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.
The transition of African American actress Meghan Markle to Duchess of Sussex in 2019 brought about by her marriage to Prince Harry, a member of the British royal family, overshadowed the earlier occurrence of the first person of African descent to marry into European royalty … Read MorePrincess Angela of Liechtenstein (née Angela Gisela Brown, 1958- )
The East African presence in the royal courts of India can be traced back to the 13th century. By the 16th century several Abyssinians (or Habshis as they were known there), the descendants of Ethiopian slaves, had become military generals and government ministers in Delhi … Read MoreIkhlas Khan (a.k.a. Malik Raihan Habshi, ?-1656)
In the northernmost of Nordic countries and the one with the smallest minority race population, a person of African heritage was crowned 2019 Miss Universe Iceland. Brita Abiba Þórhallsdóttir (the Icelandic letter Þ is the equivalent of th in English) was born January 9, 1999, … Read MoreBrita Ababa Þórhallsdóttir (1999- )
Herman Perry was the target of the “Greatest Manhunt of World War II.” In fact, there is no comparable search for a fugitive soldier in the annals of U.S. military history. Perry was born in poverty on May 16, 1922, in rural Monroe, North Carolina, … Read MoreHerman Perry (1922-1945)
In 2019 Ernest N. Ezeajughi was elected Mayor of the London Borough of Brent, population 331,000. He was born in 1960 in Awgbu Town in southern Nigeria, Anambra State, the son of Sir Simeon Okeke Ezeajughi, an educator and prominent politician. After attendance at Aguata … Read MoreErnest Nnaama Ezeajughi (1960- )
Few in the audience that began watching the 2019 Miss Universe Ireland Contest could have predicted that the winner, Fionnghuala O’Reilly, would not only be of African descent but also had arrived far from the shores of the Emerald Isle. Born August 20, 1993 in … Read MoreFionnghuala Isibeal Tome O’Reilly, (1993- )
One of the most prominent government ministers in Singapore in the 1950s was Mak Pak Shee whose “very dark” skin tone did not seem to retard his other careers as doctor and businessman. Often said to have been of part Chinese, part Indian ancestry, it … Read MoreMak Pak Shee (1916- ?)
The Little George Ship Revolt took place on the British ship Little George in June 1730. The little-known revolt was one of the most successful uprisings of captured Africans on the high seas in history. The revolt occurred five days after the Little George had … Read MoreLittle George Ship Revolt (1730)
Judson Frazier Eneas was a pioneering physician and nephrologist, who died of COVID-19 on April 5, 2020. He was classified as the Bahamas’ fifth COVID-19-related death and identified by the country’s health care officials as case #18. Dr. Eneas tested positive on April 1 and … Read MoreJudson Frazier Eneas (1947-2020)
On July 24, 2016, 37-year-old Somali-Canadian Abdirahman Abdi was beaten outside of his home in Ottawa, Canada by constables Dave Weir and Daniel Montsion. His subsequent death sparked multiple Black Lives Matter protests in the Canadian capital and the formation of the Justice for Abdirahman … Read MoreAbdirahman Abdi (1979-2016)
