The following are short descriptions of the women and men who have contributed to the shaping of Global African 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.
Afro-Turkish choreographer, dancer, instructor, and talent agent Saít Sökmen was born in Conakry, the capital city of Guinea, Africa, the sixth child of Mehmet Cemil Sökmen, a successful merchant, and Fatuma Mamady, a resident of Conakry. His father operated a bakery and winery in Conakry until political instability … Read MoreSaít Sökmen (1942– )
In 1983, 25-year-old Euzhan Palcy became the first black woman to direct a filmproduced by a major Hollywood studio. Palcy was born in the French colony of Martinique on January 13th, 1958. Her interest in films began when she was ten as she felt an attraction towards them. At the time, there … Read MoreEuzhan Palcy (1958- )
Michael de Frietas, later known as Michael Abdul Malik and Michael X, was a controversial black revolutionary figure born in Port-au-Spain, Trinidad in 1933. He was mixed-race. Iona Brown, his mother, was working-class and a known African spiritualist in their community in Trinidad. His estranged father, Emmanuel de Frietas, was Portuguese and … Read MoreMichael X (1933-1975)
In 1965, Cyril Michael became one of the first four judges to be elected in the newly instituted Municipal Court systems established in the United States Virgin Islands. Cyril Michael was born on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, Danish West Indies to Andre and Wilhelmina Michael on January 22, 1898. He … Read MoreCyril Michael (1898-1978)
Allan Glaisyer Minns, an early black physician and civic leader, was the first elected mayorof African-descent in Great Britain. Minns was born on October 19, 1858 on Inagua island, Bahamas to John Minns and Ophelia Elizabeth Bunch. His paternal grandfather, also named John Minns, emigrated from England to the Bahamas in … Read MoreAllan Glaisyer Minns (1858-1930)
Born in Jamaica in 1935, Dorrel Dixon began weightlifting in his teens which slowly became his introduction into the realm of athletics. Through weightlifting, Dixon widened his physical stature. His physique and strength led him to win his first accolade as Mr. Jamaica in 1954. Later in the … Read MoreDory Dixon (1935- )
International rowing champion Angel Fournier Rodriguez was born in Guantanamo, Cuba on December 31, 1987. Rodriguez was raised playing the most popular Cuban sport, baseball, as well as basketball. At age 12 he was spotted by a coach who introduced him to the sport of rowing. Rodriguez began his international rowing … Read MoreAngel Fournier Rodriguez (1987- )
Born in 1980 in apartheid-dominated Johannesburg, South Africa, Sizwe Lawrence Ndlovu was a member of a family of seven. His interest in athleticsbegan when he was exposed to the typical South African sports, cricket, European football, and rugby. Once he became older, he discovered rowing, which would become his major sport. Ndlovu began … Read MoreSizwe Lawrence Ndlovu (1980- )
Marvin Rees, mayor of Bristol, England, population 454,000, is the person of African descent who currently leads the largest city in Europe. Born in April 1972, he and his younger sister were raised in Lawrence Weston and Eastern, two of the poorer wards in the city, by his single mother, Janet … Read MoreMarvin Johnathan Rees (1972- )
John Richard Archer was a British politician, Pan-Africanist, and civic leader who became the first mayor of African-descent to be elected of Battersea, a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. Archer was born in Liverpool on June 8, 1863 to Richard Archer, a ship steward from … Read MoreJohn Richard Archer (1863-1932)