Pan African Day

There is a need to annually observe a special day in recognition of the famous Pan-African movement. Every year on February 8th (during Black History Month) Pan-African Day will be celebrated to honour the academics, activists, artists, writers, radical voices, leaders and supporters associated with the Pan-African movement. Major economic, cultural social and religious systems have been shaped by this worldwide movement which was initiated among the African diaspora and also championed within Africa.

The trauma of slavery using labour from the African continent made many African slaves feel a longing to return to Africa. Throughout the centuries there have been individuals and groups advocating for the return of those uprooted and forcefully transplanted Africans to Africa. As a result of this terrible slave trade, Africa, the home of human civilization, suffered immense cultural, economic, social and human losses.

The expressions for a longing to return to their homeland materialized in the hosting of Pan-African Conferences. The year 2000 marked the 100th anniversary of the international 1900 Pan-African Conference organised by Henry Sylvester-Williams in England. A series of similar conferences were held throughout the twentieth century attracting leading Black personalities.

I am hoping that the celebration of Pan African Day on February 8th will ensure that the spirit and enthusiasm of hosting Pan-African conferences will be continued in the 21st century. The dreams and aspirations of a generation of Pan-Africanists and their supporters must not vanish.

Let the sons and daughters of Mother Africa unite in the homeland’s greatest hour of need. Among the African diaspora there will always be ancestral links with Africa, thus complete separation from Africa could never be achieved.

For further information contact:  Jerome Teelucksingh, 522 Riverside Drive, Lange Park, Chaguanas, Trinidad, West Indies. or I-mail