Selections from Global African History Speeches
Black Past
Speeches delivered by people of African ancestry around the world which have contributed to the shaping of Global African history. These speeches serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources.
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Black Past · 11 December 1958
On December 11, 1958, 34 year old Patrice Lumumba, president of the Congolese National Movement, spoke at the Assembly of African Peoples, an international Pan African Conference sponsored by Kwame …
Black Past · 1 September 1957
By 1957 Nigeria was clearly on the path toward independence. In preparation the British Government named Abubakar Tafawa Balewa the first Prime Minister of the soon to be independent nation …
Black Past · 1 January 1957
In 1957 the Nigerian House of Representatives passed a motion requesting Independence from Great Britain and calling on that colonial power to officially set the date for that Independence as …
Black Past · 18 May 1955
On May 18, 1955 the Eastern House of Assembly, the regional legislature for Eastern Nigeria, moved a resolution to established the first university in Eastern Nigeria. Nnamdi Azikiwe gave a …
Black Past · 12 May 1953
In 1953 when Northern Nigerians were beginning to consider secession from the Nigerian colony that would soon be a nation, Nnamdi Azikiwe gave a speech before the caucus of his …
Black Past · 23 October 1949
Nigerian independence leader Nnamdi Azikiwe appeared before the Plenary Session of the British Peace Congress held in London on October 23, 1949. He used that occasion to educate his audience …
Black Past · 23 October 1949
As the post-World War II campaign for African independence heated up, young leaders such as Nigeria’s Nnamdi Azikiwe (who would eventually become the first President of Nigeria), carried their arguments …
Black Past · 25 June 1949
In the following address given eleven years before Nigerian independence, Nnamdi Azikiwe calls for self-determination for the Ibo as they along with other ethnic groups march toward an inevitably free …
Black Past · 1 January 1949
In 1949 it was far from clear as to whether or when Great Britain would grant independence to Nigeria. Nonetheless 45 year old Nnamdi Azikiwe had already emerged as one …
Black Past · 1 January 1936
Without warning, Italian armed forces invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935, quickly defeated the Ethiopian Army, and forced Emperor Haile Selassie into exile first in Palestine and eventually in Great …