The African Progress Union (APU) was founded in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1918 as "an Association of Africans from various parts of Africa, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

, British Guiana, Honduras and America, representing advanced African ideas in liberal education". The first president was John Archer. He was succeeded in 1921 by

John Alcindor John Alcindor (8 or 9 July 1873 – 25 October 1924) was a physician and activist from Trinidad who settled in London. He is known for his role in the African Progress Union, of which he became president in 1921. Life and career Alcindor was bor ...

. Others involved as founders included John Eldred Taylor,

Thomas Horatio Jackson Thomas Horatio Jackson (1879–1935) was a Nigerian newspaper editor and publisher, who has been called a "veritable titan of the Lagos Press". Jackson's career, like that of his father John Payne Jackson, has been said to "exemplify the militant a ...

and

Dusé Mohamed Ali Dusé Mohamed Ali ( Bey Effendi) (21 November 1866 – 25 June 1945) (دوسي محمد علي) was a Sudanese-Egyptian actor and political activist, who became known for his African nationalism. He was also a playwright, historian, journalist ...

. In 1919, the Union briefly merged with the Society of Peoples of African Origin (SPAO), which had been founded in 1918. A short-term change of name to the Society of African Peoples was followed by the founder of the SPAO, Felix Hercules, becoming Secretary of the Union. Also in 1919 the APU paid for Edward Theophilus Nelson as defence counsel in the Liverpool trial of 15 black men, in the aftermath of racially motivated communal violence. Alcindor died in 1924; he was succeeded by Kwamina Tandoh. For some years he worked closely with

John Barbour-James John Barbour-James (June 1867 – 1954) was a Black British activist who worked to improve the understanding and recognition of the achievements of black people in Britain. Barbour James was born in British Guiana, where he became postmaster in ...

. The Union's 1925 meeting was attended by

Ethel Snowden Ethel Snowden, Viscountess Snowden (born Ethel Annakin; 8 September 1881 – 22 February 1951), was a British socialist, human rights activist, and feminist politician. From a middle-class background, she became a Christian Socialist thro ...

and

Gordon Guggisberg Brigadier-General Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, (20 July 1869 – 21 April 1930) was a senior Canadian-born British Army officer and British Empire colonial administrator. He published a number of works on military topics and Africa. Earl ...

. The APU was active until 1927., p. 13.

References

*Killingray, David (1994). ''Africans in Britain''. London: Routledge. Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom {{edu-org-stub