Abstract

Pan-Africanism: a call for re-conceptualization

Tunde Adeleke
(Center for American Intercultural Studies, Iowa State University)

The Pan-African Movement that flowered among blacks in the Diaspora in the early 20th century served as a rallying point, and unifying umbrella, for Africans and peoples of African descent struggling against vestiges of white supremacy, imperialism and colonialism. Brought together by shared experiences of European domination and hegemony, Africans and Blacks in Diaspora organized the Pan-African movement that advanced the cause of freedom and liberation on both sides. Thus Pan-Africanism occupies a central location in the historical struggles of Africans and Blacks in Diaspora. Those who led the movement such as William E. B. Du Bois, Edward Blyden, Sylvester Williams and Kwame Nkrumah have become venerable historical icons. However, the “success” of Pan-Africanism in the past has encouraged persistent calls, especially in the last two decades, for its rejuvenation. Many perceive pan-Africanism as the best strategy for dealing with contemporary problems and challenges confronting Blacks. A few “Pa-African” summits have taken place in recent years. The focus of this paper is to argue that while in principle, reactivating Pan-Africanism seems plausible and viable, the prevailing and dominant realities in Africa, and among Blacks in Diaspora, render such strategy at best tenuous and problematic. The unifying experiential factors that sustained the old Pan-Africanism are largely non-existent today. Although the challenges confronting continental Africans, and Blacks in Diaspora, may seem similar, the contexts are fundamentally different, and the experiences on both sides—historically, culturally, politically, economically and socially—are much more complex, and many would argue, conflicting. If Pan-Africanism is to be revived as a viable movement, as opposed to being a platform for self-promotion, and ceremonial platitudes and rhetoric, then, there is need for a re-conceptualization of our definition and understanding of the concept that takes into consideration the changing, and increasingly complex, historical times and space.