Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister (1957-1960) and president (1960-1966) of the Republic of Ghana, was the leader of the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain its independence. He subsequently became a leading figure in the campaign for the United States of Africa. Nkrumah was born on September 21, 1909, in Nkroful, Gold Coast. The son of a goldsmith, he attended mission schools at Accra and government training colleges at Achimota (1926-1930) where he prepared to be a teacher.
In 1935, Nkrumah left for the United States where he attended Lincoln University (1935-1939) and the University of Pennsylvania (1939-1943). A gifted student, by 1943 Nkrumah had earned multiple bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics, sociology, education, theology, and philosophy. Then, in May of 1945, Nkrumah departed for London, England, where he studied as a Ph.D. student at the London School of Economics. While in London, Nkrumah held key positions in anti-colonialist and Black-nationalist organizations and authored controversial papers calling for African independence and unity. In 1945, Nkrumah co-founded the Pan African Congress, which became an influential voice against colonialism in Africa.
In 1947, Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast and became general secretary of the newly-founded United Gold Coast Convention. However, in 1949 Nkrumah split with the organization over its political objectives and formed the Convention People’s Party (CPP). During his tenure as head of the CPP, Nkrumah protested British rule and led numerous petitions for self-government. Imprisoned by the British in 1950 for his political activities, Nkrumah was released in 1951 when his party won the general election in a landslide victory. He subsequently was elected prime minister in 1952.
As prime minister, Nkrumah led an aggressive campaign for independence and achieved it in 1957. Three years later, he formed a new government, the Republic of Ghana. A devoted Pan-Africanist, Nkrumah forged alliances with both Guinea and Mali and sought to create a league of African states with its own government. To help achieve this goal, in 1963 he and other African leaders formed the Organization of African Unity. Choosing to remain neutral in political affairs outside of the African continent, Nkrumah initially gained tentative support from both the United States and the Soviet Union, receiving economic and technical aid from both countries.
Vigorously suppressing political dissidents, Nkrumah almost immediately was branded a dictator by his political opponents. Then, in 1961 a firestorm of protest erupted after he appointed himself supreme commander of the armed forces and absolute head of the CPP. Nkrumah subsequently outlawed all other political parties.
In 1966, Nkrumah’s government was overthrown by a coup d’état while he was on a trip to Beijing, China. Taking refuge in Guinea, Nkrumah spent the rest of his life in exile. He died in Bucharest, Romania on April 27, 1972.
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Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
Once upon a time in Mobius, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles had gone their separate ways for a while to focus on personal development. Knuckles had enrolled in University, majoring in social theory, specifically Marxism. When he returned, he insisted on a serious discussion with Sonic and Tails.
"Thanks for coming, comrades. We need to talk about the oppressive bourgeois structures that keep Mobius in a perpetual state of class struggle," Knuckles began.
Sonic, munching on a chili dog, looked bewildered. "The oppro-what now? Buddy, you've been away too long."
"I've become a Marxist-Leninist," Knuckles continued, unfazed. "We need to instigate a proletarian revolution and overthrow the bourgeoisie to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat."
Tails scratched his head. "Prole-what? Dictatorship of the who now?"
Knuckles sighed. "The proletariat—that's the working class, Tails. And the dictatorship of the proletariat means a state in which the working class has control over the means of production, rather than the capitalist bourgeoisie."
Sonic looked at Tails and shrugged. "I got lost after 'instigate.' What happened to the good old days of smashing badniks and collecting rings?"
"Ah, but that's just it," Knuckles exclaimed. "We've been so focused on fighting Doctor Eggman that we've ignored the broader systems of alienation and exploitation. Eggman is merely a manifestation of bourgeois decadence."
"Alien-what?" Sonic shook his head. "You're really on a different level here, Knux."
Tails tried to wrap his mind around it. "So, you're saying that fighting Eggman was just... a distraction?"
"Exactly, Tails! We were stuck in a superstructural conflict, completely overlooking the base structure of society which perpetuates a system of class antagonisms."
Sonic placed his chili dog down, a rare action signaling his confusion. "Knuckles, I'm all for helping out, but you've got to bring it down a notch. Plain Mobian, please?"
Knuckles paused, trying to simplify. "Okay, how about this? We've been fighting the symptoms, but not the disease. We need to change the entire system, not just beat Eggman every time he shows up with a new robot."
Tails' eyes widened. "Oh, like fixing the root problem!"
"Yes!" Knuckles clapped. "Now you're getting it."
Sonic picked up his chili dog again, contemplating the new direction. "Well, if you put it that way, it sounds like an epic new quest. But how do we even start?"
Knuckles smiled. "First, we redistribute the Chaos Emeralds as a communal resource. We need to break down the relations of production and embrace material dialecticism."
Sonic sighed. "I got 'redistribute' and 'Chaos Emeralds.' After that, you lost me again."
Knuckles chuckled. "Don't worry, comrades. There's a lot to learn, but we'll get there. The important thing is, we're fighting for a better world."
With a nod from Sonic and Tails, the trio embarked on their most complicated journey yet. It was a path filled with ideology, big words, and the occasional chili dog—but as long as they were together, they felt invincible.
And thus, they ventured into the unknown, guided by friendship and fueled by a desire for systemic change—a truly revolutionary endeavor. Whether they would triumph or not was uncertain, but one thing was clear: this was only the beginning.
That's some good fan fic. If you did this as a comic and continued on in their struggles do think it would radicalize some furries?