Intro to Afro-American Studies
FIFTEEN
Nationalism and Pan-Africanism
Toward a Paradigm of Unity in Afro-American Studies
LOGIC OF CHANGE | Social Cohesion | Traditional Africa | - | Slavery | - | Rural Life | - | Urban Life |
Social Disruption | - | Slave Trade | - | Emancipation | - | Migrations | - | |
UNITS OF ANALYSIS | Ideology | A1 | B1 | C1 | D1 | E1 | F1 | G1 |
Nationality | A2 | B2 | C2 | D2 | E2 | F2 | G2 | |
Class | A3 | B3 | C3 | D3 | E3 | F3 | G3 | |
Race | A4 | B4 | C4 | D4 | E4 | F4 | G4 |
Afro-American
nationalism and Pan-Africanism have been historically legitimate responses
by Black people to racist oppression. Nationalism seeks a solution to the
problems faced by Black people as its first
priority. It focuses primarily on Black people in the United States. Some
Black nationalists view all white people as the enemies of Black people.
They argue that only complete separation of Blacks from whites will solve
the problems that Black people face. Other nationalists seek unity with
nationalists of other oppressed people of color (Native American Indians,
Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, etc.) In general, nationalists make distinctions
between the problems facing Blacks and whites and the solutions for each. In
fact, many nationalists argue that a separate Black solution is needed even
for a problem that Blacks share with whites. Pan-Africanism is similar to nationalism. It holds that all Black people share common historical links to Africa, that the liberation of Black people is closely tied to the liberation of Africa, and that Black people should support the freedom struggle of African
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people.
More recently, some Pan-Africanists have claimed that freedom for Black
people in the United States cannot be won (and should not be our major goal)
until the liberation of Africa has been completed. The extreme of this view
states that all Black people in the United States should go to Africa. THE
HISTORICAL BASIS FOR BLACK NATIONALISM The
basis for Black nationalism is rooted in the historical experience of Black
people. In the United States, two aspects of the Black experience molded
Black people into a distinct nationality: Their shared material (economic
and social) conditions, and the racism they faced. The foundations for a
distinct nationality were laid
in the rural Black Belt South during the slave period. In this sense, the
Black Belt South is the national homeland of Afro- American people. It is in
the Black Belt South that Black people have national rights that can be
exercised if the masses of Black people make such demands in order to
resolve the problems they face in the United States.
During
the rural period, the common Black experience was tenancy, a semi-free,
semi-slave experience in which Blacks had control over the work process
itself, but did not control the products of their work. Tenant farmers
worked the land and often set their own work schedules, but they had to give
up the fruits of their labor because they did not own the land. The tenancy
system, like slavery, meant the economic exploitation of Black people.
In
order to survive these material conditions, Black people formed cooperative
social relationships. The social life of the Black community was centered
mainly around the church and fraternal Organizations that took the form of
mutual aid societies, burial societies, etc. A common culture, including
the development of a distinct dialect (speech pattern), also flowed out of
this shared socioeconomic experience (see Chapter 9 for a discussion of the
creolization process and Afro-American culture). Thus, a common economic
life - based on exploitation and their mutual cooperation to combat it -
served as the material basis for their national existence. |
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In
addition, Black people have always experienced brutal and vicious
racism. The main defense, though it has taken many different forms, has
been Black unity. This unity frequently has been a call for Black
nationalism (meaning that Black people should unite as Black people to
fight against their own oppression) and not a call for Black people to
unite with people of other nationalities who are also committed to
fighting against the oppression facing Black people. The appeal of
nationalism is facilitated by racism as it forces Black people to turn
inward toward the strengths of their own community.
It
should be pointed out that Afro-American nationalism is fundamentally
different from white nationalism. Black nationalism is the nationalism
of an oppressed nationality and expresses the desire of Black people to be
free. White nationalism is chauvinistic, includes racism, and is never a
progressive force. Black nationalism can be positive or negative, but
white nationalism is always reactionary. THE
HISTORICAL BASIS FOR PAN-AFRICANISM
The
historical basis for Pan-Africanism among Afro-Americans is found in the
United States but is conditioned by events in Africa. The reasons for
Pan-Africanism are three-fold. First, racism and repression, which have
been the common, everyday experiences of Black people in the United
States, have led to the view that there can be no major change in the
United States, that the hope for a better life lies with Africa. The turn to Pan- Africanism has become particularly acute when there has been
a downturn in the economy and a rise in political repression). Second, African countries and personalities have been shining examples of Black achievement in a world dominated by white racism and imperialism. The most important person and country in this respect are the late - President Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana. Nkrumah was trained by Afro-Americans, W. E. B. DuBois and Horace Mann Bond, and received his political orientation from the decisive 5th Pan-African Congress (held in Manchester, England in 1945). He guided Ghana to independence (the first Black African country to gain its independence from a colonial power), and he led independent Africa in founding the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. Many Afro-Americans went to Ghana to help in the development of this newly independent nation. Nkrumah will always be an important symbol of pan-Africanism the middle of the 20th century.
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The
third basis for Pan-Africanism among Afro-American people is that Africa
offers opportunity for enterprising Blacks from the U.S.A. Black people in
the United States have acquired technical training and skills which can be
of critical importance in the development of Africa. This cuts two ways:
while the African countries can use these technical skills, Blacks from
the United States who go there with these skills can also seek to satisfy
their own individual self-interests (and the U.S. multi- national
corporations they frequently represent) at the expense of Africans. THE
IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL CHARACTER OF NATIONALISM How
can we assess the impact and potential of nationalism as an ideology and
strategy in the struggle for Black liberation and social change? This
ideology and political line has changed as the historical experiences of
Black people have changed, but we must ask of any ideology how it sees the
main problem that is faced by Black people. The main problems facing Black
people are racism and economic exploitation caused by capitalism and
imperialism. There,
are three different types of nationalism and each calls for a different
response from Black people engaged in the struggle for freedom:
reactionary nationalism, reformist nationalism, and revolutionary
nationalism. Reactionary nationalism - This is Black nationalism based on a very conservative, pro-capitalist view. Politically, this has led some nationalists to openly support U.S. imperialism against the interests of Black people. Examples of this include support for Ronald Reagan, deep involvement in various Black capitalist schemes, and advertisements in the Black nationalist-oriented magazine Black Collegian (distributed "free" throughout the United States) touting "the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as an equal opportunity employer." This type of nationalism must be exposed, and those advocating it must be defeated in their attempts to destroy the struggle against imperialism or to lead the struggle astray.
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Reformist
nationalism - This is based on the view that freedom for Black people
is possible by leaving the basic economic and political system as it is
(by either staying within it or leaving it). Proposals from nationalists of this
type include the following: a separate Black state in the South, Black
political and economic control of cities and Black communities, large and
influential businesses which serve the interests of the masses of Black
people, and even mass emigration back to Africa. These nationalists
wrongly assume that the U.S. ruling class would grant these proposals or
would allow them to develop without being dominated. Other nationalists,
believing self-cultivation is the solution, have retreated into health
foods, astrology, or prayer. This type of nationalism is a withdrawal from
struggle and confrontation with imperialism. Those who hold this view
should be won over to support the struggle for Black liberation and to get
involved in it. Revolutionary
nationalism - This type of Black nationalism maintains that the
solution to the oppression of Black people will come only through their
struggle to defeat monopoly capitalism in the United States. Defeating
U.S. imperialism at home is viewed as the most significant contribution
that Black people in the United States can make to the African liberation
struggle. Revolutionary nationalists view the interests of the ruling
class as diametrically opposed to the interests of Black people.
Thus,
while revolutionaries do fight for reforms that serve the immediate needs
of the masses of Black people (e.g., community control of schools, daycare
centers, an end to discrimination in hiring and college admissions, etc.),
they recognize that these struggles must be qualitatively transformed to a
struggle to defeat imperialism if Black people are to gain their freedom.
What makes this revolutionary is that it aims at the source which causes
exploitation and oppression of everyone in the society. Revolutionary nationalism is a positive position for Black people that emphasizes struggle and relies on the masses of people (as opposed to "great leaders;") for decisive action. The major problem with revolutionary nationalism is that it has not developed a model for rebuilding all of U.S. society. Though it has successfully focused on destroying existing relations of domination and control over Blacks, i has fallen short of providing the necessary framework for a new socialist society.
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Thus, while it provides
revolutionary fervor and direction in a short-term sense, it fails to lay
the groundwork for a long-term revolutionary struggle for Black
liberation. If the liberation of Black people is to occur, Black
nationalism and pan-Africanism must be combined with class struggle-in the
USA as well as internationally.
This sums up the ideological and political character of nationalism and pan-Africanism. It is necessary to have a general understanding of these two positions so that their continued recurrence can be understood within their specific historical context. The historical development of these ideological and political stands can be traced best in the context of the three fundamental stages of historical development of the Black experience. The Slave Period During slavery, pan-Africanism and nationalism manifested themselves in tow main trends: 1) emigration, and 2) militant resistance or the position that Black people should stay here and fight. some black people advocated leaving the United States and going to Africa, but only a few succeeded. For instance, in 1792 some 1,100 Black people went to Sierra Leone (where the British had resettled 400 Africans five years earlier), and in 1815 more joined them under the leadership of a Black petty-bourgeois capitalist named Paul Cuffee. Given the totally oppressive conditions of the slave system and the fact that many slaves were born in Africa, this action was a legitimate and progressive response. the main criticism of these efforts initiated by Black people is that they left the institution of slavery intact. They thus served the interests of only a few Blacks, mostly middle-class free Blacks who could make the trip. During the slave
period, various emigration schemes were also pushed by the ruling class,
most notably those led by the American Colonization Society (ACS).
The ACS was founded in 1817 ostensibly so that Black people could develop
themselves and Africa. While Cuffee had emphasized emigration as a
self-help program, the ACS for many Blacks came perilously close to being
a deportation scheme which they vigorously opposed. Though sometimes using ACS resources, Black people carefully distinguished between
emigration and deportation. |
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In 1822, the ACS founded Liberia Oust adjacent to Sierra Leone) and helped former slaves go there. Henry, offers this criticism of the Liberian resettlement scheme and the colonization effort: in general:
Nevertheless,
by the 1850s there was a great deal of interest in emigration (whether to
Africa, Canada, the West Indies, or South America). Conditions. for Blacks
were rapidly deteriorating, particularly with the passage of the fugitive
slave law in 1850. Most,
however, chose to offer militant resistance by remaining in the United
States and fighting to overthrow slavery. This position was held by such
people as Henry Highland Garnet and Frederick Douglass (see Chapter 4 on
"The Slave Experience"). It was the revolutionary way out of
slavery and the main trend during the period. The many slaves who
sabotaged production, plotted slave revolts, escaped to the North, and
later joined the Union army in armed struggle to defeat the slave system
all testified to the revolutionary aspirations of the masses of Black
slaves. It
should also be remembered that during the period of slavery
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some
Black people were living in the urban environment. Facing rejection by the
white society, free Blacks in the North were forced to concentrate on
developing separate Black social institutions. This created a race
consciousness based on organized Black unity, particularly in churches,
fraternal societies, businesses, and publications.
It
is important to point out the difference here between race consciousness
and
nationalism. During the slave period, the main thing was race
consciousness - Black versus white - with the historical identity of being
an African accepted as a possible alternative to being a slave in America.
Only after several generations - when there was a material and
subjective basis for "national" identity --was race consciousness
fully transformed into nationalism. The modal forms of nationalism
developed most fully in the rural period. THE
RURAL PERIOD Pan-Africanist
and Black nationalist thoughts and actions began as direct responses to
racist oppression. Generally speaking, when time are particularly bad the
conditions are ripe for some form of Pan-Africanism. When times have been
relatively good, there is an upsurge of Blacknationalisrn.
During
the rural period, a consistent pattern of emigrations developed as a
response to oppression and hard times. With the collapse of Reconstruction
in the late 1870s, there was an emigration movement led by Blacks from
South Carolina who tried to organize an exodus to Liberia. Though their
scheme failed, it did mark the beginning of emigrationist efforts
initiated in the South.
Emigration
schemes reached a peak in the mid-1890s when the cotton economy failed and
Black people were disfranchised and subjected to unprecedent violence. The
idea of going to Africa was particularly popular among Black peasants, who
were eager to go anyplace that offered a sanctuary from the oppression
they were experiencing.
Bishop
Henry Turner of the A.M.E. Church in Georgia was one of the main advocates
of emigrationism and inspired much enthusiasm among Black people of the
South. But his efforts were doomed by transportation problems, reports of
a harsh life in Africa, inadequate financial backing, and a lack of
interest on the part of the Black middle class and the educated Black
elite. Chief Alfred C. Sam from Ghana faced similar problems when he later
went to Oklahoma and tried to organize an emigration plan for Black people
who had become disillusioned by the racism and economic subjugation they
experienced in the Southwest. |
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Just
as emigration "back to Africa" was a resettlement scheme, so too
was the-Black town movement. This movement was led by enterprising and
ambitious people who wanted to use the all- Black town as the basis for
economic and political power. More- over, they saw collective unity as a
protection from racist oppression. A movement to Kansas (by "exodusters"
as they were called) was led by Pap Singleton. This was a major attempt to
escape repression in the South. Between 1860 and 1880, the - Black
population of Kansas increased, from 840 to 43,000. Around the turn of the
century, Edwin P. McCabe organized a movement of Black people to Oklahoma.
Over twenty-five Black towns were founded there, including Langston (the
first) and Boley. He had visions of making Oklahoma an all-Black
state and becoming its governor or senator. Racism and an inhospitable
economic environment soon dashed those dreams and led many to later
embrace Chief Sam's emigration scheme.
During
fairly good times, there is a tendency for bourgeois aspirations to
dominate. The bourgeois nationalist perspective was reflected in Booker T.
Washington and those who organized the National Negro Business League in
1900. While these efforts engaged a small group of leaders, another form
of nationalist action emerged during the rural period that involved the
masses of Black people. This was the development and consolidation of
national institutions.
During
slavery, there was a clearly defined limit to Black social life, based on
(1) the objective limitations of life requiring long hours of forced
labor, and (2) the legal-violent methods of social control to keep Black
people powerless and unable to collectively deal with problems. The social
life that did develop was significant but quite restricted. After the
Civil War, however, new conditions allowed for a more developed collective
social life. In this context Black people discovered that there was
strength in unity: both the negative reason to protect oneself from
enemies, and the positive reason to unite with people whose cultural
tastes and behavioral preferences were the same as one's own. The church
and fraternal organizations were the two main social institutions to
develop during this period. |
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The
first major political manifestation of Pan-Africanism during the 20th century
was based on the historical links of Black people to Africa and was a
reaction to the rising imperialist plunder of Africa. Simultaneous with
the intensifying oppression of Black people in the United States after
1877, Africa was increasingly under attack by imperialist colonialism.
Whereas in 1876 only 10% of, Africa was under the control of the
imperialists by
1900 this had increased to about 90%. As World War I drew to a close, it
was clear that the imperialists intended to continue and expand their
presence in Africa.
Black
people were learning the valuable lesson that Black liberation meant
fighting against imperialist oppression. Simply emigrating to Africa
would not solve Black people's problems since imperialism had to be faced
there, just as oppression had to be faced in the United States. The link
between what was happening to Black people in the United States and what
was happening to Africans was becoming obvious to increasing numbers of
Black intellectuals. The struggle for Black liberation had to take place
not only in the United States but also in Africa.
The
Pan-African Conference, initiated by DuBois and other middle-class
intellectuals in 1900, and the Pan-African Congresses that subsequently
emerged provided essential support in the struggle for African liberation.
The Pan-African Congresses focused on demands for self-government,
education, freedom of religion and social customs, the return of land and
resources to Black people, protection against the greed of capitalist
investors, and the enrichment of the many rather than a few.
The
Fifth Congress, held in 1945, was most important because for the first
time it was composed of a majority of African delegates and took a
militant anti-imperialist stand. This laid the basis for the African
independence struggle in the 1950s and 1960s and for the African
liberation movements today. After the Fifth Congress, African students,
intellectuals, and trade union leaders returned to Africa and helped to
intensify the anti-colonial struggle. Their Afro-American comrades took up
the struggle to force changes in U.S. policy toward Africa.
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THE
URBAN PERIOD The urban period of the Afro-American experience resulted from the migration of Black people to the cities of the North and South and their concentration into factory jobs. The general crisis of adjusting to an urban/industrial pace, World War I, racial attacks, and the political fermentation of the post-war crisis all laid the basis for the biggest mass-based nationalist movement among Black people - the Garvey movement. Marcus Garvey found6d the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica in 1914 and transplanted it to New York in 1916.. The UNIA was a movement built by the Black middle class of the cities struggling shopkeepers, preachers, lawyers, and the like - and southern sharecroppers who had recently moved to the city. It rapidly grew to several hundred chapters and had a following estimated by some at several million. There were two sides to the Garvey movement. On one hand, Garveyism helped to crystallize the national consciousness of Black people. It sparked a greater interest and appreciation for the history and culture of Black people, and undoubtedly inspired many Black people to set their aims higher to equal the past achievements of Black people. These were very much a part of the UNIA doctrines. On the other hand, Garvey's emigrationist back-to-Africa plans, which became the main aspect of his program, did not speak realistically to the problems facing the masses of Black people in the United States. Domestically, Garvey argued for Booker T. Washington's policies of accommodationism. He branded political struggle for full equality as impossible and dangerous, and he asked the ruling class to reject the "aggressive" program of DuBois and to accept his "reasonable" program of taking Black people back to Africa. Garvey outlined the objectives of the movement:
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Eventually,
Garvey capitulated to U.S. capitalism. His position was made clear
when he urged Black people to believe that "white capitalists are
Black people's best' friend" and to stay out of trade unions.
The
UNIA's objective was a nation-state. The Black Belt had provided the
foundation for a Black social and political life that many carried with
them to the cities. Its objective reality continued to be a part of Black
people's lives and consciousness. The UNIA was able to appeal to that
consciousness and attract a following of like-mind nationalists.
The
migrations that subsequently took place, especially during and following
World War II, significantly altered the Black experience. As the urban
experience came to dominate Black people's lives, the objective reality of
the Black Belt South ceased playing such an important role. Most Black
political movements thus have been based in the city, including the latest
stage of the nationalist-pan-African movement that arose in the 1960s.
The
most recent explosion of the nationalist and Pan-Africanist |
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The
Role of Malcolm X The
most important ideologue of nationalism during this period was Malcolm X.
Malcolm went through important
personal and political changes that paralleled the growth and development
of the Black liberation struggle. From a hustling pimp and drug dealer, he
was transformed in prison by the teachings of the Nation of Islam (though
he later broke with the stand-on-the-sidelines policies of Elijah
Muhammad). He was attempting to organize a non-sectarian Organization of
Afro-American Unity (OAU) when he was assassinated in 1965. Malcolm
provided insistent opposition to the nonviolent, passive resistance
philosophy of Martin Luther King. He proposed armed self-defense as the
alternative. Until the last year of his life, he was an articulate
spokesman for the view that all white people were the enemies of Black
people. In a 1965 interview, he stated his reason for rethinking his
views:
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When
questioned at an OAU meeting in Harlem, he elaborated:
Malcolm
was opposed to capitalism and imperialism, and he set the pace for the
development of revolutionary nationalism among young Black people. His
complete identification with and commitment to serving the needs and
aspirations of Black people provided a positive model that many Black
people sought to emulate. Politics "Black
Power" was the most significant slogan to emerge in the
nationalist movement of the 1960s. While it sounded revolutionary, it was
essentially reformist in content. The phrase was first popularized by
Stokely Carmichael of SNCC during a march to urge Black voter registration
in Mississippi. This reformism was further elaborated in Carmichael. and
Charles Hamilton's Black Power in 1967:
More
importantly, the Black Power Conferences of 1967 (Newark) and 1968
(Philadelphia) proposed no fundamental changes in the U.S. political and
economic system. In fact, the first conference was chaired by an
Episcopalian priest and invitations were mailed out on "Miss
Clairol" stationery (obviously borrowed from the company where his
brother was employed). The main aim of all of these efforts was to get for
Black people a bigger piece of the existing American capitalist pie. |
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There
were, however, revolutionary aspirations among the nationalists of this
period. The Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM), officially organized in
1963, sought "to free Black people from colonial and imperialist
bondage everywhere and to take whatever steps necessary to achieve that
goal!' Its philosophy was further elaborated by a Black revolutionary
activist, Max Stanford:
The
League of Revolutionary Black Workers, centered on Detroit's auto
industry, attempted to organize Black workers as the leading revolutionary
vanguard. According to spokespersons: "The League of Revolutionary
Black Workers is dedicated to waging a relentless struggle against racism,
capitalism, and imperialism. We are struggling for the liberation of Black
people in the confines; of the US as well as to play a major revolutionary
role in the liberation of all oppressed people in the world:' (See Chapter
7 for a further discussion of the League.)
In
the manifesto of the Black Revolutionary Party, James Boggs put forward
ideas that reflected the perspectives and activities of several local and
regional organizations:
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Revolutionary
groups used this document as a programmatic statement, particularly on the
role of "Black street youth." Whereas street youth traditionally
had been viewed as undisciplined and totally lacking revolutionary
potential, they were now seen as potential activists of insurrection.
Revolutionary groups thus began to focus on developing this revolutionary
potential. Culture and Art An
important characteristic of a nation and of nationalism is a common
cultural orientation which manifests itself in common values and
behavioral preferences. This
has been an essential aspect
of Black nationalism. Thus, a key slogan that emerged during the 1960s was "Black is Beautiful."
This slogan was part of the process which raised the political
consciousness of Black
people. It was, not color alone that was being spoken of, but a shared historical experience - a history of
common oppression (of which racism was an essential component) and
collective resistance and struggle. The Black Arts Movement also developed
during the Black Power period and it served to instill and deepen a collective consciousness
among Black people (see Chapter 9). The rebellion after the assassination
of Martin Luther King in 1968 revealed the depth of this collective or
national consciousness among Black people. On
the other hand, "Black is Beautiful" was a convenient cover for
small-time (and some big-time) entrepreneurs in the Black community. They
tried to cash in on the newly developing national market for 'African
dashikis, Afro-combs, hair conditioners, and other products and artifacts
that were in demand as the impact of the nationalist and Pan-Africanist
movement spread. "Buy Black!"
became their rallying cry, a cry that conveniently fit in with the
maintenance of the economic and political system.
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The
Black Nation The
national question will be explored more fully in the next chapter, which
treats the relationship between national oppression (like the
Afro-American nation) and class exploitation (i.e., the entire working
class of all nationalities). In this chapter, the focus is on the
particular problems of Black people as an oppressed nationality and the
solutions proposed by Black nationalists. A separate and independent
nation with the right of self determination
(or self-rule) has been a key demand in the program of some
nationalists. This was the meaning of the slogan put forward in the late
1960s and early 1970s - "What Time Is It? It's Nation Time!" But
there have been different views concerning the concrete existence of this
nation. Both
the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) and the Republic of New Africa made
common territory in the United States a criteria. Elijah Muhammad, leader
of the Nation of Islam, declared in 1959:
The
Republic of New Africa later specifically argued for five states in the
Black Belt South on the following grounds:
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On
March 28, 1971, the Republic of New Africa consecrated land in
Mississippi as the "first African capital of the northern Western
Hemisphere." They continued in their efforts "to array enough
power ... to force the greatest power, the United States, to abide
by international law, to recognize and accept our claims to Independence
and land."
Stokely
Carmichael's All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party (AAPRP) argued for
the acquisition of land in Africa as a
Territorial base for Black liberation. Carmichael declared:
For
the Congress of African People (CAP), a Pan-Africanist Organization led by
Imamu Baraka which emerged in 1972 to replace the nationalist Black Power
Conferences, a separate land case was not the basis for the Black nation.
CAP conceived the 31ack nation as more of a cultural entity to which all
Black people would belong regardless of location. The "cultural
nation" it proposed was to be based on Nguzo Saba, the seven
principles of i Black value system that had been formulated by Maulana
Karenga:
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This
"cultural nation" thus -was something less than the demand for
the full political self-determination that was included in the call for a
separate national territory.
Despite
this lack of clarity over the concrete basis of the Black nation, or
whether it even existed, the slogan "It's Nation Time!" provided
a programmatic orientation for nationalists. This orientation was
reflected, for instance, in the attempts of Black academics to organize
the Black Studies movement and the Black caucus movement within
predominantly. white professional associations (e.g., the American
Sociological Association and the African Studies Asi3ociation). These
movements were primarily intended to open up new jobs and programs for the
middle class, and to protect the ones that had been won by the struggle of
the masses. Most Black Studies programs and Black caucuses have not
provided a revolutionary analysis of the Black experience or a direction
for the Black liberation struggle.
Outside
of academia, one group of nationalists even started a business called
Nationtime, Inc., which manufactured products adorned with red, black, and
green - the colors of the Black nation's flag that had been resurrected
from the Garvey movement. Owners of several large Black businesses in
Chicago fly this flag next to the U.S. flag. In this case, Black
nationalism and capitalism stand side by side. |
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Two Lines on Pan-Africanism in Africa
Pan-Africanism
historically has had its greatest impact on the African continent. It was
a unifying ideology that galvanized Africa in the fight against colonial
domination during the days of Kwame Nkrumah. Today, however, Pan-Africanism
is undergoing careful analysis in Africa. There
are two sides to pan-Africanism in Africa. On the one hand, within Africa,
there are pan-Africanists who have embraced imperialism in order to serve
their own selfish interests. Thus, freedom fighters in Africa have
recognized that Pan-Africanism can serve as a tool of imperialism rather
than as a tool for African liberation. There is a special danger that the
imperialists will use Black people from the United States who may be
well-received because they are Black. As John Henry, a critic of pan-Africanism,
put it, "The line that Afro-Americans are 'really' Africans enables
lackeys of the imperialists to operate openly in Africa and make U.S.
imperialism more palatable." On
the other hand, pan-Africanism could be used to unite Africa in its
struggle against imperialism and superpower intervention. The main
progressive form of pan-African unity is emerging in contexts like
southern Africa where the liberation fighters have united in the conduct
of armed struggle against white minority rule, imperialism, and sell-out
Africans. This is very different from the very early days when pan-Africanism
took the form of mainly paper declarations. It is in this context of
anti-imperialist struggle that revolutionary patriots will decide the
future of pan- Africanism on the continent of Africa. Two Lines on Pan-Africanism in the United States
"We
are an African People," emerged as the key slogan of the pan-Africanist
movement in the 1970s. Identification with African liberation struggles
became particularly important as the Black liberation movement in the
United States faced increasing repression at the hands of the state. There
are two types of pan- Africanists, however.
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Some, like Stokely Carmichael and the AAPRP, argue that the hope for Black liberation lies in Africa. They attribute these notions to the late Kwame Nkrumah. Carmichael has stated:
This view suggests that Blacks in the United States should work primarily for African liberation rather than for their own liberation. The theoretical underpinnings of this sort of pan- Africanism are faulty, as John Henry points out:-
The second type of pan-Africanism argues that there should be a fight against the oppression of Black people in the United States and in Africa. Imperialism is seen as an international system headquartered in the United States that exploits Black people "at home and abroad:' These pan-Africanists and nationalists argue that defeating U.S. imperialism at home is the basis for the liberation of Black people in the United States and a contribution to the liberation of Africa, as well as Black people in the "diaspora" (a Yiddish term which means "to scatter" and refers to Black people dispersed throughout the world by the slave trade).
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THE
PROSPECTS FOR PAN-AFRICANISM AND NATIONALISM John
Henry, who is neither pan-Africanist nor a nationalist, makes these
observations concerning pan-Africanism in Africa:
Nor
does he see pan-Africanism leading to Black liberation in the United
States:
Pan-Africanism
in both Africa and the United States has contributed to revolutionary
struggle insofar as it has focused on imperialism and the fight against
national oppression. However, it has also led away from Black liberation
because it has failed to base itself in an analysis of class forces within
the context of national struggles. Thus, in both Africa and the United
States, pan-Africanism has served reactionary as well as
revolutionary forces. Whether it
encourages or retards revolutionary action in the future remains to be
seen
Nationalism
will remain a force in the Black liberation struggle. This is so because
of the escalating racist oppression that Black people will continue to
suffer under U.S. capitalism. In addition, nationalism will continue to be
the ideological prop of the aspiring Black middle class which needs the
masses of Black people as allies in its quest for individual advancement -
as customers, as voters, as militant foot soldiers who can "shake up
the establishment." The main question is whether Black nationalism will be reactionary, reformist, or revolutionary. We have the lessons of history to understand that the political character of Black nationalism can change. Nationalism started out as reformist. The spontaneous rebellion of the masses during the 1960s led to the development of revolutionary nationalism (though a few turned toward reactionary politics). The repression of the Black liberation movement in the early 1970s led to pan-Africanism and again reformism. Black people today face a deepening social and economic, and political crisis. There is an increasing need to escalate the struggle against the oppression of Blacks. The future will reveal whether Black nationalism will return to the forefront of the revolutionary struggle for Black liberation and social change or be swept aside as incapable of contributing to the total liberation of Black people.
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STUDY
QUESTIONS 1.
What is nationalism? Pan-Africanism? Compare the similarities and
differences between the two. 2.
Compare the theories of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, James Boggs, Stokely
Carmichael, Maulana Karenga, and John Henry. 3.
What are the differences between reactionary, reformist, and revolutionary
nationalism? 4.
Is Black nationalism in the U.S.A. likely to survive into the 21st
century? How about pan-Africanism? SUPPLEMENTARY
READINGS 1.
E. U. Essien-Udom, Black Nationalism. A Search for an Identity in
America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. 2.
Tony Martin, The Pan African Connection. Boston: Schenk- man, 1983,
3.
Alphonso Pinkney, Red, Black and Green, Cambridge: Cam- bridge
University Press, 1976. 4.
Edwin Redkey, Black Exodus: Black Nationalism and Back-to- Africa
Movements, 1890-1910. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969. 5.
Sterling Stuckey, ad., The Ideological Origins of Black Nationalism.
Boston: Beacon Press, 1972. |
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