Building the African Nation The African Association and Pan-Africanism in Twentieth Century East Africa
Book contents
- Building the African Nation
- African Identities: Past and Present
- Building the African Nation
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Translation and Usage
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Ethiopianism, Redemptive Pan-Africanism, and the African Nation in the Thought of James Aggrey
- 2 Local and Regional Influences in Creating a Pan-African Political Program
- 3 Building the African Nation
- 4 African Identity and Practical Pan-Africanism in the African Association
- 5 African Identity and Practical Pan-Africanism among the Women of the African Association
- 6 Competing Nationalisms and Shifting Loyalties
- 7 Uafrika na Umoja
- Conclusion
- Select Bibliography
- Index
4 - African Identity and Practical Pan-Africanism in the African Association
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 July 2025
Book contents
- Building the African Nation
- African Identities: Past and Present
- Building the African Nation
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Translation and Usage
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Ethiopianism, Redemptive Pan-Africanism, and the African Nation in the Thought of James Aggrey
- 2 Local and Regional Influences in Creating a Pan-African Political Program
- 3 Building the African Nation
- 4 African Identity and Practical Pan-Africanism in the African Association
- 5 African Identity and Practical Pan-Africanism among the Women of the African Association
- 6 Competing Nationalisms and Shifting Loyalties
- 7 Uafrika na Umoja
- Conclusion
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 4 is the first of two chapters exploring the lives of those who embraced the practical pan-Africanism of the African Association (AA) and why they chose to buy into an inclusive African identity. Reconstructing the demographic makeup of the organization through utilizing membership lists and application forms reveals that far from being an exclusive group of Western-educated elites (as previously believed), the membership of the group came from a plethora of professional, educational, and social backgrounds and were ethnically and geographically diverse. The AA’s diversity stemmed from its inclusive appeal to any black African regardless of ethnicity, religion, education, wealth, gender, or territorial origin, and its claim to be the sauti ya watu waafrika, the voice of the people of Africa. The AA’s pan-African ideas appealed most to those who fit uncomfortably in ethnically organized Tanganyika or culturally stratified Zanzibar and sought practical solutions to colonial life.
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- Building the African NationThe African Association and Pan-Africanism in Twentieth Century East Africa, pp. 164 - 188Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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