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CAUCUS OF EDUCATORS AND STAFF OF AFRICAN DESCENT (COESAD)
STATEMENT OF AIMS, OBJECTIVES, AND BY-LAWS
PROLOGUE:
INSPIRED by the historical spirit—the spirit of Bandung of the **Asian-African Conference of 1955 and the physical and intellectual struggles waged by people of color worldwide along with a common determination to develop a diverse understanding of thought among people of African descent and the Ohio University community.
INSPIRED by AAFASC and the colleagues, past and present, who developed, directed, and sustained its vision: “We are because you were and because you were, we are.”
INSPIRED by Ohio University’s commitment to its stated values of Respect, Civility, and Diversity.
CONSCIOUS that the means by which people of African descent in the Western Hemisphere and the Diaspora have a control over their destiny is education versus schooling.
REALIZING that the struggle for education is worldwide among people of African descent and is our passport to obtain the historical imperatives of respect, dignity, equity, and diversity.
CONSCIOUS of the historical imperatives of respect, dignity, equity, and diversity for being the essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of people of African descent worldwide.
CONVINCED that in order to translate this determination into a progressive obligate for human development, an atmosphere of respect, dignity, equity, and diversity must be established developed, and maintained here at Ohio University.
DEDICATED to the intellectual and political development of students, administrators, staff, and faculty of African descent as well as other students, administrators, staff, and faculty of color in all matters pertaining to their support, development, and well-being here at Ohio University, we will support the progressive aspirations for solidarity in a larger community transcending all organizational differences—the spirit of Bandung.
DETERMINED to unify people of African descent nationally and internationally at Ohio University in their continual struggle for the human virtues of respect, dignity, equity, and diversity.
RESOLVED to reinforce the common good and the common bond that are based on a common struggle between people of African descent nationally and internationally by submerging our differences for the common good we hereby present these aims and objectives.
ARTICLE I – THE NAME: The name of the organization is the Caucus of Educators and Staff of African Descent hereafter COESAD (formerly AAFASC). COESAD will include all people of African descent—administrators, staff, faculty, and students affiliated with Ohio University.
ARTICLE IIa – THE MISSION: To promote, enhance, and engage the progressive development, growth, and well-being of all administrators, staff, faculty, and students of African descent at Ohio University educationally, politically, and communally, as well as provide an open forum for the discussion of the issues and concerns that affect and effect the positive growth and development of people of African descent and other people of color.
ARTICLE IIb – THE PURPOSE: To serve as a proactive forum for formulating policy issues affecting administrators, staff, faculty, and students of African descent and to voice and address their concerns at Ohio University and in the Athens community.
ARTICLE III – THE EXECUTIVE BOARD:
Section 1 The Executive Board will consist of the President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer. The immediate past President and the Historian will serve as advisors from the Advisory Council.
Section 2 The Executive Board will hold one term of office with individual officers not to exceed two consecutive terms of office; a term is one academic/fiscal year – July 1st to June 30th.
Section 3 The Executive Board will be elected, with the exception of the immediate past President, by ballot majority vote of those Full members present and by written nominations at the final business meeting of the academic term.
Section 4 The responsibilities of each member officer of the Executive Board will be:
(A) The President will: (1) call and chair all meetings and will serve as the spokesperson of the COESAD in consultation with the membership; (2) will appoint a parliamentarian and ad hoc committee chairs as needed.
(B) The Vice President will: (1) advise and work closely with the President on all matters of COESAD; (2) will carry out all Presidential duties in the absence of the President; (3) is eligible to assume the position of President the following academic/fiscal year if the incumbent President is not elected to a second term of office; (4) supervise the duties of the Advisory Council.
(C) The Secretary will: (1) advise and work closely with the other officers on all business matters; (2) call and chair all meetings in the absence of the President and Vice President; (3) keep a written record of all meeting minutes and present the minutes for approval at all meetings; (4) publish all minutes for the membership via the COESAD Web page and listserv; (5) keep the membership appraised of all COESAD business and activities.
(D) The Treasurer will: (1) collect all monies—dues and donations—coming to COESAD; (2) manage all fiscal correspondence and affairs of COESAD; (3) publish to the membership a quarterly and end-of-the-year financial report, maintain the COESAD account by keeping accurate financial records; (4) sign all checks with signatures of the President and Vice President—checks will be countersigned by either the President or Vice President.
(E) The Immediate Past President will: (1) serve a head of the Advisory Council and (2) serve as chief Advisor to the Executive Board.
(F) The Historian will: (1) serve in conjunction with the Immediate Past President in a historical advisory capacity; (2) in conjunction with the Recording Secretary will maintain all the historical records of COESAD; (3) may be called upon to provide a historical account of COESAD when necessary to address organizational past activities.
ARTICLE IV – ADVISORY COUNCIL:
Section 1 The Advisory Council will consist of the immediate past officers, one appointed graduate student, one elected Full member, and the Historian. The Immediate Pat President will serve as Chairperson of the Advisory Council.
Section 2 The Advisory Council will serve one term of office with individuals not to exceed two consecutive terms of office; a term is one academic year—July 1st to June 30th.
Section 3 The elected member of the Advisory Council will be elected by ballot majority vote of those F ull members present and by proxy at the final business meeting of the academic term.
Section 4 The Historian will be elected every three years by a majority vote of those voting members present or by written nomination at the final business meeting of the academic term.
ARTICLE V – MEETINGS:
Section 1 A minimum of six meetings (three Executive Board meetings and three membership body meetings) will be held each academic year distributed equitably throughout the academic year. The Executive Board may need to meet more than three times which may necessitate more general body meetings.
Section 2 A minimum of three socials will be conducted per academic year—the beginning of the year, a Kwanzaa celebration, and an end of the year social.
ARTICLE VI – THE MEMBERSHIP:
Section 1 Membership is open to all administrators, faculty, staff, and graduate students of African descent, along with other people of color employed and matriculated at Ohio University.
Section 2 Full membership: shall consist of both full-time and part-time administrators, staff, and faculty of African descent nationally and internationally at Ohio University.
Section 3 Associate membership: will consist of all other administrators, staff, faculty.
Section 4 Student membership: will consist of Ohio University graduate< /p> students of African descent both full-time and part-time, nationally and internationally at Ohio University.
Section 5 Active (dues paid-in-full) and current full membership: shall have one vote in all matters of business. Associate and Student memberships shall not hold voting privileges.
Section 5a Membership dues: are $45 per year, due by the second business meeting of the academic year. Thereafter, dues will be $60 and may be paid in equal installments of $20 per term.
Section 5b Associate membership: dues for administrator, faculty, and staff are $30 per academic year and can be paid by the second business meeting of the academic year at $10 per term.
Section 6 Membership dues for graduate students of African descent shall be $15 per academic year or $5 per term.
Section 7 Each Full member will be encouraged to be an active participant in one of the following standing committees: a) Communication, Publicity, and Community Relations. The Vice President and Secretary will serve as Chairpersons until the committee elects its Chairperson. Only active members can serve as chairs of committees. b) Fundraising. The Treasurer will serve as Chairperson until the committee elects its Chairperson. c) Professional Development. The President will serve as Chairperson until the committee elects its Chairperson. d) Professional-Student Recruitment Committee. The Executive Board will serve as a committee of the whole. e) Social Activities Committee. The Treasurer will serve as Chairperson until the committee elects its Chairperson.
ARTICLE VII – AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LAWS:
Section 1 The By-Laws will be reviewed every three years for revision, if needed. Additional reviews will be made upon the recommendation of the membership.
Section 2 All proposed amendments will be submitted in writing to the Executive Board, at least five days prior to Executive Board meetings. The Board will, in collaboration with the Advisory Council, consider all proposed amendments for presentation to the membership.
Section 3 Proposed amendments will be approved by a two-thirds vote of the voting membership called for the expressed purpose of voting for amending the By-Laws.
Section 4 A quorum will consist of not less than one-third of the active and current Full membership.
**Asian African Conference—Bandung, Indonesia 1955 and the Spirit of Bandung
In the year of 1955 from Monday the 18th through Sunday the 24th of April, as the sun set in the mountain town of Bandung, on the island of Java, in the Republic of Indonesia, a former Dutch colony, there gathered a group of men all African and Asian. These men represented twenty-four countries representing every religion, almost every race on the face of the earth, every shade of political opinion—and one-and-a-half billion people from 12,606,938 square miles of the earth’s surface. They convened for a conference in which President Sukarno of Indonesia in his opening address, described as, “The first international conference of colored peoples in the history of mankind.” On the other side of the world, in Boston, Massachusetts, the Christian Science Monitor said of the Conference:
The West is excluded. Emphasis is on the colored nations of the world. And for Asia it means that at last the destiny of Asia is being determined in Asia, and not Geneva, or Paris, or London, and Washington. Colonialism was out and hands off is the world. Asia is free. This is perhaps the great historic event of our century.
The conference, convened upon the invitation of the Prime Ministers of Burma, Ceylon, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, met the third week of April 1955. In addition to the sponsoring countries, the following 24 countries participated in the conference: Egypt, Ethiopia, The Gold Coast, Liberia, Libya, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Nepal, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the State of Vietnam. This week-long meeting of Asian and African national (non-aligned with the West) discussed the position of Asia and Africa regarding the issues of colonialism, racism, international economic and social collaboration, along with world peace. They explored the ways and means by which their nations could achieve the fullest economic, social, cultural and political global cooperation.
These discussions happened because they put aside their social, political, cultural, and economical difference and, in spite of these differences, they came together. Politically, some were Socialist, some were Communist, some were Capitalist and, despite their political differences, they put them aside and came together for the common good. Religiously, some were Christians, some were Muslim, some were Buddhist, some were Confucianists, some were Atheist, and some were Agnostic. Despite their religious differences, they came together by putting aside their distinctions for the common good behind a common goal, for example, to rid themselves of the colonialism and racism, along with the economic and social isolation that was being imposed on them by the Western world. These Africans and Asians came to Bandung because they realized that the one thing they had in common was that they all were being dominated by the economic, social, and political forces of colonialism, racism, and cultural indifference perpetrated and perpetuated by the Western world. This realization of the political, social, economic, and cultural hegemony of the Western world resulted in the purposeful exclusion of the Western world at the conference—the West was not invited. They met for a conference that was the first international conference [of people of color] in the history of mankind. They realized that they had historical commonness; they shared a common history no matter where they were from.
So, they came together, these men of color, representing every religion under the sun, almost every race on the face of the earth, and every tone of political opinion. They represented one-and-a-half billion people from 12,606,938 square miles of the earth’s surface, which was most of the world at that time.
For more information on the Asian African Conference of 1955 (The Bandung Conference) please see Richard Wright’s (1995/1956) The Color Curtain: A Report on the Bandung Conference, University Press of Mississippi.
Rev. 11/2001 |