THE PLEBISCITE CAMPAIGN MANUAL
Frequently Asked Questions
The campaign manual contain the most relevant answers to the most obvious questions that the campaign's target audiences may have. What are these obvious questions, and what are these relevant answers? The most frequent, most likely or most obvious questions that target audiences ask should be gathered here and convincingly answered or argued in a campaign speech.
Question 1: What is a plebiscite?
The dictionary definition of a plebiscite is “the direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important public question.” Voters are asked to make a choice with the outcome of the plebiscite determining the fate of the proposed measure, action, constitution, or other political proposal. A plebiscite should not be confused with a general election or regular voting, as no party candidates are included in it. Under a plebiscite, people are allowed to decide on an issue of importance, and the outcome of the vote is like a decree from the citizens. A vote cannot truly be called a plebiscite unless all eligible voters are able to participate.
Question 2: What is the the New Afrikan & Afro Descendant Plebiscite for Self Determination?
The New Afrikan & Afro Descendant Plebiscite for Self Determination will allow the people to decide whether or not they want (1) full and equal US citizenship, (2) return to Africa under our birthright “Right to Return”, (3) emigration to another country or (4) the creation of a New African nation on American soil. After the vote, remedies for all four options will be pursued as a form of Reparations.
Question 3: Who are New Afrikan people and Afro Descendant People?
New Afrikan is the term that expresses Black peoples’ in the United States racial, cultural, and social fusion of various African ethnic groups into one unique New Afrikan nation with a common history, language, economic, life, and consciousness manifested in a community of culture and desiring freedom, self-determination and independence much like other African nations that achieved political independence on the continent of Africa and the Caribbean since the 1960’s.
Afro Descendant is the term adopted in 2002 by nineteen (19) countries at the United Nations Conference for the Rights of Minorities in La Ceiba, Honduras to recognise people of African descent whose ancestors were enslaved in the Americas as subjects of international human rights law. Specifically, the term refers to Black people whose ancestors
1. Were forcibly disposed of their homeland, Africa;
2. Were transported to the Americas and Slavery Diaspora for the purpose of enslavement;
3. Were subjected to slavery;
4. Were subjected to forced mixed breeding and rape;
5. Have experienced, through force, the loss of mother tongue, culture, and religion (Ethnocide);
6. Have experienced racial discrimination due to lost ties from their original identity.
Question 4: Who is eligible to vote in the plebiscite?
All New Afrikan and Afro Descendant people in the United States over the age of 18 will be eligible to vote. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2021 there were an estimated 47.2 million people who self-identified as Black, making up 14.2% of the country’s population. 12,900,000 or 27% are under the age of 18. Thus, the eligible number of voters is 34,300,000. Based on a study of 114 ethno-national referendums since the Second World War, a minimum voter turnout of 85% - approximately 29,155,000 black people in America - will need to participate for broad international recognition.
Additionally, In 2021, there were 4.8 million foreign-born Black Americans, about 10% of the U.S. Black population. Based on the definitions of New Afrikan and Afro Descendants, foreign-born Black Americans whose ancestors were neither enslaved nor shared the unique heritage of social fusion in the United States will not be eligible to vote.
Question 5: What is the New Afrikan Diplomatic And Civil Service Corps?
The New Afrikan Diplomatic and Civil Service Corps (NADCSC) is a private group that provides consulting and diplomatic service to the nation of New Afrikan people in the United States in their exercise of self determination in pursuit of freedom, independence and justice. It does not claim to be any kind of national leadership structure. Its ultimate strategic goal is expressed in its CALL FOR THE FIRST NEW AFRIKAN & AFRO DESCENDANT PLEBISCITE CONGRESS IN THE UNITED STATES which would establish an objective, qualified national body constituted to take responsibility for conducting the plebiscite. At this stage, as a private entity, it has only mandated an exploratory committee to conduct an initial plebiscite survey to serve as the basis for a feasibility study for conducting a plebiscite campaign.
Question 6: How are leaders for the NADCSC Plebiscite Campaign chosen/elected?
Participation in the Plebiscite Exploratory Committee (PEC) is by invitation of the NADCSC Coordinator. Potential candidates are contacted and guided through a five-step onboarding process. Members of the PEC serve at the pleasure of the NADCSC Coordinator. The PEC is the group of individuals who initiate the first stage activities of the NADCSC initiative to develop a Plebiscite Campaign. Their unique mission is to convene a Constitutive General Assembly of the Plebiscite Coalition of individuals and organizations who have responded positively to the Call for the First New Afrikan and Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress
The First New Afrikan and Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress is the first gathering of individuals and organizations who believe in “the urgent need to exercise self determination through a plebiscite in less than a generation”. It is preceded by a Pre-Congress that will take place when at least 3 of the 10 Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs) and 10 Municipal Coordinating Committees (MCCs) have been established during the process of the PEC’s work in conducting the initial plebiscite survey and a sufficient number of well-respected individuals and organizations have answered the Call and joined the PEC.
During the pre-Congress, the delegates who came from various municipalities and members of the PEC will deal with the following issues:
The Call for the First New Afrikan & Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress in the United States,
The zero draft resolution of the First New Afrikan & Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress in the United States,
The terms of reference for the upcoming First New Afrikan & Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress in the United States,
The strategy to convene the First New Afrikan & Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress and build its campaign machine,
Fundraising and management strategies for financing the campaign,
The communication and mobilization strategy for the campaign,
The tenets of Imari Obadele’s various books and articles.
When this work is completed, key members of the National Preparatory Committee (NPC) of the First New Afrikan Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress (PC) will be elected and they will decide when to hold the Congress. The NPC-PC will then announce the official proclamation of its existence and a democratic structure will be established that will take responsibility for conducting the Congress. Out of the congress will come the elected leaders of the National Plebiscite Campaign.
Question 7: What will happen after the Plebiscite?
The plebiscite will have international observers from the United Nations (UN), the Organization of American States (OAS), the African Union (AU) and other international entities. It will likely have massive media coverage. Once the plebiscite is conducted and it is determined how many people want each of the four options, the Second New Afrikan and Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress will be convened to address issues such as reparations and terms for: the full integration into the United States under option (1); reparations, citizenship, the African Diaspora 6th Region, recognition of right to return, unique immigration status and preferential investment opportunities for those choosing option (2) return to Africa; negotiations for emigration and integration for those choosing option (3); and ceding of land by the United States government, the formation of New Afrikan government(s), treaties with the United States and other Nations, New Afrikan National Development Plan that would include development of the Armed Forces, the financial system, the official name of the Federal Entity etc. In short, all the tools that a newly created State must have to function fully from the outset will be created during this transition phase. A Transition Committee will be established by the Second New Afrikan and Afro Descendant Plebiscite Congress. The Transition Committee will determine how best to proceed in securing the remedy for all four and create the negotiating teams from those who have passed the NADCSC Exam that provides training, licensing and certification of qualified New Afrikan Diplomats and Civil Servants.
Question 8: What if the United States refuses to pay reparations, cede territory and recognize a New Afrikan Government? What if African states refuse to enact a comprehensive repatriation and citizenship program?
It will be the responsibility of New Afrikan and Afro Descendant people to exercise their right to self determination by social, political, educational, economic, legal and diplomatic actions - in other words, by any means necessary. It will be the responsibility of the international observers and the international media to report and inform the world of the refusal of the United States or African Nations to fulfill their obligations under international law, and especially the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Geneva Convention. Black people in America will have to escalate the conflict in conjunction with international support to force compliance with the plebiscite results and international law. It will be the responsibility of the international community to advocate for the peaceful negotiation of the plebiscite remedies.
“Our method entails campaigns for consent, followed by plebiscites, followed by defense of our lands. . . We begin with a petition drive. . . . For the key to our legitimacy is consent: the will of the people. The petition simply asserts that the undersigned citizens agree to hold an election, with U.N. participation. . . .”
- Imari Obadele