Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? This is the question the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. probed in his last publication in 1967. This last book aligned his domestic vision of the beloved community with a vision of “the great world house.”Fifty-six years after the publication of this book and Dr. King’s martyrdom in 1968, we are still faced with many of the issues he engaged. This includes racism, hunger, poverty, economic injustice, human rights, the environmental crisis, and globalization.
In 2022 we saw important developments that commended the redress of these issues in an increasing Pan African/global realignment of Africa and the African Diaspora. Crucial issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—food security and food sovereignty, nutrition, equity, sustainability, and climate justice—were advanced at the recent meeting of 49 African leaders and the African Union, hosted by the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. African representatives called for deep commitments for equitable investment in global decision-making bodies and trade within and outside of Africa with the advancement of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
December 5-8 marked the historic launch of the UN Permanent Forum of People of African Descent. This consultative mechanism is a new a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent, working in close coordination with existing mechanisms. This has been supported by the Biden-Harris administration.
The administration announced several other specific policy developments:
- Committing approximately $15 billion in two-way trade in Africa to increase investments in agriculture, the digital economy, health, energy, infrastructure, and finance.
- Reforming the United Nations Security Council to include an African representative, as well as giving the African Union a permanent place at the G20.
- Establishing the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States, represented by and reflecting the diversity of the African Diaspora from African American and African immigrant communities.
2023 brings renewed opportunities to engage these important developments as Bread for the World addresses Dr. King’s legacy and these Pan African issues with its legislative agenda. This agenda has three foci for addressing this vision for a better world in 2023: nutrition, equity, and sustainable life.
We invite you to join us in advocating for this vision and considering engaging in an Offering of Letters! Also turn to the 2023 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, published by the Christian Council of Churches, with the theme of “Do Good, Seek Justice.”
Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church engagement at Bread for the World.
