Yeah I get offended if someone calls me a feminist. Don't reduce me to that term just call me marxist

Uhuru yall. Resident African Internationalist here. EDIT: fixed quoting

I wouldn't use that medium piece it seems to be referencing both an video with a dead link (hey it happens, that's why we archive stuff) and an article it doesn't link, on top of using an article that counters the claim of Chairman Omali Yeshitela being historically inaccurate.

First Things, first not sure why the Author didn't link to the article in on the Burning Spear's website itself, but here it is:

https://theburningspear.com/african-internationalism-is-not-pan-africanism-african-internationalism-is-the-theory-of-the-african-working-class/

From the Medium piece

Yeshitela’s position is that “Pan-Africanism was born as an attack on Marcus Garvey’s movement.” This is historically inaccurate. In fact, the abovementioned article itself noted that Henry Sylvester Williams had organized a Pan-African Conference in 1900. How then could Pan-Africanism be born as an attack on Garvey’s movement if Pan-Africanism predated Garvey’s movement? Garvey himself was influenced by the early Pan-African movement.>

What the Article ACTUALLY says

Before the rise of Marcus Garvey and his UNIA, the term Pan-Africanism was loosely used; it has no recognized organization or philosophy. It was applied to people like Henry Sylvester Williams, a Trinidad-born lawyer, who organized the first Pan-African Conference, for a reform of colonialism. There were Africans in the Caribbean, Brazil and the U.S. who returned home under different schemes.>

So the Medium Author either hasn't read the piece, is opportunistically hawking his book, and/or is just being dishonest about what The Chairman said.

Further in this section:

It was Garvey who was the first to create an organization that unites African people all over the world.

“Marcus Garvey created the first modern international African liberation movement with one philosophy, one central leadership and one organization without borders across the African world—the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

“It was based amongst the poor African workers and poor peasants across the world, conscious of its own existence as an organization for the national liberation of black people.

“Garvey’s movement was part of the worldwide national liberation of oppressed nations of his time. That is why Garvey sent solidarity messages to the Russian Revolution in 1917 and to the Irish Liberation Movement.” (The Burning Spear; Dec 2009.)>

Because the author attempts to make claims uniting Garvey with Pan-Africanism I'm going to quote a passage from the article, pardon the length:

Pan-Africanism was born as an attack on Garvey’s effort to unify Africa and African people

W.E Dubois emerged as the leader of black forces opposed to the success of Marcus Garvey and his UNIA. Chairman Omali Yeshitela summed up that, “Pan-Africanism was born as an attack on Marcus Garvey’s movement.”

On the contrary, DuBois, who had no base among the African working class and poor peasants in the U.S. or across the world, who had no economic program for African people anywhere, was tied to the liberal bourgeoisie who funded his organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a U.S.-only based organization.

DuBois called on the good will of imperialism to grant us some rights. DuBois, despite his intellectual brilliance in producing several books, promoted a philosophy of compromise with imperialism.

He promoted “Talented Tenthism,” which speaks only to the material interests of a tiny minority of the African petty bourgeoisie.”

In a letter to Charles Hughes, the U.S. secretary of state, DuBois wrote that “the Pan Africanist Congress is for conference, acquaintanceship and general mobilization.

“It has nothing to do with the so-called Garvey Movement and contemplates neither force nor revolution in its program.”

He continued, “We have the cordial cooperation of the French, Belgian and Portuguese governments and we hope to get the attention and sympathy of all colonial powers.”

DuBois wrote a similar letter to the British ambassador in Washington. “The purpose of these letters was to obtain governmental support for the 1921 Pan African Congress in London.” (Race First, pg. 290 Tony Martin)

Dubois’ and Padmore’s 5th Pan Africanist principles for reforming colonialism shows severe and tragic limitations>

The APSP has consistently sought to explain the differences between African Internationalism and Pan-Africanism, not just in the video linked but also in the criticism issued by the APSP to the A-APRP "Smash Slander and Build Principled Unity" To which the A-APRP has never responded.

Also the Author never actually explained what African Internationalism is (or Pan-Africanism for that matter) I have to run to an event but when I get back I'll explain what the Theory and Practice of African Internationalism is all about.