Abstract
Popular education has played a central role in Pan-African liberation struggles historically and in the present moment. In the period following African independence, social movements that emerged around and through education in Africa were informed by and in dialogue with related decolonial movements of the Global South. However, the specific contributions of Pan-Africanist revolutionaries to the broader philosophy and praxis of education for liberation is often under-appreciated. This paper explores this impact through Paulo Freire’s political and intellectual engagement with Pan-Africanist popular education movements, radical intellectuals, and broader revolutionary struggles. In considering Freire’s work in dialogue and practice with African revolutionary thinkers, this paper shows that, while Freire shaped elements of liberation education in Africa, he was also deeply shaped and influenced by the historical conditions of the time and key African revolutionaries who were struggling towards similar objectives. Additionally, we explore the continued salience of Freirean educational praxis in contemporary Pan-Africanist social movements, through the example of a present day online pedagogical experiment, the Pan-African Activist Sunday School and Solidarity Collective.
Highlights
Popular education has long been part of struggles for liberation in Africa and the cultivation of Pan-Africanist philosophies, consciousness, and solidarities that have historically made these struggles possible
Though much of the literature on Freire in Africa focuses on his impact on Africa (Godonoo, 1998; Assié-Lumumba et al, 2019), we argue that a closer examination of Freire’s influence on African popular education reveals that he often borrowed heavily from African revolutionary leaders, whose rich ideas were often unacknowledged or only narrowly theorized in his writings
We explore the reciprocal influence between Freire and African revolutionary thought through an examination of his educational work in two African countries, Tanzania, and GuineaBissau, and turn to his intellectual engagements with revolutionary African thinkers around the role of culture and critical consciousness before discussing a present-day experiment with Pan-Africanist popular political education, which builds on these legacies
Summary
Popular education has played a central role in Pan-African liberation struggles historically and in the present moment. The specific contributions of Pan-Africanist revolutionaries to the broader philosophy and praxis of education for liberation is often under-appreciated. This paper explores this impact through Paulo Freire’s political and intellectual engagement with Pan-Africanist popular education movements, radical intellectuals, and broader revolutionary struggles. In considering Freire’s work in dialogue and practice with African revolutionary thinkers, this paper shows that, while Freire shaped elements of liberation education in Africa, he was deeply shaped and influenced by the historical conditions of the time and key African revolutionaries who were struggling towards similar objectives. We explore the continued salience of Freirean educational praxis in contemporary Pan-Africanist social movements, through the example of a present day online pedagogical experiment, the Pan-African Activist Sunday School and Solidarity Collective
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