Title: What is pan-africanism | Article about What is pan-africanism by The Free Dictionary
Headings: Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism
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Content: The movement began to take shape at the turn of the 20th century, on the initiative of the Negro intelligentsia of the USA and the West Indies, who demanded an end to racial discrimination, as well as the granting of civil and political rights to black people. The further development of Pan-Africanism was associated with the activization of forces opposing colonial oppression in Africa. The first four Pan-African congresses, in which W. E. B. Du Bois participated, were held in 1919 (Paris), 1921 (London, Brussels, and Paris), 1923 (London and Lisbon), and 1927 (New York). They were marked by a sharp ideological struggle between partisans of a radical orientation, who demanded the liberation of the African peoples from colonial oppression, and conservative elements, who were opposed only to the most glaring manifestations of colonial exploitation in Africa and racial discrimination in the USA. The foundations of contemporary Pan-Africanism were laid by the Fifth Pan-African Congress (Manchester, 1945), at which Du Bois was again active, together with K. Nkrumah, N. Azi-kiwe, J. Kenyatta, and other figures in the African liberation movement. The Manchester Congress drew up the general outlines of a practical program for the political liberation of Africa. Proposing the task of liberating all the peoples of Africa, regardless of their race, the Pan-African movement contributed to the general upsurge in the liberation struggle in Africa. After the majority of the African countries had won political independence, Pan-African ideas were embodied in the initiation of comprehensive ties among the African countries, as well as in support for movements seeking the elimination of colonial and racist regimes. The breadth of the social base of contemporary Pan-Africanism and the sharpening of the class struggle in Africa have led to a struggle between different ideological political orientations within the movement, ranging from the revolutionary democrats to the extreme nationalists. On the whole, Pan-Africanism stands for the rallying of all liberation forces in the struggle against colonialism, neocolonialism, racism, and Zionism.