Global African HistoryGlobal African History

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.

Credit: Photo by Benny Jackson on Unsplash

African Americans and Cuba’s First Experiment in Castro-Era Tourism: The Joe Louis Commission in Post Revolutionary Havana, 1959-1960

In the article below University of California, Riverside historian Ralph Crowder describes this fascinating but little known attempt by Joe Louis and Fidel Castro to encourage middle class African American tourism to Cuba  in the first year of the new regime. When Fidel Castro successfully … Read MoreAfrican Americans and Cuba’s First Experiment in Castro-Era Tourism: The Joe Louis Commission in Post Revolutionary Havana, 1959-1960

Patrice Emery Lumumba
(1925-1961)

Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the independent nation, the Republic of Congo, was born July 2, 1925, in Onalua in Kasai province of the Belgian Congo. With just primary education, Lumumba emerged to become one of Africa’s most vocal critics of colonialism. Early … Read MorePatrice Emery Lumumba
(1925-1961)

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918-2013)

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the first president of post-Apartheid South Africa, was born on July 18, 1918 in Qunu in the Transkei. His father was a counselor to the paramount chief of Thembuland, and young Nelson seemed destined to inherit the counselorship. But he had his … Read MoreNelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918-2013)

African National Congress (ANC)

The African National Congress (ANC) was formed in South Africa on January 18, 1912, when a group of Africans, Colored, and Indians convened a meeting in Bloemfontein to create the South African Native National Congress.  The name was officially changed to the African National Congress … Read MoreAfrican National Congress (ANC)

Africa and Africans in the Imagination of Renaissance Italians (1450-1630)

Many Europeans have long exhibited a fascination with the African continent.  However their knowledge of Africa was often incorrect or incomplete.  In the following article University of Cincinnati historian John K. Brackett describes the Italian idea of Africa during the 15th and 16th Centuries. An … Read MoreAfrica and Africans in the Imagination of Renaissance Italians (1450-1630)

Eshetu Chole (1945-1998)

Eshetu Chole was Ethiopia’s leading economist prior to his death in 1998. His research and publications encompassed an extraordinary breadth: agriculture, industrial and social development, fiscal policy, macro- and microeconomics, and human development at national and regional levels. He was also a budding poet. Chole … Read MoreEshetu Chole (1945-1998)