The following are short descriptions of individuals, places and events which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
Yaa Asantewaa was an influential Ashanti queen at the beginning of the twentieth century who remains a powerful symbol today. Her birthdate is contested; she is generally believed to be born between the 1840s to 1860s in the Ashanti Confederacy in present-day Ghana. She was a skilled farmer before ascending … Read MoreYaa Asantewaa (mid-1800s-1921)
Yamoussoukro is currently the de jure capital of the nation of Cote d’Ivoire. The city had a population of 242,744 people in 2010. Yamoussoukro is located 274 km, or 170 miles, from the country’s de facto capital, Abidjan, where most of the government offices and … Read MoreYamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire (1909- )
Folorunsho Alakija is a Nigerian businesswoman who is involved in various industries such as fashion, oil, and printing. She is best known for being one of the richest black women in the world. Alakija was born in Ikorodu, Lagos State on July 15, 1951. She … Read MoreFolorunso Alakija (1951- )
Paulette Nardal was one of the founders of the Negritude intellectual movement. Nardal was born on October 12, 1896 in Saint-Pierre, Martinique, to Paul Nardal, the first black engineer in Public Works on the island, and Louise (Achille) Nardal. Paulette was the eldest of seven … Read MorePaulette Nardal (1896-1985)
Franciscus “Franc” Max Weerwind is the first black mayor of a major city in the Netherlands; moreover, he has been the mayor of three cities in that nation. The younger of the two sons of immigrant parents who arrived in the Netherlands in 1959, his … Read MoreFranc Weerwind (1964- )
Richard L. Davis is a distinguished historian of middle-period and late imperial China. He was born in Buffalo, New York to Darcy Raymond Williams, a minister of Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, and Jessie Mae Belton Davis. In 1973, he earned bachelor’s degrees in both political … Read MoreRichard Lee Davis (1951?- )
The Second Sudanese Civil War was an intense 22-year conflict between the central government in Khartoum and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The war started in southern Sudan but spread to other places including the Nuba mountains and the Blue Nile region. Two million … Read MoreSecond Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005)
In the article below, culinary historian Diane M. Spivey describes the centuries-old diaspora of African foods and cooking traditions in North and South America. Africa has been a major contributor to the cuisine of North and South America although this contribution has long been overlooked, … Read MoreTrans-Atlantic Food Migration: The African Culinary Influence on the Cuisine of the Americas
The Second Ivorian Civil War was a five-month conflict in the west African country of the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d’Ivoire) between 2010 and 2011. The main belligerents of the conflict were the military of the Ivory Coast, led by President Laurent Gbagbo … Read MoreSecond Ivorian Civil War (2010-2011)
Vanessa Diane Gilmore is the first African American and the youngest sitting federal judge at the time of appointment for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Vanessa Diane Gilmore was born in October, 1956 in St. Albans, New York and … Read MoreVanessa Diane Gilmore (1956- )