Kenneth Kaunda, who served as Zambia‘s first president from October 24, 1966, to November 2, 1991, was born on April 28, 1924, in Lubwa, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia’s name as a colony of Great Britain). Born as the eighth child to David and Helen Kaunda, they … Read MoreKenneth Kaunda (1924- )
The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) was officially established on April 5-6, 1959 with the goal of ending white domination in South Africa and returning the land to its original and rightful owners. The PAC came into being after a group of African National Congress (ANC) … Read MorePan Africanist Congress of Azania
The South African Students’ Organization (SASO) emerged in 1968 as a unique group that re-established opposition to the South African government’s apartheid system “aboveground,” as opposed to other black resistance movements that previously had been forced to operate underground. Until the creation of SASO in … Read MoreSouth African Students’ Organization (SASO)
Pixley Isaka Seme was one of the first western-educated Africans to challenge the European colonialism then sweeping across the continent. Born in Natal, South Africa, Eme was educated at Columbia and Oxford Universities in the United States and Great Britain where he also became an attorney. … Read More(1906) Isaka Seme, “The Regeneration of Africa”
Chartered in 1672, the Royal African Company was a royally chartered company which had a legally based monopoly on English trade to West Africa until 1698. The monopoly specifically extended through five thousand miles of the western coast from Cape Sallee (in contemporary Morocco) to … Read MoreRoyal African Company
The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. The incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid. It also came to symbolize that struggle. Sharpeville, a black … Read MoreSharpeville Massacre
Apartheid is the name of the racial institution that was established in 1948 by the National Party that governed South Africa until 1994. The term, which literally means “apartness,” reflected a violently repressive policy designed to ensure that whites, who comprised 20% of the nation’s … Read MoreApartheid (1948-1994)
On May 9, 1994, Nelson Mandela was officially inaugurated as the first democratically elected President of South Africa chosen by the majority of the nation’s citizens. His inauguration address given at Cape Town, South Africa, appears below. Mr. Master of Ceremonies, Your Excellencies, Members of … Read More(1994) Nelson Mandela’s Inaugural Address as President of South Africa
After Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, he and representatives of the African National Congress (ANC) began a public period of negotiations in preparation for majority rule in that nation. The negotiations were set back however when ANC leader Chris Hani was assassinated. … Read More(1993) Nelson Mandela, “Address to the Nation”
In 1990 the South African government released Nelson Mandela from Victor Verster Prison in Paarl, South Africa after more than 28 years of incarceration including more than 20 years in South Africa’s most notorious prison, Robben Island. Here is the speech he gave in Cape … Read More(1990) Nelson Mandela, “We Have Waited Too Long For Our Freedom”
