African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa (abbr. ASCRIA) was an

Afro-Guyanese Afro-Guyanese are generally descended from the enslaved people brought to Guyana from the coast of West Africa to work on sugar plantations during the era of the Atlantic slave trade. Coming from a wide array of backgrounds and enduring conditio ...

grassroots organization in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, to emerge soon after the country's independence from British rule. Dedicated to the revitalization of African culture in the Caribbean country, the organization was a significant political and economic factor in the early 1970s, the

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

organization was founded in the 1960s by

Eusi Kwayana Eusi Kwayana, formerly Sydney King (born 4 April 1925), is a Guyanese politician. A cabinet minister in the People's Progressive Party (PPP) government of 1953, he was detained by the British Army in 1954. Later he left the PPP to form ASCRIA (A ...

as a successor organization of Black separatist

African Society for Racial Equality African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

(ASRE). During the 1960s and until 1971, ASCRIA was an influential force in Guyana's post-independence politics, as both a competitor and an ally of

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1980 and then as its f ...

's governing People's National Congress (PNC). After breaking with the PNC and altogether with Black Nationalism, in 1974 it merged into the

Working People's Alliance The Working People's Alliance is a Democratic socialism, democratic socialist List of political parties in Guyana, political party in Guyana. It was a consultative member of Socialist International until 2005. History The WPA was established in ...

History

The organization's predecessor,

Black separatist Black separatism is a Separatism, separatist political movement that seeks separate economic and cultural development for those of African descent in societies, particularly in the United States. Black separatism stems from the idea of racial sol ...

ASRE had previously sought for partitioning Guyana into three sectors: one for Africans, one for East Indians, and one for a voluntarily mixed population, an approach that however failed to sufficiently gain traction. ASCRIA drew in additional supporters from the

League of Coloured Peoples The League of Coloured Peoples (LCP) was a British civil-rights organization that was founded in 1931 in London by Jamaican-born physician and campaigner Harold Moody with the goal of racial equality around the world, a primary focus being on bl ...

. Requiring members to attend a six-month course in

African studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...

based in the capital Georgetown, to attain the proper black awareness, active membership was estimated to exceed 2,000 in 1970. By 1971, the organization dominated African bauxite workers in the

Mackenzie Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to: People * Mackenzie (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Mackenzie (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Clan Mackenzie, a Sco ...

township. In this period, Kwayana served as a close advisor to Prime Minister

, to the point that ASCRIA was considered the cultural and economic arm of the People's National Congress government. The organization however broke ties with the PNC in 1971, mainly because on the issue of

government corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, inf ...

, forcing the PNC to adopt a stauncher Black Nationalist course, while also igniting an oppositional, working-class movement across the ethnic lines. ASCRIA itself initiated joint activities with

Moses Bhagwan Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

pan-Indian Pan-Indianism is a philosophical and political approach promoting unity, and to some extent cultural homogenization, among different Indigenous groups in the Americas regardless of tribal distinctions and cultural differences. This approach to ...

Indian People's Revolutionary Associates (IPRA). The two groups came out to form the core of the nascent multiethnic pro-democracy movement. In 1974 ASCRIA and IPRA joined forces with the Maoist

Working People's Vanguard Party Working People's Vanguard Party (WPVP) was a small, Maoist political party in Guyana. It was formed in 1969 through a split in the People's Progressive Party (PPP) in the 1960s. The party was led by Brindley Benn and Victor Downer. Initially the ...

and students groups ''Ratoon'' and ''Movement Against Oppression'' to form the

References

{{reflist Pan-Africanist organizations in the Caribbean Defunct organisations based in Guyana Organizations established in the 1960s Organizations disestablished in 1974 Socialism in Guyana 1960s establishments in Guyana 1974 disestablishments in Guyana