Canada is a signatory to U. N. Conventions respecting the rights and privileges of peoples and groups to promote and to preserve their culture. There is more to African-Canadian culture and history than fancy costumes at Caribana time. We note the granting of $200 million dollars in seed capital by the Government of the United States of America and 5- acres of near- sacred land on the Mall adjacent to the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. for the construction of a $1-billion National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

We call on the Canadian Government to emulate the Government of the United States of America in this regard and grant African-Canadians the same respect and consideration that has been shown to African-Americans. We believe that we deserve the same acknowledgment and investment in African-Canadian history and culture. We request that all three levels of  Government unite to provide the seed capital and lands necessary to develop AfriCana Village and The National Museum of African-Canadian History. On the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, we recall Dr. King''s statement of the "fierce urgency of now" and relate his plea to Canada''s own self proclaimed Judeo-Christian ethos and principles of a "Just Society".

Who is Africana Village?
AfriCana Village is group of dedicated African- Caribbean Canadian business professionals and friends from the wider community. We have come together in the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood to create a social enterprise/public private partnership to address the economic and cultural under-development of the African-Canadian community by leveraging 400+ years of rich African-Canadian and Diaspora history, culture, and heritage.

What is AfriCana Village?
AfriCana Village is a hybrid for profit/non profit Social Enterprise/Public Private Partnership. AfriCana Village is legally constituted as AfriCana Village Development Corporation a Federally incorporated for-profit company, and Africana Village & Museum  our non-profit arm. By Corporate Bylaw and mandate a significant percentage of the profits generated by AfriCana Village Development Corporation will be
re-invested back into the African-Canadian community through AfriCana Village & Museum  for community economic development, educational, and cultural projects.

Where is AfriCana Village?
The proposed location for AfriCana Village is a 40- acre waterfront site in the Greater Toronto/Mississauga Waterfront Area,its part of a parcel of 400+- acres presently owned by the Government of Ontario. We are seeking a 99 year lease with option to purchase the property.

Why AfriCana Village?
"Economic Empowerment" is the reason for AfriCana Village.The African-Canadian community is very much in need of cultural knowledge to foster Higher Education, and  "Economic Engines" and  "Wealth Generators" that will create sustainable employment opportunities for our youth and community. We can no longer tolerate the lack of understanding of self and the 40-70% unemployment rate in the African-Canadian community.AfriCana Village will be the start of a lasting solution. See quote from  University of Toronto, Rotman School of Business, Martin Prosperity Study, Ontario in the Creative Age: commissioned by the Government of Ontario and released in Feb. 2009. “Report Summary: Ontario’s Opportunities in the Creative Age. “There is no greater resource than the creativity, innovativeness, and productive talents of our people. Our goal must be to harness and use our full creative talents, to grow the businesses and industries of the future, to use our openness, tolerance, and diversity to gain economic advantage, and to invest in the infrastructure of the future in ways that enable more innovation and economic growth. Ontario can and must take a high-road strategy for economic prosperity in which all Ontarians can participate. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to build a vibrant economy for the creative age.”

When AfriCana Village?
The projected grand opening date of AfriCana Village is 2015. The proposed opening date coincides with the Grand Opening of the 2015 Pan Am games when over 26+ countries in the Americas lead by descendants of enslaved Africans or with significant populations of African descent will arrive in the Greater Toronto Area for the Pam Am Games. This will be an excellent opportunity for Toronto/ Canada to showcase to the Americas in a tangible manner that racial and cultural DIVERSITY is TRULY OUR strenght.  

How?
AfriCana Village will be financed through a proposed public and private partnership with all three levels of government. This project will create an estimated 2,000 direct cultural jobs, and thousands more in terms of its economic spin offs. AfriCana Village will generate $10's of millions of dollars in tax revenues for all three levels of government. One of our primary markets will be the $50 billion African- American tourism market and its $10 billion dollars Conventions & Meetings Business Markets. A 1% penetration of this market could generate $600 million dollars per annum.

Mission Vision:
We set upon this noble mission to develop an African Canadian and Caribbean Village complex on the Greater Toronto Area waterfront that will be an iconic and fitting tribute to our ancestors who helped build this great country we all love and call our home. A milestone was marked in 2007 as 160 nations at the United Nations passed a resolution encouraging member states to acknowledge the bi-centennial of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in a tangible manner. Canada was a signatory to this resolution, a bold step in the right direction. Let us do more than acknowledge this 200th Anniversary of the African "MAAFA" holocaust. Let us build AfriCana Village together with financial contributions from our community and all 3- levels of government as a symbol of our break with the past. Let this be the beginning of a new era of cooperation and atonement for Canada and its past relationship with its Black citizens. Let us pledge and take action so that 100+ years from now in 2115, economic and social conditions for African-Canadians will be much better than it is today.

Moving Forward, Standing Together:
We reach out to our community, philanthropic organizations, business community and the Canadian Government for support to make AfriCana Village become a reality. We are losing another generation of African Canadian youth. We are losing them at an alarming rate. A lack of focus on Heritage, Ancestral values and "Rites of Passage" continue to divide our communities,we are in disarray, rudderless at sea without a collective compass. AfriCana Village will play a major role in the unification of the African Canadian peoples. Through partnership with educational institutions we will broaden the dialogue of African History with intellectual, educational, social and economic perspectives. The Bible's history is African history, its mankind's history. A Museum that holds such rich knowledge should be made a focal point of Canadian History. Our Children and our children’s children will benefit enormously from a history uncovered. We hope to move our Youth from the basketball courts and a Hip- Hop nation into a world of over 200 inventions by people of African Ancestry. We wish to create new horizons of hope through Afri- centric education. Our youth need to see and understand that we passed along a wealth of knowledge through our inventions and revolutionized the world in the areas of science and engineering and  that we laid the foundation of human civilization.AfriCana Village can and will  rekindle the spirit and dormant ancestral powers to build and accomplish great things in the Diaspora.

We hold the following statements to be eternally TRUE!

"Where There Is No Vision, The People Will Perish" - Book of Proverbs

"Each generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it" - Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) - psychiatrist, humanist and revolutionary.

Thanking you in advance for your kind support and prayers as we embark upon this noble mission to bring pride of ownership and respect to African- Canadians!

The Board of Directors,
AfriCana Village & Museum @ The Waterfront.