by R. Asmerom
Russell Simmons obviously needs no introduction. His numerous successes as a business and media mogul are rivaled only by a few others in the world. Despite all his successes, however, Simmons is not immune from the criticism of his politics. We recently questioned Simmons’ stance on the diamond industry in light of Naomi Campbell’s current entanglement with the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Chuck Taylor. In 2006, Simmons’ take on the diamond industry was highlighted when the film Blood Diamonds opened. Instead of explaining the situation further, we decided to have Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Governing Board Co-President of Simmons’ Diamond Empowerment Fund, address the issue of Blood Diamonds and the work of their Diamond Empowerment Fund. Here’s what the two had to say:
On Simmon’s relationship with the diamond business…
I am not in and have never been in the diamond mining business, I am in the jewelry business. My involvement in the diamond business is to help bring greater support around education initiatives for Africans and is a non-profit, philanthropic initiative. I do not profit from my efforts around education for Africans. I do not make money from Africa. I make money for Africa.
On how Simmons formulated his opinions on the relationship between diamonds and African development…
Our stance on the diamond industry’s participation in the development and empowerment of people in Africa where diamonds are a natural resource was developed after direct consultation from African leaders such as Nelson Mandela and others who are indigenous to major diamond producing African nations. Prior to establishing the Diamond Empowerment Fund, we traveled to Africa specifically on a fact-finding mission to witness first hand what was happening with the diamond industry in South Africa and Botswana. We also traveled to Mozambique to have a private meeting with former South African President Mandela.
We also met with leading Africa businessmen such as Patrice Motsepe and we met with then President Festus Mogae of Botswana and other regional and local officials in South Africa and Botswana. We also reviewed Business Leadership South Africa’s “The Stuff of Legends: Diamonds and Development in Southern Africa” study published in November 2006. BLSA is an association of South Africa’s largest corporations and major multinational companies with a significant presence in South Africa. The study independently determined that the diamond industry has been a positive force in the economic development of Southern Africa.
Further, we visited schools both in Botswana and South Africa, such as CIDA City Campus in Johannesburg. We spoke with workers, family members, and visited schools and hospitals in mining communities. We also met with tribal leaders in both Botswana and South Africa who expressed their support of the diamond industry’s contributions to the ongoing development of their communities. We assessed first-hand our observations of how these communities were being positively impacted and the quality of life in these communities was being directly improved as beneficiaries of revenue generated through the diamond industry. We also met with miners, as well as native Africans who were working throughout the chain of the diamond pipeline, specifically those employed in the sorting, cutting, polishing, and valuation of diamonds. These are all highly-skilled workers, and seeing all of these people at work was in direct contradiction to what we were told – that no black Africans were employed in the diamond industry in Africa.
One of the key questions of our fact-finding mission was to determine the extent to which the diamond industry was being accountable to these communities. Of the various industries that extract minerals, and other natural resources from Africa, we were encouraged by how the diamond industry works with communities at the local, regional and national level to adhere to standards of engagement that have led to the empowerment of people and communities where diamonds are a natural resource.
