Kris Van der Bijl

Duse Mohamed Ali’s Ere Roosevelt Came is a rare and intriguing work of early 20th-century Pan-African literature. 

First serialised in The Comet, Ali’s Nigerian magazine, in 1934, the novel is a bold exploration of race, global politics, and Black resistance in an era marked by rising fascism, entrenched colonial rule, and pervasive white supremacy. 

Its recent republication by Pluto Press invites contemporary readers to engage with a work that was prophetic and deeply embedded in the ideological struggles of its time.

What’s more, the novel is sub-titled “A Record of the Adventures of the Man in the Cloak”. Are there any Ralph Ellison fans out there who might see some similarities?

Duse Mohamed Ali: A Transnational Thinker

Duse Mohamad Ali (1866–1945) significantly advanced the Pan-African movement. He was a journalist, playwright, and historian during the late nineteenth century. 

This Egyptian-Sudanese spent a great deal of time in Britain and West Africa. He authored numerous writings that profoundly influenced Marcus Garvey and others. His endeavours advanced anti-colonial thought in the black world and emphasised black unity.

Ere Roosevelt Came is a testament to Ali’s active involvement in politics. His novel blends speculative fiction with a sharp critique of power dynamics. 

It offers an alternative history where strategically organised black resistance spans across continents. Ali’s literature came forward during the prime of European fascism and U.S. segregation, presenting black strategies as world-defining.

A Speculative Narrative of Resistance

Set primarily in the United States, Ere Roosevelt Came depicts a story concerning “the All Black Airline” fighting against the Invisible Empire and Russian fighter jets. 

The most obvious read of the novel is that the Invisible Empire signifies the United States global expansion during the period between the two world words. 

However, given that the novel is set within the US’s borders, and given the racist rhetorics of its members, this Invisible Empire also has local significance: it can be the spectre of white supremacy that hung (and still hangs) over US society. 

These are the forces that the protagonist fights against in this bizarre, part-thriller, pan-africanist novel. 

Ali’s treatment of fascism and white supremacy is extremely foreboding. Rather than being passive victims, his characters actively participate in shaping history, which is a bold shift in the timid literary portrayals of the era. 

The novel’s transnational scope aligns overlapping African, African American, and other Black struggles into one geopolitical framework to serve as a unifying vision of resistance against oppression, and it was one of the first to do so.

Ali employs a mix of realism and speculative fiction in his works. His portrayal of secret Black resistance draws inspiration from real movements, such as the African Blood Brotherhood and Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association, which aimed to gain autonomy over Black identity through militaristic self-defence. 

The novel’s depiction of espionage and sabotage resonates with the history of Black resistance during acts of imperialist aggression.

Ere Roosevelt Came and Pan-African Thought

Ere Roosevelt Came hasn’t received the same attention as other early Pan-African literature, but its lacking recognition adds to its ability to blend fiction and political commentary. 

Ali’s journalistic and historian background keenly emerges through the novel’s factual intertwining of events with an unapologetic critique of imperialism and racism.

The Comet is noteworthy in this regard. It was intended for Africa, which was starved for stories that countered colonisation. One may consider the Egyptian-Sudanese writer’s fiction about the Black American ordeal published in a Nigerian periodical as a testimony to the transnational identity of a Pan-African ideology and the international circulation of radical thoughts.

Ali is known for his in-depth engagement with the spirit of Pan-Africanism, which is particularly visible in the novel’s discourse on the African diaspora and the unity among its people. 

The characters of the story embrace an international lifestyle, independent of citizenships, which is characteristic of the delegates of the early twentieth-century Pan-African congresses who sought to unify the anti-colonial and anti-racist struggles in different parts of the world.

Critical Reception and Contemporary Relevance

Ere Roosevelt Came has attracted new scholarly attention since its reissue. In fact, the Pluto Press re-issue includes two striking introductory essay’s by Alex Lubin and Marina Bilbija.

The examination of racism, militarism, and global power dynamics in the novel is as relevant today as it was in the 1930s. 

Ali’s work foresaw modern debates on the issue of justice, decolonisation, and the need for international cooperation to fight oppression.

Ali’s blending of fiction and politics places him in a lineage that includes writers such as George Schuyler, W.E.B. Du Bois, and, later, Octavia Butler.

His vision of Black agency, internationalism, and defiance in the face of oppression aligns with a long tradition of speculative storytelling as a tool for resistance.

Closing Thoughts

This is not merely an obscure historical curiosity but a work that demands attention. More than a piece of forgotten fiction, Ere Roosevelt Came serves as a reminder of the intellectual and creative breadth of early Pan-African thinkers. 

Ali’s vision, his insistence on Black agency, and his refusal to accept the world as it was given to him resonate powerfully in our present moment.

For readers interested in Pan-Africanism, Black speculative fiction, or the intersections of race and global politics, Ere Roosevelt Came is a compelling and necessary read.

Its republication ensures that Duse Mohamed Ali’s contributions to Black literature and political thought receive the recognition they deserve.

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