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.
Akinwande Ouwole “Wole” Soyinka, the first African writer to win a Nobel Prize in Literature (1986) was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria on July 13, 1934. His father, Canon S.A. Soyinka, was an Anglican minister and his mother, Grace Eniola, was the daughter of an Anglican … Read MoreWole Soyinka (1934- )
Fela Kuti was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria in the year 1938 as Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-KutFela Anikuplap Kuti. He later shortened his name to Fela Kuti, as he saw his birth name as a symbol of slavery and oppression. He also was popularly known as … Read MoreFela Kuti (1938-1997)
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”
In a speech celebrating the life of Dr. Eduardo Mondlane, leader the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) who was assassinated by Portuguese agents on February 3, 1969, Amilcar Cabral, leader of the liberation movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, described the role of indigenous culture in … Read More(1970) Amilcar Cabral, “National Liberation and Culture”
In 1966 Amilcar Cabral was the Secretary-General and President of the War Council of the P.A.I. G. C. (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde). In January 1966 he delivered an address to the first Tricontinental Conference of the peoples of Asia, … Read More(1966) Amilcar Cabral, “The Weapon of Theory”
Amílcar Cabral, also known as Abel Djassi, was a leader in the struggle for independence in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. Cabral was a writer, agronomic engineer, and Marxist nationalist. He was born on September 12, 1924, in Bafata, Portuguese Guinea. His father, Juvenal Cabral was … Read MoreAmílcar Lopes Cabral (1924-1973)
Sese Seko Ngbendu Waza Banga Mobutu, originally known as Joseph Desire Mobutu, served as Patrice Lumumba’s private secretary before being appointed Chief of Staff and second in command of the army when the Congo received its independence in 1960. In November 1965 Mobuto led a … Read More(1971) Sese Seko Mobutu, “Address to the Conseil Nationale Extraordinaire, Dakar, 14 February 1971”
Milton Apollo Obote was the first Prime Minister of Uganda from the time of its independence in 1962 until 1966 when he became President of the Republic of Uganda. In 1967 Obote gave a speech on language and nation building at a conference on national … Read More(1967) Milton Obote, “Language and National Identification”
On December 11, 1958, 34 year old Patrice Lumumba, president of the Congolese National Movement, spoke at the Assembly of African Peoples, an international Pan African Conference sponsored by Kwame Nkrumah, the Prime Minister of newly independent Ghana. His remarks appear below. Two years later … Read More(1958) Patrice Lumumba, “Speech at Accra”
The Afro-Asian Conference, known generally as the Bandung Conference, was to that date the largest gathering of Asian and African nations. On April 18 to 24, 1955, twenty-nine representatives of nations from Africa and Asia came together in Bandung, Indonesia, to promote African and Asian … Read MoreBandung Conference, 1955
