Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the first president of Malawi, was initially presented to the Malawi people by British Colonial officials as the best person who could lead them into independence. Later as the country’s self-declared “life president,” Banda transformed this African democracy into a repressive dictatorship … Read MoreHastings Banda (ca. 1896-1997)
The Coon Chicken Inn was a fried-chicken restaurant chain located in the Pacific Northwest from the late 1920s through the late 1940s. The chain was famous for its ubiquitous “Coon” logo, a caricatured African-American male rooted in 19th century minstrel theatre and early 20th century … Read MoreCoon Chicken Inn
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, was a three-year bloody conflict with a death toll numbering more than one million people. Having commenced seven years after Nigeria gained independence from Britain, the war began with the secession of the southeastern region … Read MoreNigerian Civil War (1967-1970)
Brock Peters, who emerged as a prominent actor of the 1960s, was born George Fisher in 1927, to Sonny and Alma Fisher in New York City. Prior to concentrating on an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, he attended the University of Chicago, and … Read MoreBrock Peters (1927-2005)
On October 20, 1946, seventy-eight year old W.E.B Du Bois delivered the address at the closing session of the Southern Youth Legislature in Columbia, South Carolina. Although this was one of his last major orations, he used the occasion to inspire his audience to continue … Read More(1946) W.E. B. Du Bois, “Behold the Land”
On August 18, 1973, Hudson William Edison Ntsanwisi, then Chief Minister of the “independent homeland” of Gazankulu in South Africa, was scheduled to present an address titled “Petty Apartheid” before the Sociological Symposium at the University of Pretoria. Although the presentation was not made, his … Read More(1973) H.W. E. Ntsanwisi, “Petty Apartheid”
We, the black students of South Africa, believing that the black man can no longer allow definitions that have been imposed upon him by an arrogant white world concerning his being and his destiny and that the black student has a moral obligation to articulate … Read More(1969) SASO Black Students’ Manifesto
The Phyllis Wheatley Women’s Clubs were named after Phyllis Wheatley, an enslaved poet who lived from 1753 to 1784. The first Phyllis Wheatley Women’s Club was established in 1895 in Nashville, Tennessee. The founders sought to improve the status of African American women in American … Read MorePhyllis Wheatley Women’s Clubs (1895- )
Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister (1957-1960) and president (1960-1966) of the Republic of Ghana, was the leader of the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain its independence. He subsequently became a leading figure in the campaign for the United States of Africa. Nkrumah was … Read MoreKwame Nkrumah (1909-1972)
Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first prime minister of independent Tanganyika and one of the founders of Tanzania, was born April 13, 1922, in Butiama, Tanganyika. He was the son of Zanaki chief, Nyerere Burito. Julius Nyerere began his education at age 12. Nyerere eventually gained … Read MoreJulius K. Nyerere (1922-1999)
