Back-to-Africa movement
Encyclopedia
The Back-to-Africa movement, was also known as the Colonization movement, originated in the United States
in the 19th century, and encouraged those of African descent
to return to the African homelands
of their ancestors. This movement would eventually inspire other movements ranging from the Nation of Islam
to the Rastafari movement
. The next generation, and some believe the most capable of fulfilling the objective of building an Independent African American Nation on the continent of Africa, is led by The International African American Caucus.
increased dramatically. Many of these black people were free people seeking a better life. Many Southern freed blacks migrated to the industrial North to seek employment while others moved to surrounding Southern states. But their progress was sometimes met with hostility as many whites around that time were not used to so many blacks being free. Many did not believe that free Africans had a place in America and thought the very existence of free blacks undermined the system of slavery and encouraged slaves to revolt. In the North, whites feared that they would lose jobs to free blacks, while other whites did not like the idea of blacks integrating with whites. Riots swept the nation in waves, usually in urban areas where there had been recent migration of blacks from the South. During the height of these riots in 1819, there were twenty five recorded riots, with many killed and injured. The back-to-Africa movement was seen as the solution to these problems.
The idea of a Back to Africa Movement, however, started long before 1848. The American Colonization Society
, founded in 1816 by Charles Fenton Mercer, was made up of two groups: “philanthropists, clergy and abolitionist who wanted to free African slaves and their descendants and provide them with the opportunity to return to Africa. The other group was the slave owners who feared free people of color and wanted to expel them from America.”Waite, P. Home page. 14 October 2007 The American Colonization Society In 1811, Paul Cuffee, “a black man who was a wealthy man of property, a petitioner for equal rights for blacks” began to explore the idea of black people returning to their native land as he was convinced that “opportunities for the advancement of for black people were limited in America, and he became interested in African colonization.” With the help of some Quakers in Philadelphia he was able to transport thirty eight blacks to Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1815. It was the American Colonization Society, however, that made the most progress with the Back to Africa Movement.
According to the Encyclopedia of Georgia History and Culture, “as early as 1820, black Americans had begun to return to their ancestral homeland through the auspices of the American Colonization Society” and by 1847, the American Colonization Society founded Liberia and designated it as the land to be colonized by all black people returning from the United States of America. By the decline of the Back to Africa Movement, the American Colonization Society migrated over 13,000 blacks back to Africa.
. Interest among the South's black population in African emigration peaked during the 1890s, a time when racism reached its peak and the greatest number of lynchings in American history took place.
The continued experience of segregation and discrimination of African Americans after emancipation and the belief that they would never achieve true equality attracted many African Americans to a Pan-African emancipation in their mother land.
Soon thereafter, the movement declined following many hoax and fraudulent activities associated with the movement. According to Crumin, however, the most important reason for the decline in the back-to-Africa movement was that the “vast majority of those who were meant to colonize did not wish to leave. Most free blacks simply did not want to go "home" to a place from which they were generations removed. America, not Africa, was their home and they had little desire to migrate to a strange and forbidding land not their own.”
The eventual disillusionment of those who migrated to the North and frustrations of struggling to cope with urban life set the scene for the back-to-Africa movement of the 1920s, initiated by Marcus Garvey
. Those who migrated to the Northern States from the South, found that although they were financially better off, they remained at the bottom both economically and socially.
(after the arrival of Europeans) is unique in Africa
as it started neither as a native state nor as a European colony, but began in 1821 when private societies began founding colonies for free blacks from the United States
on the coast of West Africa
. Liberia gained independence on 26 July 1847. With an elected black government and the offer of free land to African American settlers, Liberia became the most common destination of emigrating African Americans during the 19th century.
One organization at the forefront of the Back to Africa Movement, in the 21st Century, is the International African American Caucus (IAAC). The IAAC states that it is a political party devoted to the creation of an independent and democratic African American nation on the homeland of their Ancestors. What it says separates the International African American Caucus (IAAC) from other groups is the exceptional leadership of its organization and detailed plan for achieving this goal. The IAAC has written a constitution, which is based on the US Constitution but modified to reflect a 21st century democracy, for those African Americans interested in building this new nation. Proposed African American Constitution.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 19th century, and encouraged those of African descent
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
to return to the African homelands
Homelands
Homelands was a British music festival which consisted mainly of Dance music, both live acts and famous DJs. The event was held at Cheesefoot Head near Winchester, Hampshire, and was one of the most popular British festivals of this genre. It was run by Live Nation UK.A Scottish edition of the...
of their ancestors. This movement would eventually inspire other movements ranging from the Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
to the Rastafari movement
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
. The next generation, and some believe the most capable of fulfilling the objective of building an Independent African American Nation on the continent of Africa, is led by The International African American Caucus.
The United States of America
In the early 19th century, the black population in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
increased dramatically. Many of these black people were free people seeking a better life. Many Southern freed blacks migrated to the industrial North to seek employment while others moved to surrounding Southern states. But their progress was sometimes met with hostility as many whites around that time were not used to so many blacks being free. Many did not believe that free Africans had a place in America and thought the very existence of free blacks undermined the system of slavery and encouraged slaves to revolt. In the North, whites feared that they would lose jobs to free blacks, while other whites did not like the idea of blacks integrating with whites. Riots swept the nation in waves, usually in urban areas where there had been recent migration of blacks from the South. During the height of these riots in 1819, there were twenty five recorded riots, with many killed and injured. The back-to-Africa movement was seen as the solution to these problems.
The idea of a Back to Africa Movement, however, started long before 1848. The American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
, founded in 1816 by Charles Fenton Mercer, was made up of two groups: “philanthropists, clergy and abolitionist who wanted to free African slaves and their descendants and provide them with the opportunity to return to Africa. The other group was the slave owners who feared free people of color and wanted to expel them from America.”Waite, P. Home page. 14 October 2007 The American Colonization Society In 1811, Paul Cuffee, “a black man who was a wealthy man of property, a petitioner for equal rights for blacks” began to explore the idea of black people returning to their native land as he was convinced that “opportunities for the advancement of for black people were limited in America, and he became interested in African colonization.” With the help of some Quakers in Philadelphia he was able to transport thirty eight blacks to Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1815. It was the American Colonization Society, however, that made the most progress with the Back to Africa Movement.
According to the Encyclopedia of Georgia History and Culture, “as early as 1820, black Americans had begun to return to their ancestral homeland through the auspices of the American Colonization Society” and by 1847, the American Colonization Society founded Liberia and designated it as the land to be colonized by all black people returning from the United States of America. By the decline of the Back to Africa Movement, the American Colonization Society migrated over 13,000 blacks back to Africa.
Post-Emancipation
The back-to-Africa movement began to decline but revived again in 1877 at the end of the Reconstruction as many blacks in the South faced violence from groups such as the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. Interest among the South's black population in African emigration peaked during the 1890s, a time when racism reached its peak and the greatest number of lynchings in American history took place.
The continued experience of segregation and discrimination of African Americans after emancipation and the belief that they would never achieve true equality attracted many African Americans to a Pan-African emancipation in their mother land.
Soon thereafter, the movement declined following many hoax and fraudulent activities associated with the movement. According to Crumin, however, the most important reason for the decline in the back-to-Africa movement was that the “vast majority of those who were meant to colonize did not wish to leave. Most free blacks simply did not want to go "home" to a place from which they were generations removed. America, not Africa, was their home and they had little desire to migrate to a strange and forbidding land not their own.”
The eventual disillusionment of those who migrated to the North and frustrations of struggling to cope with urban life set the scene for the back-to-Africa movement of the 1920s, initiated by Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
. Those who migrated to the Northern States from the South, found that although they were financially better off, they remained at the bottom both economically and socially.
Liberia
The History of LiberiaHistory of Liberia
Liberia was set up by citizens of the United States as a colony for former African-American slaves. It is one of only two sovereign states in the world that were started by citizens of a political power as a colony for former slaves of the same political power: Sierra Leone was begun as a colony...
(after the arrival of Europeans) is unique in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
as it started neither as a native state nor as a European colony, but began in 1821 when private societies began founding colonies for free blacks from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on the coast of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. Liberia gained independence on 26 July 1847. With an elected black government and the offer of free land to African American settlers, Liberia became the most common destination of emigrating African Americans during the 19th century.
21st Century Nationhood Activism
The dream of an African American Nation remains very alive today. Even though the African American has achieved civil rights in America, their political, economic and social standing remains the significant minority. The lack of progress among African Americans across the spectrum of American society has become a catalyst to proponents of the Back-to-Africa movement. They cite poor schools, lack of employment, high incarceration rates, and the lack of nuclear families, among a few indicators, as clear evidence of the need to control their own destiny.One organization at the forefront of the Back to Africa Movement, in the 21st Century, is the International African American Caucus (IAAC). The IAAC states that it is a political party devoted to the creation of an independent and democratic African American nation on the homeland of their Ancestors. What it says separates the International African American Caucus (IAAC) from other groups is the exceptional leadership of its organization and detailed plan for achieving this goal. The IAAC has written a constitution, which is based on the US Constitution but modified to reflect a 21st century democracy, for those African Americans interested in building this new nation. Proposed African American Constitution.
See also
- Afro-American settlement in AfricaAfro-American settlement in AfricaThe history of Afro-American settlement in Africa extends to the beginnings of ex-slave repatriation to Africa from European colonies in the Americas.-Ex-slave repatriation:...
- Black separatismBlack separatismBlack separatism is a movement to create separate institutions for people of African descent in societies historically dominated by whites, particularly in the United States. Black separatists also often seek a separate homeland...
- Pan-AfricanismPan-AfricanismPan-Africanism is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a "one African community". Differing types of Pan-Africanism seek different levels of economic, racial, social, or political unity...
- SlaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
- Paul Cuffee
- Black nationalismBlack nationalismBlack nationalism advocates a racial definition of indigenous national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different indigenous nationalist philosophies but the principles of all African nationalist ideologies are unity, and self-determination or independence from European society...
- History of LiberiaHistory of LiberiaLiberia was set up by citizens of the United States as a colony for former African-American slaves. It is one of only two sovereign states in the world that were started by citizens of a political power as a colony for former slaves of the same political power: Sierra Leone was begun as a colony...
- Marcus GarveyMarcus GarveyMarcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
- Prince HallPrince HallPrince Hall , was a tireless abolitionist and a leader of the free black community in Boston. Hall tried to gain New England’s enslaved and free blacks a place in some of the most crucial spheres of society, Freemasonry, education and the military...
- Henry Highland GarnetHenry Highland GarnetHenry Highland Garnet was an African American abolitionist and orator. An advocate of militant abolitionism, Garnet was a prominent member of the abolition movement that led against moral suasion toward more political action. Renowned for his skills as a public speaker, he urged blacks to take...
- Martin DelanyMartin DelanyMartin Robinson Delany was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, physician, and writer, arguably the first proponent of American black nationalism. He was one of the first three blacks admitted to Harvard Medical School. He became the first African-American field officer in the United...
- Edward Wilmot BlydenEdward Wilmot BlydenEdward Wilmot Blyden was an Americo-Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. He also taught for five years in Sierra Leone, and his writings were influential in both countries....
External links
- http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2006/march1/colonize-030106.html
- Back to Africa: The Colonization Movement
- African American Nation Radio