Egypt Is Africa: David and Shirley Graham Du Bois in the United Arab Republic during the 1960s

This paper expands upon the history of African Americans involved in African decolonization, shifting the focus north of the Sahara to the experiences of David and Shirley Graham Du Bois in the United Arab Republic in the 1960s. The stepson and wife of one of the most prominent leaders of pan-Africanism, W.E.B. Du Bois, both Du Boises were deeply committed to realizing his vision of a liberated and united Africa. This paper explores the Du Boises efforts from a previously neglected space - Cairo, where the Du Boises were part of a larger project to make Egypt a part of Africa, constructing a truly continental pan-African identity. Under President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the UAR increasingly attempted to bridge the Sahara, and the Du Boises’ experiences offers a window into the optimism and failures of this project.

            David Graham Du Bois first arrived in Cairo in 1961, and quickly joined this pan-African project as a journalist for UAR publications, and as an unofficial liaison between Accra and Cairo. Shirley Graham Du Bois visited Cairo in 1958, but only moved to Cairo after the overthrow of Nkrumah in 1966. Invited by Nasser, Shirley quickly became an advocate of his efforts for Afro-Arab unity. Seen as prominent critics of the West, the Du Boises efforts centered on challenging the division of Arab and Black Africa. However, both Cold War tensions and the Arab-Israeli conflict stymied efforts to persuade sub-Saharan Africa and African Americans of their shared solidarities with Cairo. Though never official UAR representatives, this paper examines the Du Boises attempts to tie Israel and the United States with neocolonialism in the continent as part of an Egyptian Afro-Arab project, which provides new insights into the scope of Black freedom movements and diplomacy in this anti-colonial moment.