In late July 1969, Algiers hosted Le Festival panafricain d'Alger (Pan-African Cultural Festival), an event organized by the Organization of African Unity to mark a decade of anti-colonial struggle that brought independence across the continent, from Abidjan to Nairobi and from Kigali to Algiers. This melting pot, mixing hope, optimism, and resolve saw Nina Simone singing Ne me quitte pas (Don't leave me), Black Panther Party activists meeting their African counterparts, and Leopold Sengor discussing the continent's past, present, and future. The festive spirit, engulfing African revolutionaries, politicians, thinkers, and artists alike, prompted the leader of the liberation movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, Amilcar Cabral, to make a dramatic proclamation captured in William Klein's contemporary documentary: “Pick a pen and take note: the Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca, the Christians to the Vatican and the national liberation movements to Algiers!”
Cabral's emotional assessment paid a fitting tribute to...