A Historical Perspective of Pan-Africanism and The Unity of the Black Race

Abstract

Pan-Africanism is a child of circumstance. The evolution and development of the movement or concept could be viewed in accordance with the prevailing situation the continental Africans and AfroAmerican/Diasporan Africans found themselves. Ranging from the experience of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, European imperialism and the challenges of race relation, the black man has continued to be a subject of discourse. This study undertook a survey of the evolution of PanAfricanism – a movement or concept that aspires for the unity and solidarity of the black race all over the world. It examined the contributions of both the Diasporan and Continental Africans to the PanAfrican movement in the period prior to and during the World Wars. The methodology adopted in this study is a historical narrative approach in highlighting, discussing and evaluating the role the key players, organisations and other stakeholders played in their efforts at unifying the entire black race through ideas and initiatives that emerged in each of the phases of the movement. The paper concluded that while the movement has to a large extent made appreciable progress, there are still hurdles to overcome in uniting the black race.