Author, playwright, poet, academic, and feminist Ama Ata Aidoo, a towering figure in African Literature, was born Christina Ama Ata Aidoo on March 23, 1942, in Abeadzi Kyiakor, Gold Coast, now Ghana, to Nana Yaw Fama, chief of Abeadzi Kyiakor, and Maame Abasema. She had … Read MoreAma Ata Aidoo (1942- 2023)
Angela Ankomaah Tabiri, a quantum algebra researcher, was born in 1990 in Accra, Ghana. She graduated from Anum Memorial School at Ashaiman Middle East in Accra and then studied business at Accra’s Girls Senior High School. Fluent in Twi (Akan Kasa) as well as English, … Read MoreAngela Ankomaah Tabiri (1990- )
The current president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo was born on March 29, 1944, in Accra, Ghana (then the Gold Coast). William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was the son of Edward Akufo-Addo and his wife Adeline. He was born into a family with a long history of … Read MoreNana Akufo-Addo (1944- )
Matshidiso Rebecca Natalie Moeti is a medical doctor, public health specialist, and medical administrator from Botswana who has served as regional director of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), based in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, since 2015. She is also the first … Read MoreMatshidiso Moeti (1954- )
The first Black settlers in what is now the western United States were Spanish speakers who came north from what is now central Mexico. Their roots there began in 1519, when Black men were among the Spanish conquistadores who invaded and destroyed the Aztec Empire, … Read MoreNorth from Mexico: The First Black Settlers in the U.S. West
Rappers Nico & Vinz are a duo born Kahouly Nicolay “Nico” Sereba on December 1, 1990, from Holmlia, Oslo. He is biracial with a father from Ivory Coast and Vincent “Vinzy” Dery, born on August 24, 1990, from Lambertseter, Oslo, of Ghanaian parents. The Polylingual … Read MoreNico & Vinz (2010- )
The four century (1460-1860) transatlantic slave trade is responsible for the involuntary migration of 388,000 enslaved Africans to the United States according to historians’ best estimates. However, the U.S. has witnessed a much larger influx of voluntary African migration since the 1960s. Whether it was … Read MoreAfrican Immigration to the United States (1965- )
Tacky’s War, also known as Tacky’s Rebellion, was an uprising among Jamaica Akan enslaved people from Ghana that occurred in St. Mary Parish, Jamaica, against the British from 1760 to 1761. Other ethnic groups from Ghana including the Akyem, Nzema, Fanti, and Ashanti took part … Read MoreTacky’s War (1760-1761)
Author, philanthropist, scholar, mentor, and activist James L. Conyers Jr. was born James (Jim/ Naazir) L. Brown Jr. on June 17, 1961, in Jersey City, New Jersey at the Margaret Hague Hospital. He graduated from Henry Snyder High School in 1979 and four years later … Read MoreJames L. Conyers Jr. (1961-2021)
Composer, Jazz pianist, and vocalist Leslie Coleman “Les” McCann was born September 23, 1935, in Lexington, Kentucky. His early education began at the all-Black Rosenwald School in the city. In 1956, the self-taught pianist McCann played and sang in school bands and in the U.S. … Read MoreLes McCann (1935-2023)
