Rev. Samuel Johnson was a nineteenth-century Anglican priest and historian of the Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria. Samuel Johnson is most noted for his manuscript The History of the Yorubas, which was posthumously published in 1921. Born to Henry and Sarah Johnson, in Hasting, Freetown, … Read MoreSamuel Johnson (1846-1901)
Eric Walrond was an Afro–Caribbean-American fiction writer and journalist of the Harlem Renaissance era. Born December 18, 1898, in Georgetown, British Guyana, Walrond would write short stories with the interwoven themes of immigration, racial pride, and discrimination as he captured the early urban experience of … Read MoreEric Walrond (1898-1966)
Cape Coast Castle is a European-built fortress situated on the central coastline of Ghana. Since its initial construction in 1652, the Castle served as a trading post for European nations and as the headquarters of British colonial administration for the Gold Coast Colony. Today the … Read MoreCape Coast Castle (1652- )
John Chilembwe was a Baptist educator and political leader who organized an uprising against British colonial rule in Nyasaland (today Malawi). Though details about Chilembwe’s early life are largely undocumented, it is believed that he was born in the Chiradzulu region of Nyasaland sometime around … Read MoreJohn Chilembwe (ca. 1871-1915)
Born in St. Catherine, Jamaica on April 1, 1948 as James Chambers, the ska-reggae musician Jimmy Cliff proved to be an accomplished performer at an early age. At age 14, Chambers moved to Kingston and took the surname Cliff as a proclamation of the heights … Read MoreJimmy Cliff (1948- )
Walter Rodney, one of the most important Guyanese intellectual and political figures of the 20th Century, was born on March 23, 1942 in Georgetown, Guyana. Because of his working-class background, the period in which he lived, and his parents’ political awareness, Rodney was introduced to … Read MoreWalter Rodney (1942-1979)
Cyril Lionel Robert James was born in the British colony of Trinidad on January 4, 1901. James was a bright youth who absorbed literature, history, music, sports, and art-the foundational texts of Western civilization. He attended Queen’s Royal College in Port of Spain, but chafed … Read MoreC.L.R. James (1901-1989)
Bill Richmond, a.k.a. “The Black Terror”, the first black boxer to gain international recognition, was born in Cuckold’s Town (now Richmondtown), on Staten Island, New York, on August 5, 1763. In 1777 when the English troops held New York during the revolutionary war, he served … Read MoreBill Richmond (1763-1829)
In 1949 it was far from clear as to whether or when Great Britain would grant independence to Nigeria. Nonetheless 45 year old Nnamdi Azikiwe had already emerged as one of the leaders in the Nigerian independence campaign. He and other Nigerian nationalists took that … Read More(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe Speaks at a Rally for Nigerian Independence at Trafalgar Square, London
On July 31, 1959, Nigeria was slightly more than a year away from full independence from Great Britain. On that day Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Premier of Eastern Nigeria and National President of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), gave a speech to … Read More(1959) Nnamdi Azikiwe Speaks on the Role of Nigeria and other African States in World Politics
