Africa emerging from the darkness, from five centuries of slavery and two centuries of colonialism.

“It brings to life our common destiny,” said Senegal President Wade at the unveiling ceremony, in 2010. “Africa has arrived in the 21st century standing tall and more ready than ever to take its destiny into its hands.”

Wade has stressed more often than not that the African Renaissance Monument is not just a monument to the Senegalese people or Senegal. Instead, it is a symbol and representation for all the African people.

We honor our ancestors and culture by having the only mesh version of this statue in Second Life, Metaverse.

Africa emerging from the darkness, from five centuries of slavery and two centuries of colonialism.

The African Liberation /Renaissance Statue represents many things to many people. Inside the statue there is a museum dedicated to Pan Africanism. 

Upon the decision to construct the statue the President Wade says the statue symbolizes the triumph of African liberation from centuries of ignorance, intolerance and racism, and he hopes it will rival the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower in Paris as a tourist destination. The goal of the monument is to remind our people and culture to move forward and be as great as our ancestors.

“It brings to life our common destiny,” said President Wade at the unveiling ceremony, according to a Reuters report. “Africa has arrived in the 21st century standing tall and more ready than ever to take its destiny into its hands.”

But it goes beyond just celebrating the achievements of African people. President Wade, under whose regime the monument was constructed, is one of the last African leaders centered on African unity and Pan-Africanism.

Throughout his stint as the head of the state, he showed a keen interest in moving the continent towards greater interdependence and unification. He is known as the “last great Pan-African theorist“

For that reason, Wade has stressed more often than not that the African Renaissance Monument is not just a monument to the Senegalese people or Senegal. Instead, it is a symbol and representation for all the African people.

He even suggested that the monument represents all the black populations of the world. And that is why during its inauguration and dedication, President Wade invited not only the head of state from all African countries but other influential black leaders, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson and musician Akon.

There are many many conflicting opinions about the statue due to its cost of just under $40M, and how the money could have been used for the needed infrastructure investments. However, I have to say I think both sides have valid points. The monument can instill hope in many, it is turning the hope and new thoughts into actions that add value to the lives of our people as a whole.

Monument Overview

The African Renaissance Monument (French: Monument de la Renaissance Africaine) is a 49 m (161 ft) tall bronze statue located on top of one of the twin hills known as Collines des Mamelles, outside Dakar, Senegal.

Exterior

Imagery

The monument portrays a man with a bare, ripped torso, holding an infant in one arm and guiding a woman with the other hand. The baby points ahead to signify the wonderful future. The woman extends her arm behind in a gesture to acknowledge the troubled past as her hair and the scant, gossamer-like dress are swept back by the wind.

The use of a father, mother, and baby in the monument is because the family is the central nucleus of all African societies. The gigantic monument can also be translated as a symbol of the “new” African family, with future generations (depicted by the infant) rising and leading the continent into the modern world.

Moreover, the upward ascent of the monument suggests the course of upward movement on the African continent, leaving behind the dark past.

The family portrayed in the monument is only focused on moving forward, thus representing the future. In addition, the portrayal of the family emerging from the rocky base suggests that Africans are chipping away from the fragmented and terrible past into a free and glorious future.

Interior

The interior of the monument/museum features a big exhibit on Pan Africanism and features artifacts from around the Diaspora. Americans will be interested in knowing their are pictures of WEB Dubois, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Barack Obama.

Pan Africanism – A simple definition.

Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement and philosophy that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous and diaspora ethnic groups of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic Slave Trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe.

The philosophy of Pan Africanism is articulated well in the following article, which has related content.

What is Pan-Africanism?

Pan-Africanism is one of the central philosophies in the African-modern intellectual tradition. It is also one of the most consequential political and social movements of the modern era, being found at the heart of most of the resistance movements of the last two hundred years.

There are many different facets of Pan-Africanism that can appear alone or in different combinations with each other in real-life movements and actions. This article outlines the six different ways that Pan-Africanism can manifest.

https://africanhistoryproject.org/reference/what-is-pan-africanism/

Pan-Africanism can be said to have its origins in the struggles of the African people against enslavement and colonization] and this struggle may be traced back to the first resistance on slave ships—rebellions and suicides—through the constant plantation and colonial uprisings and the “Back to Africa” movements of the 19th century. Based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social, and political progress and aims to “unify and uplift” people of African ancestry.

At its core, pan-Africanism is a belief that “African people, both on the continent and in the diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny”. Pan-Africanist intellectual, cultural, and political movements tend to view all Africans and descendants of Africans as belonging to a single “race” and/or sharing cultural unity. Pan-Africanism posits a sense of a shared historical fate for Africans in America, West Indies, and on the continent, itself centered on the Atlantic trade in slaves, African slavery, and European imperialism.

Pan Africanism is the foundation of the birth of the OAU – Organization for African Unity, which has led to the development of the African Union.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-Africanism

https://africanhistoryproject.org/reference/what-is-pan-africanism/

http://www.blackhistoryheroes.com/2013/02/the-african-renaissance-monument-in.html

https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Monument-de-la-Renaissance-Africaine