On June 4, 1962—two years after a plebiscite ratified a new constitution and Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was elected the first prime minister and president of the Republic of Ghana, a Conference of African Freedom Fighters was held in Accra, the nation’s capital.
Nkrumah had led Ghana, formerly known as The Gold Coast, to independence from Britain in 1957. He titled his speech, “Step to Freedom.”
The aim of the conference was to bring together freedom fighters in independent and still-colonized states to map out strategies for a united Africa and avoid re-colonization by enemies who, he warned, would not let go of the African territories they controlled through imperialist and colonialist wars and other external pressures that would keep the continent politically divided and economically devastated.
Nkrumah, the acknowledged “Father of Pan-Africanism,” saw African unity as a global endeavor, consolidating the power, interests and wealth of all African nations.
Leid Stories shares Nkrumah’s powerful and prescient address.
