Bujumbura is Burundi’s capital and largest city. Located on the northeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, it is only a few miles from the frontier with the Democratic Republic of the Congo by boat through Lake Tanganyika. Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became … Read MoreBujumbura, Burundi (1899- )
An Italian government official and medical professional, Cécile Kyenge Kashetu was born in the mining town of Kambove, Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1983 she moved to Italy and worked as a maid while studying medicine and surgery at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore … Read MoreCécile Kyenge (1964- )
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 of Savoy and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. The name and rank of this courtier … Read MoreJan Mostaert’s Portrait of a Moor (1520-1530)
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the third largest city in Africa after Cairo and Lagos and the second largest French-speaking city in the world other than Paris, France. Formerly known as Leopoldville, it was founded … Read MoreKinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (1881- )
In the following account University of Pittsburgh historian George Reid Andrews provides an introduction to the history of the population of African ancestry in Uruguay. When we think of the great nations of the African diaspora—Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, the United States—the South American republic of … Read MoreAfro-Uruguay: A Brief History
Joseph Kasavubu was the first president of the Republic of Congo, serving from 1960 to 1965. He assumed the office when the Congo became independent from Belgium on June 30, 1960. The date and year of his birth is not certain but it is believed … Read MoreJoseph Kasavubu (ca. 1910-1969)
My beloved companion, I write you these words not knowing whether you will receive them, when you will receive them, and whether I will still be alive when you read them. Throughout my struggle for the independence of my country, I have never doubted for … Read More(1960) Patrice Lumumba’s Last Letter to Pauline Lumumba
George Washington Williams, “An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo By Colonel, The Honorable Geo. W. Williams, of the United States of America,” 1890 Good and Great Friend, I have the … Read More(1890) George Washington Williams’s Open Letter to King Leopold on the Congo
Joseph Mobutu, named Joseph-Désiré Mobutu at birth, was the second president of Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of Congo) from 1965 to 1997. Mobutu was born in 1930 in the Belgian Congo and studied journalism. In 1958, Mobutu became the country’s state secretary and … Read MoreJoseph-Désiré/ Mobutu, Sese Seko Kuku Waza Banga Mobutu (1930-1997)
By 1959 Patrice Lumumba was the most prominent nationalist and independence leader in the Congo. His fame was also spreading beyond the nation’s boundaries as reflected in this speech given at the closing session of the International Seminar organized by the Congress for the Freedom … Read More(1959) Patrice Lumumba, “African Unity and National Independence”
