1

In Salute of Hero Amadou Diallo (1977-1999)

by
Lisa Aubrey, Ph.D.
lisa_aubrey@hotmail.com
African Americans Organize Amadou Diallo Protest Activities in Accra, Ghana in 2000: Lesson
for Democracy in the United States and in Ghana


In Salute of Hero Amadou Diallo (1977-1999)
by
Lisa Aubrey, Ph.D.
lisa_aubrey@hotmail.com

African Americans Organize Amadou Diallo Protest Activities in Accra,
Ghana in 2000: Lesson for Democracy in the United States and in Ghana

In late February and early March 2000, African Americans living in Ghana
organized and led protest activities against the United States government judicial
system for what we called a "gross miscarriage of justice" in the Amadou Diallo
murder trial. The acquittal of the four police officers who shot and killed Diallo
struck a political nerve as the decision ran in diametric opposition to truth, fairness
and justice. We were baffled and angered by the decision and found ourselves
repeatedly asking "How can this (continue to) happen in a democratic country,
especially one that actively exports democracy "assistance" to the rest of the world
and boasts of it?"

African Americans organized immediately to show outrage at the acquittal and to
express sentiments of dissatisfaction with and disapproval of the US judicial
system, and to call for a retrial. African Americans were joined by other
Americans, especially exchange students, and other Africans from the diaspora in
protest activities. Ghanaian and other continentals also lent their support.

Americans organizing protest activities in Ghana against the United States
government posed interesting political and social contractual questions regarding
citizen's rights, state responsibility, and democracy in an international context. For
instance, in what ways can citizens lawfully exercise their constitutional rights to
hold institutions of government accountable for their actions when those citizens
reside outside of the country of their birth and citizenship? Additionally, how do
we ensure that protests comply (with) laws of both the land of citizenship and the
land of residence? Furthermore, how can we operate within the confines of both
sets of laws and still maintain the passion, outrage, and fervor of our demands?


2
In Salute of Hero Amadou Diallo (1977-1999)
by
Lisa Aubrey, Ph.D.
lisa_aubrey@hotmail.com
African Americans Organize Amadou Diallo Protest Activities in Accra, Ghana in 2000: Lesson
for Democracy in the United States and in Ghana


The Facts of the Case

On February 4, 1999, Amadou Diallo, a twenty-two year old Black immigrant to
New York from Guinea, West Africa was killed by four white police officers. The
police were dressed in plain clothes and approached Diallo as he entered his
residence in the Bronx after midnight. After claiming that they asked Diallo "to
have a word," the four police officers fired 41 bullets at him. Nineteen of those
bullets entered his body, most after he had already fallen. The police officers
claimed that they fired in self-defense. Diallo was not carrying a weapon. The
police alleged that they feared that Diallo was armed and that he might have been a
serial rapist. He was neither.
Protests erupted immediately in various cities in the US against yet another
victimization of a Black person by the police. Protests were spearheaded mostly by
African Americans and were heavily supported by continental and other diasporic
Africans in the US, and by other concerned groups as well. The four police officers
were charged with second-degree murder by intent, second-degree murder by
depraved indifference, first degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide
and reckless endangerment. They plead "not guilty" to the charges.
In February 2000, after a one-month trial, in a venue moved from the Bronx, a
predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood, to Albany, a predominantly
white neighborhood 150 miles away from the Bronx, the four police officers who
shot and killed Diallo were acquitted of all charges. A jury of eight white men and
four Black women reached a unanimous decision of "not guilty."

Reactions to the Verdict

Upon the announcement of the verdict, protests in the US erupted again-against the
verdict, police brutality, racism, and for justice, especially for Amadou and his
family. African Americans in Ghana simultaneously, and in international
solidarity, mobilized as well.
African Americans in Ghana, as American citizens, felt it incumbent upon them as
Black people to express their political sentiments against a judicial system that
handed down a decision that was grossly unfair, blatantly racist, and overtly a
3
In Salute of Hero Amadou Diallo (1977-1999)
by
Lisa Aubrey, Ph.D.
lisa_aubrey@hotmail.com
African Americans Organize Amadou Diallo Protest Activities in Accra, Ghana in 2000: Lesson
for Democracy in the United States and in Ghana


miscarriage of justice. Political action was necessary, especially since the Diallo
verdict contradicts the truth and justice US democracy purportedly stands for.
Moreover, the verdict calls to question US democracy assistance programs
throughout the world, especially those aimed at making state institutions
accountable and fair. By organizing the protest activities, African American were
forcing the US to look into the mirror for the very transparency and probity it aims
to cultivate and extract from other governments.
African American individuals in Ghana who took the initiative of organizing
protest activities were supported by many from the Pan-African and other
humanitarian communities that believe in justice, fairness, equality, and
democracy. Individuals, community organizations, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), businesses-especially private radio stations-offered untiring
support for the Diallo protest activities. Among the supporters were the African
American Association of Ghana, One-Africa, the Brotherhood, members of the
Ghana legal profession and the Ghana Bar Association, other concerned
Ghanaians, Liberian refugees in Ghana, Nuku Coffee Shop, Flavors Pub, the W. E.
B. DuBois Center, the Embassy of Guinea, the Commission on Human Rights and
Administration Justice (CHRAJ--a quasi-governmental organization of Ghana), the
Student and Workers Solidarity Committee, Musicians of Ghana (MUSIGA)
especially reggae superstar Shasha Marley, and Ghanaian and American students
from the University of Ghana, Legon. The organizers of the protest activities took
precaution that political action remained within the legal framework of the
constitutions of both Ghana and the US. This required meetings with Ghanaian
legal advisors, the Inspector General of the Ghana Police, and the Public Affair
Section of the US Embassy.

Protest Activities Led by African Americans in Ghana

The Diallo protest activities included awareness raising sessions so as to educate
the public as to the facts of the case. There were teach-ins at the University of
Ghana, Legon, Flavors Pub, and Labonne Coffee Shop (also called the Democracy
Pub). There were strategizing meetings with legal experts as to how to operate
within the laws laid out in the Ghana constitution governing the rights of foreigners
and the procedures for registering assemblies and demonstrations. There was
4
In Salute of Hero Amadou Diallo (1977-1999)
by
Lisa Aubrey, Ph.D.
lisa_aubrey@hotmail.com
African Americans Organize Amadou Diallo Protest Activities in Accra, Ghana in 2000: Lesson
for Democracy in the United States and in Ghana


petition-signing calling for a retrial at several locations throughout Accra.
American citizens engaged in a letter writing campaign to their congressional
representatives in the US. There was a public forum at Flavors Pub which
coincided with the International Solidarity Day for the release of US political
prisoner and African American Mumia Abu Jamal. There was a lecture by
Commissioner Emile Short of CHRAJ which linked the Diallo and Mumia cases
and situated them in an international context. The culmination of the protest
activities was a march on the US Embassy on March 8, 2000 which routed from
the Labonne Coffee Shop, toward the Guinea Embassy, and then to the US
Embassy. At the US Embassy, a statement of the organizing group was read
expressing the outrage against the decision to acquit the police officers who killed
Diallo. The statement also demanded that justice be served. The specific demands
were that 1) the police officers be retried; and, 2) the US Justice Department
intervenes to bring federal civil rights charges against the acquitted. The written
statement was received by a representative from the US Embassy who verbally
indicated that the Embassy would look into thismatter and take action as they also
believe in justice. The exchange between the protestors and the US Embassy was
peaceful yet tense, civil, and exacting.

Ghanaian FM radio stations, namely CHOICE, JOY, VIBE, GAR, RADIO
UNIVERSE, covered the Diallo protest activities in significant depth. They were
key is spreading awareness of the Diallo murder in New York and the subsequent
protests. The African American Accra protest organizers were frequent guests on
the radio talk shows, some of which were call-in programs. Many of the marchers
who turned out on March 8 learned of the protest activities via radio.

Concerns of Ghanaians
Ghanaian support for the Diallo protest activities was very significant, especially
from Ghanaians who have lived in the US (or other countries in the Global North)
and have themselves either witnessed or been victims of police brutality.
Additionally, Ghanaians who have not left Ghana were also supportive as they
understand the history and the plight of Black people who live in or visit the US.
Ghanaians were significantly represented in the march on the US Embassy.
As confirmed by countless observations and empirical studies, Black people in the
US, whether citizens, residents, immigrants, or visitors are unduly and
5
In Salute of Hero Amadou Diallo (1977-1999)
by
Lisa Aubrey, Ph.D.
lisa_aubrey@hotmail.com
African Americans Organize Amadou Diallo Protest Activities in Accra, Ghana in 2000: Lesson
for Democracy in the United States and in Ghana


disproportionately harassed by the police. Diallo could have been Ghanaian or
African American or Haitian. All of us who are Black are potential victims. Hence,
all of us have a role to play in putting a judicial system that hands down racist and
unjust decisions on alert. We must be that "check and balance" that demands
justice and fairness.
Many Ghanaians were also puzzled as to the actions of African Americans and
other protestors. They watched with keen observations as Americans challenged
official government structures that represent the US in Ghana.

Among the frequently asked questions were:

1) So how can you march on your Embassy?

2) Don't you think you might alienate your Embassy?

3) What if you get kicked out of Ghana?

4) How can I participate in this? I am a Ghanaian, not an American.

5) But the verdict has passed already, what can you do?

6) Why are you surprised? Do you expect things to change in America?

7) I can't march. Someone may recognize me. This is about "bread and butter."
What if I ever try to apply for a visa to the US?
These are all legitimate concerns and questions. They opened up a very important
discussion between Americans and Ghanaians, as we are from different cultures of
politics.

Implications for Democracy in the US and Ghana

In the US practice of liberal democracy, rights as individuals and the relationship
of individuals to the state are paramount. The culture of politics has socialized
citizens to express those rights vehemently, and to speak loudly when those rights
are not respected. It is the right to and freedom of expression that provided the
6
In Salute of Hero Amadou Diallo (1977-1999)
by
Lisa Aubrey, Ph.D.
lisa_aubrey@hotmail.com
African Americans Organize Amadou Diallo Protest Activities in Accra, Ghana in 2000: Lesson
for Democracy in the United States and in Ghana


legal foundation for the platforms of leaders like Martin Luther King and Malcolm
X. It is a culture of demanding rights that are enshrined in the constitution that
gives voice to citizens who insist that institutional practices fall in line with the
spirit of fairness and equality espoused by the US liberal democratic ideology.
Moreover, it is the social contract between society and the state that gives context
and protection for protest actions.

Citizens and taxpayers in and of the US have the right to express civil
dissatisfaction with institutions that do not positively serve and protect the ideals of
democracy, justice, and fairness. In the Amadou Diallo case, the police and the
courts, as institutions of the state, functioned in diametric opposition to these
ideals. American citizens in Ghana have a right to protest, and did.

Citizens would fail to express their democratic rights if they were passive, simply
because they believe that their sentiments and actions might alienate their embassy.
Embassies exist, in part, to serve citizens and protect their rights. As taxpayers,
citizens are ones who make resources available for embassies to (function).
Embassies also exist to defend the constitution of their homeland in foreign
countries, and citizens are bound to respect that function. Protest activities can be
successful when the laws and constitutions of both home and host countries are
respected. The Amadou Diallo protest organizers ensured that both American and
Ghanaian constitutions were respected.

Citizens in the US also have rights to call for appeals of judicial decisions. The
Diallo verdict did not come from the court of last resort. Additionally, citizens
have the right to demand the rethinking, repeal, and redrafting of laws when they
do not serve citizens' best interests. None of these are easy processes, but citizens
have a right to bring them into being when necessary.

The US has a history of racism, and some institutions and practices continue to
perpetuate racism. The US is also a site of change and is possibly evolving more
democratically over time, albeit slowly and sometimes reluctantly. These changes
toward more democracy have come about because citizens have dared to protest
and take on the system "within their rights." The Amadou Diallo protest is one
more step toward realizing "the protection of minority rights," "respect for civil
7
In Salute of Hero Amadou Diallo (1977-1999)
by
Lisa Aubrey, Ph.D.
lisa_aubrey@hotmail.com
African Americans Organize Amadou Diallo Protest Activities in Accra, Ghana in 2000: Lesson
for Democracy in the United States and in Ghana


and human rights," equality, fairness and justice (in a democracy of a liberal hue).

The Amadou Diallo casea young black man from Africa killed in New York by
4 white police officers who were acquitted by a jury of 8 whites and 4 blacks
igniting protests from Atlanta, Georgia to Accra, Ghanaspeaks to the
internationalism and racism of this case. It calls for all of us to recognize that what
happens to one of us has implications for us all. It was Amadou Diallo this time.
Next time, it may be me or you.


Our liberty, as well as our lives (literally) depend on citizens' respect for the state,
and just as importantly, the state's respect for citizens. Institutions of the state will
not, by themselves, change. We citizensAmericans and Ghanaiansmust direct
them. By disagreeing with undemocratic practices when there is "agreement to
disagree," we can peacefully change institutions. This is not only a lesson in
democracy for Ghana-in-transition, but for the US as well.
Thank you Brother and Hero Amadou Diallo for leading us to this lesson.


Lisa Aubrey wrote this when she was a Professor of Political Science and African
Studies at Ohio University, and had been a Fulbright Scholar at the University of
Ghana, Legon.
First Published in 2001 by Ohio University Toguna Online Journal