“Simmons wound up defending the De Beers Company which for years had a worldwide monopoly and brutally ruled the diamond business.”

For folks who aren't old enough to remember, De Beers was set up by a colonizer named Cecil Rhodes (yes the same Cecil Rhodes who the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship is named after). He took over what we now call Zimbabwe and called it Rhodesia. His De Beers diamond company was and will forever be in many people's minds associated with the brutal Apartheid regime of South Africa.

I recall as a kid hearing all sorts of horror stories about how the Black majority population in South Africa were forced to work in diamond mines in subhuman conditions for pennies a day by the De Beers owners with the military backing and blessings of the white Apartheid government. Many Blacks were killed or crippled by cruel De Beer bosses and Afrikaner police when they went on strike to demand better work conditions. It was more than troubling to see how these workers were forced to mine diamonds from their own land and have these colonizers sell them all over the world, thus making both the De Beers company and the White South African government rich and powerful.

It's interesting to note that we didn't call those South African diamonds “blood diamonds” back in the 80s when many of us in the Hip Hop generation first became aware of all the atrocities, but in many ways they really were. The blood of Black South Africans was on many of those De Beers stones.

If that wasn't bad enough, De Beers had a nasty practice of keeping diamonds off the market so they could artificially raise prices and create an illusion of scarcity. This practice was highlighted in the “Blood Diamonds” movie.

“De Beers had a nasty practice of keeping diamonds off the market so they could artificially raise prices and create an illusion of scarcity.”

The brutality of Apartheid along with the horrors of the diamond trade were what motivated many of us as young college folks to become involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement. We demanded that our universities and other US businesses divest any and all funds from South African businesses.

Many compared Apartheid with the Holocaust because of how harshly whites treated the Black majority. Sadly, President Ronald Reagan, Senator Dick Cheney, and later President George Bush Sr. were in power during this period – men who, along with Israel, staunchly supported the white terrorist Apartheid government every step of the way.

They vetoed every UN proposal for sanctions against the South African regime. They called then incarcerated Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress (ANC) “terrorists” who were to be feared. There was even a point where right-wing knuckleheads in this country advocated that the US purchase South African diamonds as a way to oppose the ANC because they were getting help from Fidel Castro and communist organizations. Remember, the folks in power who guarded our beloved Democracy here in the US were doing very little to end Apartheid. This is the “history,” as Russell Simmons pointed out, we should always remember and never downplay or conveniently overlook.

Now during his CNN interview Simmons claimed that he understood De Beers had a bad history, but times have changed and this once notorious diamond company had also changed for the better. Simmons noted that up to 80% of De Beers diamond profits now go back to South Africans and that the money generated from diamond sales now allow Africans an opportunity to get a stronger economic foothold.

As I listened to him run all this down, I kept saying to myself, “Fuck That! De Beers shouldn't own any of those diamond mines. In the backdrop of all the brutality that occurred over the years, there should be NO splitting of any profits. It should be fully 100% controlled and owned by Africans.”

Simmons has gone to great lengths to defend the diamond trade, including featuring De Beers company representatives at his New York press conference. It was as if Jewish leaders had invited representatives of a company once owned by Adolf Hitler to help explain why it makes sense to split profits with a firm built on the slaughter of Jews and the theft of their resources.

“The memory of De Beers as a stalwart of the White Apartheid regime is still firmly etched in our minds.”

I know in South Africa, they have a Truth and Reconciliation Commission through which a lot of past atrocities have been forgiven. But for many of us here in the US there was no truth and reconciliation process. Many of us vividly recall our empathy with the plight of our South African brethren during the Anti-Apartheid struggle. The memory of De Beers as a stalwart of the White Apartheid regime is still firmly etched in our minds.

The money that De Beers and others have sunk into the PR campaign to counteract the message of the movie “Blood Diamonds” would have been better used to send emissaries around the world, to apologize and try and make right the role De Beers played in keeping the Apartheid regime running. In fact, little has been heard from De Beers since the end of Apartheid – until they showed up hanging with Russell to whitewash the diamond trade.

Heck, I don't even recall seeing or hearing any mass media PR campaigns from this company when all that horrific bloodshed and genocide was taking place in Sierra Leone. De Beers wasn't popping up on BET or CNN back in the early 90s explaining that they had nothing to do with the real life Blood Diamond conflict in the region.

With respect to Russell Simmons, he said that on his fact finding mission he was asked by leaders of Botswana and South Africa to come back and deliver a message about the “real facts” surrounding diamonds. First, he pointed out that he went to the diamond mines in Botswana and everything he witnessed seemed up to speed and that there were no abuses taking place.

Next, he pointed out that blood diamonds are only 1% of the diamonds being purchased worldwide He also noted that the diamonds we buy today go to directly helping Africans. He then cited Nelson Mandela as one of the leaders who asked him to pass this message along to counteract the impression many would be getting from the movie “Blood Diamonds.”

Now, a couple of things need to be kept in mind. A good friend and fellow writer Nida Khan of The Source raised the question at Russell's press conference: Had he really been exposed to the harsh conditions and unsavory behavior that still goes on in many of these diamond mines? Would the governments of Botswana or South Africa really show such a high profile figure the dirt that goes on behind the scenes and off camera?

“Had he really been exposed to the harsh conditions and unsavory behavior that still goes on in many of these diamond mines?”

The second thing to keep in mind: If Russell is delivering a message from Nelson Mandela, then why didn't Mandela himself, a Noble Peace Prize winner who is admired around the world, issue his own statement and hold his own press conference? No disrespect to Russell, but why speak for a guy like Mandela on such a volatile subject? Now perhaps I missed something, but I searched Google, Yahoo and a number of South African newspapers. I couldn't find anything about Mandela speaking on this issue. I did see a couple of articles with Noble laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu coming out against the Botswana government and De Beers’ sister company for pushing the Bushmen off their native land. In fact as I am writing this I'm going to do one last search.
I checked the following South African papers:

http://www.bday.co.za/
Business Day (Johannesburg)
http://www.mg.co.za/
Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg)
http://www.suntimes.co.za/
Sun Times (Johannesburg)
http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/
Sunday Independent (Johannesburg)

In all these papers I did not see one mention of Nelson Mandela talking about how us buying diamond-encrusted pieces from Jacob the Jeweler or any other diamond dealer here in the US was somehow going to be saving Africans. Folks are welcome to do the search themselves. I'm not perfect, so maybe I overlooked something.

Most of the articles I read spoke about the connection and partial ownership De Beers has with the main diamond company in Botswana called Debswana. Many of the articles focused on how the Bushmen in Botswana have been tricked and forced to get off their native land so De Beers and everyone else can mine diamonds. Most importantly, many of the articles focused on how the average person in Africa is not seeing the benefits of all those diamond sales. The whole scenario reminds me of how we have been tricked into going along with the lottery. Everybody buys lottery tickets to help get much needed money to improve our school systems, however, public schools from New York to Cali are still in shambles.

In the Cape Town Daily News I did come across an interesting story that describes how the US State department is making all sorts of moves to counter the message of “Blood Diamonds.” They fear the movie can have an adverse effect on the economy. That's a story I haven't seen here in local Cali papers.

As I read the story I could only shake my head. The people in power are all too familiar with how influential pop culture can be. They understand the power of images and lyrics and all that. They clearly comprehend that this stuff is not “just entertainment” as many would like you to believe. So it's not just Russell running around defending the diamond industry – it's our own government. Go figure. I guess some things never change. It's the same government that defended De Beers during Apartheid. The same government is defending De Beers now that the movie 'Blood Diamonds' is out.

“It's not just Russell running around defending the diamond industry – it's our own government.”

The only positive article I saw regarding how diamonds are somehow helping out Africans was in South Africa's Business Day newspaper. It's an opinion piece that was published in August 2006. I saw no other articles supporting this claim in the months and weeks leading up to the “Blood Diamonds” movie controversy.

We should also note the recent so-called studies that some are citing about the benefits of the diamond trade are financed by – guess who? – the diamond industry. A lengthy apology for De Beers and the rest of the diamond cartel appears in the London-based Royal United Services Institute publication, African Security, Commodities and Development.

“Contrary to the widespread perception of a business operating outside or on the fringes of the law, diamond producers have instead worked together with governments and nongovernmental organisations to establish a unique regulatory public-private partnership as the Kimberley Process….

“A positive attitude towards the harvesting of resources in Africa – especially diamonds – by the international community is needed. Today’s African governments are more responsible and responsive towards their citizens; so nongovernmental organisations and other advocacy groups should adjust their view of Africa lest they damage the very people they are trying to assist.”

Who are you going to believe – De Beers and some British Royal Institute?

One thing Russell said on CNN that I can agree with is that Hollywood and many others have never given a damn about Blood Diamonds. Russell rhetorically asked, Where were all the movies and films when genocide was taking place in the early 90s? It's a good question that many will have to wrestle with. That would include then President Bill Clinton, The NAACP and dozens of other organizations and churches.

Sadly, many of us within Hip Hop when all this bloodshed was going on suddenly abandoned our leather African Medallions and started blinging out with platinum and diamonds. This includes some of the artists that Russell himself worked with. If you recall, when all the slaughter was occurring in Sierra Leone, many of us were watching Biggie and 2Pac videos, talking about how jiggy we were. We all have to own up to our collective silence and ignorance on one of Africa's most devastating periods.

But with all that being said, the debate has now been raised, and it's important that we understand both the history and the politics of the day. One thing I find especially troubling is that while De Beers is launching an all out PR campaign and Russell is telling us to go buy diamonds to support Africa, I still have yet to go to a diamond district in NY, LA or here in the Bay Area and see some cats from Botswana or Black South Africans selling me some diamonds wholesale in a store they own 100%.

I see commercials every day from diamond retailers like Zales, Tiffany’s and “Paul from the Diamond Center,” but I never see us Black folks doing the selling.

It seems like when half the rap community goes out to purchase diamond-encrusted grillz to make their mouths look like “disco balls,” they are usually purchased from fellow rap star Paul Wall. Is the money he's charging for all those 30 thousand dollar-plus grillz going to help Africans build a clinic to fight AIDs in Botswana? Are Lil Wayne, Nelly, Jermaine Dupri and other grill wearers sporting those gaudy mouth pieces with the intent of helping impoverished Africans?

“I'm not buying any diamonds, especially if they're from De Beers or any other company connected to them.”

I can't call it, but stuff don't seem right. As for me I'm not buying any diamonds, especially if they're from De Beers or any other company connected to them. If we really wanna help out Africa how about making sure the debts they incurred from first world nations when they got rid of colonizers is forgiven and forever erased. How about us demanding that they be allowed to use generic drugs to fight the scourge of HIV and AIDS and not be caught up in some super rich drug company lobbying our government to put the screws to Africa because they violated some unfair trade agreement. How about we look at the insidious ways in which countries like Belgium manipulated things to help cause some of the wars that led to genocide over diamonds. Lets bring those people to justice.

Anyway, in 2006 I'd rather buy some damn property before I buy diamonds. If you're really about blinging buy a land deed not a stupid diamond chain.

Something to think about!

Davey D is the Hip Hop historian, journalist, deejay and community activist, based in the San Francisco Bay area. He can be contacted through his web site at http://www.daveyd.com.