(AURN News) — On Feb. 19, 1919, the first Pan-African Congress, organized by W.E.B. Du Bois, convened in Paris at the close of World War I.
As European powers redrew maps and divided former colonies, Du Bois and fellow activists demanded that the rights and voices of African people be recognized.
Fifty-seven delegates from 15 countries gathered to challenge colonial exploitation, racial discrimination and political disenfranchisement across Africa and the diaspora.
The Congress called for an end to colonial rule, access to education, fair labor practices and self-determination.
Although many of its demands were ignored at the time, the Pan-African Congresses held between 1919 and 1994 laid critical groundwork for 20th-century independence movements and the global struggle for Black liberation.
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