Re-Engineering the Pan-Africanist Vision in the Black Atlantic

As a place and state of mind, the black Atlantic refers African homelands and other corners of the Atlantic world to which black people have been dispersed over time, either voluntarily or forcefully. Oppression and discrimination have been common features of the black people wherever they are inserted in the Atlantic community. The Pan-Africanist vision was conceived as an instrument of resisting domination and making the world a better place for Africans and people of African descent. Through it, Africans supported the African-Americans’ quest for civil rights and African-Americans canvassed for the independence of African state and the end of apartheid in South Africa. It is argued here that since the sky is yet to be truly cleared of the odious vapour of slavery and colonialism, there is the need to reengineer synergies between Africa and the Diaspora and thus help build bridges that are capable of sustaining and enlarging the Pan-Africanist vision in the 21st century, which is still dominated by the descendants of slave owners. The current socio-political and economic realities in Africa and the plight of black people around the world make this a necessity rather than a choice.