Our Roots

Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was born and raised the in town of St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica. After receiving minimal elementary education, he began to travel around Latin America, observing the plight of blacks. He then travelled to England where he observed a more racially integrated society that he had ever before witnessed. In England, he learned the ideas of the Pan-African movement. He embraced these ideas, which encouraged blacks to lose all dependence on whites. He then moved back to Jamaica and started his organization for the empowerment of blacks, call the United Negro Improvement Association. He then moved his organization to the United States, where it became very popular among working class African Americans. He started the Black Star Shipping Co., boats to move blacks back to Africa. The company failed after two trips to Africa because of poor management. The rest of Garvey's work consisted of writing literature and giving speeches to spread his ideas. Garvey was married twice and had two children, Marcus Jr. and Julius. He was eventually deported from the United States for mail fraud. He died in 1940 in England.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931) was the first doctor, black or white to perform open heart surgery in 1893 and his patient lived for another twenty years. Critics challenged his medical know-how, but it did not stop him from improving the medical profession. Born in Pennsylvania, USA, Williams in 1913 became the first black member of the American College of Surgeons.

Nelson Mandela - A Brief Biography
Mandela's words, "The struggle is my life," are not to be taken lightly.
Nelson Mandela personifies struggle. He is still leading the fight against apartheid with extraordinary vigour and resilience after spending nearly three decades of his life behind bars. He has sacrificed his private life and his youth for his people, and remains South Africa's best known and loved hero.
Mandela has held numerous positions in the ANC: ANCYL secretary (1948); ANCYL president (1950); ANC Transvaal president (1952); deputy national president (1952) and ANC president (1991).

He was born at Qunu, near Umtata on 18 July 1918.
His father, Henry Mgadla Mandela, was chief councillor to Thembuland's acting paramount chief David Dalindyebo. When his father died, Mandela became the chief's ward and was groomed for the chieftainship.
Mandela matriculated at Healdtown Methodist Boarding School and then started a BA degree at Fort Hare. As an SRC member he participated in a student strike and was expelled, along with the late Oliver Tambo, in 1940. He completed his degree by correspondence from Johannesburg, did articles of clerkship and enrolled for an LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand.
In 1944 he helped found the ANC Youth League, whose Programme of Action was adopted by the ANC in 1949.

Mandela was elected national volunteer-in-chief of the 1952 Defiance Campaign. He travelled the country organising resistance to discriminatory legislation.
He was given a suspended sentence for his part in the campaign. Shortly afterwards a banning order confined him to Johannesburg for six months. During this period he formulated the "M Plan", in terms of which ANC branches were broken down into underground cells.
By 1952 Mandela and Tambo had opened the first black legal firm in the country, and Mandela was both Transvaal president of the ANC and deputy national president.
A petition by the Transvaal Law Society to strike Mandela off the roll of attorneys was refused by the Supreme Court.
In the 'fifties, after being forced through constant bannings to resign officially from the ANC, Mandela analysed the Bantustan policy as a political swindle. He predicted mass removals, political persecutions and police terror.
For the second half of the 'fifties, he was one of the accused in the Treason Trial. With Duma Nokwe, he conducted the defence.
When the ANC was banned after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, he was detained until 1961 when he went underground to lead a campaign for a new national convention.
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the ANC, was born the same year. Under his leadership it launched a campaign of sabotage against government and economic installations.

In 1962 Mandela left the country for military training in Algeria and to arrange training for other MK members.
On his return he was arrested for leaving the country illegally and for incitement to strike. He conducted his own defence. He was convicted and jailed for five years in November 1962. While serving his sentence, he was charged, in the Rivonia trial, with sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment.
A decade before being imprisoned, Mandela had spoken out against the introduction of Bantu Education, recommending that community activists "make every home, every shack or rickety structure a centre of learning".
Robben Island, where he was imprisoned, became a centre for learning, and Mandela was a central figure in the organised political education classes.
In prison Mandela never compromised his political principles and was always a source of strength for the other prisoners.
During the 'seventies he refused the offer of a remission of sentence if he recognised Transkei and settled there.
In the 'eighties he again rejected PW Botha's offer of freedom if he renounced violence.
It is significant that shortly after his release on Sunday 11 February 1990, Mandela and his delegation agreed to the suspension of armed struggle.

Mandela has honorary degrees from more than 50 international universities and is chancellor of the University of the North. He was inaugurated as the first democratically elected State President of South Africa on 10 May 1994 - June 1999.
Nelson Mandela retired from Public life in June 1999. He currently resides in his birth place - Qunu, Transkei.
Read more about Nelson Mandela here.

Masopha (1820-1899), was the third son of King Moshoeshoe, founder of the Sotho nation now Lesotho in Southern Africa. He led his country in the only successful revolt against the Cape administration. Later, under British rule, Mosopha continued his fight for independence. He was aggressive and troublesome, but he was instrumental in Lesotho becoming an independent nation.

Herbert Macauley (1864-1946) was a Nigerian politician who was known as the 'Father of Nigerian nationalism'. He was the son of the first African Bishop in West Africa. In 1922, Herbert founded the first political party in Nigeria, (NNOP) of which he was the General Secretary. He led the campaign against discrimination and for self-government under the British colonial administration in Nigeria.

Andrew Foster (1878-1930) was the driving force behind the founding of Black baseball in the US. He was the first African-American pitcher, a good field manager, team co-owner and founder of Negro National League in 1921. Foster was born in Texas, USA. He was nicknamed 'Rube' by his black fans after beating the great pitcher Rube Waddell 5-2.

Lucas Alaman (1792-1853) was born in Guanajuato, Mexico into an aristocratic family. He was a member of the Mexican delegation to the Spanish Cortes, from 1821-1823. He had respect for the Spanish colonial heritage, stressing how superior it was to the liberal doctrines of the United States. As a spokesman for the conservative party in Mexico, Lucas had plans to dominate the party but failed with his death in 1853. Lucas was one of Mexico's historians in the 19th century.

Koniagui Tribe - The women of the Koniagui tribe sit in concrete cylinders. They insist that chairs are not restful enough. The Koniagui tribe is from the Gambia in West Africa.

Askia Muhammad (1493-1528) reigned as King of the Songhay empire for thirty-five years. He ruled in accordance with his Islamic teachings and traditions. As a successful military combatant, Askia is known to have developed a strong centralized government in his empire.

Julius Nyrere (1922-) Began his political life by joining the Tanganyika African Association formed to provide a discussion forum for African opinion. From 1960-1961. This Tanzanian statesman became the Prime Minister of Tanganykia in 1964. He also became the first President of a United Tanzania. Nyrere is said to be the most original thinker of Africa's political personalities. He retired in 1985.

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