In Accra Ghana on April 15, 1958, Kwame Nkrumah convened a meeting of African leaders and political activists at the first Conference of Independent African States. Representatives from the governments of Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, The United Arab Republic (which was the federation of Egypt and Syria) attended the event as did representatives of the National Liberation Front of Algeria and the Union of Cameroonian Peoples.
Five years later, after the First Conference of Independent African States in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, another historical meeting occurred. On May 25, 1963, leaders of thirty-two independent African States met to form the Organization of African Unity (OAU). At this historic meeting the date of Africa Freedom Day was changed from April 15th to May 25th and Africa Freedom Day was declared African Liberation Day (ALD). African Liberation Day has been held on May 25th in every corner of the world since.
Since then, worldwide, African nations and leaders of pockets of the Diaspora outside of Africa use the day to convene seminars, conferences, street marches, rallies featuring cultural entertainment, poetry and other events to revisit the messages and campaign for autonomy among African nations.
African Liberation Day is celebrated by many African communities around the world. It is a permanent mass institution in the worldwide Pan African Movement. Although the day is observed in countries such as Kenya, Spain, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the United States, it is only observed as a public holiday in Ghana.
For locations of African Liberation Day Celebrations around the world, check out: http://africanliberationday.net/locations.html
Article by: Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt
