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New light on the Pan-African Association: Part I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2022

Gwilym Colenso and
Christopher Saunders
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Extract

The Pan-African conference held in London in 1900 was a key moment in the early history of Pan-Africanism. Though the Pan-African Association (PAA) that emerged from it was short lived, the conference was the precursor of subsequent Pan-African conferences or congresses in 1919, 1921, 1923, 1927 and 1945, the last of which laid the groundwork for the advent of the African independence movements of the second half of the twentieth century. W. E. B. Du Bois, who dominated organisational Pan-Africanism later in the century, tended to minimise the significance of the 1900 conference, but he conceded that it “put the word ‘Pan-African’ in the dictionaries for the first time”. The 1900 conference established the idea, basic to Pan-Africanism, of African people and people of African descent uniting globally and leading the movement for their own liberation.

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African Research and Documentation , Volume 107 , 2008, pp. 27 - 45
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Copyright © International African Institute 2008

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Footnotes

1

Thanks to Lucy McCann and Marion Lowman, archivists at Rhodes House Library, for their assistance identifying and accessing documents, to John Pinfold for advice on the text and presentation, and to Dr. Charles Swaisland for much detailed advice and guidance on the Colenso papers.

References

Notes

2 Shepperson, George, “Notes on Negro American influences on the emergence on African nationalism”, Journal of African History 1, 2 (1960), p.306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

3 Imanuel Geiss, The Pan Africanist Movement: A history of Pan Africanism in America, Europe and Africa, ([1968] 1974), p.181, n.47; Esedebe, P. Olisanwuche, Pan-Africanism, The Idea and Movement 1776 - 1963, (Washington, D. C., 1982), p.45.Google Scholar

4 Translated into English in 1974.

5 Described as: “the Architect of the Pan African conference of 1900”, Fierce, Mildred C., “Henry Sylvester Williams and the Pan African Conference of 1900” in Genéve- Afrique, XIV (1975), p.106Google Scholar

6 Personal communication from Dr.Charles Swaisland, July 2008. While at Elangeni, the collection was consulted by at least two historians. Wyn Rees refers to a ”… collection in the possession of Francis Colenso's daughter, Mrs Irma Crovo of Amersham, England.” Colenso Letters from Natal (Pietermaritzburg, 1958), p.212Google Scholar, n.1. Shula Marks refers to, “Frank Colenso's own pamphlets, his papers, and newspaper cuttings at “Elangeni”, Amersham (kindly shown to me by his son-in-law Mr. A. Crovo): Reluctant Rebellion: the 1906-08 Disturbances in Natal (Oxford, 1970), pp.67–68.Google Scholar

7 Rhodes House (hereafter RH), Mss. Afr. s.1283-1293.

8 To be found in the bound volumes, RH, Mss. Brit. Emp. s.18, C130, 131, 150.

9 Apart from the letters written by Frank Colenso to his wife while he was in Natal.

10 Mildred C. Fierce, Henry Sylvester Williams, p.112, n.18.

11 Hooker, J. R., Henry Sylvester Williams, Imperial Pan Africanist, (London, 1975), p.57.Google Scholar

12 Geiss, op. cit., p.197, n.111.

13 Ibid, pp.181/182.

14 Fierce, Henry Sylvester Williams, p.106, n.1.

15 Geiss, op. cit., pp.176-181.

16 Ibid, p.197.

17 From the original date of publication in German of the study by Geiss in 1968. The twelve publications in reverse date order are: Sivagurunathan, Shivani, “Pan-Africanism” in Dabydeen, David, John, Gilmore, Jones, Cecily (eds.) The Oxford companion to Black British history (Oxford, 2007), pp 359–361Google Scholar; Sherwood, Marika, “Henry Sylvester Williams”, in Adi, Hakim and Sherwood, Marika (ed) Pan African History: Political figures from Africa and the diaspora since 1787, (London, 2003), pp. 190–194Google Scholar; Schneer, Jonathan, London in 1900, The imperial metropolis, (London, 1999)Google Scholar; Fierce, Mildred C., The Pan African idea in the United States, 1900 - 1919: African American interest in Africa and interaction with west Africa, (London, 1993)Google Scholar; Fryer, Peter, Staying Power: The history of black people in Britain, (London, 1984)Google Scholar; Esedebe, op cit; Charles Mathurin, Owen, Henry Sylvester Williams and the Origins of the Pan-African movement 1869 - 1911, (London, 1976)Google Scholar; Fierce, Henry Sylvester Williams; Geiss, op. cit.; J. R. Hooker, “The Pan-African Conference 1900” in Transition, no 46 (1974). Pp 20-24; Clarence G. Contee, “Henry Sylvester Williams: Pioneer Pan-Africanist” in Black World, March 1974, p 32-7; Contee, Clarence G., Henry Sylvester Williams and the origins of organisational Pan-Africanism 1897-1902 (Washington, D. C., 1973)Google Scholar. Hooker, Henry Sylvester Williams, provides detail on Williams, the Pan-African conference and the PAA, but makes no mention of a Colenso.

18 Geiss, op. cit., p.192; Fierce, Henry Sylvester Williams, p.112; Mathurin, op. cit., p.68,169; Esedebe, op. cit., p.53; Fryer, op. cit., p. 284; Fierce, The Pan African idea, p.202; Schneer, op. cit., p.214; Sherwood, op. cit., p.192; Sivagurunathan, op. cit., p.360. Only Schneer omits the title “Dr.”

19 Mathurin, op. cit., p.169.

20 Esedebe, op. cit., p.50. Esedebe also claims that Bishop Colenso attended the 1900 conference -though the conference took place 17 years after the Bishop's death in 1883!

21 Hooker, The Pan-African Conference, p.21.

22 Fryer, op. cit., p.286; Sivagurunathan, op. cit., p.360.

23 Mathurin op. cit., p.104.

24 Schneer, op. cit., p.214, n.30.

25 Contee, Henry Sylvester Williams, (1973), pp.11, 12, 14.

26 Contee, Henry Sylvester Williams, (1974), p.35.

27 Fierce, Henry Sylvester Williams, p.112; Fierce, The Pan African idea, p.202.

28 RH, Mss. Africa, s.1285/16, ff.269-271. Frank did travel to Natal to visit his sisters in the month following the African Association meeting, returning in May 1900. See Frank to Sophie Colenso, numerous letters from 20 March to 16 May 1900, RH, Mss. Afr. s.1285/2, ff.720-806.

29 That Contee saw these minutes is suggested by the points in common between the meeting minuted and the meeting he described: that it was held in February 1900, chaired by Williams and attended by Frank Colenso. The topic discussed, according to Contee, was “the mistreatment of black South Africans”, while the minutes have Frank's talk on “The Native of Natal” including reference to “enforcing natives to work in the mines.” See Contee, Henry Sylvester Williams, (1973), pp.11-12.

30 Frank Colenso (FEC) to Sylvester Williams (HSW), 10 Jan 1900, RH, Mss. Afr. s.1285/16, ff.250-251. Contee must be mistaken to say that it was the February 1900 meeting at which Frank Colenso “began his association with the African Association” since, as this letter shows, by January 1900, Frank Colenso was already dealing with the African Association's finances. See Contee, Henry Sylvester Williams, (1973), pp.11-12.

31 FEC to HSW, 21, 25 Jan, 6 Feb 1901, RH, Mss. Afr. s.1285/16, ff.258, 259-260, 261. On 6 February 1901 Frank Colenso advised, ”… there is no need for these sums collected by you to pass through my hands. It will be much better that you should pay them direct to the bank.” (emphasis in original).

32 However, although evidently dealing with its finances in February 1900, Frank Colenso was not then the treasurer of the African Association. The minutes of the above mentioned meeting refer to, ”… the treasurer, Mr Hector McPherson…”

33 FEC to HSW, 24 July 1900, RH, Mss. Afr .s.1285/16, ff.252-256.

34 The only other credible reference found to a Colenso attending the conference is Hooker's assertion that “Dr. R.J. Colenso” attended as “the one white delegate”. See Hooker, The Pan-African Conference, p 21. This comment should be considered in the light of the discussion below on the confusion in the PAA literature between the titles and initials of Frank and Robert Colenso.

35 The Times, 7 July 1900; Contee, Henry Sylvester Williams, (1973), p.12. Although on this occasion using the title “Dr.”, elsewhere in his pamphlet, Contee refers to Francis Ernest Colenso rather than Robert John Colenso in connection with the PAA.

36 FEC to HSW, 24 July 1900, RH, Mss. Afr. s.1285/16, ff.252-256.

37 Contee, Henry Sylvester Williams, (1973), p.14. Contee's reference to Frank Colenso writing on the second day of the conference, the choice of words to describe his non attendance, and the description of the topic written about, all indicate that the letter Contee refers to is the one in the Colenso collection dated 24 July 1900. Contee provides no references for his sources, but he collected his data in Trinidad and England in 1972 when the Colenso collection was available at Rhodes House.

38 South Africa, 28 July 1900, p.197.

39 Mathurin, op. cit., p.77. This initiative may have found expression much later in the International African Services Bureau established by George Padmore, a leading Pan Africanist of the 1940s and 1950s. See Wahab, Anwar, “Padmore, George” in Dabydeen, David, Gilmore, John, Jones, Cecily (eds.) The Oxford companion to Black British history (Oxford, 2007), p.358.Google Scholar

40 Beginning, “In the metropolis of the modern world”, this contained the famous phrase, “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the colour line…” and ended with an appeal”… for a generous recognition of the righteousness of our cause.” The handwritten draft is signed: “Alexander Walters (Bishop) President Pan African Association, H Sylvester Williams General Secretary, W. E. Burghardt Du Bois Ch[air]. Comm[ittee]. on Address”. See RH, Mss. Afr. s.1285/16, ff.272-276. For the importance of this document, see Geiss, op. cit., pp.190-192; Mathurin, op. cit., pp.70-72; Hooker, Henry Sylvester Williams, pp.35-36; Walters, Bishop Alexander, My life and works, (New York; Chicago, 1917), pp. 258–260.Google Scholar

41 RH, MSS. Afr. s. 1285/16, f.277. Dated 25 January 1901, the draft is typed, double spaced, and heavily amended by hand. It affirms, “We regard Her Majesty's demise as an irreparable loss to the African subjects of her realm.”

42 Hooker, The Pan-African Conference, p.21, n.11, citing the Port of Spain Mirror, 15 08 1900.

43 Mathurin, op. cit., p.104, n. 1,3,5, refers to the Jamaican Advocate, 6 July, 31 Aug, 28 Sept 1901. It has not been possible to consult these articles due to the incomplete availability of this newspaper in the UK.

44 Esedebe, op. cit., p.50. The papers cited are: Manchester Guardian and The Times, 25 July 1900.

45 Manchester Guardian, 26 July 1900; Daily News, 26 July 1900. See the discussion below on the conflict between these two news reports.

46 Fierce, Henry Sylvester Williams, p.112, n.17, citing the Report of the Pan African Conference held on 23rd, 24th & 25th July 1900 at Westminster Town Hall SW London.

47 Mathurin, op. cit., p.171.

48 Esedebe, op. cit., p.53, n.31. Mathurin says that while, “most writers on Pan Africanism have used it as the basis for all their conjectures about the original meaning and aims of the movement…..Bishop Walter's report [of the conference] appears faulty in certain particulars”. Mathurin, op. cit., pp.61-2; “…in several instances he [Walters] was inaccurate.” Hooker, The Pan-African Conference, p.21.

49 Walters, Bishop Alexander, My life and works, (New York; Chicago, 1917), pp.259Google Scholar, 260.

50 According to Geiss, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor “took charge of the musical side of the programme” at the conference. See Geiss, op. cit., p.184. For his election to the PAA executive committee, see Geiss, op. cit., p.192; Mathurin, op. cit., p.69.

51 McGilchrist, Paul and Green, Jeffrey, “Some Recent Findings on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor” in The Black perspective in Music, vol. 13 no. 2 (Autumn 1985), p.171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

52 They lived there increasingly from the autumn of 1901. See Nick Gammage, “Where the sun shines through”: the remarkable history of Elangeni, p.8. This useful pamphlet is available from Amersham Museum (no publication date) and RH Mss. Afr. s.1293/10. “Elangeni” is a Zulu word meaning “where the sun shines through”.

53 RH, Mss.Afr.s.1285/16(e); At the time of Frank Colenso's death Samuel Coleridge-Taylor had only recently returned from a series of musical engagements in the United States and was in Eastbourne working “incessantly” on a commissioned composition. See Berwick Sayers, W. C., Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Musician: His Life and Letters, (London, 1927), pp.235–242.Google Scholar Jessie Coleridge-Taylor also attended the Pan-African Conference, entertaining an evening session of the conference with her singing. See Hooker, Henry Sylvester Williams, p.38.

54 Schneer, op. cit., pp.221/222; Schneer mistakenly places this meeting “on the evening preceding the opening of the conference” whereas in fact it took place two weeks earlier.

55 Mathurin, op. cit., p.55.

56 Schneer, op. cit., p.214.

57 Mathurin, op. cit., pp.104, 169.

58 The Times, 7 July 1900; Manchester Guardian, 7 July 1900.

59 Schneer, op. cit., pp. 214, 222.

60 Contee, Henry Sylvester Williams, (1973), p.12. As noted earlier, it is clear that Contee is quoting from The Times report of t he meeting.

61 Examples of this headed notepaper can b e seen in HSW to Travers Buxton, secretary of the Anti Slavery Society, 10 Oct 1900, 6 Feb 1901, RH, Mss. Brit. Emp. s.18, C91, ff.9, 10.

62 It may be relevant to note that Frank Colenso pointed out mistakes in a notice to be posted in the PAA office: “If you are going to hang the address up in the office it would be well to put right two little clerical errors which appear on it - vide my draft of corrections.” See FEC to HSW, 6 Feb 1901, RH, Mss. Afr. s.1285/16, f.261.

63 Manchester Guardian, 26 July 1900; Daily News, 26 July 1900.

64 Fryer, op. cit., p.414, quoting Archer's 1918 presidential address to the African Progress Union (APU). Archer was elected to the PAA committee. See Mathurin, op. cit., p.69; Geiss, op. cit., p.192.

65 “Sylvester Williams was not then a barrister, though so described,” Hooker, The Pan-African Conference, p.21.

66 The South African Native Question”, The Times, 18 Jan 1901. See Mathurin, op. cit., p.81, n.80.

67 Errors in the reporting of names in the secondary literature on the PAA include Mathurin's reference to the election of “Mrs. Jessie Cobden-Unwin” (sic, our emphasis) to the PAA committee, while elsewhere naming her correctly as “Mrs. Jane Cobden Unwin”. See Mathurin, op. cit., p. 69, 169. Jessie was in fact the first name of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's wife. Mathurin's mistaken reference to H. R. Fox- Bourne, secretary of the APS, as “J. M. Bourne” is followed by Fierce and Fryer. See Mathurin, op. cit., p.52; Fierce, Henry Sylvester Williams, pp 110; Fryer, op. cit., p.282, n. 37. Schneer repeats an error by Geiss who refers to Bishop Colenso's daughter, Harriette, as “Henrietta Colenso” (our emphasis). See Geiss, op. cit., p.177, 177, n.16, p.192, n.88; Schneer; op. cit., p.214.

68 In contrast, only seven months before the conference, describing their joint efforts in support of a group of Natal Zulus performing in London, Frank Colenso emphasised his brother's role in the affair, referring to him no less than five times. See Francis E Colenso, “The Natal Zulus at Olympia”, The Times, 29 December 1899.