Today in Focus Cotton Capital: Searching for the spirit of Pan-Africanism – bonus episode
Oct 31, 2025
Domi Zodranioni, a playwright and lecturer, engages listeners with insights on his play 'Liberation,' showcasing the legacy of the 1945 Pan-African Congress. Keisha Thompson, a Guardian programme manager and poet, discusses the significance of Pan-African ideas in shaping identity and community education today. Stephen Golding, a professor of Garveyism, emphasizes the importance of Pan-Africanism for racial survival and the need for meaningful political cooperation. Together, they explore how the Congress's ideals resonate in contemporary society.
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Pan-Africanism As A Unifying Political Force
- Pan-Africanism links diaspora and continental struggles rooted in slavery and colonialism.
- The 1945 Congress created a shared blueprint that fuelled mass decolonisation across Africa.
The Town Hall That Hosted History
- Domi Zodranioni described the Charlton-on-Medlock Town Hall as the Congress venue and how its colonial architecture contrasts with its anti-colonial history.
- She used that setting as the foundation for her play Liberation to revive the 1945 event for modern audiences.
Shared Demands Became Political Roadmaps
- The Congress gathered a wide coalition of leaders, intellectuals and activists to agree common demands like education and press freedom.
- That collective agenda helped many delegates later become post-independence leaders across Africa.