Although persons of African ancestry had resided in Great Britain since the time of the Roman conquest, their numbers and influence increased dramatically in the years immediately after World War II. On June 22, 1948 the HMT Empire Windrush, carrying over a thousand passengers, docked … Read MoreThe Windrush Generation (1948- )
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, … Read MoreStokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) (1941-1998)
The Mangrove Nine Trial was Britain’s most influential Black Power trial. In Britain, descendants from the Caribbean, Africa, or South Asia, who were mainly immigrants from former British colonies, were considered to be “black.” The London police and the British Home Office responsible for immigration, security and law and order … Read MoreMangrove Nine Trial (1970-1972)
Image Ownership: Public domain French teacher and politician Gratien Candace was born on December 18, 1873 in Guadeloupe, a French overseas territory. His father Edouard was born in Guadeloupe as well, only two years before slavery was formally abolished in France, in 1848. Candace is the first French black politician to hold … Read MoreGratien Candace (1873-1953)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Anthony (Tony) Martin, lawyer, author, professor, and scholar was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1942. He migrated to England where he earned a Bachelors of Science in Economics from the University of Hull and qualified as a barrister (attorney) … Read MoreAnthony (Tony) Martin (1942–2013)
Jurist and Royal Air Force (RAF) Flight Lieutenant John “Johnny” Henry Smythe was born on June 30, 1915, in the West African port city of Freetown, Sierra Leone. He received a grammar school education and had worked as a civil servant before joining the Sierra … Read MoreJohn Henry Smythe (1915-1996)
In the article below, Carlton McLellan, PhD, a senior fellow at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), briefly describes the history of the more than one hundred and forty black women and men who have led diplomatic delegations as U.S. Ambassadors in ninety-five … Read MoreAmerica’s Black Ambassadors: A Historical Snapshot
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Ambassador Roy Leslie Austin spent most of his life as a university scholar before becoming a U.S. diplomat at the age of 61. When Austin was nominated by President George W. Bush to be Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago he was … Read MoreRoy L. Austin (1939- )
On March 10, 2010, Beatrice Wilkinson Welters was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Ambassador to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, having been named to that post by President Barack Obama. Prior to that, she was a philanthropist and senior employee of IBM, where she … Read MoreBeatrice W. Welters (1951- )
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Ambassador Charles A. James was born in 1922 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he attended public schools. After high school, James enrolled at Westchester State Teachers College in Pennsylvania (now Westchester University) where he studied for … Read MoreCharles A. James (1922- )
