Dream"

#57 #Years #Later: #BlackLivesMatter - or may be not!

As we remember the march on Washington, below are my #reflections on the issue.

There is no "freedom",

without #economic #freedom.

For blacks and Africans all over the world, we must hunger for economic freedom #first, wherever we find ourselves. Crucially though, that drive for economic freedom needs to start on the mother continent - #Africa. We need to go back to the drawing board and #fix our home - Africa. Only then will the rest of the world begin to take us and our people seriously. Ask Israel, India, China, etc.

This rallying call to fix Africa, is aimed at Africans, just as much as it is aimed at African Americans, the Caribbeans, or any blacks anywhere, for that matter. We are in this together - whether we like it or not.

To this end, instruments such as the East African Passport or the the recent launch of the #African #Continental #Free #Trade #Area are a welcome step in the right direction. They should, hopefully, begin to dismantle the unfortunate colonial boundaries that have divided our peoples for decades.

My view is that for Dr King's dream to be realised, we need to look inward, as a people, and not expect "external forces" to come and liberate us. This message is particularly aimed at my generation. To quote Barack Obama, "#we are the ones we've been waiting for." The Kwame #Nkrumah's, the Julius #Nyerere's and the Nelson #Mandelas's did their bit. I'm afraid, we may have no choice but to step up for the benefit of our children and grandchildren.

For instance, the unfortunate closure of the Uganda - Rwanda border, that has affected the economic livelihoods of folks from my home village, and caused untold economic loss to the economies of both countries, is one such example of self-inflicted social-economic damage that we must first eliminate. "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." Martin Luther King, Jr.

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