Danny Glover leads TransAfrica on fact-finding mission to Venezuela

Actor Danny Glover and other members of TransAfrica shake hands with Venezuelan National Assembly Deputy and indigenous rights activist Noheli Pocaterra during a visit to Caracas on Thursday
Photos: Venpres

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During a meeting with the vice president of Venezuela, José Vicente Rangel, award-winning actor Danny Glover, who chairs the TransAfrica board, confirmed that the portrayal of Venezuela in U.S. media is inaccurate and amounts to disinformation. Glover said he could not miss the opportunity to witness the historical changes in Venezuela through its creation of a nation that seeks inclusion of all of its citizens.

TransAfrica Forum President Bill Fletcher, also a renowned African American activist, confirmed that the U.S. government obviously supported the coup in Venezuela in April 2002 and has been consistently hostile towards President Chávez, who was “elected with possibly a higher level of democracy than in any other part” of the hemisphere. Fletcher has expressed great interest in the political developments in Venezuela during the past few years and has defended the Bolivarian Revolution in several articles published in national newspapers in the United States, including the Washington Post.

The delegation is accompanied by the ambassador of Venezuela in Washington, D.C., Bernardo Alvarez, and included - in addition to actor Danny Glover and activist Bill Fletcher - Patricia Ford, the international vice president of the Service Employees International Union; Sylvia Hill, professor of criminology and director of the Department of Urban Studies in Washington, D.C.; Julianne Malveaux, economist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and TransAfrica Forum Vice President Selena Mendy Singleton, among others.

The group planned to attend the inauguration of the Bolivarian school named for Martin Luther King Jr. in the coastal town of Naiguata - where large numbers of Venezuelans of African descent live. It will be the first official recognition in Venezuela of the leadership and importance of one of the most important civil rights leaders from the United States. The event will be hosted by Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Aristobulo Isturiz and Ambassador Alvarez, as well as community members.

The TransAfrica delegation’s presence in Venezuela will also launch the official recognition of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a national day of celebration in the South American country - where a high percentage of the population trace their roots to Africa. The holiday has been celebrated in the United States since Jan. 20, 1986, despite significant controversy and it being the only federal holiday commemorating an African American.

The delegation will also participate in President Chavez’s weekly radio and television program, “Hello, Mr. President,” to honor this important civil rights leader. During their stay, they will also meet with local community groups, members of the women’s rights movement, government officials, educators and opposition leaders.

The delegation will hold several meetings with government officials and local civil and community groups and visit several working class neighborhoods in Caracas to meet with community activists

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