Pan-Africanism, the notion that people of African descent share
common interests and should therefore be unified. This of course was proposed
at a time of great racial injustice both in Africa and against Africans in the
diaspora. W.E.B. DuBois’s famous statement that “the problem of the 20th
century is the problem of the color line” was widely believed to be made with
the clear knowledge that not only were people of color suffering in America,
but even on the African continent under the yoke of colonialism.
To rid Africa of colonialism and fight for racial
justice were largely viewed as inseparable. Marcus Garvey took it a step
further by calling for the return of Africans back to Africa in his famous
Africa for Africans slogan. Not only that, he believed that no person of color
will ever have any dignity as long as Africa remained unliberated.
These ideas have picked up steam since then and
eventually led to the political independence of African states in the mid-20th
century.
The idea of pan-Africanism started in the so called
diaspora, of course in Africa there were individual struggles against
colonialism to liberate specific territories. Names like Martin Delany,
Alexander Crummel, and Edward Blyden are cited as early proponents of this idea.
W.E.B. DuBois though stands out more prominent and
actually studied African history and culture, a concept he advocated amongst
blacks. This gives the idea a more political and cultural outlook.
As the idea grew in popularity, so too were the
supporters. The Honorable Marcus Garvey came on the scene with the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1919
to 1924. His philosophy was for both economic as well as political liberation,
although his Black Star liner wasn’t as successful as he hoped, coupled with
his troubles in America, UNIA didn’t register much success, the idea of
Pan-Africanism lived on and continued. Through the 1920s and 1940s C.L.R James
and George Padmore were the most prominent proponents of the idea. By this time
the idea was gaining a foothold on the continent.
Jomo Kenyatta, who was influenced by the teachings
of George Padmore, in fact believed to be his disciple went on to lead Kenya to
independence. There was Leopold Senghore, father of Senegal’s independence.
This was by the late 1940s when the ideals were receding somewhat in America
and picking up steam on the continent.
The most important figure on the continent for the
movement was of course Kwame Nkurumah, who fervently believed that colonialism
could be totally defeated on the African continent. To prove it, he mounted a
relentless campaign against the colonial institution in Africa and led his
country; Ghana, to independence in 1957, the first sub-Saharan African nation
to be independent.
Ten years later, all of Africa south of the Sahara
will be independent with the exception of the Portuguese colonies and much of
Southern Africa as well as the island nations. All in all, only nine out of the
48 nations of the mainland will remain under colonial rule, even then, by 1975,
only Zimbabwe, South Africa and Djibouti remained to be independent.
Quite a feat knowing how entrenched the institution
of colonialism was in Africa. This goes to show how a well-organized grassroots
movement can create an impact, exactly what is needed at this time; a
well-organized grassroots movement.
The various independence leaders of Africa can all
be said to have Pan-Africanist views.
During his speech marking the independence of Ghana,
Kwame Nkrumah said; “the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is
connected with the total liberation of the entire African continent.” To this he
dedicated his efforts culminating in the formation of the Organization of
African Unity (OAU) on May 25th 1963, (today celebrated as African
Liberation day).
The OAU aimed to, amongst other things;
· Intensify the fight against colonialism
in the remaining territories of Africa, notably South Africa and Angola, two of
the most brutal colonial outposts, and to end white minority rule.
·
To coordinate and intensify cooperation
·
The defense of the independence,
sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Africa.
Nkrumah’s mantra was “independence today, tomorrow;
THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA, and he was not playing. For him it was much more
than winning political independence, economic liberalization and cooperation
was as crucial if not more so. Total independence with non-interference and
non-alignment as well as the ability to defend African’s sovereignty were his
goal. You can see why he had to go. Unfortunately, disagreements on how to go
about such a union created division in the OAU which impeded success.
Looking at Africa today, we see why he made the
matter so urgent, his prophetic words; “unite now or perish” stand as testament
to the urgency of the matter.
So we ask, is that a fight worthy of fighting and if
so, what challenges are to be expected?
We are witnessing the rise of the far right in
Europe and its move from the fringes into the mainstream. With the immigrant
crisis and global terrorism, it is only a matter of time before it dominates
the mainstream, especially in Europe. What then in that scenario as they are
heavily anti-immigrant (non-white) and often promoting white supremacist
ideals? Who would’ve thought people will march in the streets of Europe, in
broad daylight, with dressed in Nazi regalia and displaying Nazi symbols and
slogans in 2016?
Meanwhile in Africa, we seem to have no direction
and our issues are only footnotes in the global mainstream media.
The goals and approach may be different in this day and age, but without some form of unity, Africa's condition and the suffering of African women and children will never end.
