What is Panafricanism? (Analyzing African Philosophy)
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the evolution of Pan-Africanism, a political and philosophical movement advocating for the unity of Africa and its diaspora. Originating in the African diaspora in the early 20th century, it aimed for African independence and 'civilization' through Western ideologies. However, it faced criticism from African intellectuals like Ita Wallace Johnson, who opposed these colonialist ideologies. The movement later fragmented, with Africa focusing on continental unity and the diaspora on racial unity. The video also discusses the challenges of a diverse continent uniting under a single identity and teases future explorations of post-colonial and modern African philosophies.
Takeaways
- đ Pan-Africanism is a political and philosophical viewpoint that supports the unity of Africa and the African diaspora.
- đ The concept has evolved over time, starting as a movement in the African diaspora in the early 1900s.
- đ§ Early Pan-Africanism was focused on the independence of African states from colonial powers and the embrace of Western ideologies like Christianity and capitalism.
- đ There was a critique of early Pan-Africanism by African intellectuals who saw it as embracing the same ideologies used to justify colonial oppression.
- đ The 1950s and 60s saw African nationalists winning independence from colonial powers, leading to a fracturing of Pan-Africanism's goals.
- đ Post-independence, there was a divergence in views on Pan-Africanism, with Africa viewing it as a unification of the continent and the diaspora seeing it as a racial unification.
- đ The Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), was formed but did not achieve the ideal of a single, united Africa with political power.
- đ Communitarian nationalism is closely tied to Pan-Africanism, advocating for nations to be ruled by people of the same culture or nation.
- đ The African diaspora's shared experiences, often due to slavery and disconnection from African heritages, led to the creation of a unique, collective culture.
- đ The diversity within Africa, in terms of language, culture, and religion, presents challenges to the idea of a unified African identity or nation.
Q & A
What is Pan-Africanism?
-Pan-Africanism is a political and philosophical viewpoint characterized by the support of the political, social, and cultural unity of Africa and the African diaspora. It has evolved over time and began in the African diaspora with a focus on the independence of African states from colonial powers.
When did Pan-Africanism begin and where did it originate?
-Pan-Africanism began in the early 1900s, not in Africa but in the African diaspora, particularly with intellectuals of sub-Saharan African descent from North America and the Caribbean.
What was the initial goal of the early Pan-Africanism movement?
-The initial goal of the early Pan-Africanism movement was the gradual independence of African states from colonial powers and the establishment of a united and free Africa that could serve as a homeland for many in the diaspora to return to.
How did the early Pan-Africanism movement view the role of Christianity, capitalism, and industrialization in Africa?
-The early Pan-Africanism movement saw Christianity, capitalism, and industrialization as means for Africa to become 'civilized' and independent.
Who critiqued the early Pan-Africanism movement and what were their arguments?
-Ita Wallace Johnson, a Sierra Leonean intellectual, critiqued the early Pan-Africanism movement, arguing that the ideologies it proposed were the same ones used to justify the oppression of African peoples by colonial powers.
How did the Pan-Africanist movement change in the 1950s and 60s?
-In the 1950s and 60s, the Pan-Africanist movement changed as African nationalists won a series of victories with growing independence movements successfully challenging colonialist powers, leading to many countries gaining autonomy.
What were the differing views on Pan-Africanism between Africa and the diaspora after the independence movements?
-After the independence movements, many residents of Africa viewed Pan-Africanism as a movement for the unification of the entire continent under a single political power, while the diaspora viewed it as a racial unification of individuals of sub-Saharan African descent, excluding North African Arabs.
What was the vision of Kwame Nkrumah for a unified Africa?
-Kwame Nkrumah, the president of Ghana, envisioned a unified Africa that was independent and separate from the global economy, with a centrally managed socialist development strategy driven by an intensive project of industrialization.
What is the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and how does it relate to Pan-Africanism?
-The Organization of African Unity (OAU), which later became the African Union, was formed after the independence movements. It exemplified some of the original tenets of Pan-Africanism, such as promoting African unity and development and eradicating colonialism, but fell short of the idealized single state of Africa with real political power.
What is communitarian nationalism and how is it connected to Pan-Africanism?
-Communitarian nationalism is the idea that cultures or nations deserve to be ruled by people of the same culture or nation. It is closely tied to Pan-Africanism as anti-colonialist movements used communitarian nationalist arguments against colonialist powers that imposed different cultural rules and laws on their colonies.
What challenges did the Pan-Africanist movement face regarding the diversity within Africa and the diaspora?
-The Pan-Africanist movement faced challenges due to the linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity within Africa and the diaspora. The diaspora often viewed themselves as one nation with one culture, while individuals on the continent had very disparate views, making it challenging to unite under a single national identity.
Outlines
đ Introduction to Pan-Africanism
The video introduces the concept of Pan-Africanism, a political and philosophical viewpoint that has evolved over time. It emphasizes the support for the political, social, and cultural unity of Africa and the African diaspora. Originating in the African diaspora, particularly among intellectuals like W.E.B. Du Bois in the early 20th century, the movement aimed for the independence of African states from colonial powers. Initially, Pan-Africanism focused on sub-Saharan Africa and its diaspora, often excluding North Africans. The early movement was critiqued by continental intellectuals like I.T.A. Wallace-Johnson, who argued against the adoption of ideologies used by colonial powers to oppress Africans. The video also discusses the evolution of Pan-Africanism through the 20th century, including the impact of African nationalist victories in the 1950s and 60s and the subsequent fracturing of the movement due to differing views on unity and the role of the diaspora.
đ The Evolution and Challenges of Pan-Africanism
This paragraph delves into the evolution and challenges of Pan-Africanism. It discusses the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which later became the African Union (AU), and how these organizations fell short of the original Pan-Africanist ideal of a united governing body for Africa. The paragraph also explores the philosophical position of communitarian nationalism, which is closely tied to Pan-Africanism, advocating for nations to be ruled by people of the same culture or nation. The disconnect between the diaspora and the continent is highlighted, with the diaspora often viewing themselves as a single nation due to shared experiences of slavery and colonialism, while continental Africans have diverse cultures, religions, and views. The paragraph concludes by discussing the upcoming expansion of the video series to cover more aspects of African philosophy, including post-colonial and modern African philosophies.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄPan-Africanism
đĄAfrican Diaspora
đĄPolitical Unity
đĄCultural Unity
đĄCommunitarian Nationalism
đĄColonialism
đĄAfrican Nationalism
đĄKwame Nkrumah
đĄOrganization of African Unity (OAU)
đĄNegritude
Highlights
The video series on African philosophy is continuing with a focus on Pan-Africanism.
Pan-Africanism is a political and philosophical viewpoint that has evolved over time.
It is characterized by the support for the political, social, and cultural unity of Africa and the African diaspora.
The movement began in the African diaspora with intellectuals like W.E.B. Du Bois in the 1910s and 20s.
Early Pan-Africanism aimed for the gradual independence of African states from colonial powers.
The movement initially focused on people from sub-Saharan Africa and their descendants, often excluding North Africans.
Some thinkers hoped for a united and free Africa to serve as a homeland for the diaspora.
Early Pan-Africanism was critiqued for embracing ideologies used to justify colonial oppression.
Ita Wallace Johnson argued against the use of Christianity as a tool of colonialism.
In the 1950s and 60s, African nationalists won a series of victories against colonial powers.
The Pan-Africanist movement fractured after the loss of a unified goal of independence.
There were differing views on unification between Africa and the diaspora.
Nigeria and Ghana had contrasting visions for Pan-Africanism, with Ghana leaning towards socialism.
The Organization of African Unity (OAU), later the African Union (AU), was formed but fell short of a single state vision.
Communitarian nationalism is closely tied to Pan-Africanism, advocating for nations to be ruled by people of the same culture.
The African diaspora often viewed themselves as one nation due to shared experiences of slavery and disconnection from African heritages.
The video series will expand to cover post-colonial and modern African philosophy, including Negritude.
Transcripts
welcome back to carnegies.org today
we're going to be continuing with our
series dumbfounding definitions dizzying
distinctions and diabolical doctrines of
serious sorting through some of the
jargon of philosophy
and finally finishing up the originally
planned set of videos in our series
analyzing
african philosophy in this video we're
going to be looking at what is
pan africanism now before we get started
it's important to note we will be
continuing this series
after this video we originally only
planned it to reach till this video but
we are going to be covering new topics
stay tuned at the end of the video to
learn about what those will be
but pan-africanism is a political
and philosophical viewpoint the meaning
of which has evolved over time
generally it's characterized by the
support of the political
social and cultural unity of africa
and the african diaspora unlike the
other positions that we've examined in
this series
pan-africanism is a more recent movement
taking shape in the 1900s and evolving
throughout the following
century pan-africanism
did not begin as a movement actually in
africa
rather it began in the african diaspora
people of african descent
living not in africa specifically it
began with a group of intellectuals of
sub-saharan african descent
from north america and the caribbean
such as w.e.b
dubois in the 1910s and 20s their goal
was the gradual
independence of african states from
colonial powers
this group saw african identity as
something focused primarily
on people from sub-saharan africa and
their descendants
this early stage of the movement
therefore often excluded north africans
but included the diaspora given their
shared appearance race and
interaction with white cultures the hope
of
some of these thinkers was that a united
and free africa could serve as a
homeland for many in the diaspora to
return to
they argued for africa to become
independent and quote unquote
civilized through the embrace of
christianity capitalism and
industrialization however these early
attempts at pan-africanism were
critiqued by
intellectuals actually on the continent
such as ita wallace johnson
a sierra leonean who argued that the
ideologies proposed by this movement
were the same ideologies used to justify
the oppression of african peoples by the
colonial powers
specifically wallace johnson argued that
christianity was used by
missions as justification for the
brutality of colonialism
and forced conversions of african
peoples from traditional religions
wallace johnson later identified as a
pan-africanist though
attending the sixth pan-african congress
when the movement was
more focused on the rejection of
european colonialist
development ideals instead of kind of
this diaspora embrace
of those ideals just without the
european masters
now african nationalists won a series of
victories in the 1950s and 60s with
growing
independence movements successfully
challenging colonialist powers claim
to a moral right to govern african
countries
and gaining autonomy so many of these
countries actually were achieving that
goal of gaining autonomy
from the colonialist powers however with
the loss of a
unified goal of independence
pan-africanist movement
fractured at a broad level many
residents of
africa viewed pan-africanism as a
movement targeted at the unification of
the entire continent
including north african arabs under a
single political power
while the diaspora viewed the movement
as a racial unification
of individuals of sub-saharan african
descent
excluding north african arabs but
including
black peoples around the world
this different perspective on the
movement can be seen
throughout its history now one
challenge was to the pan-africanist
project on the continent
was the difference of views proposed by
various countries
which competed for the leadership of the
movement nigeria offered a more
capitalist pro-western vision while
kwame nkrumah the president of ghana
envisioned a unified unified africa
independent and separate from the global
economy
nkrumah was concerned that africa's
reliance on exchanging
exports for hard currency was keeping
the continent poor for in chroma
this meant a centrally managed socialist
development strategy driven by an
intensive project of industrialization
essentially turning africa into a
version of what
china has become and chroma's vision for
pan-africanism was inherently socialist
progressive and centrally managed
despite nkrumah's broad rhetoric the
perspective grand unified africa failed
to materialize
in its place the organization of african
unity which later became the african
union was formed
however the goals of the oau fell far
short of an idealized single state of
africa with any real political power
well the oiu's goals did exemplify some
of the original tenets of pan-africanism
such as promoting african unity and
development and eradicating colonialism
it also worked to defend the sovereignty
of
individual states something antithetical
to a
single unified african state the au's
charter has expanded the powers to
intervene in cases of human rights
abuses and war crimes but the
institution still remains
shy of the original pan-african ideal of
a united
governing body for the continent
now one of the philosophical positions
most closely tied to pan-africanism
is the idea of communitarian nationalism
that cultures or nations deserve to be
ruled
by people of the same culture or nation
check out my videos on
nationalism for more on that this is the
idea that states
governments should coincide with nations
or cultures
anti-colonialist movements used
communitarian nationalist arguments
against colonialist powers
that ruled from afar and imposed
different cultural rules and laws on
their colonies
and this also speaks to some of the
disconnects between the diaspora and
people on the continent because the
diaspora viewed themselves in many ways
as one nation with one culture
often due to slavery being disconnected
from previous african heritages and
therefore creating their own cultures in
the new world
that connected all people who were black
or
of sub-saharan african descent together
whereas individuals on the continent had
very disparate views cultures religions
because africa is such a big
diverse place and so having a single
national identity in that sense
was a bit more challenging on the
continent as opposed for
the diaspora this
unifying philosophy also presaged the
fissures that would emerge in the
pan-african movement
while sub-saharan african diaspora may
share a unique experience of the world
encapsulated in ideas like negligible
that does not mean
that they shared a common religion
culture or set of values required to
unite
under a single communitarian nation
and particularly that they shared those
values with individuals still on the
continent
it does raise the interesting question
of what bonds are strong enough to unite
a country
the african continent is linguistically
culturally and religiously very diverse
despite shared experiences in many ways
arguably the experiences of the african
diaspora particularly living amongst
other cultures are more similar to each
other
than the experience of africans living
on the continent are similar to other
africans living on the continent
or even to the diaspora which might
explain the genesis of the
pan-africanist movement
coming from the diaspora viewing
themselves as
one collective culturally homogeneous
nation
as opposed to individuals on the
continent who
have a wide range of views
now so that was pan-africanism
originally this was planned
to be the final video in this series on
african philosophy however
the series has so far really only
covered kind of pre-colonial african
philosophy and there's a lot of african
philosophy out there that's
post-colonial while exploring these
positions is
important and there is also a wealth of
modern african philosophy to explore as
well including ideas of negretu the
philosophy of race
colonialism methisage and more so we are
going to be expanding this video i think
we're going to be covering probably
neglitude
next so stay tuned for future videos
in this series but with that that's the
end of
our big series on analyzing african
philosophy of the initial
start of the series if you haven't
checked out all of the other videos in
earlier parts of the series on ethno
philosophy ubuntu philosophy yoruba
epistemology
akan philosophical psychology banting
philosophy and ethiopian philosophy
please do that check those out it's a
fascinating series i
have really enjoyed making it and i
think it's a set of ideas that there's
not as much conversation about that
there can be more conversation about
and stay tuned for future videos in this
series on things like nicoletude
if you like this video and you want to
see more and you want to catch those
future videos
hit subscribe hit the notification bell
so you don't miss it when we publish a
video and as always watch this video and
more here at carnegies.org and stay
skeptical everybody
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