Contestation of Colonial Knowledge and the Emergence of Epistemological Decoloniality in Early Pan-African Thought (1910s-1950s)

Abstract The mid-20th century heralded a critical epistemological rupture, foregrounding the contestation of Eurocentric paradigms and the emergence of decolonial frameworks in African intellectual discourse. This article interrogates the formative contributions of early Pan-African thought, spanning the 1910s to the 1950s, which constituted the intellectual scaffolding for epistemological decoloniality. Through an incisive critique of colonial knowledge systems, Pan-African thinkers transitioned from passive engagement to an assertive reclamation of epistemic agency. Central to this ideological shift was the reconfiguration of educational paradigms. Visionaries such as Edward Blyden and James Africanus Horton repudiated the erasure of African historical and cultural legacies within colonial pedagogical structures, advocating instead for educational models anchored in African epistemologies. Their endeavors sought to cultivate intellectual self-determination and socio-cultural justice. Simultaneously, scholars like W.E.B. Du Bois and Cheikh Anta Diop interrogated Eurocentric historiographical distortions, rigorously documenting Africa's pre-colonial civilizations to subvert hegemonic narratives and restore historical subjectivity. The intellectual ferment of the Négritude movement further amplified these critiques by valorizing African identity, aesthetics, and heritage, while the deliberative platforms provided by Pan-African congresses facilitated transcontinental solidarity and strategic epistemic resistance. Collectively, early Pan-African thought catalyzed a profound challenge to Eurocentric epistemic dominance, inaugurating a transformative trajectory toward Africa-centered paradigms of knowledge production and equitable global intellectual engagement.