The Year of Africa

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A postage stamp of Gold Coast overprinted for Ghanaian independence in 1957.

Gold Coast Stamp

A postage stamp of Gold Coast overprinted for Ghanaian independence in 1957.

The mausoleum of former Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana.

Mausoleum of Kwame Nkrumah

The mausoleum of former Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana. (Image by Greg Neate).

Protestors from the United National Independence Party (UNIP) surround the vehicle of a British Conservative Party politician.

Zambian Protests

Protestors from the United National Independence Party (UNIP) surround the vehicle of British Conservative Party politician Iain Macleod, Secretary of State for the Colonies, in Northern Rhodesia, 1960.

Patrice Lumumba.

Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Lumumba was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of the Congo. He was ultimately murdered by Belgian-supported Katangan separatists in 1961.

Moise Tshombe greets crowds of admirers in Stanleyville, 1964.

Moise Tshombe

Moise Tshombe, the fifth Prime Minister of the Congo and President of the short-lived secessionist State of Katanga, greets crowds of admirers in Stanleyville, 1964.

The Ghanaian national flag.

Ghanaian Flag

The Ghanaian national flag.

The United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) flag.

UNIA Flag

The United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) flag.

Pictured is W.E.B. Du Bois (center) at his 95th birthday party in Ghana with President Kwame Nkrumah and his wife.

W.E.B. Du Bois in Ghana

Pictured is W.E.B. Du Bois (center) at his 95th birthday party in Ghana, with President Kwame Nkrumah and his wife. Du Bois immigrated to the newly independent Ghana and received citizenship shortly before his death in 1963.

The first cabinet of Kwame Nkrumah.

Cabinet of Kwame Nkrumah

The first cabinet of Kwame Nkrumah (center bottom row) as Prime Minister of Ghana, 1957.

Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba at the Round Table Conference in Brussels.

Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba

On June 30, 1960, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, pictured here at the Round Table Conference in Brussels, declared the independence of the Republic of the Congo from the former Belgian Congo Free State.

An early promotional photo of Joseph Kabasele.

Joseph Kabasele

An early promotional photo of Joseph Kabasele for Opika Records, 1950s.

The Congolese band, African Jazz.

African Jazz

The Congolese band, African Jazz, in a recording studio in 1961.

The Round Table Conference in Brussels, 1960.

Round Table Conference

The Round Table Conference in Brussels, 1960.

Franco Luambo Makiadi of OK Jazz.

Franco Luambo Makiadi

Franco Luambo Makiadi of OK Jazz.

Members of OK Jazz during their 1961 trip to Brussels.

OK Jazz

Members of OK Jazz during their 1961 trip to Brussels.

Mobutu Sese Seko and Prince Bernhard.

Mobutu Sese Seko and Prince Bernhard

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, consort to Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, and Mobutu Sese Seko in 1973.

Harold Macmillan during his 1960 tour of the African colonies.

Harold Macmillan

Pictured here is Harold Macmillan during his 1960 tour of the African colonies. He is wearing a ceremonial leopard skin at his installation as Honourary Paramount Chief in South Africa.

The 1960 visit to Northern Rhodesia of Iain Macleod.

UNIP Protest

The 1960 visit to Northern Rhodesia of Iain Macleod, British Secretary of State for the Colonies, was marked by demonstrations and protests held by the United National Independence Party (UNIP).

Dr Kenneth Kaunda with United National Independence Party supporters.

Kenneth Kaunda and Supporters

Dr Kenneth Kaunda with United National Independence Party supporters after a meeting with Iain Macleod, Colonial Secretary, Zambia, 1960.

The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, sits with the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Organisation of African Unity

The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, sits with the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, in Addis Ababa during the Organisation of African Unity summit in 1963.

The Kariba Dam on the Zimbabwean side.

The Kariba Dam

The Kariba Dam as seen from the Zimbabwean side.

Workers building the Kariba Dam in the 1950s.

Constructing the Kariba Dam

Workers building the Kariba Dam in the 1950s.

Workers scaling the dam walls during construction.

Scaling the Kariba Dam

Workers scaling the dam walls during construction.

A map showing the route of the TAZARA Railway in Tanzania.

TAZARA Railway

A map showing the route of the TAZARA Railway in Tanzania (in orange). This railroad links Dar es Salam to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. China funded this railway to grow their influence in the continent.

Member states of the French Community in 1961.

The French Community

Member states of the French Community in 1961.

Copper mine in the Katanga province.

Katanga Copper Mine

This copper mine in the Katanga province, pictured here in 1942 when the Congo was still a Belgian colony, is one of many mines that produced raw natural resources for the Western world.

Kwame Nkrumah and Martin Luther King Jr in Ghana.

Kwame Nkrumah and Martin Luther King Jr.

Kwame Nkrumah and Martin Luther King Jr in Ghana.

A mural in Accra, Ghana depicting the faces of African independence and decolonization efforts.

Faces of African Independence

A mural in Accra, Ghana depicting the faces of African independence and decolonization efforts. (Image by Ben Sutherland).

Congolese rumba influenced Miriam Makeba.

Miriam Makeba

Congolese rumba influenced Miriam Makeba, pictured here in 1969, and many other African artists.

Jean Bolikango, pictured on the left of this image meeting with officials in Germany in 1960.

Jean Bolikango

Jean Bolikango, pictured on the left of this image meeting with officials in Germany in 1960, led the Parti de l'Unité Nationale in the Congo and was one of many politicians named in Independence Cha Cha.

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Cite this Site

Katherine Everett, Emily Hardick, Damarius Johnson , "The Year of Africa" , Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

December, 2020

https://origins.osu.edu/article/year-of-africa-1960-rumba-pan-africanism-Kariba.