Statement on Behalf of the Global Pan-African Movement (GPAM) North American Delegation in Commemoration of the African Liberation Day 2025

Brothers and sisters, I greet in peace and solidarity on behalf of the Global Pan-African Movement: North American Delegation, as we commemorate African Liberation Day 2025.

The Global Pan African Movement: North American Delegation committed itself to co-sponsoring African Liberation Day Celebrations throughout Global Africa in 2025, to underscore that African Liberation Day is a permanent mass institution in the world-wide Pan-African movement. It is an opportunity to come together, strengthen one another, and reaffirm our commitment to political education and organization. It is a reminder of the fact that we have not obtained our freedom, and thus it is a day to re-commit ourselves to Pan-Africanism, and the total liberation and unification of Global Africa. It is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of struggles for justice, other than our own, and solidify our position and our role in a worldwide movement for justice.

African Liberation Day started in Harlem, NY, and was the brainchild of Carlos Cooks and Elombe Brath, both of whom came out of Marcus Garvey’s Universal African Legion. This movement continued in 1958 when Kwame Nkrumah convened the First Conference of Independent States held in Accra, Ghana which was attended by eight independent African states. The 15th of April was declared "Africa Freedom Day” and would become the day on which there would be an annual celebration of the onward progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation. In the years that followed, seventeen countries in Africa won their independence and 1960 was proclaimed the Year of Africa. Further advances were made to defeat US Imperialism, not just in Africa, but in Asia and throughout the Caribbean. And on the 25th of May 1963, thirty-one African Heads of state convened a summit to found the Organization of African Unity. They renamed African Freedom Day "African Liberation Day" and changed its date to May 25th. 

In 2025, the Global Pan-African Movement: North American Delegation asserts that the legacy of these Founding Fathers and Mothers still prevails. On this day we pause to venerate, not just Carlos Cooks, Elombe Brath and Kwame Nkrumah, but also Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X, Thomas Sankara, Fidel Castro, Maurice Bishop, Patrice Lumumba, Frantz Fanon, Rosa Parks, W.E.B. Du Bois, Fredrick Douglas, John Lewis, Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, Ella Baker, Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, V.C. Bird Sr., Errol Barrow, Rosie Douglas, Marcus Garvey, Eric Williams, Uriah Butler, Nanny of the Maroons, Walter Rodney, Kwame Ture, Winnie Mandela, Wangarĩ Maathai, Amilcar Cabral, Micere Mugo, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Dedan Kimathi, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, Julius Nyerere, Samora Machel, Josina Mutemba Machel, Deolinda Rodrigues, Carlota & Fermina Lucumí, Chris Hani, Queen Amina, Queen Nzinga, Yaa Asantewaa, and countless others, on whose shoulders we stand. 

On African Liberation Day, The Global Pan African Movement: North American Delegation opposes all forms of colonialism and occupation, whether it is the Moroccan occupation of the Sahrawi peoples, the French occupation and colonial domination of numerous territories such as Guadeloupe, Cayenne, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion, US colonialism in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, British colonialism in British overseas territories which include places like Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands, and Dutch territories such as Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten.  

We collectively declare that we stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and against war and genocide. We are appalled at the horrific violence taking place in Gaza and the West Bank, and the genocide of Palestinians. We support the demand for an immediate ceasefire and an end to blockades, which are denying Palestinians the necessary provision of humanitarian aid. There is an ongoing aid blockade in Gaza, which began on the 2^nd of March 2025. The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid, including food.

The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death. This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time.

We do not need to wait for a declaration of famine in Gaza to know that people are already starving, sick and dying, while food and medicines are minutes away across the border. Without immediate access to food and essential supplies, the situation will continue to deteriorate, causing more deaths and a descent into famine.

The Global Pan-African Movement: North American Delegation stands in solidarity with all peoples struggling against settler colonialism, occupation, and imperial terror. We condemn the violence and oppression faced by Palestinians, and the occupation of Palestine, the blockade of Gaza, and the ongoing human rights violations. Finally, we affirm the right of Palestinians to self-determination, including the right to live in peace, security, and dignity, and a free Palestine. 

We remain committed to our goal, which is to educate, mobilize, galvanize and empower Pan-Africans and visionaries dedicated to the emancipation of Africa and the transformation of our planet. We thank you for joining us today and for your commitment to this movement. 

May we never grow weary.

May we never grow fearful.

May we never grow complacent. 

And in the words of Ella Baker: We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes. 

 Terese Millet Joseph coordinated the African Liberation Day celebration of the Global Pan African Movement, North America Chapter.

The Global Pan-African Movement (GPAM – USA) educates and discusses with the general public on issues pertinent to Global Africa and African Descendants through public forums and all relevant media with the intent to mobilize, galvanise and empower Pan-Africans and visionaries dedicated to the emancipation of Africa and the transformation of our planet.