Africa Liberation Day (ALD) is held annually on May 25th to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU) in 1963. However, the ALD was originally founded in 1958 when Kwame Nkrumah convened the First Conference of Independent States held in Accra, Ghana, which was attended by eight independent African states. The 15th of April was declared “Africa Freedom Day,” to mark each year the onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation. You can read more about the history of the day here.
In recent years, the Africans Rising movement has expanded the day into the Afrika Liberation Week and encourages groups all over the continent and in the diaspora to organise events during the week. More information about this year’s activities and how to get involved can be found here and a toolkit can be downloaded here.
Please also read a piece here by Linda Tsungirirai Masarira, President of Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) in Zimbabwe, which was written on 25th May 2022 and called “Lead on Africa Day,” which can be found on the Africans Rising website.
Please check the short clip below for an audio-visual poem written by David Diop and dramatised by the Movement for African Emancipation (M.A.E.) , a Pan-African Socialist movement started in Nigeria but working for the true liberation of the whole continent.
Please also check out M.A.E.’s informative blog here for a series of important articles over the last five years.
Another event on May 25th, organised by BTWSC / African Histories Revisited, is called Remembering George Floyd +3, curated and led by Kwaku (from BBM – British Black Music) and moderated by Sis Nana Asante. To register for the event, please click here, and check for more of their events here.
You can also watch a very powerful speech by Professor P. L. O. Lumumba’s during the 6th Annual Memorial Lecture Programme in 2020, hosted by African Hidden Voices, themed ‘Decolonization of Religion, Culture, and Economy‘ which is embedded below:
We would also like to refer you to a couple of previous posts that might be of interest… firstly, why spell Afrika with a K, please find out more here. Secondly, please learn more about the Wall of Great Africans project here. Please also have a look at our post from 2019 called De-Colonising our Minds that includes a downloadable reading list, which you can access here.
Finally, we would like to refer you to the Africa Liberation Day website for many more resources and information, who are also hosting a virtual celebration on May 25th to mark the day – you can register for the event here. A fantastic photo from their website is here below:
embrace everyone 