Why An African History Month

Why, An African History Month?

The motherland's histories are complex with over 2000 cultures, constituting, different languages, traditions and customs and they all have their own stories to tell. It would be mutually beneficial to have our history to be accessible in one historical umbrella. Each month would address a different topic. This will plant the seeds of knowledge to be harvest for the future generations. Most importantly, "African History Month" would serve as a catalyst to correct the gross misconceptions, omission and distortions of it's history.of African people globally.

The word African specifically relates to the indigenous people of the African continent and their descents in the Diaspora ( Caribbean , Americas , Arabia , etc). The race-nationality model such as that currently employed by African-American, African-Brazilian and African-Caribbean communities more accurately describes the identity whilst fully articulating the history and geopolitical reality

The miscellaneous usage of the label 'Black' within this site reflects its contemporary use as a means to denote a specific
sociocultural and political context. It is recognized as a colloquial term that was fashioned as a reactionary concept to derogatory racial epithets in the 1960's. It is offensive when used as a racial classification code word to denote African people. Other such denigrating terminology when made in reference to African culture, heritage or identity are 'Tribe', 'Sub-Saharan Africa', or 'black Africa '.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Nigeria's Forgotten Empire: The Walls of Benin

Man-made wonders of the world such as the Taj Mahal in India, the Cairo Citadel in Egypt and the Colosseum in Rome attract millions of visitors each year and lay claim to represent the architectural brilliance of our past. But the Benin Moat, also known as the Walls of Benin, lays fallow, crumbling away in Nigeria, a pale imitation of its resplendent former self. At stake is not just the structure itself, but the memory of a once-great empire and a site of colonial resistance.

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Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Yoruba Enslavement of African Ancestors, Major Blocks on W.African Transatlantic Slave Trade

"The past is what makes the present coherent," said Afro-American writer James Baldwin, and the past "will remain horrible for exactly as long as we refuse to assess it honestly." :- Tunde Obadina

The United States drew a larger proportion of its slaves from Senegambia south to Liberia than any other region in the Americas. And Amazonia drew almost all of its captives from what is now Guinea-Conakry.Where a given part of the Americas drew on a number of African regions, it tended to do so in sequence. Thus Jamaica drew heavily on what is now Ghana and Benin (Republic of Benin-Dahomey) in the 17th century before switching to first eastern Nigeria and then northern Angola and the Congo region. Such transatlantic links bear an uncanny resemblance to the patterns established by free migrants leaving Europe for the Americas.

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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Haitian Republic (January 1, 1804)

The Haitian Revolution has often been described as the largest and most successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere. Slaves initiated the rebellion in 1791 and by 1803 they had succeeded in ending not just slavery but French control over the colony. The Haitian Revolution, however, was much more complex, consisting of several revolutions going on simultaneously. These revolutions were influenced by the French revolution of 1789, which would come to represent a new concept of human rights, universal citizenship, and participation in government.

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