Positive Action campaign

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Positive Action was a campaign in 1950 in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) to end British rule and win self-government. It followed a general strike by the Trade Union Congress that began at midnight on 6 January 1950. Kwame Nkrumah announced Positive Action at a big rally on 8 January. The campaign used nonviolent action and political education to push for independence.

Riots erupted in Accra as the campaign started. The British declared a state of emergency, banned newspapers (including two edited by Nkrumah), and arrested many leaders, including Nkrumah and other TUC officials.

Despite the arrests, Positive Action helped move the country toward independence. In February 1951, Nkrumah was elected Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Assembly and released from prison to take the role. A congratulatory letter from Walter Sisulu of the ANC appeared in the Accra Evening News, a paper founded by Nkrumah, on 28 February 1951. The Gold Coast continued toward independence, and on 6 March 1957 it became Ghana.