Pan-Africanism's Influence On Africa's 1960S Revolution And Unity

Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between indigenous peoples and the African diaspora. The movement's origins lie in the struggles of the African people against enslavement and colonisation, and it extends beyond continental Africans to those in the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe.

In the 1960s, Pan-Africanism was a vital force in continental and diasporic culture and politics. The decade saw the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, which was a milestone for the movement. The OAU soon became the most important Pan-Africanist organisation, with 31 independent nations as members by 1963.

The 1960s also witnessed intra-African disputes between newly independent states, often due to border issues inherited from colonialism. The decade saw the emergence of a new philosophy and outline for long-term economic, technical, and financial cooperation between Africa and the Arab world.

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU)

The OAU was a successor to the Pan-African Congress movement, which had been working towards similar goals since the first Pan-African Conference in London in 1900. The OAU solidified African leadership in the fight for decolonisation and unity.

The OAU's work was influenced by the ideas of prominent Pan-Africanists such as Kwame Nkrumah, who believed that European colonial rule in Africa could be overthrown if Africans united politically and economically. This idea of a union between independent African states was a key principle of Pan-Africanism.

The OAU was replaced by the African Union (AU) in 2002, which continues to promote the social, political, and economic integration of Africa.

The All-African People's Conference

The All-African Peoples Conference (AAPC) was a significant event in the pan-African movement of the 1960s. Hosted by Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah in April 1958, the conference was a gathering of delegates from political movements and major political leaders across the continent. With the exception of South Africa, all independent African states at the time were in attendance: Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Sudan.

The conference was a powerful demonstration of political and social unity between Arabic states and black African regions, with attendees espousing a common African Nationalist identity and a shared anti-Imperialist stance. This was particularly significant given the context of the time, as many African countries were still under colonial rule and fighting for their independence. The conference also highlighted the armed struggle of the Algerian FLN against French colonial rule, with attendees agreeing to support the fight for emancipation on the continent. This included a declared fight against colonial pressures in South Africa and full support for the FLN's struggle in Algeria.

The AAPC played a crucial role in inspiring and accelerating the pace of political activity towards African independence. For example, Kenyan trade unionist and anti-colonial activist Tom Mboya's attendance at the conference inspired him to intensify his efforts for Kenya's independence. The conference also marked a shift in foreign policy, advocating for non-alignment between the US and the USSR and the establishment of an "African Identity" in global affairs through unity among African states in international relations.

The second All-African Peoples Conference was held in 1960 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. By this time, the membership of the All-African Peoples Organisation (AAPO) had expanded to include the Algerian Provisional Government, Cameroun, Guinea, Nigeria, Somalia, and the United Arab Republic. However, this conference also highlighted diverging ideologies within the pan-African movement, as Nkrumah's call for a political and economic union between the Independent African States gained little agreement. The disagreements that arose from this conference led to the formation of two rival factions within the movement: the Casablanca Bloc and the Brazzaville Bloc.

The Harlem Renaissance

Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that promotes the unification and solidarity of all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. The philosophy is rooted in the belief that African people, both on the continent and in the diaspora, share a common history and destiny. The movement extends beyond continental Africans, with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe.

The origins of Pan-Africanism can be traced back to the struggles of African people against enslavement and colonisation, dating back to the first resistance on slave ships and the "Back to Africa" movements of the 19th century. The movement gained momentum in the 20th century with the establishment of the Pan-African Association by Henry Sylvester Williams in 1897, which organised the First Pan-African Conference in London in 1900.

The ideas and activism of the Harlem Renaissance contributed to a growing sense of Pan-African solidarity and pride, which continued to evolve and gain momentum in the following decades, particularly with the independence of Ghana in 1957 under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, a prominent Pan-Africanist.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, the Black Power movement further propelled Pan-Africanist cultural thinking in the United States. During this period, it became increasingly common for African Americans to explore their African cultural roots and adopt African forms of cultural expression, including styles of dress.

The legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on Pan-Africanism extended beyond this period, influencing subsequent movements such as the Afrocentric movement of the 1960s and 1980s. This movement emphasised African modes of thought and culture, challenging the historical domination of European intellectual and cultural traditions.

The Black Power movement

The roots of the movement can be traced back to the mid-19th century in the United States, led by Africans from the Western Hemisphere. The most notable early Pan-Africanists were Martin Delany and Alexander Crummel, both African Americans, and Edward Blyden, a West Indian. These pioneers emphasised the commonalities between Africans and Black people in the United States. Delany, believing that Black people could not prosper alongside whites, advocated for the separation of African Americans from the United States and the establishment of their own independent nation. Crummel and Blyden, contemporaries of Delany, thought that Africa was the best place for this new nation. They were motivated by Christian missionary zeal and believed that Africans in the New World should return to their homelands, convert the inhabitants, and "civilise" them—a practice that various European missionaries had already attempted.

Although the ideas of Delany, Crummel, and Blyden are significant, the true father of modern Pan-Africanism was the influential thinker W.E.B. Du Bois. Throughout his long career, Du Bois advocated for the study of African history and culture. In the early 20th century, he was the most prominent among the few scholars who studied Africa. His statement, made at the turn of the 20th century, that "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the colour line", was made with Pan-Africanist sentiments in mind. Du Bois was clear that "the problem of the colour line" was not confined to the United States and the social status of African Americans but also extended to the yoke of European colonial rule that many Africans on the continent suffered under.

Among the more important Pan-Africanist thinkers of the first decades of the 20th century was Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican-born Black Nationalist. In the years after World War I, Garvey championed the cause of African independence, emphasising the positive attributes of Black people's collective past. His organisation, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), boasted millions of members and envisioned a return "back to Africa". Garvey's Black Star Line, a shipping company established to transport Blacks back to Africa and facilitate global Black commerce, was ultimately unsuccessful.

Despite their origins outside the United States, Pan-Africanist thinkers like James and Padmore drew many of their ideas from African American culture. An exchange of ideas about Africa and peoples of African descent took place between these intellectuals and African Americans, with the latter taking the lead. It was, in many ways, a Black Atlantic intellectual community.

By the late 1940s, the African American intellectual leadership of the movement had receded, with Africans now taking the lead. This was due in part to the leftist or communist sympathies of many Pan-Africanist advocates. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the United States was in the midst of a Red Scare, a period when Americans with communist affiliations or sympathies were actively persecuted and prosecuted. The most important figure of this period was Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who believed that European colonial rule in Africa could be extinguished if Africans united politically and economically. Nkrumah went on to lead the movement for independence in Ghana, which was achieved in 1957, to the cheer of many African Americans.

The African Union

Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and those in the diaspora of African ancestry. The movement is based on the belief that "African people, both on the continent and in the diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny".

Pan-Africanism has its origins in the struggles of the African people against enslavement and colonisation. The movement extends beyond continental Africans, with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe.

In the 1960s, Pan-Africanist cultural thinking re-emerged with renewed force in the United States as one of the manifestations of the Black Power movement. During this time, it became increasingly common for African Americans to investigate their African cultural roots and adopt African forms of cultural practice, such as styles of dress.

The Pan-African Congress movement, which began in 1900, held its sixth congress in 1963 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This meeting solidified African leadership of the movement, which had largely transitioned from African Americans to Africans by the mid-1940s.

In 1963, influenced by Pan-African thought, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established. The OAU was a successor to the Pan-African Congress movement and comprised 32 African states. The creation of the OAU Charter defined a coordinated "effort to raise the standard of living of member States and defend their sovereignty" by supporting freedom fighters and decolonisation.

While challenges remain, the African Union strives to achieve unity and uplift the people of African ancestry through collective self-reliance and empowerment.

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