Manuel Carlos Piar (1782-1817)

A military officer in Venezuelan war for independence against Spanish rule, General Manuel Carlos Piar exemplifies both the struggle for independence against Spain and the parallel but less successful campaign against racial caste in colonial South America. Of mulatto background, Piar was born in Curaçao, … Read MoreManuel Carlos Piar (1782-1817)

Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (1919–1969)

Moïse Kapenda Tshombe was the president of Katanga, once a secessionist state of Congo immediately after the country’s independence in 1960. Tshombe was born in 1919 in the southern region of Katanga. His father was said to be the first Congolese millionaire, amassing a fortune … Read MoreMoïse Kapenda Tshombe (1919–1969)

Joseph-Désiré/ Mobutu, Sese Seko Kuku Waza Banga Mobutu (1930-1997)

Joseph Mobutu, named Joseph-Désiré Mobutu at birth, was the second president of Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of Congo) from 1965 to 1997.  Mobutu was born in 1930 in the Belgian Congo and studied journalism. In 1958, Mobutu became the country’s state secretary and … Read MoreJoseph-Désiré/ Mobutu, Sese Seko Kuku Waza Banga Mobutu (1930-1997)

(1959) Patrice Lumumba, “African Unity and National Independence”

By 1959 Patrice Lumumba was the most prominent nationalist and independence leader in the Congo.  His fame was also spreading beyond the nation’s boundaries as reflected in this speech given at the closing session of the International Seminar organized by the Congress for the Freedom … Read More(1959) Patrice Lumumba, “African Unity and National Independence”

(1927) Lamine Senghor, “The Negro’s Fight for Freedom”

Lamine Senghor was an early Senegalese nationalist.  Born in Kaolack, Senegal in 1889, he served in the French Army between 1915 and 1919 and returned to Paris in 1922.  Senghor joined the French Communist Party and ran as a ran as Communist Party candidate in … Read More(1927) Lamine Senghor, “The Negro’s Fight for Freedom”

(1959) Sekou Touré, “The Political Leader Considered as the Representative of a Culture”

On October 2, 1958 Sekou Touré, proclaimed Guinea’s independence from France and became its first president.  One year later he gave a speech in Conakry, the capital in which he outlined the role of political leaders in reflecting and developing the culture of their nations.   … Read More(1959) Sekou Touré, “The Political Leader Considered as the Representative of a Culture”