Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara is one of the most iconic leaders in African history. As the President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987, Sankara spearheaded one of the most ambitious socio-economic and anti-imperialist programs on the continent, prioritizing self-reliance, equality, and dignity for all. Known for his visionary policies, Sankara remains a symbol of resistance against neo-colonialism. Sankara was a Burkinabé military captain, Marxist revolutionary and pan-Africanist theorist. Viewed by supporters as a charismatic and iconic figure of revolution, he is commonly referred to as “Africa’s Che Guevara.” During the course of his presidency, Sankara successfully implemented programs that vastly reduced infant mortality, increased literacy rates and school attendance, and boosted the number of women holding governmental posts. On the environmental front, in the first year of his presidency alone 10 million trees were planted in an effort to combat desertification. On the localized level Sankara also called on every village to build a medical dispensary and had over 350 communities construct schools with their own labour. Moreover, his commitment to women’s rights led him to outlaw female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy, while appointing women to high governmental positions and encouraging them to work outside the home and stay in school even if pregnant. In order to achieve this radical transformation of society, he increasingly exerted authoritarian control over the nation, eventually banning unions and a free press, which he believed could stand in the way of his plans. His revolutionary programs for African self-reliance made him an icon to many of Africa’s poor, but an enemy of the rich. As a result, he was overthrown and assassinated in a coup d’état led by Blaise Compaoré on October 15, 1987. A week before his murder, he declared: “While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.”
Black History 365 | # 199 Dorie Miller
This is Doris Miller. Doris Miller was born in Waco, Texas, on 12 October 1919. He had to drop out of school to help support his family, working as a cook to supplement the family income during the Great Depression. In 1939, just before his 20th birthday, he enlisted in the United States Navy, and after training in Norfolk, Virginia, Miller became a Mess Attendant, one of the few positions open to African Americans in the Navy. Eventually, Miller was assigned to the U.S.S. West Virginia, a battleship, in January 1940. Seen as "only" a lower-ranking enlisted Black sailor, his superiors likely did not know that his upbringing in Texas as an excellent marksman. On Sunday 7 December 1941, Mess Attendant Third Class Doris Miller was retrieving laundry when the Japanese bombs fell on Pearl Harbor. He arrived on deck, where he encountered his mortally wounded commanding officer and carried him to safety. He proceeded to one of the machine guns and although black sailors never received training on the anti-aircraft guns, he opened fire on the Japanese planes overhead. After the gun ran out of ammunition, Miller assisted in evacuating sailors after the order to abandon ship and was one of the last three men to leave the vessel as it sank. Even after leaving the ship, he helped numerous sailors to safety, by physically carrying them. In a list the Navy issued during the following January of those to be lauded for their bravery at Pearl Harbor, the Navy mentioned a Black sailor -- Miller -- without explicitly identifying him. The NAACP pushed the Navy to honor Miller, eventually leading to the Navy awarding the sailor for his heroic acts. After his tour in the United States, Miller returned to active duty and was presumed killed in action at the Battle of Makin in the Pacific in November 1943, at the age of 22. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. Woy.
Black History 365 | # 198 Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston, a writer and folklorist, she is a product of The Harlem Renaissance, born in 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. She attended Howard University from 1921 to 1924 and in 1925 won a scholarship to Barnard College, where she studied anthropology under Franz Boas, a German American anthropologist who is known as the father of American Anthropology. She graduated from Barnard in 1928 and for two years pursued graduate studies in anthropology at Columbia University. She also conducted field studies in folklore among African Americans in the South. Her trips were funded by folklorist Charlotte Mason, who was a patron to both Hurston and Langston Hughes. She would soon become a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, best remembered for her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. She would make several trips to the American South and the Caribbean, documenting the lives of rural Black people and collecting their stories. She studied her own people, an unusual practice at the time, and during her lifetime became known as the foremost authority on Black folklore. Much appreciations to her and her legacy!
Black History 365 | # 197 Dandara Dos Palmares
Dandara Dos Palmares was heavy duty tough work NO JOKE. An afro-Brazilian warrior who knew serious Capoeira, she could fight with her bare hands or with weapons. She was fueled by dismantling slavery. Along with her husband Zumbi, Dandera defended the colonial Brazilian Maroon community (quilombo) of Palmares from Portuguese incursions. Quilombo, in colonial Brazil, is a community organized by “fugitive” slaves. Quilombos were located in inaccessible areas and usually consisted of fewer than 100 people who survived by farming and raiding. Palmares became economically self-sufficient by diversifying agricultural production. Colonial authorities perceived this self-sufficiency to be a threat to the system of slavery in Brazil and sought to either resettle or eliminate the maroons. The quilombo resisted incursions from both the Dutch and the Portuguese to survive for nearly a century. In 1678, Ganga Zuma accepted a peace treaty offered by the Portuguese Governor of Pernambuco, which required that the inhabitants of Palmares relocated to the Cucaú Valley. It also stated that people of Palmares who had been arrested were to be released and those born in Palmares were granted permission to be free granted permission to engage in commerce. But in exchange, the people of Palmares had to stop giving refuge to any new runaway slaves and must turn them over to the Portuguese authorities. Dandara and her husband are said to have opposed the deal because it did not end slavery, and in fact made Palmares complicit in its perpetuation. Ganga-Zumba was killed by one of the Palmarinos who opposed his proposal, possibly his nephew, Dandera’s husband, Zumbi. Dandera was cornered or captured in 1694, but she killed herself, preferring suicide to a return to enslavement. Peace! To her powerful legacy and the rebellious people of Palmeres.
Black History 365 | # 196 The Wayans Family
Shoutout to the Wayans family. From In Living Color to Poppa’s House The Wayans’ been making America laugh all while building a multi-generational brand of comedy. If you know you know, the Wayans have cemented themselves in black history, but this time they’ve been recognized by the NAACP for it. Congratulations on being inducted in the NAACP Hall of Fame.