Pan-Africanism : Is Pan Africanism a Pipe Dream?

Someone stated that Pan Africanism;

Inspite of the economic need for it right now to protect Afrcan nations from the IMF and World Bank extrotion

Inspite of the miltary need to use the military in defence of nationalization, and protection from recolonization,

is a pipe dream, because some feel that
even though hundreds of millions have

adapted to other relgions,
other languages,
other stlyes of clothing
and entertainment,
other tastes morals and values,
we are unable to adapt to thinking race first.

And by thinkking race first see our common problems and common solutions acrsso the continent

 

As one who at one time used to identify as a hard core pan Africanist, I won't say it is a pipe dream but it depends on how one defines pan Africanism and this needs to be done by continental Africans themselves who do not think race first. The present generation of African leadership is not the same as Nkrumah, lumumba, nyerere, toure, etc. pan Africanism died with kadafi.

 

It's not a dream, it's a task of tremendous proportion. If you read about Bismarck and how he unified Germany, you'll understand everything is possible. Bismarck is the only whitey I admire.

 

It will be a challenge. It's a pipe dream for those who aren't interested in it
and won't, in someway, contribute to it. I think it should start wherever
afrikans are. In or out of the motherland. I was listening to a radio show
online, from dc. I am hearing of organizations that are working to unify
afrikans from the diaspora and the motherland. The organization (the name
loses me) is spearheaded by two sistahs: one from the states and the other
from ghana.

 

I for one, don't think it is a pipe dream at all. African countries are already working with each other, and there are individuals like myself who have a definite desire to be on the continent working with Africans side by side. The differences you may see in Africa are, in my opinion, are a culture issue. You can affect a culture simply be controlling the environment. I actually think such a task would actually be much easier to do in a place like Africa than here in the states since, here, we don't control anything; however, over there, they control everything. All Africa really needs is some better management, and the problems can be more easily amended.

Pan-Africanism has never died; I just think that some AA's lost their faith and interest in it.

 

Pan Africanism is only a pipe dream when you define it as all Black people uniting together in harmony in a fairy-tale land.

Pan-Africanism was the foundation, the basis - it gave Black people worldwide that push to rebel. It might not have taken root like we would have liked but it definitely had a profound impact. I think its hard to appreciate it unless you can try to imagine what it was like for Black people before Pan-African movements.

 

The primary concern for me when addressing pan Africanism is Black people working together and building and maintaining wealth. I don't care if we all like each other or agree on the same things.

As far as I'm concerned, there are really only two places in the world Black people should base most of their moves in, and create prosperity for the race.

One of those places is definitely not in the US. I think what derails us (mostly AA's) much of the time is that we always seem to center our main focus on Black America as a place to build. I find this rather peculiar considering AA history; how AA's have been historically repressed and constantly and intentionally kept from attain any real power; the fact that AA's seem to be some of the least cohesive Black people anywhere; and the fact that they keep trying to wrestle power from people who have no intention of bequeathing any to them.

The two places I propose Black people focus their attention on, as far as building and establishing economic dominance, are Africa, and the Caribbean.

Africa for more or less obvious reasons; one being numbers. There are at least 800 million Black people on the continent, which is more than all of the western hemisphere several times over. Another reason is the fact that Black people are the ones who actually control everything. They control the governments, the businesses, the institutions; this makes for an excellent platform for powering up, without having to worry too much about non-Black impedance.

I think it would behoove AA's greatly if they focused the bulk of their efforts on the Caribbean as opposed to the states. The primary reason for this this time is not necessarily numbers per say, but percentage of numbers. Right now in places like America and Europe, we are a minority group, comprising of only 12 percent in the US, and less than 3 percent in the UK. Couple this with the fact that we are already digressive, much more so than other cultures, many of us tend to lean more towards intergration as opposed to cohesion. This issue is also compounded by the fact that Black people, in the states, are very unwelcoming or unconcerned with the idea of Black people galvanizing for cultural rejuvenation efforts. They don't see the point of it, and therefore, nothing ever really gets done.

In the Caribbean however, the percentages are more in our favor, and so is the environment. Black people make up over 70% of the entire Caribbean population; a big difference from 12% in the US. Even though the numbers are smaller, it doesn't matter, because Black people still control some of the countries in the Caribbean. Having control in these areas gives us a major boost and advantage in comparison to the states, and definitely Europe.

You have places like Haiti that could be revamped with the strategic aid of AA's and turned into a Black bastion. It is a Black owned nation and is prime real estate for Black people. The task itself also seems more effectual. Gaining prominence in the US has never worked, even with all our wonderful leaders, and our indifferent president, we still are at the bottom. AA's are also very dispersed throughout the nation. Even in places like Atlanta or DC, White people still own most of everything. Black people own a little more in places like Detroit, but the city is a hell heap, and still residing in a White owned nation.

There are other potential advantages to the Caribbean over the US, but I would like to see some feedback before I go on.

 

Can you recall the organization?

 

Thank you.

I have yet to read Martin Delany's novel "Blake." But I advise that you do.

Martin Delany was an early Pan-Africanist who concurred that Africans should start with the Caribbean, even before Africa.

Certainly, if you are diligent, you can be rewarded with the novel.

As to me, I do not agree.

Our ancestor Booker T. Washington said it best: "Cast your buckets where you are."

He said it to mean one thing--cooperate with Southern EAs (Europeans) but I say it to mean establish Communities where we are.

Fact is that a local transformation of political, economical and cultural significance, can put African people on the map, for empowering our people. It would only take one committed team.

We need people to 'listen.' Most of us 'heard' enough before.

Because it's the listeners who will provide that one ray of hope that we so desperately need.

HTP

 

My thing is, how are you going to accomplish such a thing when history has shown time and time again that such events never really hold steam once they get going, and that's if they actually make it off the ground to begin with. Trying to reform a 40 mil pp that are dispersed throughout the more than 3.5 mil sqmi of America when you have no control over the cultural, political, or economic structure of your society to begin with? And not only with a people that are dispersed, but people who don't operate cohesively?

You see, I don't necessarily have problem with working in the states as it were, but I still think that the "do what you can where you are" approach does not and has never worked long term, because there is never any type of constant enforcement. So people get amped up, and then the interest dies down, and everyone goes back to their old habits, just as in the case of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, etc. Now if you were to suggest a common convergence of Black peoples from various parts of the states concentrating in one central area and working to dominate that area, well then, I could probably get behind the idea.

But that's not what you're saying. You seem to be in favor of the scattered approach, which doesn't make sense to me.

I mean how come Prince George still isn't a Black mecca county yet? If something is going to happen in the states, don't you think it would happen more rapidly and effectually if there was one central area that AA's concentrated on instead of a whole bunch of areas scattered all throughout the US?

It just sounds like your plan wouldn't have much of an effectiveness since it really doesn't seem like much of a "plan" to begin with.