- Feb 28, 2009
- 19,373
- 5,583
Loyal Order of the Sons of Africa
Article #617
Ramla Bandele, Article Author
...LOSA was a transnational political organization founded in 1913 in New York. Its primary purpose was to work toward the independence of Negro peoples regardless of nationality. Recruitment would be confined to what was then called race men; that is to say men who were committed to the political and economic liberation of black people, and also the elimination of imperialism. Members were to be organized into units of no more than 20, with each of these cells under the command of a captain. The organization was to establish itself within the United States, West Indies and Africa, working on political and economic amelioration appropriate to the environment in which each cell operated. However, when a cell was endangered, the organization would "make common cause and come to the rescue with their means and counsel." (See Gilbert, 1971 p. 102) The organizational activities were to be funded through a self-imposed tax of 3 cents per week; and its headquarters were to be based in West Africa.
According to an article in the Yonkers New York's Daily News, founding members included John E. Bruce, Arthur A. Schomburg, Rev. Charles D. Martin of Antigua, Professor J.E. Kwegri Aggrey, who was a West African teaching in North Carolina, and the Rev. Dr. G. Granville Sutton of Freetown Sierra Leone (Bruce Papers, Reel 1.) After its founding however, Bruce states that they decided to revise the structure of the organization. It was decided that LOSA organize itself into an "order" and operate clandestinely (See Gilbert, 1971.) This more than likely referred to a fraternal order, a European social institution that included many secretive customs and rituals. It was adapted by African-Americans in the late 18th century, and was a primary carrier of male socialization. Adapting it further to enhance political effectiveness is plausible. Its principal founder, John E. Bruce articulated the significance of this modification in a cogent statement, which appears in a LOSA document he wrote:
Yet if history is any indication, one may surmise that the organization dissipated.
Like many pan-african organizations of the era, such as the Hamitic League and the African Progress Union, the Loyal Order may have been an ephemeral undertaking constrained by marginal resources, colonial opposition, and the ideological competition within the diaspora itself. However, the invisibility aspect of the organization provided protection in that these forces could not counter what could not be identified. And for the same reason, its dissolution has not been documented.
http://diaspora.northwestern.edu/mbin/WebObjects/DiasporaX.woa/wa/displayArticle?atomid=617
Article #617
Ramla Bandele, Article Author
...LOSA was a transnational political organization founded in 1913 in New York. Its primary purpose was to work toward the independence of Negro peoples regardless of nationality. Recruitment would be confined to what was then called race men; that is to say men who were committed to the political and economic liberation of black people, and also the elimination of imperialism. Members were to be organized into units of no more than 20, with each of these cells under the command of a captain. The organization was to establish itself within the United States, West Indies and Africa, working on political and economic amelioration appropriate to the environment in which each cell operated. However, when a cell was endangered, the organization would "make common cause and come to the rescue with their means and counsel." (See Gilbert, 1971 p. 102) The organizational activities were to be funded through a self-imposed tax of 3 cents per week; and its headquarters were to be based in West Africa.
According to an article in the Yonkers New York's Daily News, founding members included John E. Bruce, Arthur A. Schomburg, Rev. Charles D. Martin of Antigua, Professor J.E. Kwegri Aggrey, who was a West African teaching in North Carolina, and the Rev. Dr. G. Granville Sutton of Freetown Sierra Leone (Bruce Papers, Reel 1.) After its founding however, Bruce states that they decided to revise the structure of the organization. It was decided that LOSA organize itself into an "order" and operate clandestinely (See Gilbert, 1971.) This more than likely referred to a fraternal order, a European social institution that included many secretive customs and rituals. It was adapted by African-Americans in the late 18th century, and was a primary carrier of male socialization. Adapting it further to enhance political effectiveness is plausible. Its principal founder, John E. Bruce articulated the significance of this modification in a cogent statement, which appears in a LOSA document he wrote:
"In talking the matter over with Dr. Martin, our host, he suggested, and I think well of the suggestion, that we make the organization an order and enjoin upon its members secrecy. The psychological moment has, I believe, arrived for Negroes and colored men the wide world over to get together and to fight for every right with all our might. We must organize to secure uniformity of utterance and action among the darker races and to meet organized wrong with intelligently organized resistance."
This sentiment was encapsulated in the LOSA motto: The injury of one is the injury to all. Perhaps the order did survive and evolved into or supported subsequent movements; it is documented that the known members were life long political activists.Yet if history is any indication, one may surmise that the organization dissipated.
Like many pan-african organizations of the era, such as the Hamitic League and the African Progress Union, the Loyal Order may have been an ephemeral undertaking constrained by marginal resources, colonial opposition, and the ideological competition within the diaspora itself. However, the invisibility aspect of the organization provided protection in that these forces could not counter what could not be identified. And for the same reason, its dissolution has not been documented.
http://diaspora.northwestern.edu/mbin/WebObjects/DiasporaX.woa/wa/displayArticle?atomid=617