20th century
Accra, Ghana
The All-African Peoples’ Conference held in Accra in December 1958 was a militant Pan-African gathering that reaffirmed anti-colonial principles and called for coordinated action against colonialism and imperialism. It also endorsed the ultimate creation of a Union or Commonwealth of African States, thereby intensifying debate over continental unity and national sovereignty.
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The Story
The All-African Peoples’ Conference met in Accra in December 1958, following the earlier Conference of Independent African States held in the same city. Its political orientation was more militant than that of the governmental gathering, reaffirming principles associated with the 1945 Manchester Pan-African Congress. Delegates called for a coordinated final assault on colonialism and imperialism in Africa.
The conference accepted the possibility of violence in response to colonialist violence and placed African liberation at the centre of its programme. Its language reflected the growing influence of national liberation movements and the increasing impatience of activists with gradual constitutional approaches to independence.
The gathering also called for work towards the ultimate achievement of a Union or Commonwealth of African States. This formulation raised a fundamental question: how should the sovereignty of individual African states relate to a broader continental political authority? The conference therefore combined anti-colonial militancy with an ambitious, though deliberately ambiguous, vision of African unity.
20th century
Accra, Ghana
The All-African Peoples’ Conference held in Accra in December 1958 was a militant Pan-African gathering that reaffirmed anti-colonial principles and called for coordinated action against colonialism and imperialism. It also endorsed the ultimate creation of a Union or Commonwealth of African States, thereby intensifying debate over continental unity and national sovereignty.
Continue exploring
The Story
The All-African Peoples’ Conference met in Accra in December 1958, following the earlier Conference of Independent African States held in the same city. Its political orientation was more militant than that of the governmental gathering, reaffirming principles associated with the 1945 Manchester Pan-African Congress. Delegates called for a coordinated final assault on colonialism and imperialism in Africa.
The conference accepted the possibility of violence in response to colonialist violence and placed African liberation at the centre of its programme. Its language reflected the growing influence of national liberation movements and the increasing impatience of activists with gradual constitutional approaches to independence.
The gathering also called for work towards the ultimate achievement of a Union or Commonwealth of African States. This formulation raised a fundamental question: how should the sovereignty of individual African states relate to a broader continental political authority? The conference therefore combined anti-colonial militancy with an ambitious, though deliberately ambiguous, vision of African unity.