One who has embraced the ideology of Pan-Africanism is a Black person who believes in the oneness of all African people world-wide, even though we are temporarily separated by space and thought.
One who believes in the realization that all Black people have a common past and a common present; believes if we work together we will have a common future.
In 2019, I had the honor to travel to Liberia, West Africa, with a UNIA-ACL delegation as a Commissioner and diplomat to represent the Honorable Marcus Garvey’s ultimate vision of promoting Oneness of African people. During our historical visit, second to Mr. Garvey, there was another Black leader that I kept entwined within my spirit. That leader was Brother Edward Blyden.
Mr. Blyden was a pioneer of Pan-African nationalist thought, although the actual term was not titled until the end of his life and career. During his life time, he encouraged people of African descent around the world to embrace their history and culture and return to Africa, their ancestral homeland. His writings and speeches influenced Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah and Black historians all around the globe. Mr. Blyden was born in 1832 on the U.S. colonized island of St. Thomas. He attended schools in Venezuela where his family lived briefly, before he was to return to St. Thomas at the age of 12 to be apprenticed to a tailor.
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