CONTRIBUTION OF PANAFRICANISM TO THE RISE OF AFRICAN
NATIONALISM
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The pan Africanist movement united all Africans from all works of life to oppose colonialism. The common desire for independence was a unifying factor that terminated tribal interest, by uniting all Africans it became easy to oppose colonial rule.
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The movement awakened the interests of the Africans to fight for independence. During the conferences of the pan African movement, members discussed a wide range of issues such as racial discrimination, unfair taxation policies and land alienation which they were facing under colonial rule.
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The pan African movement played a big role in the rise of African nationalism because it stressed that; the fight for political independence by the Africans was a necessary step towards complete economic and social emancipation.
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The pan African congress chose total liberation in their struggle for independence from Manchester; the activities of the movement were shifted to Africa following the independence of Ghana in 1957. The capital city of Ghana, Accra became the head quarters of pan Africanism where Kwame Nkrumah spear headed the independence of many African countries.
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The movement represented the African continent in the international conferences especially in the United Nations wanted to ensure that all countries attain independence through the peaceful means.
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THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAN-AFRICANISM
The development of pan Africanism took place through summoning or holding various conferences in various countries of Europe. These conferences aimed at uniting people of African origin all over the world.
These conferences included the following;
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The pan African congress that took place in London in 1900.
This was the first conference which took place in London. The meeting was summoned by Henry Sylvester Williams from the West Indies. It was at this conference that Doctor Du Bois was introduced and he came to dominate the movement for almost half of the century. The objects of the congress included the following;
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To provide a forum for people of African origin to protest against European exploitation and oppression.
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This conference was able to lay the foundation for future solidarity of all people of African origin and it planted the spirit of oneness of Africa all over the world.
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The Paris conference of 1919.
This was the second pan African movement which was held in Paris. This conference was chaired by Du Bois. This conference took place at a time when the Paris Peace Conference is taking place. This was the conference which was signed after the First World War. In this conference the following points were made
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The members recommended that an international law should be formed to protect the Africans.
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The Africans should be guaranteed the right to education.
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The conference also supported the abolition of slave trade and capital punishment.
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The London conference of 1921.
This was the third conference that was held in three sessions, that is in London, Brussels and Paris. The conference emphasized the need to form political parties and the need for international harmony. In 1944, the students‟ crew and politicians, led by George Pardmore, Wallace Jackson and Jomo Kenyatta formed a pan African federation.
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The fourth pan African congress.
The fourth congress was held in London and Lisbon in 1923. The members in this congress maintained that the Africans should have a right to self government.
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The fifth pan African congress.
This congress took place in New York in 1927; this was the last pan African congress which was directly linked to Dr. Bois and George Pardmore. There were conflicts which emerged between Marcus Garvey and Dr Bois. Marcus Garvey one of the founders of back to Africa movement wanted to deport all people of African origin back to Africa while Dr. Du Bois preferred to fight from exile.
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The sixth pan African congress.
The pan African federation convened a radical congress in 1945 in Manchester. This was a Manchester conference of 1945. This conference was inspired by President Woodrow Wilson of the United States who declared the principle of self determination.
This was the conference that demanded complete independence for the Africans. After the conference the intellectuals went back to Africa to mobilize the people for independence instead of remaining in Europe.
The conference was attended by a number of nationalist leaders from Africa such as Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah, Nnandi Azikiwe, Peter Abrahams and Wallace Jackson. The members at this conference adopted the following resolutions
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The members demanded complete independence from colonial rule, they argued that “We demand black African autonomy independence, so far and no further than it is possible in this one world for groups of people to rule themselves”.
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They also demanded universal suffrage and condemned colonialism
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NOTE: The African nationalists such as kwame Nkrumah, kamuzu Banda and Nnandi Azikiwe studied in the United States of America thus they had been enlightened about them to take an active role in the pan African movement.
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THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTS IN THE USA
The civil rights movements was an ideological and political movement of people of African origin in America that demanded for total democracy which allow the citizens of America both black and white to participate fully in the economic, political and social affairs of the country.
The movement was advocating for equal rights and fair treatments to all people irrespective of their races. The main architects of this movement were Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
The objectives of the civil rights movements
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To end all kinds of discrimination.
The main objective of the movement was to end all kinds of discrimination and segregation of people of African origin in America. The people of African origin had been subjected to political, social and economic forms of discrimination and segregation.
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Create an ideal American society.
Create an ideal American society by enforcing the implementation of the American constitution to grant people of African origin the same human rights as accorded to the white people.
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Equal employment opportunities.
To enforce the government to grant equal employment opportunities to people of African origin were denied employment especially on federal projects and departments.
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Right to vote.
To enforce the government to grant people of African origin the right to vote and to be voted for. This was one of the major objectives of the civil rights movement because the people of African origin had been segregated from affairs of their country.
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Developing unity and solidarity.
The movement aimed at developing unity and solidarity of all the people of African origin in America. The movement wanted to sensitize people of African origin to identify their position in the society and their vision and direction.
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Basic needs
The movement also wanted to ensure that the people of African origin are given their basic needs. They summarized their demands in the final point, “we need land, bread, housing and education” the blank panther party suggested that if businesses and the government did not provide for full employment, the community should take over the means of production.
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Stamp out slavery.
The movement wanted to stamp out slavery and improve the working conditions of people of African origin. After the civil war, slavery was abolished but people of African origin were still working in conditions that were not different from those of slavery.
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Achievements of the civil rights movements
The civil rights movement registered great success in fighting for the rights of black people in the United States of America. It marked a turning point in the economic, political and social well being of the black people.
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The black people are also entitled to welfare benefits as much as the whites. These benefits included unemployment benefits, housing subsidies and state scholarships.
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