Pan-Africanism is an evolving concept of seeking holistic integration within Africa. It is part of the African consciousness, which is sustained to the current times. Integration within this context is a notion that unites Africa as an independent and strong political, economic, and social entity by African people and the African diaspora around the world. As stated in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) treaty, “although various disciplines approach integration differently, the existing integration schemes in Africa, cannot be easily categorized as political or economic integration schemes, but rather as a combination of all approaches.”[i]
Bill Sutherland and Dudley Joseph Thompson were among the great Pan-Africanist who developed a clear Pan-African consciousness. They also dedicated their lives to freeing Africa from colonialism and racism. Sutherland and Thompson were born in the United States and Panama/Jamaica respectively. Coming from a successful background, Sutherland had a privileged economic environment and Thompson became Britain’s first black Air Force pilot and barrister. Despite being from two different parts of the world, they lived most of their lives in Africa. These two life-long patriots and liberation advocates were very instrumental in the early Pan-African movement and participated in the 1945 conference in Manchester, England where Pan-African Congresses had been largely organized by other Pan-African greats such as Amy Garvey, Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois, C.L.R. James, and George Padmore.[ii]Sutherland and Thompson were recognized for their sustained work on behalf of Africa.
Bill Sutherland (1918 - 2010)
In the 1930s, Sutherland became engaged in civil rights and anti-war activities as a youthful member of a Student Christian Movement. In his early 30s, the call of Pan Africanist politics was strong, and Sutherland was instrumental, along with a small group of African Americans living in Ghana at the time in hosting Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the 1957 independence ceremony[iii]. In the early days of Ghana’s then-new Prime Minister, Kwame Nkrumah’s government, he was part of the organizing team of the ‘All African People’s Congress’ and served as an adviser in the finance minister’s office. In his later ages, Sutherland was also a close friend and associate of Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere and Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda, who helped develop the Pan African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa (PAFMECA). In addition, Sutherland served as hospitality officer for the sixth Pan African Congress working with other long-time colleagues to bridge the gap between Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora. Furthermore, he hosted countless individuals and official delegations from the United States, including assisting Malcolm X on what would be his last trip to Tanzania. Sutherland’s home in Dar became a camping ground for liberation leaders in exile from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, and throughout the region.[iv]
Dudley Joseph Thompson (1917 - 2017)
Thompson grew up in the U.S. and later became one of Britain’s first black pilots, and served as a flight lieutenant (1941–45), being awarded several decorations. From his university days, Thompson was also a close associate of Kwame Nkrumah and other pan-African leaders. In the 1950s, after qualifying as a barrister, he went on to practice law in Africa – in Kenya and Tanganyika (now Tanzania), where he became involved in the nationalist movements. The 35-year-old lawyer assembled an international legal team to defend Jomo Kenyatta in a 58-day trial at court after the British colonial soldiers had seized him for being an instigator of the Mau-Mau rebellion.[v] Later the President of Kenya, Kenyatta memorably placed his hand on Dudley Thompson sitting beside him and said: “This man saved my life.” In addition, Thompson was a friend of Julius Nyerere, and he is remembered as a founder of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) which was the principal political party in the struggle for sovereignty in the East African State of Tanganyika. In the 1950s, he returned to Jamaica and continued to promote and deliver inspirational addresses about furthering the links between the continent and the Caribbean. In his later ages, he was appointed High Commissioner and Ambassador to several African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Namibia, based in Nigeria until 1995.[vi] The Organization of African Unity (OAU) had earlier awarded him a medal in recognition of his status as a “Legend of Africa” and the African Union declared him a ‘first citizen’ of the continent because of his work for Africa internationally.[vii] In 2006 in Ghana he was honored as a “Living Legend of Africa”.[viii]
Lesson Learned and Key Takeaways
Sutherland and Thompson are the two most influential proponents of Pan-Africanism, and they are known for their struggle to free Africa from slavery and colonialism. In today’s context, several young people are making a significant contribution toward the struggle of freeing Africa from Racism, Xenophobia, Stigmatization, and Religious persecution, in addition to addressing discrimination against each other. Such prejudice and hate branding should not be tolerated in the motherland. It is our responsibility, as active citizens of Africa, to combat any kind of intolerance and protect the most vulnerable among us. We should stand together for cultural diversity in our community to make Africa a better place for Africans and all people of Africa and African descent. Therefore, I call on young people to ensure the people of Africa and African descent are treated with empathy and humanity.
Sutherland and Thompson re-established a special connection between themselves and the ancestral home. In recent years, a number of African-American personalities have been granted citizenship in African countries to retrace their roots. To name a few, American rapper Ludacris in Gabon and English actor Idris Elba in Sierra Leone were naturalized while producer Samuel L Jackson received a Gabonese passport.[ix] Similarly, young people in the diaspora and all people of African descent show Afro-centric consciousness to explore the possibility of repatriation and participate in the cultural advancement of Africa. The aim is to robustly celebrate and promote Africa’s rich heritage and culture in achieving sustainable economic growth and inclusive social development goals outlined in Africa’s Agenda 2063. Therefore, I call on the consciousness of the young people in the diaspora and all people of African descent to place Africa and its people at the heart of world culture. This calls for an African cultural renaissance and consciousness that inculcates the spirit of Pan-Africanism.
Sutherland and Thompson transferred their responsibility as active citizens and patriots to the struggle of Pan-Africanism, in which they brought stakeholders for the integration of Africa on the political, economic, and social front. Regardless of their location in the world, African people are active citizens and children of Africa who should possess responsibility for the holistic integration of the nations within the continent. Africa’s young people have the potential to empower and transform Africa into an egalitarian, secure, and prosperous region. Taking this into consideration, I call on young people to recognize and utilize their potential to contribute to the benefit of their communities as active citizens of Africa.
The contribution of Sutherland and Thompson is applying their considerable skills to the efforts of integration and nation-building in Africa. Therefore, this article put forward the conceptual understanding of African integration through bridging the gap across various disciplines and making a case for the on-going conceptualization of integration and unification as emancipation.
I concluded with a prophetic song from Bob Marley who sang for African unification and integration.
Africa unite
‘Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon
And we’re going to our Father’s land
How good and how pleasant it would be before God and man, yeah!
To see the unification of all Africans, yeah!
As it’s been said already, let it be done, yeah!
…
[i] See Protocols, SADC, http://www.sadc.int/index.php/documents-publications/protocols.
Arguably, Article 1 only directs SADC Member States to establish an economic integration scheme and is otherwise silent on other forms of integration. However, the SADC created an organ on Politics, Defense, and Security Co-operation and set as the objectives of the organ political integration and regional cooperation in intrastate and interstate peacekeeping. An additional example of prioritizing integration in areas not directly related to orthodox economic integration is the Protocol on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, establishing the framework for the provision of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters among SADC states. In fact, out of the twenty-two protocols signed by SADC Member States, only few directly relate to economic and trade policy cooperation.
[ii] Fighting for Africa The Pan-African Contributions of Ambassador Dudley J. Thompson and Bill Sutherland Edited by Robert Johnson, Jr. UNIVERSITY PRESS OF AMERICA,® INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK, 2010
[iii] “Martin Luther King, Jr. - Travels - Ghana Trip”, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/ghana-trip
[iv] War Resisters’ International https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2010/bill-sutherland-pan-african-pacifist-1918-2010
[v] John Muchangi and agencies, "Man Who 'Saved' Kenyatta Dies", The Star, Kenya, 1 February 2012. https://archive.ph/20120913205450/http://www.the-star.co.ke/lifestyle/128-lifestyle/60545-man-who-saved-kenyatta-dies
[vi] “Pan-African and Jamaican statesman Dudley Thompson has died. He was 95”, The Miami Herald, 20 January 2012.
[vii] “Black History Month: Dudley Thompson, When Jamaica meets Africa”, The Africa Report, https://www.theafricareport.com/7694/black-history-month-dudley-thompson-when-jamaica-meets-africa/
[viii] “Former Jamaican foreign minister named African Living Legend”, The Wayback Machine, Jamaica Gleaner, 8 October 2006.
[ix] “American rapper Ludacris becomes Gabonese citizen”, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51008291