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The Journal of Pan-African Studies, 2014

Following Senegal's independence from France in 1960, the poet-statesman Leopold Sedar Sengho... more Following Senegal's independence from France in 1960, the poet-statesman Leopold Sedar Senghor became the county's first African president. He subsequently established Nigritude and "African socialism" as the cultural, political, and economic ideologies of his government. (1) Six years after assuming the presidency of Senegal, Senghor, with the support of UNESCO, convened the First World Festival of Negro Arts and Culture in Dakar held from April 1-24, 1966. The Dakar Festival was Senghor's attempt to highlight the development of his country and "his" philosophy, Negritude, by bringing together people of African descent from around the globe. Margaret Danner, a Afro-North American poet from Chicago and attendee of the Festival referred to him as "a modern African artist, as host;/a word sculpturer (sic), strong enough to amass/the vast amount of exaltation needed to tow his followers through/the Senegalese sands, toward their modern rivers and fi...

Journal of Pan African Studies, Feb 1, 2014

Six years after assuming the presidency of a newly independent Senegal, Leopold Sédar Senghor, w... more Six years after assuming the presidency of a newly independent Senegal, Leopold Sédar Senghor, with the support of UNESCO, convened the First World Festival of Negro Arts and Culture in Dakar held from April 1-24, 1966. The Dakar Festival was Senghor’s attempt to highlight the development of his country and “his” philosophy, Négritude. Margaret Danner, a Afro-North American poet from Chicago and attendee of the Festival referred to him as “a modern African artist, as host; / a word sculpturer (sic), strong enough to amass / the vast amount of exaltation needed to tow his followers through / the Senegalese sands, toward their modern rivers and figures of gold.” For Danner and many other Black cultural workers in North America, the prospects of attending an international festival on the African continent intimated that cultural unity among Africans and Afro-descendants was rife with possibility. What is more, for a brief historical juncture, Senghor and his affiliates were able to posit Négritude as a viable philosophical model in which to realize this unity. However, upon critical reflection, a number of the Black cultural workers who initially championed the Dakar Festival came to express consternation at the behind the scenes machinations which severely weakened the “lovely dream” of “Pan-Africa.”

Journal of Pan African Studies, Mar 1, 2013

Many scholars of Pan-Africanism acknowledge W.E.B. Du Bois as one of the movement's ideol... more Many scholars of Pan-Africanism acknowledge W.E.B. Du Bois as one of the movement's ideological progenitors. With his intellectual and organizational endeavors, he helped establish the Pan African Congress (PAC) in the early part of the 20th Century. However, while many accounts of Du Bois focus intently on his leadership of the PAC through the late 1920s, he remained actively involved in Pan African liberation movements up until the time of his death in 1963. This article examines the evolution of Du Boisian Pan-Africanism, focusing specifically on the role that the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945 and the subsequent independence of Ghana played in radicalizing his political and intellectual position on African unity. For, in addition to his commitment to exposing the racist and capitalist forces that oppressed Black people, the issue that dominated much of Du Bois's later scholarly and activist endeavors was his unwavering commitment to revolutionary Pan-Africanism.

FROM August 24-28, 1977, the first "official" South American manifestation of Pan-Africanismo occ... more FROM August 24-28, 1977, the first "official" South American manifestation of Pan-Africanismo occurred in Cali, Colombia, at El
Primer Congreso de la Cultura Negra de las Americas (First Congress of Black Culture in the Americas—"el Congreso"). Taking place twenty-eight years after Fanon's speech at the Second Congress of Negro Writers in 1959 and six months after the Second World Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977, this smaller yet equally important gathering of black writers and intellectuals, sought to construct Pan-African
"literature [s] of combat" in their struggles for political and cultural liberation. El Congreso would also serve as a model for various contemporary Afro-descendant movements in the Americas against racism, sexism, land displacement, and class exploitation, which coalesced in the build-up to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001.

Six years after assuming the presidency of a newly independent Senegal, Leopold Sédar Senghor, w... more Six years after assuming the presidency of a newly independent Senegal, Leopold Sédar Senghor, with the support of UNESCO, convened the First World Festival of Negro Arts and Culture in Dakar held from April 1-24, 1966. The Dakar Festival was Senghor’s attempt to highlight the development of his country and “his” philosophy, Négritude. Margaret Danner, a Afro-North American poet from Chicago and attendee of the Festival referred to him as “a modern African artist, as host; / a word sculpturer (sic), strong enough to amass / the vast amount of exaltation needed to tow his followers through / the Senegalese sands, toward their modern rivers and figures of gold.” For Danner and many other Black cultural workers in North America, the prospects of attending an international festival on the African continent intimated that cultural unity among Africans and Afro-descendants was rife with possibility. What is more, for a brief historical juncture, Senghor and his affiliates were able to posit Négritude as a viable philosophical model in which to realize this unity. However, upon critical reflection, a number of the Black cultural workers who initially championed the Dakar Festival came to express consternation at the behind the scenes machinations which severely weakened the “lovely dream” of “Pan-Africa.”

Many scholars of Pan-Africanism acknowledge W.E.B. Du Bois as one of the movement's ideological p... more Many scholars of Pan-Africanism acknowledge W.E.B. Du Bois as one of the movement's ideological progenitors. With his intellectual and organizational endeavors, he helped establish the Pan African Congress (PAC) in the early part of the 20th Century. However, while many accounts of Du Bois focus intently on his leadership of the PAC through the late 1920s, he remained actively involved in Pan African liberation movements up until the time of his death in 1963. This article examines the evolution
of Du Boisian Pan-Africanism, focusing specifically on the role that the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945 and the subsequent independence of Ghana played in radicalizing his political and intellectual position on African unity. For, in addition to his commitment to exposing the racist and capitalist forces
that oppressed Black people, the issue that dominated much of Du Bois's later scholarly and activist endeavors was his unwavering commitment to revolutionary Pan-Africanism.

Open Access Dissertations, Jan 1, 2009

Teaching Documents by Anthony Ratcliff

The Journal of Pan-African Studies, 2014

Following Senegal's independence from France in 1960, the poet-statesman Leopold Sedar Sengho... more Following Senegal's independence from France in 1960, the poet-statesman Leopold Sedar Senghor became the county's first African president. He subsequently established Nigritude and "African socialism" as the cultural, political, and economic ideologies of his government. (1) Six years after assuming the presidency of Senegal, Senghor, with the support of UNESCO, convened the First World Festival of Negro Arts and Culture in Dakar held from April 1-24, 1966. The Dakar Festival was Senghor's attempt to highlight the development of his country and "his" philosophy, Negritude, by bringing together people of African descent from around the globe. Margaret Danner, a Afro-North American poet from Chicago and attendee of the Festival referred to him as "a modern African artist, as host;/a word sculpturer (sic), strong enough to amass/the vast amount of exaltation needed to tow his followers through/the Senegalese sands, toward their modern rivers and fi...

Journal of Pan African Studies, Feb 1, 2014

Six years after assuming the presidency of a newly independent Senegal, Leopold Sédar Senghor, w... more Six years after assuming the presidency of a newly independent Senegal, Leopold Sédar Senghor, with the support of UNESCO, convened the First World Festival of Negro Arts and Culture in Dakar held from April 1-24, 1966. The Dakar Festival was Senghor’s attempt to highlight the development of his country and “his” philosophy, Négritude. Margaret Danner, a Afro-North American poet from Chicago and attendee of the Festival referred to him as “a modern African artist, as host; / a word sculpturer (sic), strong enough to amass / the vast amount of exaltation needed to tow his followers through / the Senegalese sands, toward their modern rivers and figures of gold.” For Danner and many other Black cultural workers in North America, the prospects of attending an international festival on the African continent intimated that cultural unity among Africans and Afro-descendants was rife with possibility. What is more, for a brief historical juncture, Senghor and his affiliates were able to posit Négritude as a viable philosophical model in which to realize this unity. However, upon critical reflection, a number of the Black cultural workers who initially championed the Dakar Festival came to express consternation at the behind the scenes machinations which severely weakened the “lovely dream” of “Pan-Africa.”

Journal of Pan African Studies, Mar 1, 2013

Many scholars of Pan-Africanism acknowledge W.E.B. Du Bois as one of the movement's ideol... more Many scholars of Pan-Africanism acknowledge W.E.B. Du Bois as one of the movement's ideological progenitors. With his intellectual and organizational endeavors, he helped establish the Pan African Congress (PAC) in the early part of the 20th Century. However, while many accounts of Du Bois focus intently on his leadership of the PAC through the late 1920s, he remained actively involved in Pan African liberation movements up until the time of his death in 1963. This article examines the evolution of Du Boisian Pan-Africanism, focusing specifically on the role that the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945 and the subsequent independence of Ghana played in radicalizing his political and intellectual position on African unity. For, in addition to his commitment to exposing the racist and capitalist forces that oppressed Black people, the issue that dominated much of Du Bois's later scholarly and activist endeavors was his unwavering commitment to revolutionary Pan-Africanism.

FROM August 24-28, 1977, the first "official" South American manifestation of Pan-Africanismo occ... more FROM August 24-28, 1977, the first "official" South American manifestation of Pan-Africanismo occurred in Cali, Colombia, at El
Primer Congreso de la Cultura Negra de las Americas (First Congress of Black Culture in the Americas—"el Congreso"). Taking place twenty-eight years after Fanon's speech at the Second Congress of Negro Writers in 1959 and six months after the Second World Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977, this smaller yet equally important gathering of black writers and intellectuals, sought to construct Pan-African
"literature [s] of combat" in their struggles for political and cultural liberation. El Congreso would also serve as a model for various contemporary Afro-descendant movements in the Americas against racism, sexism, land displacement, and class exploitation, which coalesced in the build-up to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001.

Six years after assuming the presidency of a newly independent Senegal, Leopold Sédar Senghor, w... more Six years after assuming the presidency of a newly independent Senegal, Leopold Sédar Senghor, with the support of UNESCO, convened the First World Festival of Negro Arts and Culture in Dakar held from April 1-24, 1966. The Dakar Festival was Senghor’s attempt to highlight the development of his country and “his” philosophy, Négritude. Margaret Danner, a Afro-North American poet from Chicago and attendee of the Festival referred to him as “a modern African artist, as host; / a word sculpturer (sic), strong enough to amass / the vast amount of exaltation needed to tow his followers through / the Senegalese sands, toward their modern rivers and figures of gold.” For Danner and many other Black cultural workers in North America, the prospects of attending an international festival on the African continent intimated that cultural unity among Africans and Afro-descendants was rife with possibility. What is more, for a brief historical juncture, Senghor and his affiliates were able to posit Négritude as a viable philosophical model in which to realize this unity. However, upon critical reflection, a number of the Black cultural workers who initially championed the Dakar Festival came to express consternation at the behind the scenes machinations which severely weakened the “lovely dream” of “Pan-Africa.”

Many scholars of Pan-Africanism acknowledge W.E.B. Du Bois as one of the movement's ideological p... more Many scholars of Pan-Africanism acknowledge W.E.B. Du Bois as one of the movement's ideological progenitors. With his intellectual and organizational endeavors, he helped establish the Pan African Congress (PAC) in the early part of the 20th Century. However, while many accounts of Du Bois focus intently on his leadership of the PAC through the late 1920s, he remained actively involved in Pan African liberation movements up until the time of his death in 1963. This article examines the evolution
of Du Boisian Pan-Africanism, focusing specifically on the role that the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945 and the subsequent independence of Ghana played in radicalizing his political and intellectual position on African unity. For, in addition to his commitment to exposing the racist and capitalist forces
that oppressed Black people, the issue that dominated much of Du Bois's later scholarly and activist endeavors was his unwavering commitment to revolutionary Pan-Africanism.

Open Access Dissertations, Jan 1, 2009