Pan-Africanism: And the Value of Identity

Africa, the second largest Continent on the planet at around 11,608,000 square miles is the mental birthplace of the Pan-African Movement. The movement, also known as Pan-Africanism, started after W.E.B. DuBois founded the First Pan-African Congress in the 1900’s in London in an attempt to bring about a sense Nationalism for the displaced and dismantled nations of Blacks. Nations whom had endured long hardship such as identity misplacement due to the slave codes of America and the colonialization of kingdoms in Africa. These nations sought to once again gain the sense of self and community that they as people once possessed.

The first congress to formally be declared “The First Pan-African Congress” was held in Paris by W.E.B Dubois. The second whose attendance was curtailed due to colonial governments restricting the travel of the African representatives, was attended by around 556 representatives of around fifteen countries over a three-day period. This meeting cranked out a declaration that criticized the favorable treatment of the colonialist in all African states and called for a “Fairer distribution of wealth”. The Pan-African Congress convened successfully twice more after the second Congress, before falling out of view in 1927 and reconvening in 1945.

Fast forward to today, Pan-Africanism is more alive than ever! Pan-Africanism, birthed from the thoughts of predecessors such as Martin Delany, Alexander Crummel, and Marcus Garvey, can now be seen all throughout the world. And though direct knowledge of ta an individuals personal roots can be made available through kits and blood work, many of the Black Community does not know of their direct lineage personally. Still, it is commonly known and accepted by the darker community that they are descendant of and therefore tied to Africa.; the continent commonly dubbed by the progeny of the former slaves as “The Motherland”. One has to but look down the timeline of those in the Black Community on Facebook or Twitter to see a reference to Pan-Africanism, an ever widening umbrella that has come to be considered as a blanket term for any type of promotion that is African-centric and Non-European based in America.

Pan-Africanism has also come to be associated with many positive things in the Black Community such as spiritual consciousness, in-house business support, and knowledge of past, present, and future; all things any self -supporting nation can boast of. Pan-Africanism has not only gifted the Black Community with a sense of national identity and pride, but also connected a community to its vast history and contributions; that are largely untold.

Pan-Africanism may have become an umbrella term for a myriad of things covering a lot of spectrums, meaning that it is many things; but the one common-thread involved in all of this is self-worth for a nation of people. Pan-Africanism, for the Black Community, is simply value!