July 2006 -- By Phillip Wagner

The Second Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora (CIAD II) was opened in Salvador Bahia with a warm embrace for Brazil from diplomats, a Nobel Laureate, and international celebrities such as noted African-American authors Michael Eric Dyson and wife/reverend Marcia Dyson and their good friend the beloved African-American music artist Stevie Wonder.

On arriving in Brazil the Dyson's wasted no time, accompanying me to the nearby desperately impoverished 'bairro' of Saramandaia where they exchanged greetings and expressed their solidarity with three of five young men who are alumni of two renown programs working with children of the street in Brazil, Projeto Axé and Circo Picolino. The five have established in Saramandaia another increasingly celebrated program, Arte Consciente.

The Diaspora Gathers in the Egg of Developmental Brazil

Michael (photo, at conference) conducted extensive interviews in Saramandaia for an upcoming broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, and later confided to me that it was critical for CIAD II to be staged here in Bahia because there could be no better place to articulate "the broad range of the Diaspora" and "forge connections throughout the world to expand narrow perspectives of Black culture."

"If we're talking about the Diaspora Brazil represents the greatest concentration and true flavor of the homeland" said Dyson, adding that the atmosphere the conference is generating in Bahia has heightened the affection he already feels for Brazil and Brazilian culture. Dudley Thompson, Jamaican Ambassador to Brazil echoed Dyson's assertion that no place other than Bahia and Brazil would have been appropriate for this staging of the conference.

"Bahia is the egg of developmental Brazil," said Thompson, "and when we overcome the political hypocrisy we call racial democracy Brazil will become the engine of Latin America and the Diaspora and the continuance of development will be realized when Brazil and Latin America unite politically and economically with Africa." Cultural bonding is a first step in that direction he asserted.

Anyone tempted to question the credibility of Thompson's perspective should know that the 89 year old veteran of international affairs attended the 1945 Fifth Pan African Conference in Manchester England, defended Jomo Kenyatta in 1952 when he was accused of organizing the Mau Mau rebellion. Kenyatta later became President of Kenya and oversaw that nation's entry into the UN. Thompson is also a member of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG), "an international commission of 24 world notables ... which operates close to the UN Secretary-General's efforts to (among other things) advance global small arms non-proliferation."

Stevie Wonder Among Celebrities in Attendance

Stevie Wonder (photo, with President Lula and Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil) was one of many celebrities who paid homage to Bahia, and to Afro-Brazilian culture from the dais at the Convention Center during opening ceremonies. But while others figuratively embraced Lula, Gil and Brazil as compatriots of the African spirit 'Stevie'was more intimate in his praise. "I can't think to mention" he said, all of "the songs that I make to my great love of Brazil ... such as You are the Sunshine of my Life, and Don't you Worry Bout a Thing."

Wonder revealed to his audience that he'd lost the most important person in his life this past May 31st, his mother. His deep affection for Brazil, he suggested, had helped him deal with that loss and he made connections between the way his mother had inspired him to overcome his physical blindness and the way Brazil had helped him to see the things that are truly important in life.

"I am so very thankful I have been able to bring my music to people," noted Wonder. "God has blessed me to carry messages of peace and unity." Stevie emphatically asserted that peace for Africa and the Diaspora - as well as the world - "can only happen when we have mutual love and respect." Wonder encouraged youth, in particular, to study and learn history, about slavery and the great kingdoms of Africa. "We cannot achieve peace," he said, "through war, hate, imperialism or terrorism."

Photo: 'Alex' and 'Fabio,' two of the founders of Arte Consciente, work to construct a new home for the program in the community of Saramandia in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil - the "egg of developmental Brazil," according to African-American author and activist Michael Eric Dyson.

Lula, Minister of Culture Gil and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai - a moving force in African women's and environmental issues and who is revered for her "persistent struggle for democracy and human rights" (Wikpedia), shared the dais with Wonder and such other notables as the presidents of Botswanna, Cabo Verde, Guinea, Ghana, and Senegal, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Vice President of Tanzania and the President of the Commission of the African Union.

About the author: Phillip Wagner is a longtime contributor to Brazzil Magazine, the founder of Rhythm of Hope in Brazil and currently an Assistant Instructor in the Department of African-American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University, where he is pursuing a second post-graduate degree. Phillip has extensive Brazil related personal web-pages at http://www.iei.net/~pwagner/brazilhome.htm.

All photos by Phillip Wagner. Send comments to Phillip