FUTURE OF PAN-AFRICANISM

The All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (@aaprp on TW and @aaprpinternational on IG) and other revolutionary organisations commemorate 29 June as Kwame Ture Day, in honour of the great Pan-African revolutionary born on this day 83 years ago.

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, where Ture was born Stokely Carmichael, he started his revolutionary journey in the US-based Civil Rights Movement.

In 1964, Ture became a full-time field organiser for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and in 1966, SNCC elected him chairman. He vacated the post in 1968 to evade the FBI’s Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO), establishing himself in Ghana and later in Guinea. In Africa, he changed his name to Kwame Ture in honour of two African icons, Kwame Nkrumah and Sekou Touré, the founding leaders of Ghana and Guinea, respectively.

Throughout his life, the ideals of Pan-Africanism remained dear to Ture’s heart, as we hear in this 1996 speech at the University of Cincinnati. Our revolutionary elder explained that Pan-Africanism requires patience and endurance, unlike capitalism, which is built on a foundation of instant gratification.

Ture transitioned into an ancestor at age 57 in 1998 due to prostate cancer.

Do you agree with Kwame Ture? Leave a comment below. We’d love to hear your thoughts.