(1919) Orishatuke Faduma, “Not Failure But Low Aim is Crime”

Orishatuke Faduma, born James Davies in Sierra Leone, was a late 19th and early 20th Century African nationalist.  He studied at both London University and Yale University in the 1880s and eventually became a follower of Pan-Africanist Edward W. Blyden.  Faduma also helped Chief Alfred … Read More(1919) Orishatuke Faduma, “Not Failure But Low Aim is Crime”

(1924) Prince Marc Kojo Tovalou Houènou, “The Problem of Negroes in French Colonial Africa”

In the years immediately following World War I, Prince Marc Kojo Tovalou Houènou was one of  a small number of French Speaking Africans to openly  challenge French rule on that continent.  In his short book, L’Involutjon Métamorphoses et des Métempsychoses de l’univers, which was published … Read More(1924) Prince Marc Kojo Tovalou Houènou, “The Problem of Negroes in French Colonial Africa”

(1926) John Williamson Kuyé, “Right of the People to Self-Determination”

John Williamson Kuyé, an early 20th Century advocate of African self-rule was in many respects part of the first wave of African nationalists.  Born in Bathurst, Gambia, on November 10,  1894, he attended Stanley Day School and Wesleyan Boys’ High School in Sierra Leone.  Kuyé … Read More(1926) John Williamson Kuyé, “Right of the People to Self-Determination”

(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”

(1936) Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, “Appeal to the League of Nations”

Without warning, Italian armed forces invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935, quickly defeated the Ethiopian Army, and forced Emperor Haile Selassie into exile first in Palestine and eventually in Great Britain.  On June 30, 1936, Emperor Selassie came before the League of Nations in Geneva, … Read More(1936) Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, “Appeal to the League of Nations”

(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe Speaks at a Rally for Nigerian Independence at Trafalgar Square, London

In 1949 it was far from clear as to whether or when Great Britain would grant independence to Nigeria.  Nonetheless 45 year old Nnamdi Azikiwe had already emerged as one of the leaders in the Nigerian independence campaign.  He and other Nigerian nationalists took that … Read More(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe Speaks at a Rally for Nigerian Independence at Trafalgar Square, London

(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe Speaks before the British Peace Conference in London

Nigerian independence leader Nnamdi Azikiwe appeared before the Plenary Session of the British Peace Congress held in London on  October 23, 1949.  He used that occasion to educate his audience about Nigeria and Africa. He also used the opportunity to remind the peace advocates that … Read More(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe Speaks before the British Peace Conference in London

(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe, “A Denunciation of European Imperialism”

As the post-World War II campaign for African independence heated up, young leaders such as Nigeria’s Nnamdi Azikiwe (who would eventually become the first President of Nigeria), carried their arguments to Great Britain.  On October 23, 1949 Azikiwe spoke at the Plenary Session of the … Read More(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe, “A Denunciation of European Imperialism”

(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe, “Address to the Ibo People”

In the following address given eleven years before Nigerian independence, Nnamdi Azikiwe calls for self-determination for the Ibo as they along with other ethnic groups march toward an inevitably free Nigeria.  This address was delivered at  the Ibo State Assembly held at Aba, Nigeria, on … Read More(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe, “Address to the Ibo People”

(1950) Ralph Bunche, “Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech”

In 1950 Ralph Bunche, a political scientist by training and then an official of the United Nations, became the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.  His brief acceptance address delivered on December 10, 1950 in Oslo, Norway appears below. Your Majesty, Your Royal … Read More(1950) Ralph Bunche, “Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech”