Lalibela, a small city of approximately 15,000 people located in the Wollo Province of the Amhara Region of Northern Ethiopia, is considered one of the nation’s holiest cities and is the destination for pilgrimages by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians from around the nation. It was envisioned … Read MoreLalibela, Ethiopia (ca. 1200- )
The legend of Prester John, a wealthy Christian king with a kingdom somewhere outside of the Western European realm, pervaded European thought throughout the Middle Ages. The limited understanding of the unexplored regions of the world and the inability to find his kingdom resulted in … Read MorePrester John
In the following article historian Omar H. Ali explores a lesser-known aspect of the global African Diaspora, the spread of African peoples and their cultures throughout the Indian Ocean basin. Africans had become a visible part of the Indian Ocean world long before the advent … Read MoreIslam and the African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World
Writer and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, Somalia on November 13, 1969. Her father, Hirsi Magan Isse, was a prominent Somali intellectual and revolutionary leader. As a child, Ali had to move with her family to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, due … Read MoreAyaan Hirsi Ali (1969- )
What follows is the speech by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on the occasion of the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at Addis Abba, Ethiopia, on May 24, 1963. Your Imperial Majesty, Mr. President, Your Excellencies, First, I want to express the thanks … Read More(1963) Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, “Addis Ababa”
On May 25, 1963 the Organization for African Unity (OAU) was established with a permanent headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, was selected as the first President of the OAU. His acceptance speech appears below. This is indeed a momentous and … Read More(1963) Haile Selassie, “Towards African Unity”
The African Union (AU) is an alliance of 53 African states that aim to advance and integrate Africa as a continent. The Union was created on September 9, 1999 when the Sirte Declaration was put forward by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which proposed … Read MoreAfrican Union (2002- )
The Organization of African Unity (OAU, 1963-2002) was an alliance of independent African nations working to enhance cooperation between the newly decolonized African governments. The alliance had its basis in the Pan-Africanist philosophy encouraging the unity of all peoples of African ancestry, but it also … Read MoreOrganization of African Unity (1963-2002)
Founding Charter of the Organization of African Unity May 25, 1963 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia We, the Heads of African States and Governments assembled in the City of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Convinced that it is the inalienable right of all people to control their own destiny, … Read More(1963) Founding Charter of the Organization of African Unity
The Black Jews of Harlem are a minority ethnic group in New York who first appeared in the early 1900s. By 1930 there were at least four groups of Black Jews in Harlem. The most important of these groups was The Commandment Keepers Holy Church … Read MoreBlack Jews of Harlem
