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.
Oyo, a pre-colonial kingdom in present-day Nigeria, was founded in the 1300s. Established by Oranmiyan of the Yoruba people of West Africa, Oyo quickly grew to become one of the most powerful states in the Yoruba-speaking region. From its capital city at Oyo-Ile, this weak … Read MoreKingdom of Oyo (ca. 1500-1837)
Americo-Liberians are Liberians of African American descent. They trace their ancestry to freeborn and formerly enslaved African Americans who immigrated to Liberia in the 19th century. In 1822, the American Colonization Society (ACS) established the Liberian colony on the West African coast to send freeborn … Read MoreAmerico-Liberians
Queen Nzinga (Nzinga Mbande), the monarch of the Mbundu people, was a resilient leader who fought against the Portuguese and their expanding slave trade in Central Africa. During the late 16th Century, the French and the English threatened the Portuguese near monopoly on the sources … Read MoreQueen Nzinga (1583-1663)
William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman, an Americo-Liberian, served 27 years as President of Liberia, longer than any president before or after him. Tubman, who is regarded by some in his country as the “father of modern Liberia,” was born on November 29, 1895 in Harper, Liberia. … Read MoreWilliam V. S. Tubman (1895-1971)
Zenzile Miriam Makeba, world renowned South African singer, was born in Johannesburg on March 4, 1932. She studied music for eight years at the Kilmerton Training Institute in Pretoria, South Africa and toured with amateur groups before beginning her professional career in 1954 with the … Read MoreMiriam Makeba (1932-2008)
On June 4, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a major speech addressing the relationship between the United States and the Muslim World at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt. The text of the speech appears below. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I am honored … Read More(2009) Barack Obama, “A New Beginning Between the United States and the Muslim World”
Born Nzinga Mbemba, King Alfonso I was the leader of the Kongolese people in the early part of the 16th Century. Mbemba developed a strong trade relationship with the Portuguese and adopted Catholicism as a result of this relationship. The influence of the Catholic faith … Read MoreAlfonso I [King] (?-1543)
Mytela Kasanda, or Mirambo, was a Nyamwezi warlord who gained control of much of east central Africa. He was born into the royal family of the small chiefdom of Uyowa, and likely became chief after the death of his father around 1860. He became a … Read MoreMirambo (ca. 1840-1884)
Yakubu Gowon, Nigerian head of state during its civil war, was born in Northern Nigeria in 1934. Gowon joined the Nigerian army in 1954, and became a Second Lieutenant on his 21st birthday in 1955. From this point until 1966, Gowon was a professional soldier … Read MoreGeneral Yakubu Dan-Yumma Gowon (1934- )
By the early 1970s South African cleric Desmond Mpilo Tutu had not yet achieved worldwide fame as an opponent of Apartheid. Nonetheless, in a July 1973 paper delivered to the National Conference of the South African Council of Churches, Tutu explained to his audience the … Read More(1973) Desmond Tutu, “God-given Dignity and the Quest for Liberation”
