The Pan-African Movement: The Search for Organization and Community

Abstract

OVER SIXTY YEARS ago Sylvester Williams, a West Indian lawyer, convened in London a congress at which he first used the term PanAfrican to signify the underlying unity of the African continent and the vision of an independent, united Africa. Today many Pan-Africanoriented leaders hold political power in independent African states. Emphasizing the themes of complete independence now and the ultimate union of all African peoples in a single commonwealth, these Pan-Africanists articulate the universal values inherent in the African revolution directed against traditional parochialism and European domination. The Pan-African movement, therefore, becomes increasingly important to an understanding of the context and significance of the rapid political and social changes which are occurring in mid-twentieth century Africa. In the most general sense, the Pan-African movement exemplifies the contemporary African search for organization and community. The Pan-Africanists stress the community of interests and experiences of Africans and thereby call attention to the political and social issues which transcend the various territorial nationalist movements. If inde-