Percy Lavon Julian
Percy Lavon Julian was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. Dr. Percy Lavon Julian was a trailblazing chemist whose discoveries…
Did you know Raoul Diagne was the first black player to play in the France national football team?
Raoul Diagne was a French footballer who played defense, and had stints as a coach after his playing career. He was educated in Senegal, migrated to France to pursue his…
Did you know the world’s largest solar power plant is in Egypt?
The Benban Solar station is the largest solar power plant in the world located in Aswan, a city on the Nile River. It can be seen from space and its…
The short life of Sylvia Elizabeth Mathis, FBI’s first African-American female special agent
At the time Sylvia Elizabeth Mathis set out to become the first black female FBI agent, African-American women were finally getting opportunities in many areas thanks to works by influential…
On this day February 11 in 1990, Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa was released from prison after 27 years.
He was the leader of the movement to end apartheid in South Africa. In 1961, he was arrested for treason, and although acquitted he was arrested again in 1962 for…
This Kenyan woman set up plastic waste recycling plant that employs over 100 to help waste management
In Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, over 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste is recorded in a place with a little over four million inhabitants. The figure for waste produced across the…
Did you know Stacey Osei-Kuffour is the first Black female writer to script a Marvel movie?
New York-based playwright with Ghanaian roots, Stacey Osei-Kuffour, has become the first Black female writer to script a Marvel movie titled Blade. Osei-Kuffour’s record-setting achievement follows her previous role as…
In praise of the unsung ‘mother of Afro-Peruvian dance and theatre’ who awakened Black pride from the 1960s
Victoria Santa Cruz was just seven years old when she had her first personal taste of racism. The Afro-Peruvian was the only Black person among her circle of friends growing…
On this day, 1 February in 1865, the first African American was sworn in as Supreme Court lawyer.
John Stewart Rock was an American teacher, doctor, dentist, lawyer, and abolitionist, historically associated with the coining of the term “black is beautiful”. Rock was one of the first African-American…
Together we can fight cancer
Guest Column: Michelle Madzudzo It is my pleasure as a radiation therapist to be writing to all of you on World Cancer Day, which is an international day marked on…
Henry Darby, Principal of North Charleston High School
Henry Darby, a high school principal in South Carolina, USA picked up an overnight job at Walmart to help students when he learned that students at his North Charleston High…
Did you know the Al-Fayrouz fish farm is the largest fish farm in Africa and the middle east?
Commissioned by Egyptian president Abd El-Fattah El-SiSi in Port Said, Egypt on 23rd January, 2021, the El-Fayrouz Fish Farm spans 15,000 feddans (a feddan is a unit of area used…
Meet the inventor who invented traffic lights, gas mask & more
Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr. was an African-American inventor, businessman, and a community leader. He was born in 1877 on March 4 and died in 1963 on July 27. Garrett Morgan…
On this day, 28th January 1997, apartheid police officers admitted to the killing of Steve Biko before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Four apartheid-era police officers, including police Colonel Gideon Nieuwoudt who appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) admitted their role in the 1977 killing of Steve Biko, the leader…
Did you know the first African player to play in the premier league is Ndlovu Peter of Zimbabwe?
Football Association Challenge Cup-winning manager John Sillett spotted the teenage sensation during a pre-season tour in Zimbabwe in 1988, but it was his successor Terry Butcher who signed the Zimbabwean…
On this day, 26th January 1947 Nii Kwabena Bonne II organized a boycott of all European goods
Nii Kwabena Bonne II organized a boycott of all European goods in response to their high prices which was having a toll on the living conditions of people in the…
Takunda Chingonzo
Founder of The Village Innovation Network Takunda Chingonzo is the founder of The Village Innovation Network which is a support network that focuses on innovation and technology and its ability…
Orphaned at 11, this Kenyan tech genius turned down Harvard and became a millionaire at 19
Mubarak Muyika grew up with his aunt following the demise of his parents when he was only 11 years old. His dad was a civil servant who died when he…
Meet Kafayat Sanni; First female fighter pilot in Nigerian Air Force’s 55-year-history
Kafayat Sanni has etched her name in history, becoming Nigeria’s first female fighter pilot. Emerging as the overall best pilot at the Nigerian Air Force’s 401 training school in 2017,…
On this Day January 22 1949, Dr. J. Robert Gladden became the first Board-Certified African-American surgeon
Gladden was born Oct. 29, 1911 in Charlotte, N.C. He first entered college at Long Island University, and earned a medical degree from Meharry Medical College. Studying his field at…