Editing African People's Socialist Party

{{Infobox political party|name=African People's Socialist Party|logo=APSP logo.png|founded=May 1972|chairman=[[Omali Yeshitela]]|headquarters=St. Petersburg, [[Florida]], [[United States of America|United States]]|newspaper=''[[The Burning Spear]]''|womens_wing=[[African National Women's Organization]]|political_orientation=[[Anti-capitalism]]<br>[[Anti-colonialism]]<br>[[Black nationalism]]<br>[[Socialism]]}}

The '''African People's Socialist Party''' ('''APSP''') is a [[Socialism|socialist]] political party in the United States. It seeks to create a united [[socialist state]] for all of [[Africa]].<ref name=":0">{{News citation|newspaper=African People's Socialist Party|title=APSP Constitution|date=2013-12-09|url=https://apspuhuru.org/about/apsp-constitution/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101232710/https://apspuhuru.org/about/apsp-constitution/|archive-date=2022-01-01|retrieved=2022-07-29}}</ref> Unlike the [[Republic of New Afrika]], it does not claim any land in [[North America]] for the [[African diaspora in the United States|African diaspora]].<ref name=":2" />

== History ==
The African People's Socialist Party was founded in May 1972 by Omali Yeshitela. It formed from a merger of three organizations: the [[Junta of Militant Organizations]], the [[Black Rights Fighters]] from Fort Myers, and the [[Black Study Group]] from Gainsville. In 1976, the APSP formed the [[African People's Solidarity Committee]] and allowed white [[Proletariat|proletarians]] to join the party. By 1979, the APSP had spread to 15 states and 26 cities.

In 1981, the APSP moved its headquarters to Oakland, California, which was also the headquarters of the [[Black Panther Party|Black Panthers]]. In 1982, the party held its first congress and a tribunal for reparations to the African diaspora.

In 1991, the APSP founded the [[International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement]] (InPDUM). The InPDUM demanded self-determination for Africans and organized a successful campaign to free [[Fred Hampton]]'s son. During the 1990s, the APSP moved its headquarters to St. Petersburg, Florida.

In 1996, Africans rebelled in St. Petersburg after police officer James Knight murdered Tyron Lewis. On November 13, over 300 police and troops surrounded the Uhuru House and fired tear gas into the building. The people rose, shooting two police and taking down a police helicopter.

In 1999, the APSP organized a conference in London, [[England]] to establish the [[African Socialist International]]. In 2002, Omali Yeshitela went to [[Republic of South Africa|South Africa]] to speak at the 8th Congress of the [[Pan Africanist Congress of Azania]].<ref name=":1">{{News citation|newspaper=African People's Socialist Party|title=History|url=https://apspuhuru.org/about/apsp-history/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101232628/https://apspuhuru.org/about/apsp-history/|archive-date=2022-01-01|retrieved=2022-07-29}}</ref>

== Membership ==
Members of the APSP must be at least 18 years old unless the age requirement is waived by the National Central Committee. Membership dues are $5 per month for students, unemployed people, and imprisoned people and $20 per month for employed people. Party members have to be Black Africans, and they may have been born in [[Africa]] or in the African diaspora.<ref name=":0" /> Non-Africans who support the APSP can join the [[International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement]] or the African People's Solidarity Committee.<ref name=":2">{{News citation|newspaper=African People's Socialist Party|title=Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)|url=https://apspuhuru.org/faq/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101232628/https://apspuhuru.org/faq/|archive-date=2022-01-01|retrieved=2022-07-29}}</ref>

== Structure ==

=== National level ===
The APSP holds a National Party Congress every five years and the congress elects the National Central Committee (NCC). The National Central Committee meets four times a year and can call additional meetings with a one-third vote.The NCC includes a chairperson, and 13 other officers. All officers are elected except the National Director of Security, who is appointed by the Chairperson. The National Party Congress can amend the party constitution with a two-thirds vote.

The Political Bureau consists of six members who are also part of the NCC: the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Secretary General, and National Directors of Agitation and Propaganda, Organization, and Recruitment and Membership. The Political Bureau meets at least eight times a year.<ref name=":0" />

=== Regional level ===
The APSP holds regional congresses once every three years. The six regions are Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, and West. The regional congress elects a regional committee of ten officers who meet four times per year.<ref name=":0" />

=== Local level ===
Each local party organization has six voting members and a security organizer. Local officers serve one-year terms.

The Party Unit is the lowest level of organization and consists of at least three members, including a Unit Leader, Unit Secretary, and Unit Leader of Membership and Recruitment. Larger units may also have a Unit Leader of Agitprop, Unit Leader of Finance and Economic Development, and a Unit ''Burning Spear'' Agent.<ref name=":0" />

== Demands ==
The APSP has 14 demands in its platform:<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=African People's Socialist Party|title=What We Want – What We Believe|date=1979-09-23|url=https://apspuhuru.org/about/platform/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101232639/https://apspuhuru.org/about/platform/|archive-date=2022-01-01|retrieved=2022-07-29}}</ref>

# Peace, dignity, and the right for Africans to build a prosperous life through their own labor and in their own interests
# Economic development and creative and productive employment for African people
# An end to taxation of Black people by the U.S. government
# Free speech and free political association
# The right to political and economic association with Africans and other peoples
# Immediate release of all Black people from U.S. prisons
# Amnesty for all African political prisoners and prisoners of war
# Immediate withdrawal of U.S. police from Black communities
# An end to the political and social oppression and economic exploitation of African women
# Building an African People's Liberation Army
# Reparations from the United States and [[Europe|European]] countries
# An end to U.S. and European interference against Africa and African people
# An end to colonial domination of African people in the United States
# Liberation and unification of Africa under a socialist government

== Repression ==
In January 1973, a Central Committee member was assassinated by a car crash. Chairman Yeshitela was arrested in May 1973 and imprisoned for two months.<ref name=":1" />

On July 29, 2022, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] raided Omali Yeshitela’s house and party offices in St. Petersburg, [[Florida]] and St. Louis, [[Missouri]]. The FBI claimed that the APSP was controlled by [[Russian Federation|Russia]] because it opposes the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]-installed government of [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=PSL statement: Condemn the FBI attacks on the African People’s Socialist Party|date=2022-08-02|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/psl-statement-condemn-the-fbi-attacks-on-the-african-peoples-socialist-party%EF%BF%BC/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802162234/https://www.liberationnews.org/psl-statement-condemn-the-fbi-attacks-on-the-african-peoples-socialist-party%EF%BF%BC/|archive-date=2022-08-02|retrieved=2022-08-03}}</ref>

== References ==
[[Category:Statesian communist parties]]
[[Category:Black nationalism]]