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------ A couple of weeks ago, H-Africa forwarded from the H-African-American discussion list two items relating to Marcus Garvey. I listened to the first. Here are the concluding words of the clip, spoken as if it were the great man himself: "You could not tell me in the 1920s that eighty years later the world would be infested with neutron bombs, AIDS, drugs, homelessness, terrorism, laser beams and visible nuclear devastation. However, were I alive today I would still recommend the same remedy for my people's upliftment: self-esteem, self-respect and self-reliance in a world gone crazy with individualism. I never taught racism, but, rather, dignity and pride in one's race. With God's dearest blessings, I leave you for a while. One Love." Prophetic! Bizarre! Piffle! Concluding the statement like Bob Marley made me chuckle!!! Yet, it also made me worried: raising the spectre of passing on information without any context. The original poster of the clip, whose name did not chime one letter with their e-mail address, has been coy in replying to my inquiry for contextual information. For those studying the legacy of Marcus Garvey as a doctorate, no doubt such statements will be analysed to the nth degree for meaning. However, would it get into the classroom as 'truth', without question? For me, it just makes me doubt H-Africa a little. That said, I love H-Africa - so interesting, lively, informative and helpful. The hard-working volunteer editors of H-Africa do sterling work, and as the volunteer editor of the African Studies Association of the UK (ASAUK) which goes to 1,400 members every three months and then is posted at www.asauk.net <http://www.asauk.net/>, I appreciate that sometimes such materials do appear in our in-boxes. For example, the fully paid-for invitation to a double-header conference on a worthy subject where the first is held in America and the second in Senegal the following week, seeking your approval and personal details, is a classic ruse, or '419'. Checking the veracity of information - getting more than one source to confirm a story - should be always followed. Occasionally, someone has sent me news of the death of a noted Africanist, only for me to check they are alive, well and bemused [shades of Marcus Garvey, by the way]! So I am sure you would agree with me, we don't want heavy policing and censorship, and we do want all sorts on H-Africa - just a little informational context would help us all. Elena - keep up the excellent work, and just admire the effort/cheek of some of the contributors, Best wishes Simon. Dr Simon Heap Senior Programme Officer, Japan International Cooperation Agency, London. ------ Editor note: I agree in principle with Simon but halas! the day has only 24 hours. And so far, may God forbid! I have never announced the death of somebody well alive, nor invited people to dubious conferences. Your hard-working and good-looking editor Elena
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