Black People's Convention

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In 1981 the founding National Organizer, Mosibudi Mangena was nominated to be the Chairperson of the Botswana Region of the BCMA and later by 1983, a motion was moved asking the Botswana Chapter to invite other external branches to dissolve the BCMA Interim Committee. This was done and Mosibudi Mangena was elected in 1983 Chairperson of the BCMA in exile. Mangena is, since 1996, President AZAPO in post-apartheid South Africa.

The three factors that led to BPC founding its ideology can be found in the indigenous African culture of resistance. The ideology is no further from the Convention People's Party of Ghana and the politics not unlike that of the Black Panther Party - hence the Black Peoples Convention.

In the years after the Soweto Uprising of 1976 black consciousness declined was marginalized as a political force in South Africa, as the ANC demonstrated that it could both opportunistically put a guerilla army in the field against apartheid as well as lead a new wave of liberal accomodationist and capitalist collaborationist mass organisations, such as the United Democratic Front. Organisations previously associated with black consciousness either were hijacked by political carrerist to gravitate towards the ANC's position (eg [[AZASO], Institute of Contextual Theology]) or effectively became alternative, although marginalized, core of cadres with consistency like AZAPO 's President Mosibudi who is Minister of Science and Technology in Thabo Mbeki's Cabinet and earlier been Deputy Minister of National Education. Also Azapo as parliamentary representative, Pandelani Nevelofhodwe, MP and former Robben Island prisoner.

Update and edition on July 29, 2006 by Mongezi Sefika wa Nkomo, Founding Chairperson, Black Peoples Convention, Kingwilliamstown Chapter in January 1973. Now resident in USA contact:amaazania@yahoo.com