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.
Celso Roberto Pitta do Nascimento, Sao Paulo’s first black mayor, was born to a middle class couple in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 29, 1946. His father was white and his mother was black. After completing his undergraduate degree at the Federal University of … Read MoreCelso Pitta (1946-2009)
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat, third President of post-independence Egypt (governing from 1970 to 1981), was born of peasant background in the Nile Delta village of Mit Abu al-Kum on December 25, 1918. The son an Egyptian army clerk and a Sudanese housewife, Sadat was educated in … Read MoreMuhammad Anwar al-Sadat (1918-1981)
In the following account North Carolina State University historian Richard Slatta explores the little known history and heritage of South American cowboys of African and mixed race background. Many students of frontier societies, most notably Frederick Jackson Turner, have depicted the frontier as a place … Read MoreCowboys of Color in South America
Tom Mboya, born on August 15, 1930 in Kilimambogo, Kenya on a sisal plantation estate, was a Kenyan nationalist, trade union leader, and government minister. His parents were Luo agricultural workers who, as recently converted Catholics, sent him to mission schools from an early age. … Read MoreThomas Mboya (Joseph Odhiambo) (1930-1969)
Mathieu Da Costa, a free black seaman, is believed to be the first person of African ancestry to reach Canada and he is the first recorded black man to visit the region of Port Royal in Nova Scotia. Although little is known of his background … Read MoreMathieu Da Costa (17th Century?)
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, Angolan insurgent fighter and longtime leader of The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), was born in Munhango, Angola on August 3, 1934 to Helena Mbundu Savimbi and Loth Savimbi. Savimbi’s father was a railway stationmaster and part-time Protestant … Read MoreJonas Malheiro Savimbi (1934-2002)
Authorized by Congress in 1866 and activated on November 1, 1869, the 24th Infantry Regiment was one of four all-black regiments created after the Civil War. The unit remained composed of black enlisted men and mostly white officers until 1951 when it was disbanded during … Read More24th Infantry Regiment in Korea (1950-1951)
Brazzaville, the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo, was founded on September 10, 1880. The city was on the site of Nkuna, a Bateke village and was named after its part-African founder, explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza. Makoko of the Téké, … Read MoreBrazzaville, Congo (1880- )
Elizabeth Catlett Mora was a prominent black political expressionist sculptor and printmaker in the 1960s and 1970s. Catlett was born to John and Mary Catlett who were public school teachers in Washington, D.C. She was the youngest of three children. After graduating from Dunbar High … Read MoreElizabeth Catlett (1915-2012)
When Jennifer Josephine Hosten won the Miss World contest in 1970 she was the first woman from Grenada and the first of woman of African ancestry to hold the crown. She was crowned amid the greatest controversy in Miss World Pageant history. Hosten was born … Read MoreJennifer Hosten (1947- )
