Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and Diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe.

Pan-Africanism can be said to have its origins in the struggles of the African people against enslavement and colonization and this struggle may be traced back to the first resistance on slave ships—rebellions and suicides—through the constant plantation and colonial uprisings and the "Back to Africa" movements of the 19th century. Based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social, and political progress, it aims to "unify and uplift" people of African ancestry.

At its core, pan-Africanism is a belief that “African people, both on the continent and in the diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny.”

Pan-Africanist intellectual, cultural, and political movements tend to view all Africans and descendants of Africans as belonging to a single "race" or otherwise sharing cultural unity. Pan-Africanism posits a sense of a shared historical fate for Africans in the Americas, the West Indies, and on the continent, itself centered on the Atlantic trade in slaves, African slavery, and European imperialism.

Pan-African thought influenced the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (since succeeded by the African Union) in 1963. The African Union Commission has its seat in Addis Ababa and the Pan-African Parliament has its seat in Midrand, Johannesburg.

Pan-African Heroes

Pan-Africanist Who Made Great Impact From The Diaspora

Martin Robinson Delany

American physician and abolitionist. 6rh May, 1812 - January 24, 1885,

Alexander Crummell

American scholar, Minister, and Pan-Africanist (1819-1898)

Harriet Tubman:

Icon of Liberation and Proto-Pan-Africanist 1822

Henry Sylvester Williams

A Pioneering Pan-Africanist (1869-1911)

Ella Baker:

A Pioneering Civil Rights Leader and Pan-Africanist (1903-1986)

Marcus Garvey

Jamaican Black Nationalist Leader and Pan-Africanist (1887-1940)

Anna Julia Cooper:

Educator, Scholar, and Early Pan-Africanist (1858-1964)

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois.

American Sociologist, Social Reformer, and Pan-Africanist (1868-1963)

George Padmore

Pioneering Pan-Africanist and Advocate for African Liberation (1903-1959)

Cyril Lionel Robert James

West Indian-Born Writer and Pan-Africanist (1901-1989),

Malcolm X:

Revolutionary Leader and Pan-Africanist (1925-1965)

Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael):

Revolutionary Pan-Africanist and Advocate for Black Power (1941-1998)

Martin Luther King Jr.

American Civil Rights Leader and Advocate for Pan-Africanism (1929-1968)

Walter Anthony Rodney:

Historian, Scholar, and Revolutionary Pan-Africanist (1942-1980)

Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael):

Revolutionary Activist and Pan-Africanist (1941-1998)

Bob Marley:

Musical Icon and Pan-Africanist Advocate (1945-1981)

Pan-African Heroes

Pan Africanist That Made Waves From The Continent

Edward Wilmot Blyden:

Father of Pan-Africanism (1832-1912)

Sobhuza II:

King of Swaziland and Pan-African Monarch (1899-1982)

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

Visionary Leader and Pan-Africanist (1909-1972)

Jomo Kenyatta:

Leader of Kenyan Independence and Pan-Africanist (1897-1978)

Julius Nyerere:

Father of Tanzanian Independence and Pan-Africanist (1922-1999)

Patrice Lumumba:

Martyr of African Independence and Pan-Africanist (1925-1961)

Haile Selassie:

Emperor of Ethiopia and Champion of Pan-Africanism

Amílcar Cabral:

Revolutionary Leader and Pan-Africanist (1924-1973)

Nnamdi Azikiwe:

Architect of Nigerian Independence and Pan-Africanist Visionary (1904-1996)

Thomas Sankara:

Revolutionary Leader and Pan-Africanist (1949-1987)

Muammar Gaddafi:

Libyan Leader and Pan-Africanist (1942-2011)

Nelson Mandela:

Icon of South African Liberation and Pan-Africanism (1918-2013)

Robert Sobukwe:

South African Revolutionary and Pan-Africanist (1924-1978)

Chinua Achebe:

Literary Icon and Advocate for African Identity (1930-2013)

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela:

Icon of South African Liberation and Pan-Africanism(1936-2018)

Félix Houphouët-Boigny:

Founding Father of Côte d'Ivoire and Advocate for African Unity (1905-1993)

Ahmed Sékou Touré:

Guinea's First President and Pan-Africanist Leader (1922-1984)

Robert Mugabe:

Zimbabwean Leader and Controversial Pan-Africanist (1924-2019)

John Pombe Joseph Magufuli:

Tanzania's Reformist President and Advocate of Pan-Africanism (1959-2021)

Kofi Annan:

Diplomat, Global Leader, and Pan-African Advocate (1938-2018)

Pan-African Heroes

Modern Day Known Pan Africanist

Molefi Kete Asante:

Scholar and Advocate for Afrocentricity and Pan-Africanism (1942-present)

Julius Malema:

Vocal Advocate for Pan-Africanism and Economic Emancipation

Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba:

Anti-Corruption Crusader and Pan-African Advocate (born on July 17, 1962)

Arikana Chihombori-Quao:

Diplomat, Physician, and Pan-African Advocate (b. 1957)

Thabo Mbeki:

Champion of the African Renaissance and Pan-African Advocate (b. 1942)

Amina Mama:

Scholar, Feminist, and Pan-Africanist Advocate (born in 1958 )

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma:

Advocate for African Unity and Empowerment (b. 1949)

Berthold Kobby Winkler Ackon (Wode Maya)

A Ghanaian YouTuber Championing Pan-Africanism

Samia Nkrumah:

Champion of Pan-Africanism and Political Legacy (born on June 23, 1960)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

Author, Feminist, and Contemporary Pan-Africanist (b. 1977)

Kwame Akoto-Bamfo:

Sculptor, Historian, and Pan-African Advocate (b. 1983)

Wangari Maathai:

Environmental Activist and Pan-African Advocate (1940-2011)