Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1945, Horace G. Campbell descended from working people of African descent. At once beneficiary and heir to the interlocking struggles against slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism, all expressions of racial capitalism, Campbell went on to become one of the preeminent pan-African intellectual-activists of his generation. This collection honors his life and labor. Divided into four parts, the collection includes testimonials of the honoree’s impact by past and present students; essays by comrades and coworkers on his personal, political and intellectual journeys across pan-African spaces; investigations into his evolution as an intellectual-activist, from his days as an undergraduate in
Canada to his time as the Kwame Nkrumah chair of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon; and explorations of broader themes illustrative of his scholarship of research and action. A connecting theme across the collection is renewal, redress, revolution, the quest for which sums up well the story of Campbell’s amazing, inspiring, and impactful journey as an engaged pan-African intellectual.

“For more than six decades, Horace Campbell has cultivated a politics steeped in the creative imaginations of the working peoples of the African world. The humanity of Africa’s progenies has remained his North Star, informing new forms of thinking and transcending old orthodoxies that erase and marginalize the least among us. With affection and commitment,
Campbell’s ideas continue to shine bright, illuminating new ways forward. This collection, appropriately titled One Love, does justice to man and mission alike.

Fanon Che Wilkins, co-editor, From Toussaint to Tupac: The Black International Since the Age of Revolution

In October 2025, several hundred people gathered in Washington, DC to celebrate an important milestone: Professor “Mwalimu” Horace Campbell’s 80th birthday. In fashion modeled after the guest of honor, the food was delicious. The vibrations hit like the third beat of a reggae measure. Together, we (re)learned the pan-Africanist journey from our brilliant friend and teacher. If you missed the party, I’m truly sorry. This book is the next best thing. Don’t miss out again!

Edward E. Baptist, author, The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism

David Johnson taught history at the University of Calabar, Georgetown University, and The City College, City University of New York. He attended the School of Oriental and African Studies, where he earned a PhD in African history, and the University of Sussex, where he got to know Horace Campbell.
 
Michael O. West teaches at Penn State University and writes on the struggles of African peoples here and there. His current research focuses on Kwame Nkrumah and the global Black Power movement of the long 1960s.