Africa: what every black person should know

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

AFRICA, THE MOTHERLAND AND CRADLE OF HUMANITY, has a history as varied and as rich as her natural resources. Scientific evidence confirms that early man walked eastern and southern Africa as many as 3 million years before the birth of Christ. Ancient Black civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) thrived in northern Africa. However, by the end of World War II, only two countries in Africa were not colonized--Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia) and Liberia. Today, Africa, the second-largest of the Earth's seven continents (Asia is larger), consists of 52 countries--each with its own unique story.

Key Events in AFRICA's History

1440s

The first African people are captured, taken to Portugal and enslaved. In 1514, the Atlantic slave trade begins, forcibly removing 12 million Africans and transporting them to various countries.

1832/1863

The British abolish slavery in the West Indies, and slaves in the United States are emancipated in 1863.

1850s

The New Era (1855) was the first privately owned newspaper established in Sierra Leone, and it was the beginning of the Black African newspaper press.

1871-1912

Global European imperialism is heightened throughout Africa and colonization cuts throughout the continent.

1884-85

The Berlin Conference convenes. Rivalries among European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Portugal) and the United States, for claim to African holdings resulted in the Berlin Conference. While negotiations were made, no African states were represented at the conference.

1899-1902

The Anglo-Boer (Afrikaner) War in South Africa leads to the domination of the country's Black majority.

1947

Decolonization movements intensify after the end of World War II (1939-1945).

1948

South African literature exposes the plight of Black Africans and apartheid, a legalized system of racial separation, by writers such as Thomas Mofolo, Solomon Tshekisho Plattje, Neil Parsons and Samuel E. K. Mqhayi.

1957

Ghana becomes an independent Black state under Kwame Nkrumah. Sierra Leone (1961), Gambia (1965) and other states follow.

1954-1962

French colonies in Africa resist French rule. In 1962, after a civil war in Algeria, the country gains its independence, preceded by Morocco and Tunisia.

1950-1960s

Dennis Brutus, a South African poet and activist, describes racial oppression in South Africa in Sirens Knuckles Boots, his poetry collection, which outlined the everyday horrors of apartheid. Other Black intellectuals and literary greats emerge, including Wole Soyinka, Cheikh Anta Diop, Ama Ata Aidoo and Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

1964

Nelson Mandela is on trial along with other members of the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa. Mandela delivers his famous "Speech from the Dock" at the Pretoria Supreme Court before he was imprisoned on Robben Island. He spends a total of 27 years behind bars.

1970s

Portugal loses its hold on African colonies, including Angola and Mozambique.

1971

Idi Amin Dada stages a coup and becomes self-appointed head of Uganda. The following year he expels Ugandan Asians from the country.

1972

Steve Biko, born in King William's Town, South Africa, helped to found the Black People's Convention (BPC) and became the national leader of the Black Consciousness Movement. The organizations galvanized the country's anti-apartheid movement. Biko died while in a Pretoria prison in 1977, and the brutality of his death was exposed in the national media.

1979

Idi Amin Dada is ousted from power by Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles.

1980s

The world is horrified as the brutality of apartheid in South Africa is exposed in the national media.

1984

The first cases of HIV and AIDS in Africa are reported in Uganda. Other states soon report findings of the disease, including Kenya and Tanzania.

1985

Live Aid concerts featuring celebrity performances are held at London's Wembley Stadium and at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The concerts raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Africa.

1990

Nelson Mandela is freed.

1993

Nelson Mandela and South African President F.W. de Klerk are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1994

South Africa holds its first multiracial elections in April and Nelson Mandela is elected the country's president. In central Africa, the Hutus massacre as many as 1 million Tutsis in Rwanda. Fearing reprisals, about 1 million Hutus fled Rwanda to Zaire and Tanzania during a much-publicized exodus.

2003

Darfur conflict in Sudan begins between two groups--the Sudanese government and rebel groups (the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement). More than 400,000 die in the conflict and 2 million civilian refugees remain in danger.

2005

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf becomes Africa's first female elected head of state following Liberia's presidential race.

2006

An estimated 25 million Africans are infected with the HIV virus.

2007

Foreign ministers of China and Africa launch their first annual talks in October as Beijing continues to expand its footprint in the resource-rich continent. "China and Africa are good friends, close partners and dear brothers," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said as he shook hands and welcomed a long line of his African counterparts to the meeting at the UN.