THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA
- A PERSPECTIVE -

Bono’s article in Sunday’s New York Times, (April 18, 2010), “Africa Reboots” was very inspiring and apropos in light of a project I am involved with in connection with Ghana’s independence from Great Britain in 1957 and Kwame Nkrumah’s vision for a liberated Africa.

The general practice of colonial governments in central and southern Africa was to maintain non-whites in menial positions, denying them virtually all voice in government and making little or no effort to improve their way of life.  The fact that colonialism was no longer commercially profitable was very apparent during the worldwide depression of the 1930’s.  The demand for minerals, rubber and other products in World War II revived the economy.  Not only did Africa provide valuable resources, but it was recognized as a promising new market.  The European colonial powers found it advantageous after the war to concern themselves with the education and social welfare of their subjects.  A nationalistic fervor developed rapidly among the Africans and demands for independence began to be voiced.  The Mau Mau uprisings in the early 1950’s were one of the most violent expressions of discontent.  Great Britain gave independence to Sudan in 1956 and Ghana in 1957. “Africa – Independence Movement.”

Kwame Nkrumah, nicknamed “Showboy,” the son of a goldsmith with four degrees from American universities, was the motivating force behind the movement for independence of Africa’s Gold Coast, renamed Ghana.  He was elected its Prime Minister and on March 6, 1957 declared:

Ann Sunstein Kheel and her husband, labor mediator, Ted Kheel and African-American personalities, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Clark, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Ralph Bunche, A. Philip Randolph, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Granger among others constituted an elitist corps in attendance at the independence celebrations which included diplomats, heads of state and foreign dignitaries from all over the world. President Richard Nixon, represented the United States and the Duchess of Kent was the guest of honor.

Ann, in her own right, was already an accomplished and recognized journalist and Ted was President of the National Urban League. Both he and Ann, accredited to The Herald Tribune to report on events surrounding the celebrations, had an interest in furthering educational and employment opportunities for African/Americans. Later on, Ann would go on to found the Frederick Douglass Awards under the auspices of the League which established scholarships to deserving African-American students. 

In reporting on Ghana’s independence, Ann Kheel quoted from a magazine published in Nigeria:

and further commented:

Later, in an exclusive interview with the New York Times, Nkrumah said:

Kwame Nkrumah’s vision of a unified Africa had a direct influence on Tom Mboya, a Kenyan nationalist, who developed a close relationship with Nkrumah. Mboya, like Nkrumah, was a Pan-Africanist.  During the All-African Peoples’ Conference in Ghana in 1958, convened by Nkrumah, Mboya was elected as the Conference Chairman at the age of 28. Thereafter, in 1959, Mboya organized the Airlift Project, together with the African-American Students’ Foundation in the United States, through which 81 Kenyan students were flown to the US to study at US universities so that they could return and make a positive contribution to Africa’s development.  Barack Obama’s father was a friend of Mboya’s and a fellow Luo and, although not on the first airlift, received a scholarship through the AASF and occasional grants for books and expenses which made it possible for him to study at the University of Hawaii.  www.airlifttoamerica.com

Years before, the United States Supreme Court had issued their landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education in which racial segregation in schools was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This victory paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement. Research performed by educational psychologists Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark influenced the Court’s decision.  Linda Brown Thompson later recalled her experience in a 2004 PBD documentary:

     This ruling, was, without question, a direct influence on the African Airlift Program in conjunction with the ensuing African nations’ quest for independence from British colonialism. In 1960, seventeen independent nations were created in sub-Saharan Africa and many of the young men and women would return to become the nation builders of post-colonial East Africa – cabinet ministers, ambassadors, etc.  But the politicians have still not realized that unification could be the answer to their problems.
 
       Today, there are many similarities drawn between Kwame Nkrumah and Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations.  However, they had different visions: Kwame Nkrumah’s was to govern and to liberate Africa; Kofi Annan’s was to strengthening the United Nations, thereby making the international system more effective.

There is no question that Africa, the continent, has endured and continues to endure extraordinary hardships and unbelievable suffering. But, as Bono reports in his article, today most Africans feel the need for new kinds of partnerships, not just among governments, but among citizens, businesses, etc.  “….. a different kind of world-cup fever …. opposing players joining the same team, a new formation [with] new tactics.”

Valerie Stephanie Anderson

                        April 19, 2010