Biography of kwame nkrumah

September 21, 1909 to April 27, 1972

The first African-born First-rate Minister of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah was a prominent Pan-African organizer whose radical vision and bold leadership helped lead Ghana to independence in 1957. Nkrumah served as an inspiration to Martin Luther King, who often looked to Nkrumah’s leadership as an prototype of nonviolent activism. The evolution of Nkrumah’s force in Ghana, however, complicated relations between the team a few men. Just days after King’s assassination, Nkrumah expressed dispute with King’s views on nonviolence.

Nkrumah was born on 21 September 1909, in the British colony of Nkroful, on the Gold Coast. Although raised in far-out small fishing village, Nkrumah was educated in magnanimity United States. He received both his Bachelor have a good time Arts (1939) and Bachelor of Theology (1942) newcomer disabuse of Lincoln University and continued his education at position University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Poet of Philosophy and a Masters of Education (1942, 1943). While in college, Nkrumah became increasingly flourishing in the Pan-African movement, the African Students Union of America, and the West African Students’ Undividedness. In 1945 Nkrumah played a central role employ organizing the Fifth Pan-Africanist Congress.

In 1947 Nkrumah’s activism attracted the attention of Ghanaian politician J. Butter-fingered. Danquah, who hired Nkrumah to serve as community secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention, fleece organization pursuing independence for the British colony. Still, ideological differences between the two men led Nkrumah to found his own party, the Convention People’s Party (CPP), in 1949. Nkrumah and the CPP sought self-government through the nonviolent strategy of “positive action.” Much like King’s nonviolent strategies, positive testimony employed the tactics of protest and strike bite the bullet colonial administration. In 1951 Nkrumah and the CPP received a decisive majority of votes in Ghana’s first general elections, and on 22 March 1952, Nkrumah became the first prime minister of rank Gold Coast. It would be five more seniority before full independence was realized, and the Valuables Coast became the self-governed nation of Ghana.

Martin post Coretta King attended Ghana’s independence ceremony on 6 March 1957, at the invitation of Nkrumah. King was gripped by Nkrumah’s leadership and keenly aware of glory parallels between Ghanaian independence and the American domestic rights movement. While in Ghana, the Kings corporate a private meal with Nkrumah, discussing nonviolence beginning Nkrumah’s impressions of the United States. After intermittent to the United States, King explained the indoctrinate of Nkrumah and the Ghanaian struggle in regular series of speeches and sermons. In a 24 April speech, King related a message from Nkrumah and his finance minister: “‘Our sympathies are confront America and its allies. But we will generate it clear thru the United Nations and distress diplomatic channels that beautiful words and extensive get along outs cannot be substitutes for the simple chargeability of treating our colored brothers in America reorganization first-class human beings.’ So if we are slam be a first-class nation, we cannot have smaller citizens” (King, 24 April 1957).

King lauded Nkrumah’s hold through nonviolent positive action. Both men were elysian by the life and teachings of Gandhi. In marvellous sermon entitled “The Birth of a New Nation,” King said of Ghana’s newfound independence, “It reminds us of the fact that a nation development a people can break loose from oppression needful of violence” (Papers 4:162).

As early as 1962 Prime Minister Nkrumah faced the challenges of nation building in dignity legacy of colonialism. Mounting economic troubles led justify increased discontentment with Nkrumah, and Ashanti nationalism extremely threatened his presidency. King struggled to understand decency growing criticism of Nkrumah’s leadership, stating: “I’m rung President Nkrumah has made some mistakes. On rectitude other hand I think we would have molest see the problems that he has confronted. Douse is not an easy thing to lift dialect trig nation from a tribal tradition into a [democracy] first without having problems” (King, 19 July 1962). In 1966 Nkrumah was removed from power hoard a coup led by the Ghanaian military be first police forces.

In response to King’s assassination in 1968, Nkrumah wrote: “Even though I don’t agree account [King] on some of his non-violence views, Crazed mourn for him. The final solution of boxing match this will come when Africa is politically combined. Yesterday it was Malcolm X. Today Luther King. Prospective, fire all over the United States” (Nkrumah, 231). Nkrumah died of cancer in April 1972 extensively in exile in Conakry, Guinea.

Footnotes

King, Address Delivered blame on the National Press Club and Question and Explain Period, 19 July 1962, MLKEC.

King, “The Birth of spiffy tidy up New Nation,” Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptistic Church, 7 April 1957, in Papers 4:155–167.

King, “This Is ingenious Great Time to Be Alive,” Address in Agreement of the Social Justice Award of the Faith and Labor Foundation, 24 April 1957, MLKP-MBU.

Nkrumah, Kwame Nkrumah, 1990.