Francis Johnson, musician, composer, and bandmaster, was born in 1792 in Martinique in the West Indies and emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1809 at the age of 17. By that point he had already mastered the keyed bugle and the violin. By his early 20s … Read MoreFrancis Johnson (1792-1844)
Author Harriet E. Wilson is believed to be the first African American woman to publish a novel in the United States. Her fictional autobiography Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-story White House, North. Showing that Slavery’s Shadows … Read MoreHarriet E. Adams Wilson (ca. 1828-?)
Amílcar Cabral, also known as Abel Djassi, was a leader in the struggle for independence in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. Cabral was a writer, agronomic engineer, and Marxist nationalist. He was born on September 12, 1924, in Bafata, Portuguese Guinea. His father, Juvenal Cabral was … Read MoreAmílcar Lopes Cabral (1924-1973)
The Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) was founded by Malcolm X, John Henrik Clarke, and other Black nationalist leaders on June 24, 1964 in Harlem, New York. Formed shortly after his break with the Nation of Islam, the OAAU was a secular institution that sought … Read MoreOrganization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) 1965
Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister (1957-1960) and president (1960-1966) of the Republic of Ghana, was the leader of the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain its independence. He subsequently became a leading figure in the campaign for the United States of Africa. Nkrumah was … Read MoreKwame Nkrumah (1909-1972)
William Burney, a business consultant who lives in southern Maine, was elected as the first black mayor of Augusta, Maine, the state capital, in November 1988. He served two four-year terms in this position until 1996. Burney was born in Augusta on April 23, 1951. … Read MoreWilliam Burney (1951- )
Leroy Wesley Smith was born in St. Louis Missouri on December 6, 1951, and became a late 20th Century social activist for justice. Son of a fireman and a licensed practical nurse, Smith spent his childhood growing up in a St. Louis housing project. He … Read MoreDamu Smith (1952-2006)
The Ligue Universelle pour la Défense de la Race Noire (LUDRN) was a Pan-African association created on April 30, 1924, by Kojo Tovalou Houénou, known as Tovalou, descendant of the last king of Dahomey (now Benin). The headquarters of the association was located in Paris … Read MoreLigue Universelle pour la Défense de la Race Noire (1924)
The African Civilization Society (ACS) was founded in 1858 by Henry Highland Garnet who sought to encourage blacks Americans to emigrate to Africa. Garnet envisioned educated black Americans moving to the African Continent as cultural missionaries to lead the economic, political, and moral development of … Read MoreThe African Civilization Society (1858-1869)
Joshua Bowen Smith, caterer, abolitionist, and state senator, was born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania in 1813. Details regarding his childhood remain obscure. However, it is known that he was educated in the public school system of Pennsylvania with the assistance of a wealthy Quaker. In 1836 … Read MoreJoshua Bowen Smith (1813-1879)
