Image Ownership: Public Domain Musician, composer, professor, and conductor Fela Sowande was born May 1905 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He was the son of Emmanuel Sowande, who was an Anglican priest and influential in the development of Nigerian sacred music. Fela Sowande was a musician and … Read MoreOlufela Sowande (Fela) Obafunmilayo (1905-1987)
Alice Nkom broke barriers for women by becoming the first female barrister in her country of Cameroon. She is also well known among Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) activists worldwide because of her legal advocacy for gay rights. Nkom was born in 1945 … Read MoreAlice Nkom (1945- )
This painting is at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam,Holland. It is seen here courtesy of the Rijksmuseum. In the following account University of Cincinnati historian John K. Brackett describes the famous 16th Century painting of a black courtier at the court of Margaret of Austria, the Duchess … Read MoreJan Mostaert’s Portrait of a Moor (1520-1530)
Map of the Sultanate of Sokoto Image Ownership: Public Domain Islamic preacher, reformer, scholar, and statesman, Usman dan Fodio was born on December 15, 1754 in the village of Maratta, in the Hausa city-state of Gobir, in what is today northern Nigeria. He was a … Read MoreUsman dan Fodio (1754-1817)
The Maji Maji Uprising in Tanganyika was the most significant African challenge to German colonial rule during the brief period when Germany had African colonies. The Uprising lasted two years and involved people over 10,000 square miles. During the “scramble for Africa” that began with … Read MoreMaji Maji Uprising (1905-1907)
Image Courtesy of Michael Collopy Archbishop Desmond Tutu, leader of the South African Anglican Church for ten years and campaigner against apartheid in South Africa, was born on 7th October 1931 in Klerksdorp, South Africa. When he was 12 years old he moved to Johannesburg … Read MoreBishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu (1931 – )
The Kanem-Bornu Empire was a large African state which existed from the 9th century through the end of the 19th century and which spanned a region which today includes the modern-day countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria. The empire was founded by the Zaghawa … Read MoreEmpire of Kanem-Bornu (c. 9th century-1900)
Ethiopianism is an Afro-Atlantic literary-religious tradition that emerged out of the shared political and religious experiences of Africans from British colonies during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Ethiopianism linked Africa historically to the ancient classical era, challenging the then prevailing idea that the … Read MoreEthiopianism