Pan-Africanism is grounded in the belief that Africa is one; the artificial borders being the result of the Berlin conference, where European powers carved up the continent and divided the spoils among themselves. Pan-Africanism is grounded in the belief that all African peoples, wherever we may be, are one, and as Dr. Nkrumah says,"belong to the African nation"; our dispersal was the result of European imperialism and racism. Pan-Africanism is grounded in socialism which has its roots in communalism. Any ideology seeking to solve the problems of the African people must find its roots in Pan-Africanism.

Pan-Africanists study the history of Africa and her people. African history is rarely recorded as the history of Africans; it is usually reported as an offshoot of European history. Consequently, when we have studied our history the starting point has usually been the "discovery" of the African by the European. Thus our brothers and sisters in the Western Hemisphere begin our history with slavery, and on the continent we begin with colonialism, and these two facts are not joined. This incorrect analysis makes for incorrect solutions.

Our starting point in history must precede the period of colonialism and slaver; it must precede the Arabic and European invasions. This is not to say we want to rest on the past glory of African civilization, which contributed immensely to world civilization; but in order to map out the future we must clearly understand the past. More importanly, this interpretation allows us to view the effects these events had on us.

Stokely,Carmichael. Stokely Speaks Illionois: Chicago Review Press, 1971.