The next significant event in the development of African
nationalism was World War II. Nearly two million Africans
were recruited as soldiers, porters, and scouts for the Allies
during the war. When these soldiers returned home, they
returned to colonial states that still considered them
inferior. Many veterans had expected that their dedication
to colonial governments would be recognized and they
would be rewarded accordingly. This was not to be, and
these soldiers returned home to conditions worsened by a
weak global economy. Because they had fought to protect
the interests of the colonial powers only to return to the
exploitation and indignities of colonial rule, these men
became bitter and discontented.
In 1945, the Pan-African Manchester Congress in England
marked a turning point because it attempted to address the
needs of all blacks. Pan-Africanism began to stress common
experiences of blackness and sought the liberation of all
black people around the world. African leaders became
more influential in the movement as they used it to attack
colonial rule, and the movement would become more
African-based after 1945.
Pan-Africanism proved very popular among nationalist
African leaders because it offered a way for them to
overcome both regionalism and ethnic divides by stressing
commonalities and a common oppression. By the 1950s,
Pan-Africanism had profoundly influenced almost every
African nationalist leader: Kwame Nkrumah, Kenyatta,
Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda (1964–1991; Zambia), Haile
Selassie (1892–1975; Ethiopia), Albert Luthuli (c. 1898–1967;
South Africa), and Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996; Nigeria), all
were deeply affected by the movement.
Kwame Nkrumah is regarded as the father of "Africanized"
Pan-Africanism. Nkrumah detested colonial rule. Schooled in
the United States, he was deeply influenced by the African
American civil rights struggle, and began to emphasize the
similarities between those struggles and those of African
peoples. He argued that African workers and peasants
needed to reclaim their independence, and advocated the
use of force if necessary. For this to happen, Africans had to
shed their strong ethnic or religious identities and see
themselves simply as black or African rather than Yoruba or
Fante. Nkrumah's intense disdain for colonial rule, zealous
enthusiasm for independence, and the ideal of a United
States of Africa made him popular among Africans
throughout the continent. Nkrumah argued that they could
not look to any outside power for support, and believed that
foreign economic and political forces eroded African values.
He also disagreed with the idea of returning to "African
tradition." Instead, he argued that a new African identity
must be created out of Islam, Christian, and traditional
cultures.
Nnamdi Azikiwe was a prominent Pan-Africanist and an
important thinker. Unlike most Pan-Africanists, Azikiwe
rejected various aspects of Africa's past such as chieftaincy
and informal education. He also rejected Nkrumah's united
Africa, and advocated the use of colonial boundaries to
define nations. For him, a united Africa meant cooperation,
but not an actual unification of the continent. As Nigeria
achieved independence and rapidly moved toward
regionalism, Azikiwe abandoned his Pan-Africanist ideals for
regional politics.
Pan-Africanism reinforced notions of black pride, and
African history was used to foster a national identity. Many
nationalist leaders stressed past empires (for example, the
Mali and Asante), achievements (such as those of great
Zimbabwe and ancient Egypt), and leaders (Shaka Zulu [c.
1787–1828] and Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia [1844–1913]
among them) as a means to instill pride among African
peoples. By stressing the continent's successes throughout
its history, African leaders sought to convince their followers
of their own worth and that Europeans were not superior to
them. Again, the aim was to restore pride in Africa and
create a sense of unity that nations could use to foster
nationalism.
African women were major contributors to resistance to
colonial rule and the promotion of nationalism. Many argue
that women fared the worst under colonial rule.
Governments such as those in Rhodesia, Kenya, and South
Africa sought to restrict women's movement and even
banned them from urban areas. In rural areas, they were
often expected to maintain food production and raise
children while their husbands rotted in jails, migrated to
other areas in search of wage labor, or fought in wars (both
in World War II and various liberation struggles). These
women did not idly sit back and allow colonial governments
to impinge on their rights, and, in response to their harsh
situation under colonial rule, they organized protests,
boycotts, workers' strikes, and demonstrations. In Kenya,
Zimbabwe, Algeria, and other areas that attempted armed
struggle, women as well as men carried messages, spied,
and prepared meals. Overall, their impact on the
anticolonial and nationalist movements throughout Africa
was profound.
While Africans were widely successful in fostering
nationalism in order to overthrow colonial oppressors,
maintaining this unity after independence proved far more
difficult. African nationalism was overtly anticolonial. For
these nationalist movements, energy was concentrated on
gaining freedom rather than planning how to run a country
once freedom was achieved. Overthrowing colonial regimes
was quite difficult, so these leaders could not afford to
spend manpower, funds, and effort planning how to govern
their new nations if they were successful.
