Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey (Nii Laryea Osabu I, Atrékor Wé Oblahii kè Oblayéé Mantsè)

Cross-Border Cosmopolitans: The Making of a Pan-African North America offers fresh insights into Black liberation movements in the twentieth century, focusing on the transnational efforts of Black North Americans of American, Caribbean, and Canadian descent. Dr. Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey demonstrates how these groups played a crucial role in forming Pan-Africanism, a movement aimed at liberating Black people across the Americas and Africa.

Drawing from extensive archives in Canada and the United States, Adjetey weaves diverse historiographies, focusing on lesser-known activists — both women and men — who faced economic challenges, discrimination, and repression. These individuals used transnational networks and cross-border migration to foster solidarity and resistance, even in the face of infiltration by the authorities.

Cross-Border Cosmopolitans reframes the impact of Black North Americans in shaping Pan-Africanism and highlights the power of cross-border solidarity in global liberation movements. By showcasing the resilience, determination, and organizational skill of grassroots activists, Adjetey underscores the importance of collective action in achieving lasting change. This contribution not only fills a historical gap by bringing these interconnected movements back together in a single, transnational frame, but also opens new perspectives for future research.