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.
Psychiatrist and anti-colonial cultural theorist, Frantz Fanon was born in the French West Indies, in Fort-de-France, Martinique on July 20, 1925. His father, Félix Casimir Fanon, was a black customs service inspector. His mother, Eléanore Médélice, was half French and owned a hardware and drapery … Read MoreFrantz Fanon (1925-1961)
Damon Allen is a professional football player in the Canadian Football League (CFL). In 2007-08 he completed his 24th season with the CFL. A graduate of California State University, Fullerton, Allen is the younger brother of former National Football League (NFL) star Marcus Allen. Damon … Read MoreDamon Allen (1963- )
George Elliott Clarke, a poet, playwright and literary critic is also the E.J Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto (Ontario). Clarke was born near the Black Loyalist community of Windsor Plains, Nova Scotia. He is a seventh generation Canadian descendant of … Read MoreGeorge Elliott Clarke (1960- )
Legendary poet and politician, Aimé Césaire, was born on June 26, 1913, in the small town of Basse-Pointe on the island of Martinique. His father was a tax inspector and his mother a dressmaker. Unlike the majority of lower-class Martinicans, Césaire was taught to read … Read MoreAimé Césaire (1913-2008)
Measha Brueggergosman, Canada’s most recognizable young opera star, is working hard to bring classical music to a popular audience. The Canadian soprano has emerged as one of the most magnificent performers and vibrant personalities of the day. She is critically acclaimed by the international press … Read MoreMeasha Brueggergosman (1977- )
Emperor Haile Selassie was born on July 23, 1892 as Tafari Makonnen just outside the city of Harrar in Enjersa Goro Province, Ethiopia. His mother was Yeshimbet Ali Abajiffar and his father was Ras (Duke) Makonnen Wolde Michael, Governor of Harrar, relative of Emperor Menelik … Read MoreHaile Selassie I of Ethiopia (1892-1975)
Without warning, Italian armed forces invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935, quickly defeated the Ethiopian Army, and forced Emperor Haile Selassie into exile first in Palestine and eventually in Great Britain. On June 30, 1936, Emperor Selassie came before the League of Nations in Geneva, … Read More(1936) Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, “Appeal to the League of Nations”
Palmares, or Quilombo dos Palmares, was a settlement of fugitive slaves established gradually from the early 1600s to 1694, about 60k inland from the northeast coast of Brazil around the regions of Pernambuco and Alagoas. Estimates indicated that 10,000 to 20,000 fugitive slaves, native Brazilians, … Read MorePalmares (ca. 1605-1694)
Sports historian Clay Moyle describes Canadian-born Sam Langford as one of the most successful and yet little known boxers of the 20th Century. In the excerpt below, drawn from his recently publisher book titled Sam Langford: Boxing’s Greatest Uncrowned Champion, Moyle makes his case for … Read MoreSam Langford: History’s Forgotten Boxer
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, prominent Brazilian writer and first President of the Brazilian Academy of Literature, was born in 1839 in the city of Rio de Janeiro to Francisco de Assis, a mulato father, and Maria Leopoldina Machado de Assis, a white Portuguese mother. … Read MoreJoaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908)
