Unajua? – The first time that the Pan African Congress took place in Africa was in 1974; it was the 6th one.
The first five Pan African Congresses took place across Europe and in America for Pan Africanists and African nationalists, many of which later became presidents.
The Pan African Congress (PAC) was one of the most important events in the Pan African movement because it brought change in Africa and the world.
In simple terms, Pan Africanism is a movement with the goal to unite Africans and African descendants.
This article is all about the Pan African Congress.
Psst! – The Pan African Congress is not the Pan African Congress of Azania, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) or the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).
Click to Read: African Independence Movements in Summary
THE PAN AFRICAN CONGRESS
MUHTASARI
In the early 1900s Pan Africanists from around the world went to the Pan African Congress to better the lives of Africans in Africa, America and Europe.
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What Was The Pan African Congress?
The Pan African Congress was a series of 8 meetings that brought together continental and diaspora Africans. It was the sequel to the Pan African Conference of 1900, like the All African Peoples Conference.
At the PAC people made speeches and talked to fix problems that Africans around the world faced, like colonialism and racial discrimination.
THE ALL AFRICAN PEOPLES CONFERENCE (AAPC)
The All African Peoples Conference was also a sequel to the Pan African Conference. It was a series of meetings in Africa for African nationalists that wanted independence from colonialism.
The first All African Peoples Conference took place in 1957 in Ghana, which was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence.
Learn more about the AAPC here: What was the All African Peoples Conference ?
Henry Sylvester Williams, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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What Did The Pan-African Congress Do?
The main goal of the Pan African Congress was to better the lives – and unite – Africans and African descendants.
Pan Africanists wanted to see the end of colonization in Africa and the Caribbean and put a stop to racial discrimination, especially in the USA and South Africa (see apartheid).
At the congress many resolutions were adopted, some of which were sent to the likes of Sir Winston Churchill.
AFRICAN INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS
African independence movements were organized by Africans that wanted to live in independent countries that they ruled, free from colonialism.
The Pan African Congress played a major role for African independence movements.
Africans worked for their independence through other meetings and also through protests, strikes, riots and wars like the Mau Mau Rebellion and the Algerian War of Independence..
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Who Was At The Pan-African Congress?
Major Pan Africanism leaders of the time, like W.E.B Du Bois and Ida Gibbs Hunt, organized and went to the Pan African Congress along with African nationalists like Kwame Nkrumah, George Padmore and Jomo Kenyatta.
Read: 10 African Nationalists And Their Contributions
Thousands went to the Pan African Congress but it was hard for many people, like Madam C.J. Walker, because their governments would not give them passports.
Women played an important role in planing and funding the congresses. Addie Whiteman Dickerson, Addie Hunton and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) were major fundraisers of the 1927 Pan African Congress.
JOMO KENYATTA
Jomo Kenyatta co-organized the 5th Pan African Congress in Machester in Britain, where he was studying.
As president of the KAU, Kenyatta called for the independence of Kenya from Britain. He was imprisoned unjustly for 9 years for his part in the Mau Mau Rebellion.
More on Mau Mau >> 9 Major Independence Movements In Africa For You To Study
Jomo Kenyatta was the first president of Kenya after its independence in 1963. He wrote the book, Facing Mount Kenya which is part of the African Writers Series.
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What is the African Writers Series?
When Did The Pan African Congresses Happen?
There have been 8 meetings, the first Pan African Congress was in 1919 and the next were in 1921, 1923, 1927, 1945, 1974 and 2014.
Most Pan African Congresses happened at an important time for Civil Rights and African independence movements.
The Pan African Congress of 1945 was especially significant and important because it took place the year World War II ended. Less than 20 years later most African nations were independent.
WORLD WARS IN AFRICA
At the congress participants talked about the unjust treatment of Africans and African descendants in World War I and World War II.
African American soldiers, like the Harlem Hellfighters, faced racial discrimination when fighting in Europe. In Africa there were proxy wars, while men were sent to war, sometimes by force, like the tirailleurs from Morocco, Senegal and Algeria.
Pro-independence protests in Africa stepped up after the war in part because European countries did not respect their agreement with Africans, including soldiers (see the Accra Riots of 1948).
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Where Did The Pan African Congresses Happen?
The Pan African Congresses took place in hotels, university buildings and conference centers in the cities of Paris, Brussels, London, Lisbon, New York and Manchester.
In 1974, the first Pan African Congress held in Africa was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The next two were held in Kampala and Johannesburg.
See traditional Tanzanian Architecture in Ancient African Houses
TANZANIA
The 6th Pan African Congress took place in the University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam which is a city on the east coast of Tanzania (it used to be the capital).
Tanzania is the 5th most populated African country as is found in East Africa.
Mundaneum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Today
How do you think the Pan African Congresses has impacted your life?
When a needle falls into a deep well, many people will look into the well, but few will be ready to go down after it.
~ African Proverb ~
Word Bank📚🧑🏿🏫
Continental African
Diaspora African
(Racial) Discrimination
Descendents
Movement
Racism
Resolution
Sequel
To adopt a resolution
References
Wikipedia Contributors. “Pan-African Congress.” Wikipedia, 17 Sept. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-African_Congress.
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! – AMOS 5:24
