Pan Africanism For Beginners Essay - 1481 Words

Sid Lemelle hoped for his book, Pan-Africanism for Beginners, to be a comprehensive guide to the complex concept of Pan-Africanism. Lemelle begins the book by broadly defining Pan-Africanism to mean the inclusion of â€Å"all people of African ancestry living in continental Africa and throughout the world.† This definition sets the foundation for his analysis of Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism for Beginners explores the major leaders and events associated with Pan-African sentiments chronologically. The exploration begins with the â€Å"early pioneers of Pan-Africanism† (20) such as Prince Hall, Paul Cuffe, Dr. Martin R. Delany, and Fredrick Douglass. While this was an early stage of Pan-Africanism, conflicting views on how to deal the issues of racism and oppression. Prince Hall and Paul Cuffe believed in the emigration of blacks to Africa. However, Dr. Delany and Frederick Douglass â€Å"argued against emigration.† Instead, they believed that the â€Å"United S tates was their home, and that they should remain† (25). Lemelle notes that Dr. Delany later changed his attributes, however it is unclear if he changes his views from support of emigration to opposition to emigration or vice versa. This is not a major weakness; however, it did confuse me as a reader attempting to understand the beginnings of Pan-Africanism. One of the initial major Pan-African events Lemelle introduced was the creation of Sierra Leone’s â€Å"Province of Freedom† along with the founding of Liberia. These two â€Å"ex-slaveShow MoreRelatedThe Pan Africanism For Beginners1829 Words   |  8 PagesThe Pan-African movement as described in Lemelle’s Pan-Africanism for Beginners is a set of ideas and ideologies containing social and cultural, political and economic, material and spiritual aspects. Each aspect is accompanied by a plethora of historical figures and terms unique to the movement, well described throughout the text and in the pres ented glossary. This book makes it easy to understand all the information accompanying each topic. While it does have its strengths and weaknesses, thisRead MoreThe Pan Africanism For Beginners1823 Words   |  8 Pages The Pan-African movement as described in Lemelle’s Pan-Africanism for Beginners is a set of ideas and ideologies containing social and cultural, political and economic, material and spiritual aspects. Each aspect is accompanied by a plethora of historical figures and terms unique to the movement described thoroughly in the text and the presented glossary. The piece makes it easy to understand all the information accompanying each topic. While it does have its strengths and weaknesses, the book