— By Broderick Dunlap

December 1st, 2020

Feature writer Broderick Dunlap Reviews

Free the Land: The Republic of New Afrika and the Pursuit of a Black Nation-State

by Edward OnaciFor

Free the Land: The Republic of New Afrika and the Pursuit of a Black Nation-State by Edward Onaci is a revelatory historiography of the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (PG-RNA)and the New Afrikan Independence Movement (NAIM) more broadly. The NAIM began in 1968 in Detroit, Michigan during the Black Power Movement, but is often overlooked by those studying this time period. When discussing the Black Power Movement, the first thing that typically comes to mind is the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP), which frequently overshadows other important organizations of the era. However, the movement was much more than just one organization, and had multiple formations, struggles, and priorities. In fact, there were dozens of groups that did important work and had great influence on Black culture, struggle, and radical politics at this time that we might not recognize or hear about, and the RNA is one of those organizations.In fact, a lot of members of the BPP were also citizens of the RNA. Onaci’s work is important because it exposes the need to study other formations that have had an impact on our organizing just as much as the Panthers.From the creation of New Afrikan Political Science (NAPS) to the radical imagination that was required to believe in the possibility of an independent Black nation-state, the RNA’s history and politics should be studied and discussed closely by organizers and people interested in having a comprehensive understanding of the NAIM. A nation is defined as a large group of people united by common descent, history, culture or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory. A state is defined as a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government.

I picked up this book for a number of reasons, but mainly because I had heard of the RNA but hadn’t studied them much. I had also grown disillusioned with the viability of multinational organizations and wanted to feel vindicated in my conclusion that Black people needed something different. Free the Land is a great start for those interested in looking into alternatives to the goals of multinational organizations. 

The RNA believed that Black people were entitled to a southern stretch of states that included Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.  The Republic of New Afrika was founded in 1968 after a convening of the Malcolm X Society, where members drafted a constitution for a proposed nation, which they elected civil rights activist and prominent self-defense advocate, Robert F. Williams as president to lead. In addition to a free and sovereign Black nation-state, the leaders of the RNA believed the only way towards liberation was getting billions of dollars to Black folks in the form of reparations, as well as voting on whether or not we want to be citizens of the United States. The leaders of the RNA felt that Black people were never given a choice to determine our own destiny after the Civil War and the passage of the 13th and 14th amendments to the constitution. 

Imari Obadele believed that Black people had a strong case for human rights violations in the international arena. With the United States’ long history of slavery, state sanctioned violence, Jim Crow, and the lack of action by the federal government after racist attacks like Tulsa and Rosewood, Obadele believed Black people were entitled to compensation. (Presently, the radical movement for reparations has been co-opted by the reactionary “American Descendants of Slaves Movement” (ADOS). ADOS is reactionary because not only do they completely erase Black folks’ connection to Africa, it does not challenge colonialism, capitalism and imperialism and instead is begging the white man for a seat at the table.) Although these claims are more than valid, relying on an institution like the United Nations (which is nothing more than a proxy institution for the United States in favor of Western interests) meant Obadele and the RNA’s plans were doomed from the start. The primary reason I feel this way is because of their use of New Afrikan Political Science. 

New Afrikan Political Science (NAPS) is a decolonial political ideology that encourages its followers to create a New Afrikan identity. NAPS can take many forms; some of the most common are name changes, a change in your appearance and even challenging the ideas of having a nuclear family. NAPS is an ideology meant to impact all aspects of your life in hopes that you can reach your full potential for the benefit of the community. To adopt NAPS as an individual means that you are committing to develop yourself and skills so that you can contribute towards building a free Black nation-state.

If you are interested in another political strategy utilizing decolonial political ideologies from across the African diaspora I would suggest Pan-Africanism. To  understand Pan-Africanism I would recommend reading the works of Kwame Nkumrah and Sekou Toure. The RNA was not a marxist organization nor is NAPS.I do not believe NAPS is any less valid than any other ideology but just like anything else, it is not above critique. In my opinion, the lack of historical materialism in the RNA’s ideology caused them to skip a few steps in the building of their organization. It is not practical for a colonized, landless nation to suddenly implement a provisional government, especially with no mass base, land or military. I agree that the only way for Black people to obtain liberation is through a sovereign Black nation but it is not possible by working backwards. In order for a radical idea such as this to succeed we first need to build political and economic power and that can only be achieved through the acquisition of land. Like most of the formations during the New Afrikan Independence Movement and the Black Power Movement, the RNA considered themselves disciples of Malcolm X. The entire reasoning behind founding the RNA was based on his theories around nationalism in Message to the Grassroots: “All revolutions are based on land.” 

On one hand it is easy for me to point out the RNA’s shortcomings fifty years later - organizers did not know the lengths the US government was willing to go to protect the US empire. No one really knew how sinister and well organized COINTELPRO was at the time, and it is indisputable that the government interfered with RNA’s organizing. However, that does not mean the organization did not have it’s own shortcomings outside of that interference. 

I believe that if they focused on building a mass movement with the primary objective of building political and economic power necessary to form a nation, instead of focusing on asking the US for reparations and for help from the international courts, they would have been more effective. They also believed it would be possible to coexist with the US which was another fatal flaw; the only way for a sovereign Black nation-state to exist is through the dismantling of the settler-colonial empire. Otherwise, it would only result in a new form of colonialism - neocolonialism, and oppression. Neocolonialism is essentially when a newly liberated colony is still under control of their former colonizers, for a more in depth understanding of neocolonialism check out Kwame Nkumrah’s Neocolonialism: The Final Stage of Imperialism.

Despite my critiques, I think the RNA was right in principle, I just disagree with the way they pursued it. I truly believe an organization with Pan-Afrikan socialist politics with the same goals of a Black nation-state could be much more effective. Overall, Free the Land is an invaluable resource for folks interested in studying the RNA and NAIM. It is also a great start for those who recognize the limitations of multinational organizations and are looking for alternatives in their organizing as well as shed light on the lasting impacts this era has had on all of us.