Makila James is currently serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Swaziland. James was nominated by President Barack Obama early in 2012. Following confirmation by the U.S. Senate on July 31, 2012, James arrived in Mbabane, the capital of Swaziland and presented her credentials to the … Read More … Read MoreMakila James (1957- )
Andrew Foster, also known as the “Father of Deaf Education in Africa,” was an educator and pioneering foreign missionary for the deaf. Born on June 27, 1925 in the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama, Foster was the eldest of the four children. His father Wiley … Read More … Read MoreAndrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987)
In August of 1925, Ladipo Solanke, a Nigerian law student, and Herbert Bankole-Bright, a Sierra Leonean doctor, founded the West African Students’ Union (WASU) in the Camden Town section of London, England. WASU eventually become a powerful influence in both British and West African politics … Read More … Read MoreWest African Students’ Union (WASU)
A mission of BlackPast.org is to know and understand the past inorder to make sense of the present, so that we may move forward with knowledge, purpose, and clarity of thought. Artists do this as part of their craft. Some work in traditional formats (painting, … Read More … Read MoreTraditional Aesthetics, Contemporary Art, Recycling
For over thirty years Sylvia Luz del Villard Güilbert gave global lectures and performances on the African influence in Puerto Rico (PR) as an activist, actress, artist, ballerina, choreographer, coloratura, dancer, declamadora, folklorist, lecturer, orator, painter, teacher, singer, and writer. Reared by Paula Moreno Herrera, … Read More … Read MoreSylvia del Villard (1927-1990)
There have been several posts in this blog discussing the interesting places where people of African descent reside (Our Neighbors to the North, Fleeting Glimpses, Early Black British, Seeking Home, Black Communities in Surprising Places). This post focuses on Afro-Turks. The geographic size and the duration of the Ottoman Empire, starting … Read More … Read MoreAfro-Turks
Dr. Dawn Mason is a former Washington State Representative for the 37th District, an adjunct professor for writing, a former member of the Board of Visitors at Antioch University Seattle, and a Vision and Planning Team Member for Cultural Reconnection (USA and Kenya). Mason was … Read More … Read MoreDawn Mason (1945- )
Whitney Moore Young, Jr. was born July 31, 1921 in Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky on the campus of Lincoln Institute where his father was President. Young received a Bachelor of Science degree from Kentucky State College for Negroes in 1941. Upon graduation, Young joined the Army … Read More … Read MoreWhitney M. Young Jr. (1921-1971)
Charles McArthur Taylor, born on January 28, 1948, in Arthington, Liberia, served as the president of Liberia from August 2, 1997, to August 11, 2003. Born to Nelson and Bernice Taylor, his mother was part of the Gola tribe, and his father was claimed to … Read More … Read MoreCharles M. Taylor (1948- )
François Tombalbaye was the first President of Chad. He was born on June 15, 1918 in the village of Bessada in southern Chad which was then a French colony. His family were from the Sara ethnic group. Tombalbaye attended primary school in the town of … Read More … Read MoreFrançois Tombalbaye (1918-1975)
