Pan-Africanism: A History

by Hakim Adi

The first survey of the Pan-African movement this century, this book provides a history of the individuals and organisations that have sought the unity of all those of African origin as the basis for advancement and liberation. Initially an idea and movement that took root among the African Diaspora, in more recent times Pan-Africanism has been embodied in the African Union, the organisation of African states which includes the entire African Diaspora as its 'sixth region'.

Hakim Adi covers many of the key political figures of the 20th century, including Du Bois, Garvey, Malcolm X, Nkrumah and Gaddafi, as well as Pan-African culture expression from Négritude to the wearing of the Afro hair style and the music of Bob Marley.

Genres: History, Africa, Nonfiction, Politics, Philosophy

312 pages, Paperback

Published August 23, 2018

Reviews

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
A little clunky in the first chapter but quickly starts the gel into an engaging text! An excellent reference to the political, social, and cultural developments of Pan-Africanism and related movements!

[Nata · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. The book is essentially a stream of names, dates and abbreviations, and I would have liked to see some more analysis woven throughout. That said, it is certainly valuable: very few if any such thorough and global histories of Pan-Africanism exist, especially by authors of color. I also appreciate that the author doesn't overlook the role of women in the history of Pan-Africanism, as is too often the case. All in all, the book provides what feels like an exhaustive overview and makes for a useful starting point for further research into the many, many individuals and movements covered.

In short: not the most exciting reading experience but a great resource.

[Piero Alberti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a dense read as an academic work on Pan-Africanism, but a very comprehensive one to say the least. Probably only truly suited to political science students as a cover-to-cover read - I had to push myself to get to the end.

[Mostafa · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب في المجمل، يمكنك أن تعتبره إنسيّكلوبيديا رائعة لتاريخ النضال الأسود منذ أن كان فكرة في مستعمرات الزنوج المستعبدين إلى أن جاب العالم مؤتمراتًا وأحزابًا ونضالًا، وأطياف هذا النضال من الذي يندرج تحت عباءة الرسالة الحضارية للرجل الأبيض ويتماهى معها، إلى التطور الذي يصيب العقل الأسود ويتحول بنضاله إلى نضال مردكل وموجه ضد الرجل الأبيض والاستعمار بشكل أساسي، في هذا الكتاب أيضًا يمكن أن نصيب قبسًا من تأثير الصهيونية على الفكر النضالي الأسود، وعلى منشأ الأفروسنتريك كذلك.. لكن ورغم عدد البشر الذين يحتويهم الكتاب، ستندهش لغياب شخصيات بحجم (مانديلا\دكتور كينج\فريد هامبتن).. من ناحية الأسلوب، وبعد مقدمة المترجم كنت أنتظر من المؤرخ أن يلعب دورًا أكبر بكثير في هذا الكتاب ولكنه اكتفى بدور المحرر الويكيبيدي إن جاز لنا أن نصفه هذا الوصف، فهو قد جمع ورتب وسلسل الأحداث، ولكنه لم يعلق عليه ولم يؤطر مخرجاتها في خطوط عريضة، وإلى حد ما كان الكتاب في حاجة إلى تحقيب تاريخي للنضال الأسود أكثر من الذي يحتوي عليه

[Madeline "Fisch" Fischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was too dense and felt more like a series of wikipedia articles than an academic analysis.

[David]

pretty good, detailed textbook

[Jared Donis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adi’s book is an ambitious undertaking that handled the history of the idea of Pan-Africanism within a comparatively small book of only 313 pages. He did a good job in tracing carefully the origin and development of the movement. However, the first noticeable problem with the work is that he drops long lines of names (of people, countries and organizations) as if the readers already know these. He assumes too much knowledge from the reader, so it may not be suitable as an introductory reading. Plus, it makes the reading experience quite tiresome. Another problem is the incredibly long paragraphs throughout the work, and even few of the chapters (7 and 8. I think). Trying to finish them was an ordeal I didn’t expect from a history book.

Nevertheless, reading it was not a waste of time. Good work!

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would make an excellent reference work for someone studying Pan-African movements and debates. It is relatively thorough, if not comprehensive, and deals with diaspora movements in Britain, North America and the Caribbean as well as within Africa.
It isn't a good read however - the book is great at the who, what and when but has very little how and no why at all. As a consequence, it is not only dry but requires unrelenting memorisation without an analysis hook to remember better or make sense of it.

[AJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more a compendium of the personal histories of the individuals involved in the Pan-African movement, rather than a history of pan-africanism as a school of thought; and while I was glad to have learned so much I think it's safe to say that a more academic reader than myself was expected.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very scholarly work of the history of the Pan African congresses, Pan-African movement and the people who attended the congresses and origanizers.

[Bianca C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super comprehensive! Loved the way this was written