Introduction

For decades, Pan-Africanism has championed the ideals of unity, solidarity, cultural pride, and self-reliance for the people of African descent. It has been a rallying ideology that mobilizes Africans around common interests and challenges, advocating for cooperation to address all forms of indignities and social injustices they face. This ideology, which is rooted in the early 20th-century, claims that people of African descent share common interests and identities based on shared history, culture, and institutions and calls for their unity in understanding the origins and challenges of their experience and how to strategize for resolution. This rich and complex approach, which is grounded in anti-imperialism, incorporates a variety of insights ranging from the historical, political, economic, sociological, postcolonial, and cultural experiences of people of African descent. This chapter introduces “Pan-Africanism in Dialogue: 21st Century Strategies for the Future,” an interdisciplinary discourse that draws upon Pan-Africanism as an intellectual ideology. It highlights how conversations and dialogue on Pan-Africanism warrant reflection both in Africa and beyond. Contributors to the volume reflect on how lessons of the past inform the future and how people of African descent continue to aspire for a brighter future.