Pan-Africanism

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Pan-Africanism
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Maafa
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Kwame Nkrumah
Marcus Garvey
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Malcolm X
W. E. B. Du Bois
C. L. R. James
Cheikh Anta Diop

Pan-Africanism is a sociopolitical world view, philosophy, and movement which seeks to unify native Africans and those of African heritage into a "global African community".[1] Generally Pan-Africanism calls for a politically and economically united Africa or unity of African people.

Contents

Origins

As a philosophy, Pan-Africanism represents the aggregation of the historical, cultural, spiritual, artistic, scientific and philosophical legacies of Africans from past times to the present. Pan-Africanism as an ethical system traces its origins from ancient times, and promotes values that are the product of the African civilization and the struggles against slavery, racism, colonialism, and neo-colonialism.[2]

Pan-Africanism is usually seen as a product of the European slave trade. Enslaved Africans of diverse origins and their descendants found themselves embedded in a system of exploitation where their African origin became a sign of their servile status. Pan-Africanism set aside cultural differences, asserting the principality of these shared experiences to foster solidarity and resistance to exploitation.

Alongside a large number of slave insurrections, by the end of the eighteenth century a political movement developed across the Americas, Europe and Africa which sought to weld these disparate movements into a network of solidarity putting an end to this oppression. In London, the Sons of Africa was a political group addressed by Quobna Ottobah Cugoano in the 1791 edition of his book Thoughts and sentiments on the evil of slavery. The group addressed meetings and organised letter-writing campaigns, published campaigning material and visited parliament. They wrote to figures such as Granville Sharp, William Pitt and other members of the white abolition movement, as well as King George III and the Prince of Wales, the future George IV.

Modern Pan-Africanism began around the beginning of the twentieth century. The African Association, later renamed the Pan-African Association, was organized by Henry Sylvester-Williams around 1887, and their first conference was held in 1900.[3]

Concept

Billboard in Zambia with Nkrumah's non-alignment quote: "We face neither East nor West; We face forward" (Taken in May 2005)

As originally conceived by Henry Sylvester-Williams (note: some history books credit this idea to Edward Wilmot Blyden) pan-Africanism referred to the unity of all continental Africa [1]. The concept soon expanded, however, to include the African diaspora.

During apartheid South Africa there was a Pan Africanist Congress that dealt with the oppression of South Africans under European apartheid rule. Other pan-Africanist organizations include Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association-African Communities League, TransAfrica and the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement.

Key figures

Pan-African Banner

Pan-African flag

The Pan-African flag was designed by Marcus Garvey and is known as "The Red, Black, and Green". This flag symbolizes the struggle for the unification and liberation of African people. The "red" stands for the blood that unites all people of African ancestry, "black" represents the color of the skin of the people of Africa, and "green" stands for the rich land of Africa.

Sometimes the green, gold, and red of the Ethiopian flag are used as the colors of the Pan-African movement. According to some sources, this is because Ethiopia escaped European colonization except for a brief period of occupation by Italy under the Fascists. Ethiopia is the headquarters of the African Union and several institutions concentrated on the African continent. Sebujja Katende, Ambassador of Uganda to the AU said Ethiopia is considered as "the grand father of Africa." [4]

Traditional Flag of Ethiopia

The four Pan-African colors — red, black, green, and gold — may have inspired the flags of more nations than any other flag.

Academics

Two of Pan-Africanism's major academic goals are reexamination of African history from an African perspective as opposed to a pro-European perspective and a return to traditional African concepts about culture, society, and values. Most notable, Pan-African academics often espouse the view that Egypt (Kemet), Nubia, or the Nile Valley civilization were of African origin.

Pan African and Maafa studies

Also related to Pan-Africanism is the academic discipline of Pan-African Studies. Departments of Pan-African Studies have existed in many North American universities since the 1960s.

Maafa is an aspect of Pan-African studies. The term collectively refers to the 500 hundred years of suffering (including the present) of people of African heritage through slavery, imperialism, colonialism, invasions, oppression, and exploitation.[5][6][7] In this area of study, both the actual history and the legacy of that history are studied as a single discourse. Thus the paradigm is the legacy of the African holocaust on African people globally. The emphasis in the historical narrative is on African agents, as opposed to non-African agents.[8].

Political parties and organizations

Africa-based

Barbados

British-based

US-based

African American topics
Category · Portal

Pan-African concepts and philosophies

Afrocentric Pan-Africanism

Afrocentric Pan-Africanism, as espoused by Dr. Kwabena Faheem Ashanti, Ph. D in his book The Psychotechnology of Brainwashing: Crucifying Willie Lynch. Another newer movement that has evolved from the early Afrocentric school is the Afrisecal movement or Afrisecaism of Dr Francis Ohanyido a Nigerian Philosopher- Poet.[10] Black Nationalism is sometimes associated with this form of pan-Africanism; the figure of Afrocentric Pan-Africanism in the Spanish-speaking world is Professor Antumi Toasijé.[11]

Kawaida

Hip Hop

During the past three decades hip hop has emerged as a powerful force shaping black and African identities worldwide. In his article “Hip-hop Turns 30: Whatcha Celebratin’ For?,” Greg Tate describes hip hop culture as the product of a Pan-African state of mind[12]. It is an “ethnic enclave/ empowerment zone that has served as a foothold for the poorest among us to get a grip on the land of the prosperous,”[12]. Hip-hop unifies those of African descent globally in its movement towards greater economic, social and political power. Andreana Clay in her article “Keepin’ it Real: Black Youth, Hip-Hop Culture, and Black Identity” states that hip hop provides the world with “vivid illustrations of Black lived experience” creating bonds of black identity across the globe[13]. Hip hop authenticates a black identity, and in doing so, creates a unifying uplifting force among Africans as Pan-Africanism sets out to achieve.

Pan-African art

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Sculpting a Pan-African Culture in the Art of Negritude: A Model for African Artist". http://www.jpanafrican.com/. 
  2. "The Politics of Liberation". Hakim Adi , African Holocaust Society. http://www.africanholocaust.net/html_ah/panafricanismhakimadi.html. Retrieved 2007-01-04. 
  3. ""The History of Pan-Africanism"". http://panafrican.homestead.com/history.html. 
  4. Sebujja: Ethiopia the grand father of Africa
  5. ""Let the Circle be Unbroken"". "Marimba Ani". http://www.africawithin.com/ani/marimba_ani.htm. 
  6. ""What Holocaust"". "Glenn Reitz". http://www.temple-news.com/media/storage/paper143/news/2003/10/30/Opinion/What-African.Holocaust-543918.shtml?norewrite200612211320&sourcedomain=www.temple-news.. 
  7. ""The Maafa, African Holocaust"". Swagga. http://www.swagga.com/maafa.htm. 
  8. ""Removal of Agency from Africa"". "Owen 'Alik Shahadah". http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/agencyandafrica.htm. Retrieved 2005. 
  9. ""Principles of Us"". http://www.us-organization.org/30th/ppp.html. 
  10. "African Resource" "" Francis Ohanyido Bio"". http://www.africaresource.com/index.php?option=com "African Resource". 
  11. ""Antumi Toasijé Bio in Spanish"". http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antumi_Toasij%C3%A9. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 Tate, Greg. “Hip-hop Turns 30: Whatcha Celebratin’ For?” Village Voice. 4 January 2005.
  13. Clay, Andreana. “Keepin’ it Real: Black Youth, Hip-Hop Culture, and Black Identity.” In American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 46.10 (2003): 1346-1358.

External links