1. 970 generations from 42,300 BC (haplogroup E-V38, which originated in the Horn of Africa) to 3,500 BC (beginning of Nekhen Confederation) during the Nilo-Sudanic period - 38,800 years: free people subject to natural law and totemic customs
2. 10 generations from 3,500 BC to 3,100 BC during Nekhen Confederation – 400 years: free people subject to natural law and totemic customs freely associated with members of the Nekhen Confederation
3. 113 generations from 3,100 BC to 1400 AD during the Migration Period from Nile Valley to Guinea Bissau – 4,500 years: free people subject to natural law and totemic customs Note: during this period, my family resisted various assaults, attacks and raids by various peoples and various states, especially the Mande peoples of the Mali and Kaabu Empires, as well as by Islamic jihads
4. 9 generations from 1400 AD to 1765 AD in Nhacra – 365 years: free people subject to natural law and Balanta customs Note: according to Balanta oral history and historians, my family recognized no leaders, chiefs, or kings and the head of the family household was the highest unit of sovereignty
5. 1765 - approximate date of the capture of B’rassa Nchabra, my great, great, great, great, great grandfather, in his homeland of Nhacra in present day Guinea Bissau: prisoner of war that was declared by the Papal Bull Dum Diversas in 1452
6. 1765-6 – arrival in Charleston, South Carolina: Balanta prisoner of war misclassified as “slave” by the Negro Law of South Carolina (1740): Section I declared “all Negroes and Indians (Free Indians in amity with this Government, Negroes, mulattoes and mestizos, who are now free excepted) to be slaves.” However, Section 4 stated that “The term Negro is confined to slave Africans (The ancient Berbers) and their descendants. It does not embrace the free inhabitants of Africa, such as the Egyptians, Moors, or the Negro Asiatics, such as Lascars.” Thus, by this statute, B’rassa Nchabra, who was a free inhabitant at the time of his capture and came from a family lineage and people that had never been enslaved and were not subjects of any political authority, was wrongfully enslaved in Charleston. Being so young and unable to speak English, he could not make a case in defense of his freedom.
7. 2 generations from 1766 to 1853 – 87 years: Balanta prisoner of war misclassified as “slave”;
8. 1853 to 1865 – twelve years: Jack Blake, B’rassa Nchabra’s son now in his sixties, is emancipated by his owner Catherine Hartsfield-Blake: emancipated Balanta prisoner of war note: Jack Blake’s son and grandchildren are not emancipated and are still Balanta prisoners of war misclassified as “slaves”
9. 1865 (passage of the 13th Amendment) to July 1868 (ratification of 14th Amendment) - 3 years: emancipated Balanta prisoner of war classified as “free person”
10. 4 to 6 generations from 1868 to present – 153 years: emancipated Balanta prisoner of war misclassified as “naturalized citizen” and colonized through fraudulent illegal forced assimilation and integration
1949 Geneva Convention: Article 4 (1) defines prisoners of war as “Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict, as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.” Article 5 states, “The present Convention shall apply to the persons referred to in Article 4 from the time they fall into the power of the enemy and until their final release and repatriation. Should doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article 4, such persons shall enjoy protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.”
The new Geneva Convention Protocol on Prisoners of War, which the United States has signed but not yet ratified and which went into force for some states on 7 December 1978, has provided in Articles 43 through 47 broader standards for prisoners of war, who come from irregular and guerilla units, than the terms of the 1949 Article 4. Article 45 of the 1978 Protocol states that a “person who takes part in hostilities and falls into the power of an adverse Party shall be presumed to be a prisoner of war… if he claims the status of war, or if he appears to be entitled to such status, or if the party on which he depends claims such status on his behalf.” Article Five of the 194
December 15, 1960: Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541) provides all colonized people have the right to self-determination and that the 13th Amendment, ending slavery, had created an obligation in the law for the United States government to conduct a plebiscite and to assist in effectuating each of the following four choices: (1) US citizenship, (2) return to Africa, (3) emigration to another country and (4) the creation of a new African nation on American soil.
CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN INTERNATIONAL LAW PERTAINING TO THE AFRODESCENDANTS’ RIGHTS TO SELF DETERMINATION
August 1920 – Declaration of Rights of Negro Peoples of the World
September 25, 1926 – Slavery Convention
June 28, 1930 – Forced Labour Convention
June 26, 1945 – Charter of the United Nations
December 10, 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
January 12, 1951 - Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
May 23, 1953 – Equal Remuneration Convention
April 26, 1954 – Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
September 7, 1956 – Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery
June 25, 1958 – Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
December 14, 1960 - The Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)
December 14, 1960 – Convention against Discrimination in Education
December 15, 1960 – Principles which should guide Members in determining whether or not an obligation exists to transmit the information called for under Article 73 e of the Charter
December 14, 1962 – Permanent Sovereignty Ove Natural Resources
December 21, 1965 - International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
December 16, 1966 - International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
December 16, 1966 - International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
November 26, 1968 – Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
December 11, 1969 – Declaration on social Progress and Development
October 24, 1970 – Declaration on Principles of International Law, Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
December 3, 1973 – Principles of international co-operation in the detection, arrest, extradition and punishment of persons guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity
November 10, 1975 – Declaration on the Use of Scientific and Technological Progress in the Interests of Peace and for the Benefit of Mankind
November 27, 1978 – Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice
November 25, 1981 – Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief
December 10, 1984 – Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
November 29, 1985 – Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power
December 13, 1985 – Declaration on the Human Rights of Individuals who are not nationals of the country in which they live
December 4, 1986 – Declaration on the Right to Development
September 5, 1991 – Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention
December 18, 1992 – Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
November 11, 1997 – Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights
July 17, 1998 – Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
September 8, 2001 – Report of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
November 2, 2001 – Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity
February 8, 2005 – Updated Set of Principles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights Through Action to Combat Impunity
September 13, 2007 – Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Organization of American States
Since 1863, the time of the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States of America, 151 new independent nations have been established.
March 17, 1861: Italy
July 1, 1867: Canada
January 18, 1871: Germany
May 9, 1877: Romania
March 3, 1878: Bulgaria
1896: Ethiopia
June 12, 1898: The Philippines
January 1, 1901: Australia
May 20, 1902: Cuba
November 3, 1903: Panama
June 7, 1905: Norway
September 26, 1907: New Zealand
May 31, 1910: South Africa
November 28, 1912: Albania
December 6, 1917: Finland
February 24, 1918: Estonia
November 11, 1918: Poland
December 1, 1918: Iceland
August 19, 1919: Afghanistan
December 6, 1921: Ireland
February 28, 1922: Egypt
October 29, 1923: Turkey
February 11, 1929: The Vatican City
September 23, 1932: Saudi Arabia
October 3, 1932: Iraq
November 22, 1943: Lebanon
August 15, 1945: North Korea
August 15, 1945: South Korea
August 17, 1945: Indonesia
September 2, 1945: Vietnam
April 17, 1946: Syria
May 25, 1946: Jordan
August 14, 1947: Pakistan
August 15, 1947: India
January 4, 1948: Burma
February 4, 1948: Sri Lanka
May 14, 1948: Israel
July 19, 1949: Laos
August 8, 1949: Bhutan
December 24, 1951: Libya
November 9, 1953: Cambodia
January 1, 1956: Sudan
March 2, 1956: Morocco
March 20, 1956: Tunisia
March 6, 1957: Ghana
August 31, 1957: Malaysia
October 2, 1958: Guinea
January 1, 1960: Cameroon
April 4, 1960: Senegal
May 27, 1960: Togo
June 30, 1960: Republic of the Congo
July 1, 1960: Somalia
July 26, 1960: Madagascar
August 1, 1960: Benin
August 3, 1960: Niger
August 5, 1960: Burkina Faso
August 7, 1960: Côte d'Ivoire
August 11, 1960: Chad
August 13, 1960: Central African Republic
August 15, 1960: Democratic Republic of the Congo
August 16, 1960: Cyprus
August 17, 1960: Gabon
September 22, 1960: Mali
October 1, 1960: Nigeria
November 28, 1960: Mauritania
April 27, 1961: Sierra Leone
June 19, 1961: Kuwait
January 1, 1962: Samoa
July 1, 1962: Burundi
July 1, 1962: Rwanda
July 5, 1962: Algeria
August 6, 1962: Jamaica
August 31, 1962: Trinidad and Tobago
October 9, 1962: Uganda
December 12, 1963: Kenya
April 26, 1964: Tanzania
July 6, 1964: Malawi
September 21, 1964: Malta
October 24, 1964: Zambia
February 18, 1965: The Gambia
July 26, 1965: The Maldives
August 9, 1965: Singapore
May 26, 1966: Guyana
September 30, 1966: Botswana
October 4, 1966: Lesotho
November 30, 1966: Barbados
January 31, 1968: Nauru
March 12, 1968: Mauritius
September 6, 1968: Swaziland
October 12, 1968: Equatorial Guinea
June 4, 1970: Tonga
October 10, 1970: Fiji
March 26, 1971: Bangladesh
August 15, 1971: Bahrain
September 3, 1971: Qatar
November 2, 1971: The United Arab Emirates
July 10, 1973: The Bahamas
September 24, 1973: Guinea-Bissau
February 7, 1974: Grenada
June 25, 1975: Mozambique
July 5, 1975: Cape Verde
July 6, 1975: Comoros
July 12, 1975: Sao Tome and Principe
September 16, 1975: Papua New Guinea
November 11, 1975: Angola
November 25, 1975: Suriname
June 29, 1976: Seychelles
June 27, 1977: Djibouti
July 7, 1978: The Solomon Islands
October 1, 1978: Tuvalu
November 3, 1978: Dominica
February 22, 1979: Saint Lucia
July 12, 1979: Kiribati
October 27, 1979: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
April 18, 1980: Zimbabwe
July 30, 1980: Vanuatu
January 11, 1981: Antigua and Barbuda
September 21, 1981: Belize
September 19, 1983: Saint Kitts and Nevis
January 1, 1984: Brunei
October 21, 1986: The Marshall Islands
November 3, 1986: The Federated States of Micronesia
March 11, 1990: Lithuania
March 21, 1990: Namibia
May 22, 1990: Yemen
April 9, 1991: Georgia
June 25, 1991: Croatia
June 25, 1991: Slovenia
August 21, 1991: Kyrgyzstan
August 24, 1991: Russia
August 25, 1991: Belarus
August 27, 1991: Moldova
August 30, 1991: Azerbaijan
September 1, 1991: Uzbekistan
September 6, 1991: Latvia
September 8, 1991: Macedonia
September 9, 1991: Tajikistan
September 21, 1991: Armenia
October 27, 1991: Turkmenistan
November 24, 1991: Ukraine
December 16, 1991: Kazakhstan
March 3, 1992: Bosnia and Herzegovina
January 1, 1993: The Czech Republic
January 1, 1993: Slovakia
May 24, 1993: Eritrea
October 1, 1994: Palau
May 20, 2002: East Timor
June 3, 2006: Montenegro
June 5, 2006: Serbia
February 17, 2008: Kosovo
July 9, 2011: South Sudan