Title: The History of Pan Africanism
Headings: The History of Pan Africanism
The History of Pan Africanism
Content: It was the African American scholar and writer, Dr W.E.B. Du Bois who convened the first Pan African Congress in 1919, in Paris, France. Again it demanded independence for African nations. Further congresses – essentially extended meetings of like-minded Africans searching for a way forward - were held in 1921 (London, Brussels, Paris), 1923 (London and Lisbon), 1927 (New York). Each reiterated and refined the demands for rights and freedom and built support for the cause. However, perhaps the most significant was the 5th Congress held in Manchester in 1945. For the first time, a large number of Africans from the Continent were present and the meeting provided impetus and momentum for the numerous post-war independence movements. This Congress also reserved the right of the colonised, once peaceful methods had been exhausted, to use force to take forward their struggle for self-determination. Just over a decade later in 1958, Kwame Nkrumah, first leader of independent Ghana called a meeting in the capital city, Accra, of all the independent African states – Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Liberia, Morocco and Ethiopia – in order that they should recommit themselves to supporting independence for the rest of the Continent. By 1963, there were 31 independent nations. Some were agitating for immediate Continental political union while others favoured slower steps towards unity.