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.
Murillo Discovering Sebastián Gómez Painting in Murillo’s Studio “Image Ownership: Public Domain” Spanish Baroque painter Sebastián Gómez was born around 1646 in Seville, Spain, a product of that city’s sizeable African-descended community. Ordinary benchmarks pertaining to most of his life—ancestry, circumstances of birth, parentage, … Read MoreSebastián Gómez (1646?–1690?)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” According to stories handed down to his descendants, a seven year old boy from Kurdufan in what is now central Sudan, orphaned because his father was killed in a revolt against an Egyptian occupation force and his mother subsequently committed suicide, … Read MoreAugust A. Sabac el Cher (1836?–1885)
Nyamko Ana Sabuni is a Swedish politician and former government cabinet minister. She was born in Bujumbura, Burundi, on March 31, 1969. The family relocated in exile after her father, Maurice Sabuni, a left-wing politician from Congo (formerly Zaire) had been frequently jailed. The Sabuni … Read MoreNyamko Ana Sabuni (1969– )
Depending on the source consulted, Spanish Baroque painter Juan de Pareja was born in the region of Andalusia, Spain, either in Seville or the much smaller city of Antequera 82 miles southeast, reputedly to a female of African descent and a native Spanish male whose … Read MoreJuan de Pareja (ca. 1606-1670)
Afro-German band conductor and restaurateur Gustav Albrecht Sabac el Cher, born March 10, 1868 in a palace in Berlin, was the son of August Sabac el Cher (1836?-1885), a Sudanese man who as an orphaned boy in Egypt was presented as a gift to Prussian … Read MoreGustav Albrecht Sabac el Cher (1868-1934)
“Image Ownership: Miss Schweiz Organisation AG” Whitney Toyloy won the title of Miss Switzerland in 2009 at the age of 17, the youngest of 16 candidates. The young beauty queen won a car worth over 38,000 Swiss Francs (about $38,649 in US dollars) and the … Read MoreWhitney Toyloy (1990- )
On March 12, 2015, Ariana Miyamoto became the first Miss Universe Japan of mixed-race descent. The beauty queen was born on May 12, 1994, the product of a brief marriage between an African American serviceman and a Japanese woman. Shortly after her birth, her father … Read MoreAriana Miyamoto (1994- )
Twenty-one-year-old Marva Weatherhorn, the first black Miss Guatemala, represented her country in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant. Her mother’s family immigrated to Guatemala from El Salvador to work harvesting bananas. Ms. Weatherhorn’s father and his parents had emigrated from Jamaica to work for the United … Read MoreMarva Weatherhorn (1983- )
“Image Ownership: Mejiaperalta” In 2010, 23-year-old Scharllette Allen Moses became the first Nicaraguan of African ancestry to be crowned Miss Nicaragua. She represented her country in the Miss Universe competition in Las Vegas, Nevada of that same year. Moses joined another Central American, Marva Wright … Read MoreScharllette Allen Moses (1987- )
Epsy Campbell Barr is a black Costa Rican politician and trained economist. In 2000 she became one of the founders of the Citizen’s Action Party (CAP), a group of leftist politicians who challenged the then ruling political party. She later ran for President of Costa … Read MoreEpsy Campbell Barr (1963- )
