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.
Es’kia Mphahlele was a South African writer, professor, and political activist who was critical of the nation’s apartheid regime. He subsequently spent twenty years in exile from South Africa between 1957 and 1977. In the speech below, given in Johannesburg, South Africa in June, 1963, … Read More(1963) Es’kia (Ezekiel) Mphahlele, “On Negritude in Literature”
Most historians of the Roman world have decoupled the concepts of bondage and race that are central to the arguments justifying the enslavement of millions of people in the United States and other modern western nations. Instead they argued that those enslaved by the Romans … Read MoreRoman Slavery and the Question of Race
Operation Crossroads Africa (OCA), founded in 1958 by Dr. James H. Robinson, is a non-profit organization which provides individuals with a seven-week experience in Africa. Founded on the principle that cultural immersion is possible through working and living inside Africa, their core values are to … Read MoreOperation Crossroads Africa (1958- )
Nukina Yoshitaka, a scholar in American literature, wrote that he was motivated to found the Black Studies Association in Tokyo, Japan in October of 1954 because he believed Japanese under United States military control had a commonality with African Americans, as both groups had their … Read MoreBlack Studies Association (Kokujin Kenkyu no Kai) of Japan
The Kanem-Bornu Empire was a large African state which existed from the 9th century through the end of the 19th century and which spanned a region which today includes the modern-day countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria. The empire was founded by the Zaghawa … Read MoreEmpire of Kanem-Bornu (ca. 9th century-1900)
Benedita Souza da Silva Sampaio, prominent Brazilian politician and first Afro-Brazilian member of the senate in the country, was born on April 26, 1942, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to José Tobias de Souza and Maria da Conceição de Souza. Mother of two children, she … Read MoreBenedita da Silva (1942- )
The African Civilization Society (ACS) was founded in 1858 by Henry Highland Garnet who sought to encourage blacks Americans to emigrate to Africa. Garnet envisioned educated black Americans moving to the African Continent as cultural missionaries to lead the economic, political, and moral development of … Read MoreThe African Civilization Society (1858-1869)
Yvette M. Jarvis has the distinction of being the first African American woman elected to serve on the Athens, Greece City Council from 2002 to 2006. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1957, Jarvis traveled to Greece in 1982 after graduating from Boston University (Massachusetts). … Read MoreYvette M. Jarvis (1957- )
Colonel Stephen Blucke led an all-black Regiment that fought for the British during the American Revolution. He settled in Birchtown, Nova Scotia in 1783 and became a leader in the Black Loyalist community. During the Revolutionary War, the most famous of the Black Loyalist Military … Read MoreStephen Blucke (?-1792)
Elected in 1963 and named president in 1964, Jomo Kenyatta was the first president of Kenya and is still today often referred to as mzee (the Father of the Nation). Kenyatta was born under the name Kamau to Kikuyu parents in the town of Gatundu, … Read MoreJomo Kenyatta (c. 1894-1978)
