African Liberation Day background info

[RWalker]

http://www.talkzimbabwe.com/news/119...008-04-25.html

History of the African Liberation Day

Abdurrahman Nelson

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:34:00 +0000

ALD was founded in 1958 by Kwame Nkrumah on the
occasion of the First Conference of Independent States
held in Accra, Ghana and attended by eight independent
African states.

The 15th of April was declared "African Freedom Day,"
to mark each year the onward progress of the
liberation movement, and to symbolize the
determination of the people of Africa to free
themselves from foreign domination and exploitation.

Between 1958 and 1963 the nation/class struggle
intensified in Africa and the world.

Seventeen countries in Africa won their independence
and 1960 was proclaimed the Year of Africa. Further
advances were made with the defeat of U.S. imperialism
in Asia and the Caribbean. Imperialism responded to
this tide of victories by assassinating revolutionary
leaders and sending U.S. troops to Viet Nam.

On the 25th of May 1963, thirty-one African Heads of
state convened a summit meeting to found the
Organization of African Unity (OAU).

They renamed Africa Freedom Day "African Liberation
Day" and changed its date to May 25th. Since then, the
world has witnessed the assassination of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, the overthrow of Kwame
Nkrumah, the US invasion of Cuba, the US move to crush
liberation movements in Asia, Egypt, Syria, and
Jordan; the overthrow of the Democratic Party of
Guinea, the US invasion of Grenada, the US bombing of
Libya, and the overthrow of Thomas Sankara in Burkina
Faso.

This period had marked a temporary setback for the
Pan-African movement and since 1966, was characterized
by a lull in ALD activities. Neo-colonialism was
imposed upon the people as the new stage of the
capitalist, imperialist strategy in Africa.

Out of the intensification of the nation/class
struggle, a new generation of African youth emerged
and reaffirmed their African personality, history and
their Pan-African objectives. This youth was the
product of Malcolm X, Sister M'balia Camara, Patrice
Lumumba, Frantz Fanon and the countless generations
before them. Links were made and maintained with Kwame
Nkrumah.

Understanding the need for clear and precise
ideological and organizational direction for the
Pan-African movement, Nkrumah published Consciencism:
Philosophy and Ideology for Decolonization (1963),
Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare (1968), and Class
Struggle in Africa (1970). The ideas of Nkrumah
infused the Black Power Movement (1960-1972). Nkrumah
taught us, "The total liberation and unification of
Africa under an

All-African Socialist Government must be the primary
objective of all Black revolutionaries throughout the
world. It is an objective which, when achieved, will
bring about the fulfillment of the aspirations of
Africans and people of African descent everywhere. It
will at the same time advance the triumph of the
international socialist revolution."

In 1970 the Pan-African Secretariat of Guyana made the
call for the celebration of ALD in the western
hemisphere. In response, a large demonstration was
held in Georgetown, Guyana and smaller celebrations in
the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

The Pan-African movement was once again on the verge
of taking a mass revolutionary character and educating
and organizing the people. By 1971 Pan-Africanism had
become the dominant discussion in every factory, home,
school and church in the African world.

In the 1990s, as a result of the people's struggle, we
have witnessed the defeat of apartheid, the heroic
decision of the OAU to break UN sanctions against
Libya, and the Congo victory by pro-African forces
over imperialist proxy forces, making an advance
toward Nkrumah's call for an African High Command and
representing a healthy day in line with the African
Union. The African Union, and Africa's first
continental holiday, "Africa Day," are clear signs
that the struggle for African Unity will not stop
until victory is achieved.

Today African Liberation Day is a permanent mass
institution in the world-wide Pan-African movement. As
an institution, it is stronger today because the
masses of African people are stronger and ALD is their
day. As a day of work in the area of political
education and organization, it reflects the fact that
we have not obtained our freedom, and thus it is a day
to reaffirm our commitment to Pan-Africanism, the
total liberation and unification of Africa under
scientific socialism. At ALD we also deepen our
understanding of other just struggles and affirm our
role in the world socialist revolution.

ALD has but one direction, forward to a unified
socialist Africa. It is growing as the level of
awareness about Pan-Africanism and the primacy of
Africa grows. It is growing as progressive and
revolutionary organizations grow. And lastly, it is
growing as the masses make increasing victories
against capitalism, neo-colonialism, racism, and
zionism.