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Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities
Volume 14
Issue 1
Our Disciplines of Hope: A New Era of
Resilience
Article 8
2025
Sankofa in Action: Reclaiming Our Future Sankofa in Action: Reclaiming Our Future
Adisa Preston
Macalester College
, apreston@macalester.edu
Keywords: Keywords:
Pan-Africanism, Afrofuturism, Sankofa, Liberation, Reconnection, Reimaging, Resistance
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/tapestries
Recommended Citation Recommended Citation
Preston, Adisa (2025) "Sankofa in Action: Reclaiming Our Future,"
Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local
and global identities
: Vol. 14: Iss. 1, Article 8.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/tapestries/vol14/iss1/8
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Tapestries, Vol. 14
1
Sankofa in Action: Reclaiming Our Future
Adisa Preston
Abstract
Pan-Africanism has been one of the responses to the systematic and brutal efforts by
colonial powers to negate the worth and humanity of African peoples. Emerging in the
Caribbean and the United States in the 19th-century, it flowered with the independence
movements of the 20th. Historian Kwame Anthony Appiah defines Pan-Africanism as “a
political project calling for the unification of all Africans into a single African state to which
those in the African diaspora can return” (Appiah 1992, 174).
Pan-Africanism sought to heal the catastrophic ruptures of slavery, throw off the shackles
of colonialism, and to fight the racist ideologies that underpinned both. The leaders who shaped
this movement were brilliant in their vision and determined in their execution, even as they came
up against formidable, entrenched obstacles built up over resistance and oppression.
Keywords: Pan-Africanism, Afrofuturism, Sankofa, Liberation, Reconnection, Reimaging, Resistance
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Sankofa Symbolism: Reconnecting the Past and Future
Originating with the Nzema people of southwest Ghana, the Sankofa bird has become a
powerful symbol throughout the African diaspora. The term "Sankofa" itself means "go back and
gather" in Twi, and the bird, often depicted looking backward with an egg in its mouth, reflects
the importance of learning from the past in order to move forward.
Sankofa embodies a metaphor for how Africans, both on the continent and in the
diaspora, seek to reconnect with their historical roots and cultural legacies. Reconnection to
sources of inspiration and strength is particularly important in the face of the disruption caused
by centuries of colonization and enslavement. The Sankofa bird symbolizes a collective effort to
reconcile with the pain and resilience of the past while embracing the possibilities of the future
with imagination and brilliance.
This metaphor is especially relevant today because of one artistic offshoot – Afrofuturism, a
cultural movement that boldly reimagines the future. In books, films, comics, music, and visual
art, Afrofuturism envisions a future where Black people thrive, utilizing the power of
imagination, technology, and the African diaspora’s cultural legacies to create new possibilities.
Also arising in response to adverse forces such as colonialism and white supremacy,
Afrofuturism is an offspring of Pan-Africanism. But while Pan-Africanism has a philosophical
and sociopolitical thrust, Afrofuturism is all about the imaginative realm. Both Pan-Africanism
and Afrofuturism seek to ultimately foster healing, wholeness, and liberation but Afrofuturism
goes beyond the need to survive. The movement’s creative works are about creating and
imagining new worlds and possibilities free of the constraints that still dog Black people both in
Africa and elsewhere.
Pan-Africanism: The Response to the Rupture of Africa
Pan-Africanism emerged in response to events that have shaped the past and continue to
echo into the present. Historians say that more than 12 million Africans were forcibly captured,
shipped across the Atlantic and sold into bondage in the Americas (Gates 2013). This traffic in
people decimated cultures and societies as Africans were transported to countries the length of
the Americas, from the tip of South America to Canada (Gates 2013).
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After taking literal human capital, the Europeans then came for the African countries
themselves, colonizing nearly the entire continent. As Europeans spread their domination across
Africa, they created intellectual, political and spiritual frameworks to argue that Africans were
less human than Europeans. These belief systems were reinforced by the pseudoscience of
eugenics, for example, which, from the late 19th-century well into the 20th, dubiously measured
Black people’s intelligence based on skull sizes (National Human Genome Research Institute,
n.d.).
The idea that some people were born to rule while others were born to serve was a
fundamental justification for both slavery and colonialism (PBS NewsHour, 2021). In the
aftermath of these centuries of trauma, Pan-Africanism arose to counter these notions and to heal
wounds. It emphasized solidarity among people of African descent, wherever they may be, by
pointing to the historic glories of Africa, to its cultural treasures and to its promise of prosperity
and self-determination.
It also celebrated cultural retentions, including in music, spirituality and art, that helped
sustain the people during their most harrowing crucibles.
Pan-Africanism as a named idea is relatively new but the concept is not. In the 18th and
19th centuries, two colonies in Africa – Sierra Leone and Liberia – were established as places of
return for Blacks enslaved, respectively, in the British Empire and in the United States (Schwarz,
1994; Campion, 2021).
While those places implicitly were Pan-Africanist, they did not use that word. In fact, the
first time any intellectual defined such an idea was in 1897 when W.E.B. Du Bois published
“The Conservation of the Races” (Du Bois, 1897, as cited in Cooke, 2021). Du Bois argued for a
Pan-Negroism led by Black Americans, since they had the best education.
The term Pan-Africanism was first used for a 1900 conference in London organized by
Trinidadian barrister Henry Sylvester Williams with representatives from the West Indies and the
U.S. (including Du Bois) as well as from Ethiopia, Libera, Sierra Leone and modern-day
Ghana.
Du Bois would later be instrumental in organizing the first Pan-African Congress in Paris
in 1919, and subsequent gatherings in London, Brussels, Paris, Lisbon and, in 1927, New York.
Pan-Africanism would later find its fullest expression in the 1950s and ’60s as African countries
threw off the chains of European colonial domination.
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Marcus Garvey: A Back-to-Africa Champion of Liberation and Unity
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree
without roots.” – Marcus Mosiah Garvey, 1887-1940 (National Humanities Center).
On November 15, 1884, the major European powers gathered at a conference in Berlin to divide
up the African continent. They concluded their project on February 26, 1885, dividing Africa
into 50 nations irrespective of history or culture. This conference accelerated the scramble for
Africa that saw European countries claim the land, treasures and peoples of the entire continent
(OER Project).
Ethiopia was the only African nation that remained free and independent even as Italy
would later try to conquer and colonize it (Dorfman 2019; ThoughtCo).
Roughly two-and-a-half years after that conference, Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born
August 17, 1887, in St. Ann on Jamaica’s north coast. The son of a stonemason and a domestic
servant would make it his life’s work to try to undo the damage of both Europe’s colonial project
and the scars of slavery that preceded those latest predations. Specifically, Garvey sought to
create a homeland in Africa for all Black people in the diaspora. This new United States of
Africa was to be prosperous, advanced, and free of the kinds of things like Jim Crow and
lynching that kept Blacks in degrading social positions in the Americas (Mariners’ Museum;
National Humanities Center and (National Archives).
Garvey sought to put this in practice with the multi-national Universal Negro
Improvement Association (UNIA), which he founded July 15, 1914, in Kingston, Jamaica. By
1920, UNIA was operating in over 40 countries, including the United States, South America and
throughout the (still-colonized) Caribbean and Africa (BlackPast).
UNIA had social and educational programs like community centers, youth corps and
schools. The organization had financial concerns such as banks to serve customers who would be
treated with dignity and fairness. It held parades with corps of UNIA nurses, youth and African
Legion. Those events, which featured beautifully attired Black people, were covered in UNIA’s
own newspaper, The Negro World (PBS).
Importantly, UNIA included a shipping line — the Black Star Line —- named proudly
and as a direct retort to the White Star Line, the symbol of European power and prowess whose
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flagship was the Titanic (BlackPast; Mariners’ Museum). The Black Star Line had a profound
mission: to serve as a mode for global trade amongst newly energized Black populations, and
also serving as a symbol of Black independence and resilience at a time when the continent itself
was being strangled by colonialism.
The Black Star Line would also provide the proud ships that would carry Black people in the
Americas to Africa, most of whose forebears came to the Americas in chains. The name Black
Star Line itself became a beacon of hope globally, and demonstrated to the world Black pride,
economic autonomy, and Pan-African ideals (National Humanities Center; Mariners’ Museum).
UNIA built the institutions of a nation-in-waiting and Garvey’s movement grew
exponentially in the 1920s. But he also had many detractors, including in the U.S. J. Edgar
Hoover, the notorious leader of the FBI, who was instrumental in trying to undermine the
organization, and he was able to get Garvey convicted on mail fraud charges in 1926. Garvey
was deported to Jamaica the following year.
While his movement began to wane because of government efforts and the economic
hardships caused by the Great Depression, for millions of people worldwide Garvey provided an
inspiring, in-the-flesh refutation of the intellectual and sociopolitical framework propping up the
white supremacy of the day.
Garvey’s philosophy countered notions of eugenics, which adequately attempted to prove
that Black people were inherently inferior based on supposed measurements of brain size.
Garvey stood firm against such ideologies, declaring that Black people were not inferior, and that
the same system that created white supremist would create the pseudoscience that would back up
the racist claim.
Garvey also understood that to rebuild, people had to reconnect with their heritage, a
concept that resonates with the symbol of the Sankofa bird: turning to the past to move forward.
Garvey also confronted the dominant ideologies of the time, including a notion about supposed
Black inferiority. Instead, he argued in words and practice, Black people were brilliant and
beautiful and their social condition was a result of oppression, not biology (History.com Editors
2023).
While Garvey’s most concrete idea was the Back to Africa movement, his most impactful
achievement was catalyzing and emboldening Black liberation dreams. His was the first and
most visible Black global independence movement, and at a time when Africa was still a brutally
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colonized continent. His resistance to white supremacy and his commitment to Black pride and
unity resonated deeply in the African diaspora. His emphasis on self-reliance, cultural pride, and
economic independence inspired generations of leaders across the world.
In the U.S., Garvey’s ideas played a critical role in shaping the cultural identity of Black
people during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of immense cultural output by Black artists,
intellectuals, and performers. Figures such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Claude
McKay, his fellow Jamaican, drew inspiration from Garvey’s vision of racial pride and
empowerment. Garvey’s influence can also be seen in the Civil Rights and Black Power
movements of the 20th. Malcolm X’s father, Earl Little, was a Garveyite who was the patriarch
of a household inspired to build on Garvey's legacy of Black pride and self-determination.
Garvey was able to conceptualize the importance of cultural pride and identity as
essential to political and economic empowerment. His leadership went beyond activism and into
the realm of cultural revolution. His yearning to create a home for Black people on a continent
that they had previously been stolen from, would open up a new conversation completely. He
recognized that the only way to "beat the system" was to leave it.
The Sankofa bird, symbolizing the necessity of looking to the past to move forward,
perfectly encapsulates Garvey’s ideology. He believed that to truly build a strong future, Black
people had to look back at their roots, learn from the past, and build upon the rich cultural legacy
that had been stolen and obscured by centuries of colonialism (National Humanities Center).
W.E.B. Du Bois, 1868-1963: An Intellectual Pillar
“The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.” – W.E.B. Du
Bois (Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903)
Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on February 23, 1868, William Edward
Burghardt Du Bois was an intellectual titan and a revolutionary thinker who dedicated his life to
the fight for racial justice and equality. His contributions spanned sociology, history, literature
and civil rights activism. As a scholar and the first African American to earn a doctorate from
Harvard, Du Bois understood that knowledge and education were keys to dismantling white
supremacy. His work provided an intellectual framework for understanding the ways in which
racism operates both within nations and across global systems of power. He recognized that the
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struggle for racial justice was intertwined with broader social and economic issues, including
class, labor, and imperialism.
Du Bois’s most celebrated work, The Souls of Black Folk (1903), pierced the veil of
ignorance surrounding the lives of African Americans. The essay collection introduced the
groundbreaking concepts of “double consciousness” and “the veil,” terms that have since
become cornerstones of discussions on race and identity. Du Bois wrote: "It is a peculiar
sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes
of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and
pity" (Du Bois 1903).
Du Bois gave vent to the psychological struggle faced by African Americans, who were
forced to navigate their identities in a society that denied their humanity. He highlighted how this
duality—being both African and American—created a fractured sense of self, where one’s
identity was shaped both by pride in their heritage and by the oppression imposed by a racist
society.
But Du Bois’ work went far beyond philosophy and intellectual theory. His activism was
rooted in his understanding of the intersection of race, class, and power, and he acted on this
knowledge. In 1905, Du Bois co-founded the Niagara Movement, a forerunner to the National
Association for Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, which he helped establish in 1909
(History.com, "Niagara Movement"). His work with the NAACP emphasized the need for
political activism and the power of collective action to achieve racial equality. As the editor of
The Crisis, the organization’s official publication, Du Bois published essays, poems, and calls to
action that galvanized the Civil Rights Movement.
Du Bois also was a historian deeply invested in reclaiming the African and African
American past. His 1935 masterpiece, Black Reconstruction in America, challenged the
prevailing narrative that Reconstruction was a failure due to Black incompetence (Du Bois,
Black Reconstruction, 1935). He illuminated the heroism of African Americans during
reconstruction and exposed the white elites in undermining democracy to preserve racial
hierarchies. By reframing this history, Du Bois gave Black Americans a narrative of agency and
resilience, countering centuries of erasure. He connected the struggles of African Americans with
those of colonized peoples around the world. He was instrumental in organizing the Pan-African
Congresses which brought together leaders and thinkers from across the diaspora in 1919 and at
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the conference stated: "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line, not
simply in America but in all parts of the world" (Du Bois, "The Color Line Today").
For Du Bois, the liberation of Black people in America was intrinsically linked to the
decolonization of Africa. He envisioned a world where people of African descent could reclaim
their histories and shape their futures free from oppression. Du Bois, not above critique, faced
counter attacks from all directions in the Pan-African sphere, including some from Garvey, who
questioned his elitism.
Du Bois worked and operated at the same time as Marcus Garvey, and their work should
have been complementary. But the two did not get along. Du Bois was suspicious of Garvey as
an outsider who stirred the masses. Du Bois believed that the liberation of Black people should
be led by the talented tenth of the population (AAIHS, “Colorism as Racism”).
In his later years, Du Bois turned his attention more explicitly to socialism, believing that
economic inequality was at the root of racial injustice. His advocacy for socialism, however,
made him a target during the Red Scare (1917-1920), and he was blacklisted and ostracized by
neighbors, colleagues, and friends alike.
Over the decades, he became disillusioned by the lack of progress in the United States,
eventually renouncing his American citizenship and, at the invitation of president Kwame
Nkrumah, moving to Ghana in 1961 (OAAIS, “Art and Intersection”). His experiences in Ghana
deepened his commitment to Pan-Africanism and global Black solidarity, and his writings reflect
a nuanced understanding of the political, social, and cultural forces that shaped the lives of Black
people.
Until his death in 1963, Du Bois remained a symbol of intellectual rigor, political
activism, and unwavering commitment to justice. His life’s work — at the intersection of
scholarship, activism, and artistry — reminds us of the power of ideas to inspire change.
Du Bois’s vision continues to resonate. He laid the groundwork for the rise of leaders like Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X as well as scholars of African American history,
sociology, and political science.
The Sankofa bird, which looks back to retrieve what was lost, embodies Du Bois’s
beliefs: the future of liberation is built upon a profound understanding and reclamation of the
past. He advocated for a tirelessness when seeking liberty and justice: "We must complain. Yes,
plain, blunt complaint, ceaseless agitation, unfailing exposure of dishonesty and wrong—this is
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the ancient, unerring way to liberty"(Bond n.d.). His works laid the foundation for the modern
struggle for racial equality, inspiring generations of activists to carry the torch he lit.
Frantz Fanon, 1925 - 1961: The Psychological Revolution
Born July 20, 1925, in Fort-de-France, Martinique, Frantz Fanon emerged as a voice of
fire and defiance, a revolutionary psychiatrist, philosopher and writer whose words carried the
weight of liberation and anguish. Fanon grew up in a culture that was under the yoke of France
and still is. His journey from the Caribbean to the global stage was one of both personal
transformation and relentless rebellion against the psychological chains of colonization.
In 1943, at age 18, Fanon fled Martinique to join the Free French Forces fighting to
liberate France from the Nazis. He was a gung-ho warrior against fascism. Yet Fanon quickly
recognized the bitter irony that Black soldiers in America and elsewhere also found: while
battling Nazi racism, he was subjected to the racism of his French comrades, an experience that
profoundly shaped his understanding of systemic oppression.
His disillusionment echoed later in his writing. "It is the settler who has brought the
native into existence and perpetuates his existence,” he said about the intellectual framework that
created and perpetuated bigotry. “And it is the settler who defines the native" (Fanon, 1952).
Fanon studied psychiatry and philosophy at the University of Lyon in the late 1940s. It
was there that he authored Black Skin, White Masks (1952), a personal and searing exploration
of the Black psyche under colonial rule. Fanon dissected the psychological wounds inflicted by
racism, writing: "From the moment the Negro accepts the inferiority forced upon him, he
becomes voiceless; his soul cries out in a world that crushes him at every turn" (Fanon 1952).
The book captured the agony of existing in a world where identity was fractured by the
colonizer’s gaze, leaving colonized peoples suspended between longing for acceptance and a
desire to reclaim their humanity. Fanon’s most influential works, Black Skin, White Masks and
The Wretched of the Earth, laid the intellectual foundation for the decolonization movement.
In 1953, he was appointed head of psychiatry at Blida-Joinville Hospital in Algeria, a
nation seething under the yoke of French colonialism. Here, Fanon witnessed the psychological
scars of colonization firsthand, treating both Algerian patients traumatized by the colonial system
and French soldiers brutalized by their roles as oppressors. The hospital, a microcosm of colonial
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violence, became a crucible for Fanon’s understanding of the profound link between mental
health and liberation (Fanon 2001).
"The colonial world is a compartmentalized world," he wrote, "divided into two, and the
dividing line, the border, is represented by the barracks and the police stations" (Fanon 1959).
He argued that colonized Black people internalized the racist attitudes and stereotypes of their
colonizers, leading to a fractured sense of self. This internalization of inferiority was a result of a
system that defined the colonized subject as subhuman, as "the other," and imposed these
dehumanizing labels on them (Fanon 2001). For Fanon, this psychological violence was as
insidious and damaging as any physical harm, leading to what he termed a "psychosis of
colonialism." The colonized subject was left in a state of alienation, unable to fully embrace their
own identity, culture, or history.
He advanced the concept of colonial psychosis caused by centuries of domination and
brutality. Fanon’s exploration of the psychological toll of colonialism was particularly focused
on the concept of "negrophobia," the fear and loathing of Black people and their genius (Fanon
1952). He described how colonized Black people in the Caribbean and Africa were taught to
view their Blackness as undesirable or shameful.
This indoctrination resulted in a disconnection from one's roots, culture, and identity,
often leading to a deep psychological struggle for self-affirmation and self-worth.
Fanon believed that for colonized peoples, violence was not just a means of liberation but a
necessary part of the psychological and cultural reclamation process. To him, the act of violent
resistance was not simply about expelling colonial powers—it was about healing the deep
psychological wounds caused by colonization and asserting one’s identity and agency in the
world.
He called for violent resistance against colonial powers and for the reclamation of
African identity as a crucial part of the decolonization process. His ideas about the necessity of
violence in the process of decolonization set him apart from many other intellectuals of his time.
He argued that colonialism was a system built on violence—both physical and psychological—
and that the only way to break free from this violent system was through violent resistance
(Fanon 1959).
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Kwame Nkrumah, 1909-1972: Pan-Africanism as Political Liberation
While Pan-Africanism began in the diaspora, a cohort of independence leaders who tried
to implement it during the era of decolonization in the 1950s and ’60s. Kwame Nkrumah, the
first president of Ghana, was one of those.
Born on September 21, 1909, in the small village of Nkroful in the Gold Coast (now
Ghana), he built a life that was a symphony of resistance, idealism, and unyielding faith in the
destiny of Africa—a destiny free from the chains of colonialism and the insidious grip of
neocolonialism.
Educated at Achimota College in Ghana, then in the United States at Lincoln University and the
University of Pennsylvania in the 1930s, Nkrumah immersed himself in the intellectual currents
of Black liberation. He was profoundly influenced by figures such as Marcus Garvey and W.E.B.
Du Bois, whose calls for Black unity and empowerment echoed in his own proclamations.
Returning to the Gold Coast in 1947, Nkrumah found his homeland in disarray. By 1957,
he transformed that discontent into a triumphant roar, leading Ghana to independence—the first
sub-Saharan African nation to cast off colonial rule. Standing before his newly liberated nation
on March 6, 1957, he declared, “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up
with the total liberation of the African continent” (Samia Nkrumah, Elusive Search for Social
Justice in Africa: The Relevance of Nkrumah’s Vision to the Struggle for Economic
Independence, lecture, University of Connecticut, Storrs, April 19, 2016), His vision was not
confined to Ghana; it encompassed an Africa united—politically, economically, and culturally.
His landmark work, Africa Must Unite (1963), was both a manifesto and a plea. In it,
Nkrumah laid out his dream of a United States of Africa, arguing that the liberation of individual
nations would remain fragile if the continent did not stand together as a formidable force. He
wrote, “Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in
the world.” This statement showcases his idea that only through unity could African nations
overcome external exploitation and internal divisions.
Nkrumah argued — that true freedom for Africa could only be achieved when African
nations were no longer beholden to foreign powers for their economic survival and political
legitimacy. He saw neocolonialism as an existential threat to the independence of African states,
and his call for unity and self-determination was as much about resisting neo-colonial forces as it
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was about achieving independence from colonial rule. The impact of Nkrumah’s ideas resonated
across the African continent and beyond. His call for unity inspired the formation of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, which aimed to foster political cooperation and
economic integration among African states. Nkrumah believed that true independence would not
be achieved until all African nations were united, and he proposed the idea of a United States of
Africa, where African nations would form a political and economic union.
Yet, Nkrumah’s optimism was tempered by the stark realities of the post-independence
era. In Neocolonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (1965), he peeled back the layers of so-
called independence to reveal the economic and political manipulations that continued to ensnare
African nations. He argued, “The essence of neo-colonialism is that the State which is subject to
it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. In
reality, its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside.” Here,
Nkrumah explains that economic control is at the core of neocolonialism. Many newly
independent nations rely on loans, aid, or trade deals with former colonizers or global
organizations like the World Bank and IMF. This reliance lets outsiders influence their decisions.
Often, multinational corporations’ profit from local resources, while the local economy sees little
benefit. Where even kindness comes with a price, for aid and trade agreements frequently come
with strings attached, like strict budget cuts or economic reforms, which weaken a nation’s
independence. Leading to nearly all political decisions, such as alliances or economic group
memberships, being controlled by foreign European and American powers.
While Africa Must Unite was a call for optimism and hope in the face of post-colonial
challenges, Nkrumah’s Neocolonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (1965) painted a more
sobering picture of the political and economic realities that many African countries faced after
independence. In this work, Nkrumah argued that while many African nations had achieved
political independence from their colonial rulers, they were still under the economic and political
control of former imperial powers. Neocolonialism, according to Nkrumah, was a more insidious
form of domination—one that worked through economic and political manipulation rather than
direct military occupation. The western powers had found ways to gain all the profit from
Ghana’s resources, meaning rather than being policed on the street like in the U.S., Ghanaians
were policed in their pockets.
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In the post-independence era, colonial powers had shifted from overt rule to more subtle
means of control, including economic dependency, control over African resources, and the
installation of puppet governments that acted in the interests of foreign corporations rather than
the people of Africa. Nkrumah’s critique of neocolonialism was revolutionary because it called
attention to the ways in which African countries, despite having political sovereignty, continued
to suffer under the economic systems of the West. He pointed to the dominance of multinational
corporations, the reliance on foreign aid, and the control over African markets by Western
powers as evidence that the legacy of colonialism was far from over.
Nkrumah’s legacy is cemented not only in his actions as a political leader but also in his
intellectual contributions through books, speeches, and essays that shaped the ideological
foundations of Pan-Africanism and anti-colonial resistance. His words—spoken and written—
galvanized a generation, offering both a roadmap and a rallying cry for Africa’s liberation and
unity. carried the weight of a continent's aspirations upon his shoulders. Nkrumah,
He was not merely a political figure but a visionary whose ideas burned with the fire of
liberation and unity. The first president of Ghana and one of the foremost leaders of Pan-
Africanism, had a vision of an independent Africa that would unite all African nations into a
political and economic force that could stand against the domination of the West. Nkrumah’s
brilliance lay in his ability to tie the independence of individual African nations to the collective
liberation of all African people. Nkrumah’s rise from a modest background in a British colony to
the forefront of global Pan-Africanism was a testament to his brilliance and resolve.
Though Nkrumah’s vision for a united political federation was never fully realized in his
lifetime, his ideas continue to shape Pan-African thought and have influenced generations of
African leaders and thinkers. Nkrumah’s vision for a united Africa, free from the economic and
political manipulation of former colonial powers, was a radical and transformative idea that
provided hope for generations of Africans striving for self-determination. His ideas were not just
academic—they were a call for revolutionary action, urging Africans to recognize that unity,
economic independence, and political sovereignty were interconnected. His works, particularly
Africa Must Unite and Neocolonialism, continue to serve as critical texts in the ongoing fight for
African liberation and the quest for a future in which Africa can assert its place on the world
stage free from the shadows of imperialism. Nkrumah’s ability to merge idealism with
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pragmatism, offering both a vision of a united Africa and the concrete steps necessary to achieve
it.
Patrice Lumumba, 1925-1961: Up From an African Holocaust
In 1885, the year the infamous Berlin Conference concluded, Leopold II of Belgium
began his savage and unrelieved genocide in Congo, killing upwards of 10 million people. That
holocaust, which lasted through the end of his reign in 1909, brought untold riches to Leopold,
personally, and to Belgium as they exploited Congo’s gold and precious resources. But
Leopold’s ravages left Congo mutilated, broken and bereft.
It is in the context of such horror that Patrice Lumumba was born in Onalua in 1925.
Lumumba grew up witnessing the effects of colonial rule as Belgium extracted Congolese
treasure through brutal enslavement and forced labor.
Lumumba’s political awakening began in the late 1940s, and by the 1950s, he had
become a leading voice in the fight for Congo’s independence. He founded the Congolese
National Movement (MNC) in 1958, which advocated for a unified, independent Congo free
from ethnic or regional divisions—a stance that set him apart from other leaders of the time.
On June 30, 1960, Congo celebrated its independence with Lumumba as its first Prime Minister.
Lumumba delivered an impassioned speech during the independence ceremony in the presence
of Belgium’s King Baudouin that became a defining moment in his career.
“We are no longer your monkeys,” he said. “The exploitation of our land, the sweat of our
people, and the humiliation of our dignity—these are not things to celebrate. We have known
forced labor, the whip, the shame of colonialism, and today we rise free” (Lumumba, 1960).
Lumumba believed that African sovereignty was sacrosanct. And he was a stalwart of
Pan-African unity. He was seen as a danger to both Belgium and the United States which was
blinded by its Cold War anti-communist zeal. But Congo was just one of a number of African
countries gaining or winning their independence during this era, and Lumumba was a thought
leader not just of Congo, but of the newly emerging nations.
“The independence of Congo is part of a greater movement, one that rejects the
partitioning of Africa by foreign hands,” Lumumba said. “Africa must unite, for divided we are
weak, but together we are a mighty force for our people and the world” (Lumumba, 1960).
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His vision of a united Africa directly aligned with the ideals of leaders like Kwame
Nkrumah, with whom he shared a close relationship. A divided Africa, with nations weakened
by nationalistic rivalries, would never be able to resist the insidious forces of imperialism,
Lumumba believed. Pan-Africanism, for him as for others, was a practical and strategic way to
achieve economic and political sovereignty for African peoples.
Lumumba’s bold rejection of colonial paternalism shocked the Belgian delegation and
the Western powers, and resonated deeply with Congolese citizens and Pan-Africanists across
the world. Rather than simply celebrating the nation’s newfound freedom, Lumumba used the
opportunity to boldly denounce the colonial abuses suffered by the Congolese people under
Belgian rule. He said, “And we are not here to celebrate the hypocrisy of colonialism's final
moments.” In other words, we are going to celebrate this newfound freedom — for, we should
have never been enslaved. His commitment to highlighting the oppression of the Congolese
people shocked many in the international community and set the tone for his leadership.
For Lumumba, Congo’s independence was not an isolated event—it was part of a broader
struggle for African liberation. He viewed Pan-Africanism as essential to resisting the creeping
forces of neocolonialism. He declared: Lumumba’s writings and speeches consistently
emphasized the necessity of solidarity among African nations.
His speeches and writings, such as his 1960 address to the Pan-African Conference in
Addis Ababa, remain central to Pan-African thought. In that speech, he proclaimed: “Africa’s
true liberation will come when its people control their own destinies, free from the puppeteers of
imperialism” (BBC, 2020).
One of Lumumba’s most significant contributions was his vision of Pan-Africanism, which
extended beyond the borders of the DRC and sought to unite all African nations against the
common forces of imperialism and colonialism. Lumumba understood that the struggle for
Congo’s independence was linked to the broader struggle for Africa’s liberation. He saw the
necessity of African unity to combat neocolonialism and foreign domination.
He was aware of the dangers posed by neocolonialism—foreign domination disguised as
economic aid or political alliances. In his writings, he warned: “The struggle does not end with
the departure of the colonizer. We must guard our sovereignty against those who would enslave
us economically and politically, for independence without control of our resources is a hollow
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victory” (BBC, 2020). Lumumba’s insistence on nationalizing Congo’s vast mineral wealth
threatened western powers who had been, and still are, profiting from Congo’s exploitation.
Lumumba was assassinated by the CIA in January 1961, cutting short the possibilities for
his new country and setting off a reign of terror and instability by successors who the West found
more pliable, even as they brutalized the population and exploited the country’s riches.
In death, he became a martyr for African unity. Through Pan-African solidarity and
resistance to neocolonialism, Lumumba's vision of African sovereignty remains a central theme
in both political and cultural struggles for freedom. His story continues to inspire activists,
artists, and scholars.
Afrofuturism: Reconnecting and Reimagining the Future
Afrofuturism is a global cultural, intellectual, and artistic movement that merges elements
of science fiction, fantasy, technology, and African mythology to create futures in which Black
people are at the center of their own narratives.
The movement also is about reclaiming the past by finding stories of genius and
resilience that have been negated or obscured in the past and using that creativity and genius as a
springboard to create new, boundless possibilities for the future. The unofficial emblem of
Afrofuturism is the Sankofa bird, a powerful Adinkra symbol dating back thousands of years.
Afrofuturism takes the lessons of history— not just pain and struggle but triumphs and
brilliance — and reinterprets them in a way that propels the Black experience into new realms
and possibilities. This bird symbolizes both the necessity and the power of reconnecting with
one's roots while reaching towards an ambitious future. It is through this metaphor that
Afrofuturism takes flight, as the bird moves beyond its initial boundaries into limitless skies,
driven by the power of knowledge, stories, and imagination.
Octavia Butler, 1947–2006 - A Visionary Science Fiction Writer
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Science fiction writer Octavia Butler (1947–2006) is one of two seminal literary pillars of
Afrofuturism (the other is Samuel Delaney). In her writings, Butler blended essayed themes of
race, power, and survival. Through novels like Parable of the Sower (1993), Kindred (1979), and
Dawn (1987), she redefined speculative fiction by placing Black characters at the center of
transformative, futuristic narratives. Butler explored how history, particularly racial oppression,
shapes the future while offering pathways for change.
In Parable of the Sower, Butler crafts a narrative set in a world fractured by climate
devastation, economic instability, and deep-rooted inequality. Lauren Olamina, the protagonist,
has a hyper-empathic ability that makes her acutely sensitive to others' suffering, distinguishing
her in a harsh and unforgiving society. Over time, Lauren develops a philosophy grounded in
survival, adaptability, and resilience, encapsulated in her assertion that “God is Change,”
reflecting her belief in transformation as a force for navigating oppression.
Butler uses Lauren’s journey to highlight Afrofuturist themes, suggesting that survival
goes beyond resistance—it involves reimagining and reshaping the future for brighter
possibilities. Lauren’s path is one of creation, where she defines her purpose amidst chaos,
recognizing the critical role of unity and collective action in forging a new way forward. As she
states, “The only lasting truth is Change” (Butler, 1979).
Through Lauren’s journey, Butler emphasizes the Afrofuturist idea that survival isn’t just about
resisting; it’s about shifting and reimagining the world for better possibilities. Lauren’s journey
is one of creation, where she defines her own destiny despite the world’s collapse. And she
recognizes the importance of unity and communal effort in building a new. “The only lasting
truth is Change,” she says.
Her philosophy rejects stagnation and embraces the possibility of radical transformation.
Lauren’s journey to create a new religious and philosophical movement, Earthseed, embodies the
Afrofuturist vision of reimagining society from the ground up, shaped by the lessons of the past
and the creativity of the future.
Butler’s Kindred takes a different approach, using time travel to examine the legacy of
slavery. The protagonist, Dana, a modern-day Black woman, is pulled back to the Antebellum
South, confronting both the violence of slavery and her own ancestral connections to it. Dana’s
struggle demonstrates Afrofuturism’s call to confront history while seeking liberation from its
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constraints: “You don’t leave a place like that without becoming part of it,” (Butler, 1987). she
reflects, pointing to the inescapable chains of slavery.
Lilith, Butler's protagonist in Dawn, is a Black woman who's been thrown into a
leadership role in a post-apocalyptic world. Although chosen to lead, Lilith struggles with
isolation.
“I will create what I need for myself, for those around me, and for the future,” Lilith says,
underscoring Afrofuturism’s emphasis on constructing new systems of community, power, and
self-determination.
Through stories, confronts the fraught legacies of the past and reimagines them,
empowering Black people to reclaim their narratives while highlighting the victories inherent in
collective strength. In her works, Butler provides a cohesive vision of Black liberation, a world
transformed by creativity, resilience and light and made beautifully new.
Sun Ra, 1914–1993: Cosmic Jazz Rooted in African Rhythm
Born Herman Blount in Birmingham, Alabama, composer and pianist Sun Ra was one of
the most visionary figures in the history of music. His pioneering jazz built on African rhythms
with breathtaking freedom, creating rooted, deeply cultural sounds that also were transcendent.
The West African influence in his music was easily recognizable from complex rhythmic
patterns, polyrhythms, and call-and-response. He also used unconventional time signatures and
dissonant chords to create soundscapes that evoked space exploration. His ability to incorporate
electronic instruments, such as the synthesizer, further enhanced the futuristic qualities in his
music.
But he was no mad scientist or stereotypical isolated genius. He was immersive and
theatrical, performing at concerts and festivals. He recorded studio and live albums, and
influenced generations of artists, including in other genres such as rock and punk, because of the
license his own freedom exemplified.
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Erykah Badu, born 1971: Neo-Soul Exponent of Cosmic Liberation
Erykah Badu, born in 1971 in Dallas, Texas, is a musical innovator whose work blends
neo-soul, hip hop, jazz and dancehall reggae, all steeped in Afrocentric themes. Badu’s debut
album, Baduizm, catapulted her into stardom with a nasal sound that recalls Billie Holiday for
the hip hop age. With tracks like “On & On,” which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and
earned her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Badu introduced the world to
her blend of jazzy rhythms and Afrocentric themes.
The song, streamed over 200 million times on Spotify, is a meditation on the cyclical
nature of life, nodding to spiritual teachings and self-awareness. Like all her work, this piece
reflects Pan-Africanist ideals by promoting the reclamation of identity and connecting to
ancestral wisdom. Additionally, “Next Lifetime,” speaks to love and spiritual alignment with its
narrative of reincarnation resonating with traditional West African spiritual beliefs. Within the
first year, Baduizm sold over 1 million copies worldwide affirming Badu’s role as a leading
voice in neo-soul.
Badu’s second album, Mama’s Gun, released in 2000, dives deeper into her own
experience with collective struggles. The track “Bag Lady,” with its poignant metaphor of
emotional baggage, became a cultural touchstone, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in
September 2000.
The song’s message of healing and self-liberation aligns with Pan-Africanist principles of
mentally unburdening oneself from oppressive systems to achieve freedom in the physical world.
Songs like “Didn’t Cha Know” invoke both intelligence and soulfulness. Emphasizing a
connection to ancestral wisdom, Badu often references African spiritual practices and
cosmology. Her work calls on individuals to break free from societal expectations and embrace
the fullness of their identity. She leads by example, through her very calm, artistic, soulful
presence defies the angry Black woman stereotype. Additionally, her exploration of themes like
spirituality, liberation, and identity, framed through the lens of Pan-Africanism, continues to
inspire listeners globally. Through her music, Badu challenges Eurocentric standards and
encourages listeners to embrace their roots. Badu’s ability to create music that speaks to both
personal and collective struggles while imagining a better future through mystical and cosmic
lenses has made her one of the most influential artists of the movement. By blending genres and
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crafting messages that call for self-awareness and societal change, Badu not only honors the past
but also charts a path toward a freer, more equitable future for the African diaspora.
Nick Cave, born 1959: Soundsuits
How does one combat the biases that people project onto a Black face or body, any Black
face or body, that they see? For multidisciplinary artist Nick Cave, born in 1959 in Fulton,
Missouri, that means creating a novel, anonymizing Soundsuit that allows the wearer to achieve
a kind of normalcy.
Intricate, wearable sculptures that fuse fashion and art, Soundsuits incorporate elements
like feathers, beads, and fabric. They cover the entire body and transform the wearer into an
enigmatic figure. Cave’s work draws heavily on African traditions, referencing the rich cultural
practices of adornment and the use of art for both aesthetic and spiritual purposes.
Of course, they’re art, so no one is going to wear them out. But the idea calls attention to
age-old problems of racism and white supremacy. The vibrant suits serve as both armor and art,
confronting issues of race, identity, and social justice while inviting awe through their
imaginative and otherworldly designs. Cave’s Soundsuits emerged in response to personal and
collective pain, notably the police beating of Rodney King in L.A. California (1991).
The incident profoundly impacted him, leading him to create a work that could serve as
both a shield and a spectacle. At the time, Cave described feeling “discarded, less than human,”
and sought to create something that would obscure the body and identity of the wearer. Thus, the
first Soundsuit was made of twigs and covered the wearer's entire body, not an inch of skin could
be seen. This allowed the wearer to transcend race, gender, and class, becoming a symbolic
figure of resilience and universality. Over time, the Soundsuits have evolved into a body of work
that combines movement, sound, and visual artistry to address themes of empowerment and
visibility. His Sound Suits are meant to evoke both the history of African expression and a
radical vision of the future, where the individual can be reimagined as both a work of art and a
force of transformation.
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Hip-Hop’s Afrofuturist Voice, born 1987: Kendrick Lamar
The first rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize, Compton, Calif., prodigy Kendrick Lamar has
redefined the possibilities of hip hop. His deft combinations of lyrical brilliance with artful
storytelling and social critiques had made him into one of the most influential artists of his
generation. Lamar explores themes of identity, systemic oppression, spirituality, and resilience,
often blending autobiographical narratives with broader cultural commentary.
Through albums like good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), and
DAMN. (2017), Lamar has positioned himself not just as a musician but as a global story-teller
of the Black experience. Kendrick Lamar’s music embodies a profound exploration of identity,
history, and liberation. Drawing on the concept of double consciousness—as articulated by
W.E.B. Du Bois—Lamar dives into the complexities of living as a Black person in a society
shaped by racial oppression. In To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar addresses the tension
between how Black people see themselves and how society, burdened by racism, perceives them
in songs like Alright and The Blacker the Berry. Double consciousness refers to the internal
battle of being Black in America, where one must reconcile their personal sense of identity with
individual racism, police brutality, as well as discriminatory practices in schooling, housing,
healthcare industry, (etc.).
In the track Alright, the chorus is simple, for Lamar states, "we gon' be alright." The
phrase then comes into fruition, emerging as a rallying cry for the Black community. while the
fusion of jazz and rap underscores the theme of Black empowerment, pulling inspiration from
African musical roots to connect history with the present moment.
Additionally, untitled #3 from the Untitled Unmastered album exemplifies Lamar's
exploration of Black identity. In this track, Lamar poses the questions, "What did the Asian say,
what did the Indian say… What did the white man say?" These lines speak to the different
perspectives and experiences of various groups. Lamar interrogates how each group is viewed
and shaped by societal forces, while also confronting the exploitation and commodification of
Black culture. By incorporating other marginalized groups, he calls listeners to self-reflect.
These lines are just the beginning of his examination of the ways in which systemic racism and
colonialism shape not only the Black experience but the experiences of other communities as
well. The song ends with a declaration: “I shall enjoy the fruits of my labor if I get freed today,”
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signaling his vision of not just personal freedom but collective liberation—a central tenet of both
Pan-Africanism and Afrofuturism.
In Hiiipower, Kendrick Lamar uses a variety of double entendres to deepen the meaning
of the song, blending historical references with personal and political commentary. The open
lyrics are powerful, for Lamar states, "Visions of Martin Luther staring at me, Malcolm X put a
hex on my future, someone catch me, I'm falling victim to a revolutionary song, the Serengeti's
clone." The lines combine historical references, personal reflection, and broader cultural
commentary. The "visions" communicate a sense of accountability to continue the mission of the
Civil Rights Movement Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led in the twentieth century. It also suggests
the weight of carrying the hopes and dreams of a movement that sought peace and civil rights, an
influence that shapes Lamar's own approach to activism and self-realization. Here, "hex" refers
to the weight of historical expectations that Lamar, as a Black artist and activist, must bear.
Lamar can feel the revolutionary spirit of Malcolm X within himself. He revisits the past and
recognizes the responsibility he upholds as an artist and activist. Additionally, “falling victim" is
often used to describe someone who is overwhelmed or overtaken by the strong urge to follow in
Malcom's, as well as Fanon's, footsteps and abandon the non-violent doctrine of Dr. King.
Lastly, the Serengeti is a vast and diverse ecosystem in East Africa, known for its wildlife and its
historical significance in African culture. By referencing the "Serengeti's clone," Lamar could be
invoking the idea of a lineage or replica, emphasizing how Black culture — in its revolutionary
forms — has been replicated or commercialized in the modern world. It represents the idea of
being part of a greater, ongoing narrative of African resistance and survival.
Afrofuturism channels the power of Pan-Africanism, blending African heritage with
futuristic dreams. Garvey and Du Bois pushed for unity and freedom, and Afrofuturism picks up
where they left off, reimagining a future where Black identity is free from oppression. The
Sankofa bird shows us that by remembering our roots, we can soar.
Tapestries, Vol. 14
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