Washington File
14 November 2002
African American Actor and Activist Discusses NGO's objectives
(Danny Glover at National Press Club on TransAfrica) (680) By Lindsey Brooks Washington File Staff Writer Washington - "When I think about the stories I tell, they not only invigorate me as an artist, but they also bring some sort of sense of what we can possibly be and the relationships we develop as human beings," said actor and activist Danny Glover at a National Press Club luncheon November 12. Glover, popularly known for his role as Sgt. Murtagh opposite Mel Gibson in the "Lethal Weapon" films, spoke of his activist background and the agenda of TransAfrica, an African-American lobbying group for Africa and Caribbean issues which he chairs. "I trace my political interest in Africa to when I first heard the legendary South African artist (singer) Miriam Makeba for the first time," Glover said. "As a college student my own budding political sensibilities were excited by the literature of that era about the Africa movement." In addition to protesting apartheid in South Africa Glover said, "I began to perform the works of Athol Fugard, the white South African playwright, and I began to realize that theatre and acting could raise awareness." Glover began his acting career with television roles in the 1970s, and in the early 1980s he starred in Athol Fugard's "Master Harold … and the Boys" on Broadway. His theatre experience led to roles in more than 80 films, including "The Color Purple" (1985), the successful and popular "Lethal Weapon" series beginning in 1987, and the title role in the HBO (cable TV station) production of "Mandela." In 2001 Glover was appointed Chairman of the Board of the TransAfrica Forum and he continues to serve as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to raise AIDS awareness in Africa. This month Glover received the Marian Anderson Award, which honors artists who demonstrate leadership on behalf of a humanitarian cause or issue. "I took the chairmanship of TransAfrica because I understood the power of institutions," Glover said. "I see the organization as an opportunity to make changes, build alliances, and forge new activism." "We believe with organizing, education, coalition building, and action TransAfrica can bring issues from across the globe to our front doors and help our constituents understand that these issues matter," Glover said. "The goal is to create a just, safe and sustainable planet not only for us, but for all people around world; peace, security, and justice are in our collective self interest." Glover outlined TransAfrica's objectives stating, "Ours is a multipurpose agenda that will build upon a set of interconnected core principles labeled DARAS. This spells nothing, but means a great deal." "D is for debt relief," Glover explained. "The possibilities for democracy, justice, and a future for countries in the global south are being strangled by debt repayment policies. Take, for example, the democratically elected government of South Africa. Right now that nation is paying on loans that were incurred by an apartheid system; it is debt that is a major obstacle to its reconstruction and development." "A is for AIDS," he said. "This pandemic has ravaged a continent that is being held hostage by pharmaceutical genocide. About one-fourth of South Africans are HIV positive, yet the wealthy multinational pharmaceutical corporations resist making medications more accessible." Continuing, Glover said, "R is for reparations. TransAfrica Forum takes a global stand on reparations. A is for agriculture subsidies. S is for sovereignty. It is a fundamental right of all nations to determine their own economies, based on their own needs and democratic aspirations." Expanding on the need for reparations, TransAfrica president (and the person who drafted the DARAS principles) Bill Fletcher added, "The issue of reparations is a dicey matter of redistribution of wealth, something many of us don't want to talk about. The issue is how do we redistribute wealth in order to have some sort of reasonable sustainable development." Glover said there is a need today for collective action. "I see TransAfrica as a catalyst, a major center for activism that will only be successful by acting in concert with others. We intend to play a significant role in educating and mobilizing the general public. We are partnering with youth, student organizations, labor organizations, academics, community activists, and individuals." (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)