PAN-AFRICAN BELIZE

Devon Lee
What is Pan- Africanism?
What is significant about the case for Pan-
Africanism in Belize?
What are the basic elements of Pan-
Africanism?
What is the history of Pan- Africanism in
Belize?
How can that history be used to develop a
praxis?



PAN- AFRICANISM IN BELIZE: A CASE FOR
PRAXIS
Pan- Africanism embodies the shared connection between
Black people reaching toward equality, while affirming
notions of identity.
Kurt Young in The Case for a Belizean Pan- Africanism
argues Pan- Africanism is a fusing of affirmations of
African identity with libratory efforts at the level of the
masses.


WHAT IS PAN- AFRICANISM?
Explain historical socio-political
significance of Pan- Africanism in Belize
Outline the role Pan- Africanism played in
shaping socio-political movements in
Belize.
Show how the adaptive nature of Pan-
Africanism can be used as a plug n
play praxis for social change.
OBJECTIVES:


PAN- AFRICANISM IN BELIZE
Colonial Oppression
Labor Oppression
Economic
empowerment
Political
Empowerment
Critique of
White
Supremacy
SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SELF
DETERMINATION
Pan-Africanism
Self-KNowledge
Consciousness
of Oppression
Discenminating
Mechanisms
Self-
Determination
Political
organization
Political
Aggition
Job Creation
Mass Element
THE CASE IN BELIZE

UNIA organi zation
Labor movement of the 1930s- 40s

LABOR AND THE MASSES
PAN- AFRICANISM AS PRAXIS

Liberation
Organized
Protests
Labor
Mobilization
Political
Mobilization
NATIONAL PROJECT
BLACK NATIONALISM
Garveyism
Labor
Black
Nationalism
PAN- AFRICANISM- ADAPTIVE ELEMENT
National independence is the goal.
1930-40s labor movement
1949 devaluation of the Belizean dollar
1954 general suffrage
The opposition to self-determination
was therefore aggressively identifiable
Black Power responded to that.

ADAPTATION AS NEEDS-BASED
Garveyite Pan- Africanism recognized Black
Nationalism as the ultimate goal
Black Power Black Nationalism recognized Pan-
Africanism as the ultimate goal
Both were abstracted from Garveyism, taking
different genealogical paths and converging in
Belize.
Both utilized the elements of self-knowledge and
self-determination, while at the same time
displaying an adaptive characteristic to maintain
primary focus.

AFRICAN-CENTERED PRAXIS
The praxis of Belizean Pan- Africanism
shows a conceptual framework whereby
the needs of the masses were met in
relative moments.
Basic elements (in terms of the masses):
Self-knowledge
Self-determination
Theory in history and contemporary
legacies
CASE FOR PRAXIS
Ashdown, Peter. 1989. Race Riot, Class Warfare
and Coup detat: The Ex-Servicemans Riot of
July 1919 Amandala. April 14.
Ashdown, Peter. 1990. Garveyism in Belize. Society
for the Preservation of Education and
Research. Belize,
Boland, O. Nigel. 2003. Colonialism and Resistance
in Belize: Essays in Historical Sociology.
Belize: Cubola Books,
Carmichael, Stokely. Black Power. 1966. Dartmouth
College. New Hampshire November 13.

WORKS CITED
Carmi chael, Stokely. 1966. Black Power. New Hampshire.
Dartmouth Col l ege. November 13,
Carmi chael, Stokely. 1971. From Bl ack Power to Pan-
Afri canism. Whi ttier Col l ege, Whi ttier,
Cal i forni a. March 22.
Hyde, Evan X. 2010. Interviewed by author. Bel i ze Ci ty, Bel i ze.
Jul y 5.
Hyde, Evan X. X Communication. Bel i ze Ci ty: Angulus Press,
1995.
Garvey, Marcus. 1977. Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus
Garvey. New Jersey: Frank Cass and Co. Ltd.
Nowottny, Mark. 2007 No Tyrants Here Linger : Understandings
of Democracy in Modern Belize. MSc di ssertation,
Insti tute for the Study of the Americas. September 7.


Omi and Wi nant. 1994. Racial Formation in the United States:
From the 1960s to the 1990s.
New York: Routl edge.
Shoeman, Assad. 2000. Thirteen Chapters of a History of Belize.
Bel i ze: Angelus Press
Young, Kurt B. 2009. The Case for a Bel izean Pan- Africanism.
The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol . 2, no. 9, (March
2009).

WORKS CITED