“Nina Simone, you are idolized, even loved, by millions now. But what happened, Miss Simone? Maya Angelou She was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century, an icon of American music. She was the consummate musical storyteller, a griot as she would come to learn, who used her remarkable talent to create … More Nina Simone

Sharpeville massacre, (March 21, 1960), incident in the black township of Sharpeville, near Vereeniging, South Africa, in which police fired on a crowd of blacks, killing or wounding some 250 of them. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa.The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), a splinter group of the … More 21 march 1960 -Remember Sharpeville and take actions

Redoshi, also known as Sally Smith, was the second to last living, African-born survivor of North American slavery, and the only female survivor of the transatlantic slave trade known to have been recorded on film. Born on the coast of West Africa in what is present day Benin, Redoshi was one of about 110 West … More Redoshi: The only known footage of a female African born transatlantic slave trade survivor.

There has been little acknowledgment of Portugal’s role in the transatlantic slave trade – until now. As a wet winter gives way to spring, Lisbon’s Campo das Cebolas square is empty and quiet. From the nearby ferry terminal, commuters from neighbourhoods on the other side of the Tagus river go back and forth. Between the … More How Portugal silenced ‘centuries of violence and trauma´

Abolitionist and slave-narrative author, he was born in the commercial center of Djougou, West Africa, inland from the Bight of Benin in what would later be the republic of Benin. He was a younger son of a Muslim merchant from Borgu and his wife, who was from Katsina, the Hausa city in northern Nigeria— then known as … More Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua: The only known biography of a former slave from Brazil.

Amistad mutiny, (July 2, 1839), slave rebellion that took place on the slave ship Amistad near the coast of Cuba and had important political and legal repercussions in the American abolition movement. The mutineers were captured and tried in the United States, and a surprising victory for the country’s antislavery forces resulted in 1841 when the U.S. Supreme Court freed the rebels. A committee formed … More Joseph Cinquez, the Congolese’s Chief who prefers death to slavery

Kimpa Vita (circa 1685-July 2, 1706), whose baptized name was Dona Beatriz, founded a religious sect known as the Antonians. The goal of this movement was to restore the fortunes of the once glorious kingdom of Kongo and to Africanize Christianity. After October 1665, when the Portuguese had defeated the Kongo army, the capital San … More Kimpa Vita: The Antonian Movement, Jesus is Congolese

Abdel Kader Kane was a Moorish leader of the Futa Toro region in Northern Senegal is renowned for having resisted the slave trade.” In the 18th century, Senegambia was bitterly contested for slave-trading purposes by France and Great Britain. But a third power, the Islamic theocracy of Futa Toro on the Senegal River, rose to … More Abdel Kader Kane: Moorish Abolitionist (1770s-1800s)

Although she may have been one of the toughest women ever to work in a convent, ‘Black Mary’ had earned the respect and devotion of most of the residents of the pioneer community of Cascade, Montana, before she died in 1914. In fact, Mary Fields was widely beloved. She was admired and respected throughout the … More One of the toughest women ever to work in a convent: “Black Mary”

Njinga Mbandi (also known as Nzinga and Ana Njinga) was born around 1582, the oldest daughter of Mbandi a Ngola Kiluanji, king of Ndongo (present-day central Angola). Early in her life, Njinga exhibited great physical prowess, which her father fostered by allowing her to train with the army. Displaying extraordinary charisma and physical prowess at … More Queen Nzinga – The fearsome warrior