On August 4, 1914, Britain joined the Great War. The First World War, 1914-1918, is usually viewed as a predominantly white European conflict. In fact, many Africans, Asians, black Britons, and Caribbeans fought for the British Empire. At the beginning of the war, the British War Office, however, was reluctant to allow blacks to enlist … Read MoreBritish West Indian Regiment (BWIR), The (1915-1918)
W.E.B. DuBois Greeting Unidentified Delegate, Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference, Tashkent, Soviet Union, 1958 Image Ownership: Public domain The Afro–Asian Writers’ Conferences were a series of gatherings of literary figures from Asia and Africa that took place over two decades to denounce imperialism and to establish cultural … Read MoreAfro-Asian Writers’ Conferences (1958-1979)
Zhou Enlai with Unidentified African Leader, 1963 Image Ownership: Public domain Zhou Enlai’s first tour of Africa, popularly known as Zhou’s “Safari,” was a series of state visits to ten independent African countries, undertaken between December 1963 and February 1964 by the Chinese Premier. These … Read MoreZhou Enlai’s African “Safari” (1963-1964)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Aliko Dangote is the first billionaire from Nigeria and is considered the richest black man in the world and the fifty-first richest person overall according to Forbes in 2016. He amassed his fortune by founding the Dangote Group, the multinational company … Read MoreAliko Dangote (1957– )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Suzan Johnson Cook is a religious leader, pastor, motivational speaker, and diplomat who was born on January 28, 1957, in Harlem, New York. Her father, Wilbert Johnson, was a trolley driver and later founder of a successful security company, and her … Read MoreSuzan Denise Johnson Cook (1957– )
In the article below, Carlton McLellan, PhD, a senior fellow at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), briefly describes the history of the more than one hundred and forty black women and men who have led diplomatic delegations as U.S. Ambassadors in ninety-five … Read MoreAmerica’s Black Ambassadors: A Historical Snapshot
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" In the article below, Syracuse University historian Herbert Ruffin explores the rapid rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement as the most recent development in the ongoing struggle for racial and social justice in the United States. In the summer of … Read MoreBlack Lives Matter: The Growth of a New Social Justice Movement
Ambassador William Davis Clark was born in 1941. Currently, he is retired and resides with his wife, Katsuko M. Clarke, in Maryland. Clarke has two sons William Clarke Jr. and Robert Clarke, and one daughter, Christina Armstrong. In 1963, Clarke earned his bachelor’s degree at … Read MoreWilliam D. Clarke, Sr. (1941-)
“Image Ownership:Public Domain” Roger D. Pierce, U.S. Ambassador to Cape Verde, was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Pierce earned his B.A. degree in Spanish Language and Latin American Studies at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia. He received his M.A. in Latin American Literature … Read MoreRoger Dwayne Pierce (1951–)
Henri Salvador with Ray Charles "Image Ownership: Public Domain" Henri Salvador was a popular 20th Century French entertainer, pop singer, and humorist. His most popular and emblematic song was “Le lion est mort ce soir” or “Syracuse.” Salvador was born in Cayenne (French Guiana) on … Read MoreHenri Salvador (1917-2008)