The African Diaspora in continental African struggles for freedom: Implications on the criticism of African Renaissance literature

Abstract

If African Renaissance literature is critiqued against the backdrop of historical narratives of global African commitment to collective African self-reclamation, it will be possible to entrench the strategic values that will expedite the fruition of an African Renaissance. In light of this realization, this article discusses the contributions of the African Diaspora towards continental African liberation from European colonial domination, with a view to theorizing the implications of this history on the criticism of African Renaissance literature. Focusing on Diasporan African agency in organizing Pan-African congresses, conferences and conventions between 1900-1950, this article argues that part of the critical consciousness on the basis of which African Renaissance literature should be discussed can be extracted from Diasporan African contributions towards continental African liberation.

South African Journal of African Languages 2014, 34(1): 35–40