For nearly 550 years, the world has been exploiting and victimizing Africans and people of the African diaspora. The time for that to end is today.

Leaders and common people of the West alike have unapologetically viewed people of the African diaspora as apes and as uncivilized when they’ve continually destabilized our governments. They view our land as “fertile land for exploration,” have eaten our flesh, worn our skin and raped our women. They have profited from our resources while harming those who mine them. This is but a speck of dust in the galaxy of evil the West has perpetrated against my people. But we resist. We are proud, we are dignified and we are strong.

One may say, “That is in the past. You have independence. You are free.” To the person with these sentiments, I urge you: Free yourself from ignorance and educate yourself. Imperialism never disappeared from Africa; it transformed. Imperialists moved from occupying land but still occupy markets, leverage debt and push propaganda of Africa as an infested land. We can either perish, or as Nelson Mandela said, “hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future and our freedom.”

I can write all day, but without action, my voice is simply another voice in the wind. Africans must act so that our voices become the wind that heralds a new dawn for our beautiful continent. The key is unity.

Africa must “unite now or perish.” My forefather, Kwame Nkrumah, declared this statement at the founding of the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 24, 1963. Those who came after him sullied his name by failing to hear his cry. Hear me, current generation: Let us hear, let us act! African unity is not a political idealism but an existential necessity.

Africa must declare a unified moral principle on which we operate; we must strengthen internal economic ties and reject financial neo-colonialism, and we must build peace.

Unity, dignity and love are the way forward: “Freedom! Hedsole! Sawaba! Uhuru!”