First summit of the Non-Aligned Movement opens

The PAC forms after a split from the ANC, advocating Africanist leadership and opposing pass laws and white minority rule. The split reflected real debates about multiracial alliances, nationalism and...

Police kill 69 people during protests against pass laws organized by the PAC. The killings revealed the violence underpinning apartheid’s movement controls and led the government to ban the PAC and...

Ghana and Guinea announce a union intended as a first step toward broader African political unity. It remained largely symbolic and faced practical obstacles, illustrating both the ambition of...

Nigeria becomes independent from Britain. Its size, population and regional diversity made the new state an important actor in continental diplomacy and liberation support, while internal colonial...

The UN General Assembly admits seventeen African states in a single session, sharply increasing African representation. Their entry changed debates on colonialism and racial rule and helped African...

Women activists establish the continental organization in Dar es Salaam to support liberation struggles and advance women’s political participation. Its founding counters histories that treat...

Thirty-two independent African states establish the OAU in Addis Ababa. Its charter commits members to African unity, sovereignty and the eradication of colonialism. The date also became Africa...

The two states unite to form the United Republic of Tanzania. The union reflected an influential, though contested, Pan-African commitment to political cooperation and became a base for supporting...

Malawi became independent from British rule. Political independence expanded African representation in continental institutions, while the colonial economy and inherited borders continued to shape the...

At the OAU’s first ordinary summit, heads of state adopted decisions addressing apartheid and support for liberation movements. The diplomatic position reflected an uneven but consequential effort...