UNIFY UNDER THE BANNER OF THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA

It's an intergenerational struggle that goes back at least one century: The fight for Africa's total unification. Long understood to be the key to Africa's freedom and the emancipation of Africans everywhere, the goal of creating a 'United States of Africa' was articulated as early as 1887 by the Kansas African Emigration Association. This would influence great Pan-African leaders from Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) to Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72).

The understanding that unification is the pathway towards Africa's freedom led countries such as Mali to state in their constitution, 'For the achievement of African Unity (XV), the Republic of Mali may conclude with any African state agreements of association or of a community comprising the partial or total abandonment of sovereignty of Mali (Article 117).' It led Tanganyika to unite with Zanzibar to establish Tanzania and Mali to temporarily unite with Senegal.

Today, the struggle continues, as the countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, fight for unification under a Pan-African federation. Civilians and government officials within the bloc have been clear that their end goal is total African unity.

To some, this might sound unrealistic. How can a continent that is so vast and so diverse possibly unite? To understand this, we leave you with two book recommendations: 1) Africa Must Unite (1963) by Kwame Nkrumah and 2) Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis for a Federated State (1978) by Cheikh Anta Diop.

What do you think about unifying the African continent into one superstate? Let us know in the comments.