Saít Sökmen (1942– )

Afro-Turkish choreographer, dancer, instructor, and talent agent Saít Sökmen was born in Conakry, the capital city of Guinea, Africa, the sixth child of Mehmet Cemil Sökmen, a successful merchant, and Fatuma Mamady, a resident of Conakry. His father operated a bakery and winery in Conakry until political instability … Read MoreSaít Sökmen (1942– )

Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana (1949- )

Afro-German politician, human rights activist, and scholar Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana was born in Bamako, Mali, but grew up in Dakar, Senegal, the daughter of a Cape Verdean mother, Dona Joaquina Semedo-Lopès, who was Christian, and a Guinean father who was Muslim. Her early experience with nationalities and religions greatly influenced the course of her life. A … Read MorePierrette Herzberger-Fofana (1949- )

Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) (1941-1998)

A civil rights leader, antiwar activist, and Pan-African revolutionary, Stokely Carmichael is best known for popularizing the slogan “Black Power,” which in the mid-1960s galvanized a movement toward more militant and separatist assertions of black identity, nationalism, and empowerment and away from the liberal, interracial … Read MoreStokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) (1941-1998)

Jean Baptiste Lislet-Geoffroy (a.k.a. Geoffroy L’Islet, 1755-1836)

Pioneering cartographer and meteorologist Jean-Baptist Lislet-Geoffroy was born August 23, 1755 in Saint-Pierre, Réunion, a French island colony in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar and southern Africa. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy, a white French engineer, and an African princess and ex-slave … Read MoreJean Baptiste Lislet-Geoffroy (a.k.a. Geoffroy L’Islet, 1755-1836)

Zhou Enlai’s African “Safari” (1963-1964)

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 visits, which occurred during a period when many countries were gaining … Read MoreZhou Enlai’s African “Safari” (1963-1964)