"Traditional guardians, in whose memory the text values are preserved, are the (only) carriers of tradition, but unfortunately they have not long to live. The immense oral cultural heritage must be saved, and must not be allowed to die with the death of the traditional guardians. In Africa, when an old person dies, it is a library that burns.
Edward Wilmot Blyden was the father of Pan-Africanism. He argued that Africa possessed its own unique civilization and did not need European validation. His ideas influenced Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois, and generations of African nationalists seeking self-determination.
Walter Rodney
Guyana | 1942 – 1980
Walter Rodney was a Guyanese historian who wrote How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. He argued that colonialism deliberately underdeveloped the continent through exploitation and extraction. He was assassinated at age thirty-eight. His work remains foundational for African political economy.
Anani Dzidzienyo
Ghana / Brazil | 1941 – 2020
Anani Dzidzienyo was a Ghanaian scholar of Afro-Brazilians and the African diaspora. He challenged the Brazilian myth of racial democracy. He pioneered diaspora studies at Brown University for decades. His work reshaped global understanding of race in Latin America.
Eric Williams
Trinidad | 1911 – 1981
Eric Williams wrote Capitalism & Slavery, demonstrating that profits from the slave trade financed Britain's Industrial Revolution. He refuted traditional ideas of moral progress & showed mature industrial capitalism helped destroy the slave system. His work remains foundational for studies of imperialism.
Manuel Zapata Olivella
Colombia | 1920 – 2004
Manuel Zapata Olivella was Colombia's most important Afro-descendant intellectual of the twentieth century. A physician, anthropologist, and novelist, he pioneered Afro-Colombian studies and organized Black culture congresses across the Americas, connecting the African diaspora intellectually and politically.
Francis Peregrino
Ghana / South Africa | 1851 – 1919
Francis Peregrino was a journalist and Pan-Africanist who attended the first Pan-African Congress in London in 1900. He founded the South African Spectator, the first Cape Town newspaper for Black readers, challenging racial inferiority and promoting Black pride and solidarity.
Federico Brito Figueroa
Venezuela | 1921 – 2000
Federico Brito Figueroa was a Venezuelan historian who used Marxist analysis to document African slavery and resistance in Venezuela. He tracked African cultural contributions to agriculture, crafts, domestic work, and rebellions. He authored more than thirty books and won the National Prize for History.
Jorge Medina was Bolivia's first Afro-Bolivian legislator and a civil rights activist from the Yungas. He secured Afro-Bolivian inclusion in the 2009 Constitution and spearheaded the country's flagship Law Against Racism. He co-founded MCSA and the Afro-Bolivian Center for Integral and Community Development.