Independence era (c. 1950s – 1990s)

  • Albert Lutuli (1898–1967)

    Chief, teacher and president of the African National Congress from 1952, honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize for 1960 “for his non-violent struggle against apartheid”: the first Peace Prize laureate from Africa. Example: he led campaigns of civil disobedience against apartheid laws, inspired by the philosophy of non-violence.

  • Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972)

    Leader of the Gold Coast’s movement for independence from Britain, who headed Ghana from independence in 1957 until a coup in 1966. Example: his studies in the United States, at Lincoln University and the University of Pennsylvania, where he read the literature of socialism and of nationalism, including Marcus Garvey.

  • Cheikh Anta Diop

    Senegalese historian whose 1954 book Nations nègres et culture challenged histories that had served European imperialism and called for histories recognising Africa’s past and its contributions to the world, including his thesis that ancient Egyptian civilisation was African. His arguments remain influential, and some are still debated by historians. Example: the Sankofa Political Studies lessons…

  • Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana’s independence

    Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972), born in Nkroful in the Gold Coast, led the colony’s movement for independence from Britain. In 1957 the Gold Coast became the independent nation of Ghana, and Nkrumah headed the country from independence until he was overthrown by a coup in 1966. He studied in the United States at Lincoln University and the University of Pennsylvania, where he read widely in socialist and nationalist thought, including the work of Marcus Garvey.

  • Albert Luthuli, Africa’s first Nobel Peace laureate

    Albert Lutuli (1898–1967), president of the African National Congress from 1952, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1960 ‘for his non-violent struggle against apartheid’ and received it in 1961. The Nobel Prize organisation calls him Africa’s first Peace Prize laureate. Born in Bulawayo in present-day Zimbabwe and living in South Africa, he was a chief, teacher and trade unionist who led a campaign of civil disobedience against apartheid laws.

  • The African Union and its 55 member states

    The African Union states that it is made up of 55 member states, representing all the countries of the continent. The number includes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, an AU member since 1982 whose territory, Western Sahara, is disputed and which is not a member of the United Nations. That is why African UN member states number 54 while the AU counts 55. The AU succeeded the Organisation of African Unity, founded in 1963.