Ibrahim - ESSAY ON MODERN PAN-AFRICANISM

To what extent is the Black Lives Matter movement a continuation
of Pan-Africanism?
The #BlackLivesMatter movement was created by activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and
Opal Tometi as a call to action of the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012. However, the
movement itself extends beyond the extrajudicial killings of Black people in the United States. It
addresses how other structural elements such as racism are embedded in American society. To
date, the movement has prospered through its branches across the US and globally, with the help
of social media. Despite being influenced by Pan-Africanism to serve as a unification
mechanism, the BLM movement’s decentralized structure has articulated a more inclusive racial
justice movement for all Black people in the African Diaspora.
In a historical context, Pan-Africanism served as both a cultural and political ideology for the
solidarity of peoples of African descent. 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. With notable pioneers such as Marcus
Garvey, Jomo Kenyatta, and Kwame Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism aimed to connect and understand
the universal injustices of Diaspora. However, the past Pan-Africanist calls of notable
Pan-African pioneers have translated into modernity, as neo-black liberation movements are
advocating for socio-economic and political independence from those under neo-colonial
regimes.
With the BLM movement’s current solidarity between Africans on the continent and people of
African descent in the United States, the foundation of connections of Africa and its diaspora
stands and builds on in the spirit of Pan-Africanism. In the past year, protests against racist
human rights violations and police brutality have concurrently taken place throughout the US,
where much of the Black diaspora is based. A recent protest organized by the Black Lives Matter
rallies was after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
According to a data science firm that works with businesses and Democratic campaigns, about
15 million to 26 million people in the United States have participated in demonstrations over the
death of George Floyd. These protesters have shown solidarity with each other — reasserting the
Pan-Africanist belief that people of African descent have common interests and struggles and
should be unified as a result.
Compared to the patriarchal leadership of Pan-Africanism, the BLM movement’s decentralized
structure has articulated a more inclusive racial justice movement to build an intersectional Black
Liberation movement. In recent years, the BLM movement has highlighted how oppressive
systems target and threaten Black girls, women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people.
Say Her Name, for example, documents and analyzes black women’s experiences of police
violence. These initiatives in the BLM movement have shown more inclusiveness in articulating
justice for all black people in the African Diaspora, despite their gender. Whereas, in the
Pan-African movement, the patriarchal leadership structure led to women being generally less
advocated for and less prominent than men.

Despite being influenced by Pan-Africanism to serve as a unification mechanism, the BLM
movement’s decentralized structure has articulated a more advanced and inclusive racial justice
movement for all Black people in the African Diaspora. However, as the BLM movement
proceeds with the unity mechanism of Pan-Africanism, I highly regard the “Black Lives Matter”
movement as a promising call for emancipation in the United States and beyond. With this being
the case, the BLM protesters and activists will be able to stand together with each other, on the
shoulders of those who came before them, to affirm that full liberation for all Black people
would entail the liberation of all people suffering under racism and all manners of oppression.

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To what extent is the Black Lives Matter movement a continuation

of social media. Despite being influenced by Pan-Africanism to serve as a unification

justice movement for all Black people in the African Diaspora.

should be unified as a result.

Compared to the patriarchal leadership of Pan-Africanism, the BLM movement’s decentralized

advocated for and less prominent than men.

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