African People in the Global Village: An Introduction to Pan-African Studies

Marsh, John K. African People in the Global Village: An Introduction to PanAfrican Studies. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1998. 309 pp.

John K. Marah's 1998 book entitled, African People in the Global Village: An Introduction to Pan African Studies examines the condition of Africans on the continent as well as the diaspora from cultural, economic, historical, political and social perspectives and concludes that the solution to Africa's myriad problems lies in radical Pan-Africanism. Marah argues that Africans would have to be `extremely myopic' to do otherwise.

Unlike most texts on Africa and Africans, the book has an unusual beginning in the sense that it does not begin with a preface or a foreword which usually provides a biographical sketch of the author including any institutional affiliation, previous works and acknowledgments. One would have to read up to page 257 to stumble upon a one-sentence disclosure of the author's religious background.

Chapter one is on what Marah calls `African Sensibilities in this Global Village,' but beyond that it is difficult to determine the main message of the chapter since it touches on so many other issues and raises many unanswered questions rather than clearly setting forth the framework of the book. Toward the end of the chapter, where the author specified that `in this book we examine the position of African people in Africa and the United States with particular emphasis on some of their salient predicaments in the global system.... ' (p. 16), he failed to clearly explain how he intended to accomplish the task. The author has the prerogative to set the parameters of his study to Africa and the United States, but it can be argued that Pan-Africanism goes beyond these regions (notice for instance, `African People in the Global Village', the title of the book, rather than African People in Africa and the United States of America). Indeed, he concedes this point as discussions in the book take him outside these regions. See chapter four, for instance.

Among the many issues raised in chapter one, the author describes a Global Village in which problems such as malnutrition, starvation, poverty, the debt crisis and AIDS have beset Africa and caused it to be the least 'developed' region in the world by `anyone's standards.' This assertion is repeated in different ways in at least four other places in the chapter (pp. 2, 11, 12 and 16), but the reader is neither told of those standards nor what the author conceives as development. Marah's supposition is that this will not continue to be the case forever because Africans are acquiring Western technology that they will utilize to improve the continent (p. 5). But to bring about development, Africans must change their attitudes towards work. `Educated Africans,' Marah claims, should be willing `to soil their hands' ( i.e., do menial work?), and elders should not be respected especially if they make foolish mistakes with significant costs on contemporary society (p. 5).

The author also decries the adverse impact of Christianity, Islam, Western education, modernization and urbanization on traditional African family. In a sub-section entitled, 'The Contemporary Global Village,' the discussion centers on ancient Egypt, the 1963 OAU charter, European Union, Western sociopolitical and economic institutions as well as principles, the demise of communism and the inherent contradictions in Western societies which have been exported worldwide. The chapter ends with the 'white' man's mistreatment and lynching of the 'black' man. The author counsels Africans to `organize and develop their societies in their own way with particular understanding of their place in the global village' (p.18). Obviously, a very daunting task in view of the problems the author has alerted the reader to throughout the book. But Marah did not offer any suggestions as to how Africans should develop their societies `in their own way' given that the world has become a `village.'

Chapter two is on a very broad topic entitled 'Ancient and Modern Africa.' It answers the questions: what is Africa? What is civilization? It discusses factors which led to the collapse of African civilizations. Emphasis is placed on ancient rather than modern Africa. Among the key issues discussed are: `Egypt's contributions to the Global Village,' and Africans' contribution to religion (Islam and Christianity). Even though entitled 'Ancient and Modern Africa,' the chapter concludes with a claim that African-Americans were miseducated about their African heritage. The author claims, for instance, that they were taught that `Christ was a white man and that Ham, instead of his son Canaan, had been cursed and damned...' (p. 47).

Chapter three mainly explains why it was possible for Africans to have been enslaved and colonized. The main reasons according to Marah, include color and cultural differences, technical and military strength, Africans' involvement in Islam and Christianity, historical accidents and lack of a powerful African state. Chapter four defines and explains the origin and development of Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism is defined as a `psychological response to powerlessness and a desire to act upon the environment in which Africans found themselves, rather than remain the ones being acted upon without any meaningful resistance (p. 80). The author sub-divides Pan-Africanism into continental Pan-Africanism, Pan-Negroism, Sub-Saharan Pan-Africanism, cultural Pan-Africanism and regional Pan-Africanism. None of these variants of PanAfricanism is described in details. Marah points out, however, that regional Pan-Africanism is problematic because once regions integrate and develop unique characteristics they may not seek larger political unions. He also views the competition between Pan-Africanism and Pan-Arabism as problematic because of the Arab states' membership in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and a `history of discord between Black Africa and the Arab world' (p. 81).