Kayomi Wada, Author at

Independent Historian

Kayomi Wada is a M.A. student at the University of Washington Tacoma. She earned a B.A. from the University of Washington in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences concentrating in Arts, Media, and Culture. She is currently researching Japanese American and African American communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Fourah Bay College (1827- )

On February 16, 1827, The Church Missionary Society (CMS) founded Fourah Bay College, the first college in West Africa. The first principal of the college was Rev. Edward Jones, an African American minister. It was located atop Mount Aureol in Freetown, the capital of Sierra … Read MoreFourah Bay College (1827- )

Makerere University (1922– )

In 1922 the British colonial government in Uganda founded a small vocational school, which would eventually become Uganda’s lone institution of higher education, Makerere University. The British Governor of Uganda, Robert Coryndon (1918-1922), proposed building a technical school for Africans. The Colonial Office and the … Read MoreMakerere University (1922– )

Achimota College/Achimota School (1924- )

Achimota College was founded in Achimota, Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1924 by Dr. James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, Rev. Alexander Garden Fraser, and Sir Gordon Guggisberg, the British Governor of the Gold Coast (1919-1927), as an elite secondary school based on the British model of public education. Governor Guggisberg urged … Read MoreAchimota College/Achimota School (1924- )

Dean Oliver Barrow (1951- )

On February 7, 2008, Belize elected Dean Barrow as its first black Prime Minister. Born March 2, 1951, in Belize City, Barrow earned his LL.M. from the University of Miami in the United States and became partner at a Belizean law firm in 1977. Two … Read MoreDean Oliver Barrow (1951- )

University of Liberia (1863- )

In 1851, the national legislature of Liberia authorized the establishment of Liberia College which is now the second oldest institution of higher learning in West Africa. The Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia purchased materials and hired faculty for the college with funds from … Read MoreUniversity of Liberia (1863- )

El Mina São Jorge da Mina

El Mina, a fortress erected by the Portuguese in what is now Ghana in 1482, was the first permanent structure south of the Sahara built by Europeans, and was the first of many facilities along the shore of West Africa designed to facilitate the growing … Read MoreEl Mina São Jorge da Mina

Rift Valley in East Africa

Site of some of the oldest hominid fossils, The Great Rift Valley in East Africa refers to a massive land depression, formed approximately twenty million years ago when two parallel fault lines pulled apart. The rift stretches along East Africa from the Jordan River Valley in southwest … Read MoreRift Valley in East Africa

Lalibela, Ethiopia (ca. 1200- )

Lalibela, a small city of approximately 15,000 people located in the Wollo Province of the Amhara Region of Northern Ethiopia, is considered one of the nation’s holiest cities and is the destination for pilgrimages by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians from around the nation. It was envisioned … Read MoreLalibela, Ethiopia (ca. 1200- )

Loria Raquel Dixon Brautigam ( ? – )

The first black person elected to the Nicaraguan National Assembly, Loria Raquel Dixon Brautigam was elected to represent the North Atlantic Autonomous Region of Nicaragua in 2006. Before entering politics, Brautigam worked as a nurse in Bilwiskana, Río Coco and served as director of the Unidad Policlínica de Puerto … Read MoreLoria Raquel Dixon Brautigam ( ? – )

Bluefields, Nicaragua (ca. 1650- )

A city at the mouth of the Escondido River and the Caribbean Sea, Bluefields is home to a large black settlement on the east coast of Nicaragua and is strongly associated with Black Creole culture. Nicaragua has the largest population of African descent in Central … Read MoreBluefields, Nicaragua (ca. 1650- )