Pan-African Congress
Encyclopedia
The Pan-African Congress was a series of five meetings in 1919, 1921, 1923, 1927, and 1945 that were intended to address the issues facing Africa
due to Europe
an colonization of much of the continent.
It won the reputation of a Peace maker for decolonization
in Africa and in the West Indies. It made significant advance for the Pan African
cause. One of the demands was to end the colonial rule and end to racial discrimination, against imperialism and it demanded human rights and equality of economic opportunity. The Manifesto given by the Pan-African Congress which were the political and economic demands of the Congress was for a new world context of international cooperation.
powers in Africa wanted native Africans to wait patiently for limited political concessions and better career opportunities. Due to this all the ex-servicemen and the educated urban classes became disillusioned. Because Colonialism had been built on the foundation of capitalism, Socialist ideas of equality and global collaboration appealed to these budding revolutionaries.
There was a letter from Jamaican writer and socialist Claude McKay
to Leon Trotsky
in 1922 talking about the black soldiers:
, Paris and Brussels. There was an Indian Revolutionary who took part, Shapurji Saklatvala
and a journalist from Ghana named W.F. Hutchinson who spoke. This session of the Congress was the most focused for change of all the meetings they had so far. At the London session, London Resolutions were adopted, later restated by W. E. B. Du Bois in his Manifesto To the League of Nations:
The only dissenting voice was that of Blaise Diagne
who was a French politician of African origin. He represented Senegal
in the French Chamber of Deputies. He soon abandoned the idea of Pan Africanism because he thought that the London Manifesto declaration was too dangerously extreme.
. This meeting was totally unorganized. This meeting was also a repeat of the demands such as self-rule, the problems in Diaspora and the African-European relationship. The following was addressed at the meeting:
and adopted resolutions which were similar to the Third Pan-African Congress meetings.
The Fifth Pan-African Congress was held in Manchester
, United Kingdom
in October 1945. It followed the foundation of the Pan-African Federation
in Manchester in 1944.
Africans again fought in World War II
. After this war, many felt that they now deserved independence. This Congress is widely considered to have been the most important. Organised by the influential Trinidad
ian pan-Africanist George Padmore
and Ghanaian independence leader Kwame Nkrumah
, it was attended by 90 delegates, 26 from Africa. They included many scholars, intellectuals and political activists who would later go on to become influential leaders in various African independence movements and the American civil rights movement, including the Kenya
n independence leader Jomo Kenyatta
, American left-wing activist and academic W. E. B. Du Bois, Malawi
's Hastings Banda
, Kwame Nkrumah
of Ghana, and Obafemi Awolowo
and Jaja Wachuku
from Nigeria
. It also led partially to the creation of the Pan-African Federation
, founded in 1946 by Nkrumah and Kenyatta.
There were 33 delegates from the West Indies and 35 from various British Organizations such as the West African Students Union. The presence of 77-year-old Du Bois was historic, as he had organized the First Pan-African Congress in 1919.
The British Press scarcely mentioned the conference. There were a number of resolutions passed such as the criminalization of racial discrimination and the main resolution which decried imperialism
and capitalism
.
The people in Manchester were politically conscious and that was one of the reasons why it was selected as the venue for the fifth Pan-African congress. The fifth congress was organized by people of African origin living in Manchester. According to the Mancunian historian Simon Katzenellenboggen it has a great significance as it was an important step towards the end of those imperial powers in Africa. Unlike the four earlier congresses, the fifth one involved people from the African Diaspora including Afro-Caribbeans and Afro-Americans. Manchester had a significant part to play in helping the African countries to march forward in their fight to independence.
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...
due to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an colonization of much of the continent.
It won the reputation of a Peace maker for decolonization
Decolonization
Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the unequal relation of polities whereby one people or nation establishes and maintains dependent Territory over another...
in Africa and in the West Indies. It made significant advance for the Pan African
Pan-Africanism
Pan-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...
cause. One of the demands was to end the colonial rule and end to racial discrimination, against imperialism and it demanded human rights and equality of economic opportunity. The Manifesto given by the Pan-African Congress which were the political and economic demands of the Congress was for a new world context of international cooperation.
Background
ColonialColonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
powers in Africa wanted native Africans to wait patiently for limited political concessions and better career opportunities. Due to this all the ex-servicemen and the educated urban classes became disillusioned. Because Colonialism had been built on the foundation of capitalism, Socialist ideas of equality and global collaboration appealed to these budding revolutionaries.
There was a letter from Jamaican writer and socialist Claude McKay
Claude McKay
Claude McKay was a Jamaican-American writer and poet. He was a seminal figure in the Harlem Renaissance and wrote three novels: Home to Harlem , a best-seller which won the Harmon Gold Award for Literature, Banjo , and Banana Bottom...
to Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
in 1922 talking about the black soldiers:
1st Pan-African Congress
In 1919, the first Pan-African Congress was organized by W. E. B. Du Bois. There were 57 delegates representing 15 countries. Their main task was petitioning the Versailles Peace Conference which was held in Paris at that time. These were some of their demands:- The Allies should be in charge of the administration of former territories in Africa as a CondominiumCondominium (international law)In international law, a condominium is a political territory in or over which two or more sovereign powers formally agree to share equally dominium and exercise their rights jointly, without dividing it up into 'national' zones.Although a condominium has always been...
on behalf of the Africans who were living there. - Africa is granted home rule and Africans should take part in governing their countries as fast as their development permits until at some specified time in the future. The problem was that colonist offered no end in sight. Hence, the resistance and war pursued.
Delegates
Amongst the delegates were:- Eliezer CadetEliezer CadetLecba Elizier Cadet was a Haitian Voodoo priest who, in 1919 attended the Paris Peace Conference and First Pan African Congress on behalf of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Initially, the International League for Darker People, an umbrella organisation comprising the UNIA, had planned...
Universal Negro Improvement Association - Blaise DiagneBlaise DiagneBlaise Diagne was a French political leader, the first black African elected to the French National Assembly, and mayor of Dakar.- Background :...
SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, and French Commissioner General of the Ministry of ColoniesMinister of Overseas FranceThe Minister of Overseas France is a cabinet member in the Government of France responsible for overseeing French overseas departments and territories .The position is currently held by Brice Hortefeux, who is also the Minister of the Interior... - William JernaginWilliam JernaginWilliam Jernagin was an African American Baptist pastor and Pan African activist.The National Race Congress selected Jernagin to attend the Paris Peace Conference and the First Pan African Congress in 1919.-Texts:...
, WashingtonWashington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA - Charles D. B. KingCharles D. B. KingCharles Dunbar Burgess King was a politician in Liberia of Freetown Creole descent . He was a member of the True Whig Party, which ruled the country from 1878 until 1980...
, Liberia - William Monroe TrotterWilliam Monroe TrotterWilliam Monroe Trotter was a newspaper editor and real estate business man, and an activist for African-American civil rights. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harvard University, and was the first man of color to earn a Phi Beta Kappa key...
- Richard R. WrightRichard R. WrightRichard Robert Wright, Sr. was an American military officer, educator and college president, politician, civil rights advocate and banking entrepreneur. Among his many accomplishments, he founded a high school, a college and a bank...
- Robert Russa MotonRobert Russa MotonRobert Russa Moton was an African American educator and author. He served as an administrator at Hampton Institute and was named principal of Tuskegee Institute in 1915 after the death of Dr. Booker T. Washington, a position he held for 20 years until retirement in 1935.-Youth, education,...
2nd Pan-African Congress
In 1921, the Second Pan-African Congress met in several sessions in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris and Brussels. There was an Indian Revolutionary who took part, Shapurji Saklatvala
Shapurji Saklatvala
Shapurji Saklatvala was a British politician of Indian Parsi heritage. He was the third Indian Member of Parliament in the Parliament of the United Kingdom after fellow Parsis Dadabhai Naoroji and Mancherjee Bhownagree....
and a journalist from Ghana named W.F. Hutchinson who spoke. This session of the Congress was the most focused for change of all the meetings they had so far. At the London session, London Resolutions were adopted, later restated by W. E. B. Du Bois in his Manifesto To the League of Nations:
The only dissenting voice was that of Blaise Diagne
Blaise Diagne
Blaise Diagne was a French political leader, the first black African elected to the French National Assembly, and mayor of Dakar.- Background :...
who was a French politician of African origin. He represented Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
in the French Chamber of Deputies. He soon abandoned the idea of Pan Africanism because he thought that the London Manifesto declaration was too dangerously extreme.
3rd Pan-African Congress
In 1923, the Third Pan-African Congress was held in London and in LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. This meeting was totally unorganized. This meeting was also a repeat of the demands such as self-rule, the problems in Diaspora and the African-European relationship. The following was addressed at the meeting:
- The development of Africa should be for the benefit of Africans and not merely for the profits of Europeans.
- There should be home rule and a responsible government for British West Africa and the British West IndiesBritish West IndiesThe British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
. - The Abolition of the pretension of a white minority to dominate a black majority in Kenya, RhodesiaRhodesiaRhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and South Africa. - LynchingLynchingLynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
and mob law in the US should be suppressed
4th Pan-African Congress
In 1927, The Fourth Pan African Congress was held in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and adopted resolutions which were similar to the Third Pan-African Congress meetings.
5th Pan-African Congress
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in October 1945. It followed the foundation of the Pan-African Federation
Pan-African Federation
The Pan-African Federation was a multinational Pan-African organization founded in Manchester, United Kingdom in 1944.- Participating groups :Participating groups included:* Negro Association * Coloured Workers association...
in Manchester in 1944.
Africans again fought in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After this war, many felt that they now deserved independence. This Congress is widely considered to have been the most important. Organised by the influential Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
ian pan-Africanist George Padmore
George Padmore
George Padmore , born Malcolm Ivan Meredith Nurse, was a Trinidadian communist who became a leading Pan-Africanist in his later years.-Early years:...
and Ghanaian independence leader Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, it was attended by 90 delegates, 26 from Africa. They included many scholars, intellectuals and political activists who would later go on to become influential leaders in various African independence movements and the American civil rights movement, including the Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n independence leader Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....
, American left-wing activist and academic W. E. B. Du Bois, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
's Hastings Banda
Hastings Banda
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the leader of Malawi and its predecessor state, Nyasaland, from 1961 to 1994. After receiving much of his education overseas, Banda returned to his home country to speak against colonialism and advocate for independence...
, Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
of Ghana, and Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo
Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician, trade unionist, author and statesman. A Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, he started his career as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries and was responsible for much of the progressive...
and Jaja Wachuku
Jaja Wachuku
Jaja Anucha Wachuku , a Royal Prince of Ngwaland, "descendant of 20 generations of African chiefs in the Ibo country of Eastern Nigeria" - was a Pan-Africanist; and a globally distinguished Nigerian statesman, lawyer, politician, diplomat and humanitarian...
from Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. It also led partially to the creation of the Pan-African Federation
Pan-African Federation
The Pan-African Federation was a multinational Pan-African organization founded in Manchester, United Kingdom in 1944.- Participating groups :Participating groups included:* Negro Association * Coloured Workers association...
, founded in 1946 by Nkrumah and Kenyatta.
There were 33 delegates from the West Indies and 35 from various British Organizations such as the West African Students Union. The presence of 77-year-old Du Bois was historic, as he had organized the First Pan-African Congress in 1919.
The British Press scarcely mentioned the conference. There were a number of resolutions passed such as the criminalization of racial discrimination and the main resolution which decried imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
.
The significance of the Pan-African movement and the fifth Congress
Pan-Africanism is aimed at the economic, intellectual and political cooperation of the African countries. It demands that the riches of the continent be used for the enlistment of its people. It calls for the financial and economic unification of markets and a new political landscape for the continent. Even though Pan-Africanism as a movement began in 1776, it was the fifth Pan-African congress that advanced Pan-Africanism and applied it to decolonize the African continent.The people in Manchester were politically conscious and that was one of the reasons why it was selected as the venue for the fifth Pan-African congress. The fifth congress was organized by people of African origin living in Manchester. According to the Mancunian historian Simon Katzenellenboggen it has a great significance as it was an important step towards the end of those imperial powers in Africa. Unlike the four earlier congresses, the fifth one involved people from the African Diaspora including Afro-Caribbeans and Afro-Americans. Manchester had a significant part to play in helping the African countries to march forward in their fight to independence.