Black History Month: “Colonial and Suppressed Peoples of the World, Unite!” . . . Kwame Nkrumah

The historic declaration of the 5^th Pan-African Congress of Manchester, addressed to “The Colonial Peoples of the World”, drafted by Nkrumah, Manchester, 1945.

We believe in freedom and the right of all peoples to govern themselves. We affirm the right of all colonial peoples to control their own destiny. All colonies must be free from foreign imperialist control, be it political or economic. The peoples of the colonies must have the right to choose their rulers, to elect a government without restrictions imposed by a foreign power. We say to all peoples of the colonies that they must fight with all means at their disposal for this purpose. The aim of the imperialists is to exploit you. By ensuring the right of the colonial peoples to self government, we are defeating the imperialist objectives. Thus, the struggle for political power by the colonized people is the first step and a prerequisite for achieving complete social, economic and political emancipation.

The 5^th Pan African Congress calls on all workers and peasants of the colonies to organize themselves. Colonial workers must be in the frontline in the battle against imperialism.

The 5^th Pan African Congress calls on all the intellectuals and the professionals of the colonies to take on their responsibilities. The long night is coming to an end. By fighting for union rights, the right to form cooperatives, press freedom, freedom of assembly, freedom to demonstrate or to go on strike, freedom to print and read the literature necessary for the education of the masses, you are simply using the appropriate means to win and maintain your freedom. At present there is only one road to effective action: organizing the masses.

COLONIAL & SUPPRESSED PEOPLES OF THE WORLD, UNITE!

Che and Nkrumah

Read more at: http://consciencism.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/the-contribution-of-dr-kwame-nkrumah-to-the-struggle-against-imperialism-in-the-eyes-of-a-contemporary-cuban-international-revolutionary/

See also: KWAME NKRUMAH: THE FATHER OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM AND THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF GHANA at http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2012/10/kwame-nkrumah-father-of-african.html