Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement aiming to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity among all indigenous and diaspora ethnic groups of African descent.
If you're looking for ways to celebrate and encourage Pan-African pride in yourself and those around you, here are three simple ways to get started.
3 Ways to Celebrate Pan-Africanism
Attend a Festival
If you're currently living in the United States, there's likely an annual Pan-African festival not too far from where you live.
While availability will always partially depend on your exact geographic location, you usually don't have to look too far to find someone celebrating their African roots.
One of such events is Houston's Taste of Pan-Africa, "a stellar event of food, drinks, music, networking and philanthropy." Founded by a group of foodies hoping to spread awareness and love for Pan-African food (as well as allow networking opportunities for the African diaspora), this ticketed event, which takes place multiple times per year, more than meets its stated goals.
Other Pan-African festivals will often include music, art, entertainment, and games for the whole family. Events such as these not only provide opportunities for members of the diaspora to come together and celebrate themselves, but they also provide opportunities to spread Pan-African awareness and love to the general community as well.
If you don't have one meeting near you, consider traveling to attend one with your family and friends. It's a wonderful way to connect with your roots, orient yourself within community, and make memories that could last a lifetime!
Enjoy African Cuisine
Festival or no festival, one great way to celebrate Pan-Africanism is to enjoy African cuisine.
Here are a few ways you can make that happen.
- Find a local restaurant. Local African restaurants are easier to find than you may think. Simply head to your internet search bar, type in "African restaurants near me," and start scrolling through your options. Again, depending on where you live, you may have more opportunities to avail yourself of than others. But you'll never know exactly what's available until you start your search. (Tip: If you're in or around the Atlanta area, you have an especially bountiful share of options! We especially recommend 10 Degrees South and/or Bamba Cuisine!)
- Learn to cook African dishes for yourself. You will want to be careful here. Not because cooking African dishes is difficult (honestly, they are not!) but because so much of the taste hinges on quality ingredients and know-how. If you are truly a beginner, you can check out recipe lists on major platforms such as Delicious (which has compiled a list of what they consider "the best African recipes." However, to be completely honest, the best way to learn how to cook any new dish (African or otherwise) is to cozy up to someone who really knows what they are doing and learn from their example.
- Make friends in the community. The best way to enjoy African cuisine, particularly if you want to celebrate Pan-Africanism, is to make friends within the community. Not only will your friends help guide you to the best recipes, they'll show you where to find key ingredients and teach you how to cook them for yourselves! Best of all, if you're lucky, you'll make lasting friendships that will only deepen your appreciation for the vibrant Pan-African community itself.
Shop Lex Pyerse
Here at Lex Pyerse, we celebrate and bring awareness to Pan-African identities in everything we do. Through everything from our color choices to the content of our word clusters, our line of inspirational clothing and gear truly celebrates who we are and where we have come from.
All of us.