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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.