Pan-Africanism

Pan-Africanism was a movement to connect the people is the diaspora to those that were still living in Africa. Its primary goal was to unify all peoples of African descent through shared experiences and the need for action.

There were many people who were influential in the pan-African movement. The following are some of the more influential persons. Dr Edward Blyden has been credited with the conceptual idea of Pan-Africanism, and was the first person to use the term “African personality”.  Casely Hayford wrote the book Ethiopia Unbound: Studies in Race Emancipation. Sylvester Williams organized the first Pan-African congress in 1900. This took place in London and was followed by four more between 1919 and 1927. These conferences were organized by W. E. B. Dubois. The last one was held in New York in 1927. Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Improvement Association in 1914, and completely rejected the idea that white would come to be equal with blacks. Founded the “Back to Africa” movement in which he created the Black Star Line to move African that were living in the Diaspora back to Africa. George Padmore wrote the book Pan-Africanism or Communism and was the co-organizer of the Pan-African Congress in 1945. Lastly, Kwame Nkrumah must be noted as the most influential figure within the Pan-African movement. He was a great believer in the independence of African and the need for African to co-operate in order to rebuild Africa. He organized the very first conference of independent African states in 1958 and was the chief architect in the founding of the Organization of African Unity.

The Pan-African movement was in response to the Euro-centric way that the peoples of Africa had been treated in the late 19th and early 20th century. That being said there were also many anti-imperialist and critics that lived within Europe at the time as well as division within Africa. There was also a waning of power from Europe after the second world war and Europe was not able to continue to finance it operation outside if its own borders.

Some of the pros of Pan-Africanism is that is provided an new perspective regarding the struggle for independence that was being felt within Africa as well as other countries. It created within African, both living in Africa and in the diaspora, a pride to be black. It also emphasized the shared goals and hopes that nationalism would be a positive influence, sidestepping the negative features that can come from nationalistic tendencies of new and emerging independent countries.

Exploring Africa Journal #3

1. What is Africa’s highest point?

The highest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro. At its highest point, it is 19341 fee above sea level.

2.  The longest river?

The Nile is the longest rive. It measures 6650 km.

3.  The largest river?

The Congo River is the largest River in the world

4. The largest country in terms of size (territory?)

The largest country is term of territory is Algeria, measuring more than 2.3 million square kilometers.

5.  The only country still under semi-colonial rule?

The only country under semi-colonial rule is the country of Western Sahara.

Exploring Africa Journal #2

1. What are other characteristics of the continent?

The continent of Africa is abundant with natural resources which was one of many reasons that Africa was colonized and ravaged. This continues even now with exploitation of resources at a staggering level. This perpetuates its underdeveloped state and economic standing. Historically, the idea that human came from Africa was generally thought to be incorrect. This has been shown to be another myth that has been dis-proven. It is now believed that Africa is the birthplace of modern man and the spread of humankind came from Africa. The African Union was created to help balance the power that the European nations have enjoyed. By pooling the resources within the continent of Africa, it would allow them to be a force of power within the world stage.

2. How many countries form the AU?

There are 54 countries within the African Unity.

3. When was the OAU formed?

The OAU was formed on May 25, 1963.

4. Which countries was the last to be admitted to the OAU?

The last country admitted to the OAU was South Africa.

5. When was the AU formed?

The African Union was formed July 9, 2002.

Caravans of Gold

Basil Davidson’s third video on Africa is all about the trade that existed between the African nations as well as other countries. He begins by debunking the age old myth that it was not until Europeans “discovered” Africa that we begin to see the trade routes that allowed European powers to become exceeding wealthy. This is indeed not the case, as Africa had a vibrant and flourishing trade routes that ran the length and breath of Africa. This trade was reinforced by the seemingly never-ending supply of gold to which Davidson makes clear reference to.  It is within the Mali empire as well as the Ashanti that gold was the principle staple for trade, in which gold would be traded for salt.

Exploring Africa questions

Answer the following question in your Exploring Africa Journal before the next class

1. Looking at the map, rank the continents according to size.

The largest continent is Asia, followed by Africa. North America is third, with South America being fourth. The remainder by size are  Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

2. Africa is bordered by two oceans and a sea.

The Indian ocean border Africa on the East and the Atlantic ocean from the west. The three seas are the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea

3. Which ocean borders Africa to the west?

The Atlantic Ocean

4. Which ocean borders Africa to the east?

The Indian Ocean

5. Which sea borders Africa to the north?

The Mediterranean Sea

6. Which continent is connected to Africa by a land-bridge?

Europe is connected to Africa by means of a land bridge

7. What is the virtual line that divides the world into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres called?

The virtual line is called the equator, and it separates the Northern hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

8. What is the virtual line that connects the North and South Pole and divides the world into Eastern and Western Hemispheres called?

The line that connects the North and South Pole and divides the world into the Eastern and Western hemispheres is called the Prime Meridian.

9. Which continent(s) occupy space in all four Hemispheres?

Africa is the only continent to occupy all four hemispheres.

10. Based on Africa’s global location (as projected on the map), (a) do you think that Africa has a long history of active contact (trade, migration, exchange of ideas) with other regions of the world? OR (b) do you think that until recently (the past 300 years) Africa has been isolated from other regions of the world? Give as many reasons as you can for your answer

As we have been shown and as it has been discussed in class, Africa had  rich and extensive trade routes long before the last 300 years. The fact that Africa is situated in all four hemispheres and shares a land bridge with Europe means that trade between these two huge population could and would have existed prior to colonization. Contrary to many stereotypes, Africa was not isolated as many scholars historically have written. Once known as the “Dark Continent”, it has been shown that this Darkness came from a place of ignorance on the European explorers, not because the the continent was barren and alone. The most influential part of African trade was the Nile River, in which many people would use it as an effective means to move vast quantities of goods between African nations.

Different but Equal

In the film, Different but Equal, Basil Davidson goes into great detail not only debunking age old myths about Africa but also expressing his views about the reality that Africa’s history has contributed to own own understanding of the world around us. He begin by speaking to the rapid depopulation that Africa has endured for the past 300 years and the euro-centric view that Africans were always considered less than human. Interestingly, this view was not always apparent and legitimized by other powers in Europe. It is not until the 15th century when the wealth of Africa was discovered that we see the “brave, noble savage” become “less than human” desiring and deserving to be enslaved.

The most apparent usurping of Africa’s history and intellectual property, I feel, is Egypt. It was not until this class that I was made extremely aware that Egypt was actually part of Africa. Although I understood that it was part of the continent, I had always equated it with European power, and fell to the common myth that Egyptian were pf light skin and that it was these light skinned people, none of which belonged to Africa that created the wonders that we see today. I am unsure of the conceptual knowledge as to where the technology had come from in my mind, but the fact is and always has been that Africa had an immense and intricate knowledge of math, science, religion, history, and medicine (to name but a few) long before the European influence. It was this bias that I had been taught, all those years ago,and is still prevalent today, although this is much easier to overcome with current technologies and much more readily available information.

Facts about Africa

In class we spoke and discussed the many facts regarding the continent of Africa. I must admit that I was among those who would routinely speak as Africa as a country and not a continent. The following are fact that I may have been aware but had not contributed to Africa.

There are 54 countries in Africa, and the first independent nation in Africa was Ghana. It achieved independence from colonial rule on March 6, 1957. The continent of Africa has among it many wonders many of the longest or largest works of nature.

The tallest mountain is Mount Kilimanjaro, which is in Tanzania. At over 19000 feet, it is one of the tallest in the world. The Sahara desert is the largest desert in the world, encompassing over 9 million kilometers. In complete opposition to desert is extreme water, which Africa has in abundance, albeit, in certain places. Africa hold claim to the largest river in the world, which is the Nile, as well as the second  largest lake in the world, Lake Victoria (incidentally named after Queen Victoria of England). The Nile runs from Uganda and empties out in Egypt, more than 4 thousand mile later.Lake Victoria is situated in East Africa, and borders three African nations, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. This lake is the main source of water for the Nile. The Victoria falls are one of the most beautiful falls in the world, and is considered one of  the seven wonders of the natural world.

Africa also has within in continent, the fourth largest island, which is Madagascar

I my photo album on my home computers, I have many picture of places that I will someday visit. I was amazed to find that many of these places were within Africa, a land of unsurpassed beauty and amazing extremes

Hello world!

As a fourth year student Criminology student, I have found that I love learning. But more than that, it is the personal interacts between the professors and us, as students, that make the educational experience so unforgettable. My first love is trying to understand why people do what they do, from a criminological point of view. That being said, I have found that the real answer for the “why” in Criminology extends so much further that just Criminology. We can include many of the humanities to try and understand the “why”, and for me, I tend to look at the social aspect, as our interactions encounters shape and mold us to such an extent that it is hard to find where the person ends and society begins. This is why my major is in Criminology and my minor is in Sociology:)

I am currently taking three Criminology courses and three Sociology course. A rather full schedule but they all seem to work together very well. These courses range from death and dying to global studies to policy and program evaluation, all very interesting:)

I am the middle of the family and grew up in Smithers BC. After graduation, I loved and traveled a bit to finally settle down and have our daughter Serena. We moved to Langley about 10 years ago and love the wonderfully wet weather here:) I enjoy spending time with family and friends, playing catch, running and am trying to learn how to cook:)

The why behind this Global studies is an easy one, it is a requirement for my minor, but more than that it will allow me, in a real way, to learn and understand about another culture, the incredibly rich culture of Africa. One day I hope to travel there an experience first hand, but until then, this will suffice.