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Pan-Africanist Praxis Ina Belize Devon Lovelle Lee Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Sociology Onwubiko Agozino, Chair David Brunsma Nicholas Copeland Ellington Graves November 11, 2019 Blacksburg, VA Keywords: Pan-Africanism, Praxis, Social Movement Theory, Black Studies, Reflexive Sociology, Liberation Sociology Pan-Africanist Praxis Ina Belize Devon Lovelle Lee Abstract Pan Africanism is strategy that emerges through a history of surviving oppression, methodology to understand thought and action, and theory that tests findings against sociopolitical context. History, methodology and theory are used to develop the historical trajectory that responds to invasion, slavery, colonization and neocolonialism in Belize. As such, three manuscripts are offered to outline the historical narrative of Belizean Pan Africanism, autoethnographic insights for the study of Pan Africanism, and the sociopolitical context that contemporary Pan Africanism in Belize rises out of. Kurt Young defines Pan-Africanism as: “a fusing of affirmations of African identity with libratory efforts at the level of the masses (2009:7). The study and practice of Pan Africanism should therefore aligned in objectives and strategy to interrupt oppressive conditions that impact communities within the African Diaspora. This project, therefore, operationalizes scholar-activism in history, method and theory to outline strategic action and collective subversion as Pan-Africanist Praxis in Belize. Pan-Africanist Praxis Ina Belize Devon Lovelle Lee General Audience Abstract White Colonizers invaded the shores of Africa, dislocating a people from their legacy and heritage. However, a strategy was formed to create a new legacy and heritage that broke the bondage of White supremacy that trapped Black bodies. From the enslaved that ran to forge a new path for their people, to those that shed blood for freedom, Pan Africanism has been a strategy that has incorporated thoughts of freedom into escape plans. This study builds a historical timeline for Pan Africanism in Belize, methodology for the study of Pan Africanism and an academic exploration of contemporary Pan Africanism in Belize. Pan Africanism as history, method and contemporary theory add to the body of knowledge by inserting Belize at the center of Pan Africanist theory and practice. The study and practice of Pan Africanism is aligned in objectives and strategy to interrupt historical and contemporary conditions that impact communities within the African Diaspora. This project, therefore, operationalizes scholar- activism in history, method and theory to outline strategic action and collective subversion as Pan-Africanist Praxis in Belize. Acknowledgements We are 13 weeks pregnant and I could not be more excited to be a father. There has been no greater joy and accomplishment than to bring a life into this world through the love that I share with my beloved Tara. It has been almost a year. Last November, my Father told you to make sure that I finish my dissertation. My mother told you the same. It is your love and support that I needed to get through one of the greatest struggles that has ever been set in front of me. I never felt the level of confidence that I have before you. Thank you Mom and Dad for never giving up on me when it would have been easier. This has been a seemingly never ending struggle and your support allowed this rock that the builder refused to see myself as a cornerstone. The foundation that you provided me will continue to build others. Mom, thank you for always reminding me to be humble. It is my lack of humility that has been my greatest stumbling block. Dad, thank you for instilling in me the principle that greatness is what you have to give and not what you have to show. I take you two with me wherever I go. To my committee, thank you for believing in me and guiding me to this point. Dr. Biko, your committed objectivity was a guiding force in my writing. Dr. Graves, I recently shaved my head and have since been channeling my inner Graves. Thank you for your guidance and support. Dr. Brunsma, you helped me to become a better writer by helping me to sharpen my Crayola. Dr. Copeland, You were the Edward Scissorhands to my writing. You helped me to develop thick skin and intellectual precision. To the Belizeans that informed my work, thank you for opening your homes and minds to my work. I hope that I have adequately represented your determination to fulfill the dreams of our ancestors. You have given me much more than I can ever give to you. However, the work that we were able to share will last generations through the success of Big Yeah, and the Belize Progressive Party. We will always flourish under the shade. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii General Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v Introduction .................................................................................................................................. vii A Case for Pan Africanism in Belize .................................................................................... viii Considerations For Theory Construction ................................................................................. ix Limitations of Social Movement Theory .................................................................................. x Belizean Pan Africanism: Abridged Literature Review ........................................................... xi Historical Context Priority ..................................................................................................... xii Africana Studies Framework .................................................................................................. xiv Works Cited ............................................................................................................................ xvi Pan-African Belize: A Case for Praxis ............................................................................................ 1 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Defining 20th Century Belizean Pan Africanism ....................................................................... 2 Transnational Linkages Between Garveyism and Black Power in Belize ................................ 3 Pan-Africanism: The Link Between the Labor and National Movements ................................ 4 Black Power/Black Nationalism Repackaged and Transported to Belize ................................. 9 Political Opposition to Black Power ....................................................................................... 11 Adaptive Character and Latent Stage ...................................................................................... 14 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................. 17 The Black Studies Method: Exploring Pan-Africanist Praxis ....................................................... 19 Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 19 Historical Innovation and Activism ......................................................................................... 20 Methodological Grounding: Africana Studies Perspective(s) ................................................. 21 Problematizing Scholar-Activism ........................................................................................... 25 Scholar-Activism and Enactive Ethnography: Disciplinary Transgression ............................ 27 Ethnography and Situatedness ................................................................................................. 28 Fieldwork As/And Social Process(es) ..................................................................................... 30 Triangulating Archival Data with Ethnographic Findings ...................................................... 32 Developing Scholar-Activist Praxis ........................................................................................ 34 Putting Data to Work ............................................................................................................... 36 Reflecting on the Location of the Ethnographer as Scholar-Activist ...................................... 37 Situatedness and Epistemological Value(s) ............................................................................. 38 Scholar-Activism and Pan-African Praxis ............................................................................... 41 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................. 44 Belizean Clientelism: The Case of Divine Rastafarian Intervention ............................................. 47 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................