Portal:Pan-Africanism

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Introduction

Welcome to the Pan-Africanism portal!
Bienvenue sur le portail panafricanisme!
The Pan-African flag, designed by the UNIA and formally adopted on August 13, 1920.
Marcus Garvey (17 August 1887 – 10 June 1940) : A prominent Pan-Africanist. In this 1922 picture, Garvey is shown in a military uniform as the "Provisional President of Africa" during a parade on the opening day of the annual Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World at Lenox Avenue in Harlem, New York City.

Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe.

Pan-Africanism can be said to have its origins in the struggles of the African people against enslavement and colonization and this struggle may be traced back to the first resistance on slave ships—rebellions and suicides—through the constant plantation and colonial uprisings and the "Back to Africa" movements of the 19th century. Based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social, and political progress, it aims to "unify and uplift" people of African ancestry. (Full article...)

Selected article

The Black Star of Africa is a black five-pointed star () symbolizing Africa in general and Ghana in particular. The Black Star Line, founded in 1919 by Marcus Garvey as part of the Back-to-Africa movement, modelled its name on that of the White Star Line, changing the colour from white to black to symbolise ownership by black people rather than white people. The black star became a symbol of Pan-Africanism and anti-colonialism. Described as the "Lodestar of African Freedom", the black star was used in 1957 by Theodosia Okoh in the design of the Flag of Ghana.

Selected biography

Aimé Fernand David Césaire
An image of Aimé Césaire in 2003 on a desk reading the cover of a book.
Aimé Césaire in 2003
Born
Aimé Fernand David Césaire

(1913-06-26)26 June 1913
Died17 April 2008(2008-04-17) (aged 94)
Alma materÉcole Normale Supérieure, University of Paris
Known forPoet, politician
Political partyParti Progressiste Martiniquais
SpouseSuzanne Roussi

Aimé Fernand David Césaire (/sˈzɜːr/; French: [sezɛʁ]; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a Francophone and French poet, author and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature". His works included Une Tempête, a response to Shakespeare's play The Tempest, and Discours sur le colonialisme (Discourse on Colonialism), an essay describing the strife between the colonizers and the colonized. His works have been translated into many languages.

Selected history

Ghana Empire
Wagadou
c. 700–c. 1240
The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent
The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent
CapitalKoumbi Saleh
Common languagesSoninke, Malinke, Mande
Religion
African traditional religion, Islam
GovernmentMonarchy
Ghana 
• 700
Kaya Magan Cissé
• 790s
Majan Dyabe Cisse
• 1040–1062
Ghana Bassi
• 1203–1235
Soumaba Cisse
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
c. 700
• Conquered by Sosso/Submitted to the Mali Empire
c. 1240
Area
1067 est.1,600 km2 (620 sq mi)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Djenné-Djenno
Mali Empire
Today part of

The Ghana Empire (c. 700 until c. 1240), (Ghana or Ga'na being the title of its ruler), was located in the area of present-day southeastern Mauritania and western Mali. Complex societies based on trans-Saharan trade with salt and gold had existed in the region since ancient times, but the introduction of the camel to the western Sahara in the 3rd century A.D. opened the way to great changes in the area that became the Ghana Empire. By the time of the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century the camel had changed the ancient, more irregular trade routes into a trade network running from Morocco to the Niger river. The Ghana Empire grew rich from this increased trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt, allowing for larger urban centres to develop. The traffic furthermore encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the different trade-routes.

When Ghana's ruling dynasty began remains uncertain; it is mentioned for the first time in written records by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830. In the 11th century the Cordoban scholar Abuof travelled to the region and gave a detailed description of the kingdom. He claimed that the Ghana could "put 200,000 men into the field, more than 40,000 of them archers", and noted they had cavalry forces as well.

As the empire declined it finally became a vassal of the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century. When the Gold Coast in 1957 became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to regain its independence from colonial rule, it renamed itself in honor of the long-gone empire.

Selected culture

African-American culture, also known as Black American culture, refers to the contributions of African Americans to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in the historical experience of the African-American people, including the Middle Passage. The culture is both distinct and enormously influential on American and global worldwide culture as a whole.

African-American culture is primarily rooted in West and Central Africa. Understanding its identity within the culture of the United States it is, in the anthropological sense, conscious of its origins as largely a blend of West and Central African cultures. Although slavery greatly restricted the ability of African Americans to practice their original cultural traditions, many practices, values and beliefs survived, and over time have modified and/or blended with European cultures and other cultures such as that of Native Americans. African-American identity was established during the slavery period, producing a dynamic culture that has had and continues to have a profound impact on American culture as a whole, as well as that of the broader world.

Elaborate rituals and ceremonies were a significant part of African Americans' ancestral culture. Many West African societies traditionally believed that spirits dwelled in their surrounding nature. From this disposition, they treated their environment with mindful care. They also generally believed that a spiritual life source existed after death, and that ancestors in this spiritual realm could then mediate between the supreme creator and the living. Honor and prayer was displayed to these "ancient ones", the spirit of those past. West Africans also believed in spiritual possession.

Selected images

Organisations

All-African People's Revolutionary Party  · African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa  · African Unification Front  · African Union  · African Queens and Women Cultural Leaders Network  · Conseil de l'Entente  · Convention People's Party  · East African Community  · Economic Freedom Fighters  · Global Afrikan Congress  · International African Service Bureau  · International League for Darker People  · Organisation of African Unity  · Pan African Association  · Pan-African Congress  · Pan Africanist Congress of Azania  · Rassemblement Démocratique Africain  · Pan Africa Chemistry Network  · Pan African Federation of Accountants  · Pan-African Freedom Movement for East and Central Africa  · Sahara and Sahel Observatory  · UNIA-ACL  · ZANU–PF

See also



&

Festivals

Grand Durbar in Kaduna State in the occasion of Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, 15 January - 12 February 1977.

Photo by Helinä Rautavaara (1977)

Publications

  • Awakening the Natural Genius of Black Children (1992) by Dr. Amos N. Wilson
  • Blueprint for Black Power: A Moral, Political and Economic Imperative for the Twenty-First Century (1998) by Dr. Amos N. Wilson
  • Afrikan-Centered Consciousness Versus the New World Order: Garveyism in the Age of Globalism (1999) by Dr. Amos N. Wilson
  • The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism (White Supremacy) (1970) by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing
  • The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors (1991) by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing
  • The root cause of the bread and butter demonstration (1959) by Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof

Films and TV

Audios and videos

Did you know

...that on arriving in Cuba in 1920, the SS Yarmouth (crew pictured), flagship of Marcus Garvey's Black Star Line, was hailed as the "Ark of the Covenant of the colored people"?

Selected quotes

In addressing the first ever conference of the Organization of African Unity (1st May 1963). The Gambian Pan-Africanist and nationalist Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof delivered the following message:



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