Pan-Africanism is an idea that people of African descent share a common history, culture, and experience and should work together to address issues like slavery, colonialism, and racism. It began in the 19th century and resulted in conferences of influential Black leaders proposing unity, identity, and economic growth for the continent. Kwame Nkrumah helped establish the Organization of African Unity in 1963 to further the goals of Pan-Africanism through greater cooperation between states.
2. Pan-Africanism
• Pan-African movement: an idea that people of
African descent share a common history,
culture, and experience therefore should work
together throughout the world because of
their common culture
• Began in the 19th century with efforts to end
slavery and the slave trade and during the
colonization of Africa
3. Pan-Africanism
• result of these events: realization that it would
benefit blacks to work together in an effort to
solve problems such as slavery, colonization,
and racism
• Pan-African Conferences: 1900, 1919, 1921,
1923, 1927, and 1949 included some of the
most influential black people from our history
like W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Slyvester
Williams, and Kwame Nkrumah
4. Pan-Africanism
• ideas to restore self-esteem, develop a
continent-wide political identity, and
encourage economic growth
• Kwame Nkrumah, from Ghana was Pan-
Africanism’s leading proponent and partly
responsible for the formation of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 in
Ethiopia, now known as the AU
5. Pan-Africanism
• OAU was created to create greater unity
among African states
• OAU has 5 goals:
– to promote unity and solidarity among African
states
– to increase cooperation among African states and
enhance their efforts to achieve a better life for
their peoples
6. Pan-Africanism
– to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and
independence of its members (including sovereign
equality and noninterference in the internal affairs
of its members)
– to eradicate (end/get rid of) colonialism
– to promote international cooperation
7. Pan-Africanism
• OAU has dealt with problems such as conflict,
colonialism, apartheid, border disputes, and
helped settle disagreements.
• Problems still occur through internal divisions
and financial constraints.
9. Independence movements
• Kenya- Gained independence through violent
protests.
• Nigeria – Gained their independence
peacefully.
• South Africa – Independence from Dutch was
violent. British won Boer war. Independence
from Apartheid
