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FREEDOMWAYS          THIRD QUARTER 1972

relations with the Third World.  Thus, both African and Latin Ameri-can progressive leaders have dropped the "Pan" slogan for the slogan, anti-imperialist front, linking their movements with Vietnam in a broad democratic thrust for peace and independence.
  This author feels that a reactionary maneuver is being undertaken by the U.S. government in this country under the former progressive slogan, Pan-Africanism, and it is recognized as such a maneuver by progressive forces throughout the world.  Some elements in this move-ment are linking nationalism with a racist interpretation of history and downplaying the revolutionary democratic substance of the Pan-Africanism of Du Bois, Robeson, and Nkrumah.  In addition, their concept of how to reconcile national construction with the inter-national character of the world economy is to create parallel seperate economies with linkages to the imperialist world.  This is a form of neo-colonialism.  This does not mean that we oppose linkages between Africa and Western nations and especially working people in Western Europe, Japan, and the United States, that are mutually beneficial.  Such linkages would unite the progressive forces throughout the world.  Moreover, in the arena of ideology, there is sometimes present the social-chauvinist, Zionist-like notion that black Americans have a responsibility to lead the liberation movements overseas by carving out land bases.  We must fervently reject, nay more, will fight, this notion.  We must resolutely oppose Pan-African neo-colonialism, as did the farsighted Cuban revolutionary democrat, Jose Marti, who opposed incipient Pan-American neo-colonialism at the turn of the century.  We are, indeed, fortunate that our African brothers also oppose these new disguised forms of ideological reaction.
  Duly recognizing that the masses of Black Americans in the Pan-African movement are similarly struggling for the liberation of all black people and other oppressed peoples, we distinguish between this beautiful thrust of one of the most consistently democratic working class nationalities in our country and opportunists who are trying foolishly to divert this thrust from its historic mission.



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AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES
New Dimensions of an Old Subject

JOHN HENRIK CLARKE

THE STATUS of African World History is changing faster than our understanding of this change and who is responsible for bringing it into being.  The intent of this essay is to call attention to several new books by African and Afro-American writers who have chal-lenged the old approaches to African history and culture.
  Most of the writers whose books are reviewed here interpret African history and its relationship to world history.  By taking this approach, they show that the Africans, who were the first people in the commentary of history, have never been absent from history's achievements and failures.  From their new and bold research, and Afro-centric vantage point, they view African history as a very im-portant division of the total history of mankind.
  In a personal way, these writers seem to be asking the same question that the Afro-American poet Countee Cullen projected in the open-ing of his near classic poem "Heritage."  The question is "What is Africa to me?"  In their books, they extend this question by asking "What is Africa to the Africans?"  And, "What is Africa to the world?"  First, they attempt to locate Africa on the map of human geography.  Exactly, who are the Africans?  They answer this question by showing that there are many physical varieties of people within Africa.  The complexions of most Africans are black and brown.  Most of the light skinned people, presently living in North Africa are descendants of early invaders of Africa.  These people have little or no relationship to Africa's ancient history.  The original population of Egypt and the rest of North Africa was distinctly African.  They did not come from Europe or Asia.  
  Until quite recently it was generally assumed, even among well-educated people in the West, that except for Egypt, Africa had not given the world any civilizations.  New research on the southern origins of the Egyptians and other early North African people now prove that great civilizations existed in all parts of Africa, though
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Associate Editor John Henrik Clarke, who recently returned from another trip to Africa, is professor of Afro-American History at Hunter College.

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