My Top 10 African Heroes

These great leaders came from the core roots of Africa but not only did they have huge impacts on their countries, they had huge impacts on the world at large. I do believe that they are HEROES!

1. Nelson Mandela

history.com / Via Work Cited Harwood, Ronald. Mandela. New York: New American Library, 1987. Print. Scott, Christina. Nelson Mandela: A Force for Freedom. London: Andre Deutsch, 2005. Print. youtube.com vuible.com

Everyone in the world today knew him as "Nelson Mandela" but this was not always his name. Growing up in his village, his name was Rohlihlahla. His teacher gave him the name Nelson. For many years, Mandela placed his life on the line by fighting for the rights and freedom of black Africans. The British practically did everything in their power to try and keep control of South Africa. Blacks and whites were separated by what was known as buffer zones. This divided them into two communities.

Mandela's main aim was to fight against racial discrimination and to achieve civil rights for all. He wanted everyone to adopt a peaceful form of protest but in spite of it all, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison. He spent twenty-seven years locked away on Robben Island. He always placed the freedom of others and the justice of others before his own safety. He placed his life on the line to fight for the people of South Africa. He was also accused for encouraging Africans workers to go on strike and for encouraging them to leave the country without legal documents. Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to the struggle of the African people. He fought for blacks and whites to live in a democratic and free society in which everyone would live in harmony and have equal opportunities. Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first President. The experience of this one man reinforced the experience of many.

Work Cited

Harwood, Ronald. Mandela. New York: New American Library, 1987. Print.

Scott, Christina. Nelson Mandela: A Force for Freedom. London: Andre Deutsch, 2005. Print.

2. Haile Selassie

atlantablackstar.com / Via youtube.com Schwab, Peter. Haile Selassie I: Ethiopia's Lion of Judah. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1979. Print.

Haile Selassie was the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was ruler of one of the largest countries in Africa and also one of the oldest countries. He was responsible for establishing the Organization for African Unity (OAU) in Ethiopia. Haile Selassie did everything in his power to bring together the entire country of Africa. Selassie reorganized Ethiopia in every which way that he could have. He worked to abolish slavery in all of Ethiopia. Selassie did many things to help Ethiopia to grow as a country. He reconstructed the entire administration, upgraded his army and he also passed new laws. He pushed for education among his people. Although, he was the leader of Ethiopia, he became known as a great leader around the world.

Work Cited

Schwab, Peter. Haile Selassie I: Ethiopia's Lion of Judah. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1979. Print.

3. Kwame Nkrumah

findagrave.com / Via Nkrumah, Kwame. The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1957. Print. infoplease.com youtube.com

Nkrumah was among some of the greatest Africans who influenced the movement for Africa's independence. He too also went to jail but eventually he was released. He was fighting for the independence of the Gold Coast, which is now present-day Ghana. He was placed in jail because the British heard that he was threatening to be Governor of the Gold Coast and they had to do everything in their power to stop it. He fought against what he called "alien rule". He believed that everyone deserved the same privileges when it came to schools and colleges.

He founded the Ghana College and also founded many other Ghana national secondary schools and colleges. He was pushing for the freedom of Ghana. He worked tirelessly to destroy the colonial structure of their economy. He had a vision of "self government" and self rule for the country of Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah lead Ghana to their independence in 1957.

Work Cited

Nkrumah, Kwame. The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1957. Print.

4. Kofi Annan

ghanaabroad.com / Via Meisler, Stanley. Kofi Annan: A Man of Peace in a World of War. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print. harrywalker.com

He is from the country of Ghana. He served as the Secretary General for the United Nations. He believed in peace and equal human rights for all. He believed that every African had the right to take pride in their faith or heritage. The freedom of religion is something that he was also fighting for. Kofi knew that everyone held the ability to love what they are without hating what and who they were not but the only way that people could have done this is by having freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and basic equality provided by the law. Annan was in charge of peace keeping.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on organizing a more peaceful world. He worked on bringing the United Nations closer to the people. Annan kept the peace internationally as well as within his own country. Pushing for human rights was part of his daily routine. He completely restored the United Nations and brought it back to life. He got the people to believe in the United Nations once more.

Work Cited

Meisler, Stanley. Kofi Annan: A Man of Peace in a World of War. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print.

5. Kenneth Kaunda

beewol.wordpress.com / Via Macpherson, Fergus. Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia: The times and the Man. Lusaka: Oxford UP, 1974. Print. britannica.com

Kenneth Kaunda is from the country of Zambia. He was a part of what was known as the African National Congress (ANC). Kaunda formed what was known as the Zambia African National Congress. This eventually led to the arrest of Kaunda. Kenneth Kaunda was a major force when it came to Zambia's movement for independence. Kaunda did not want power to lie in the hands of the whites and eventually the British took away their laws. It was his tactics to defy the government by setting up this Congress that eventually led Zambia to victory. Upon him being released from prison, he was elected as the leader of the United National Independence Party. Under the strong leadership of Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia gained their independence in 1964.

Work Cited

Macpherson, Fergus. Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia: The times and the Man. Lusaka: Oxford UP, 1974. Print.

6. Winnie Mandela

dailymail.co.uk / Via Haskins, James. Winnie Mandela: Life of Struggle. New York: Putnam, 1988. Print. msafropolitan.com youtube.com

Winnie Mandela is the wife of the great Nelson Mandela. Being the wife of Mandela who was sentenced to life in prison, the government did everything that they could have to put Winnie away. In spite of everything that the government did to her, not once did she let go of her vision of blacks and whites being equally free and enjoying the land of their birth, which is South Africa. For almost twenty she was constantly harassed by the government through bannings, house arrest, jail, detention without trial, constant surveillance, and more than a few attempts on her life. Although her children were persecuted and her friends were also constantly harassed, Winnie did not give up. Eventually, the government had banished her to a place that was known as Brandfort. Winnie had never heard of that place before. The government thought that by sending her away to a strange place where she knew no one that this will make things better for them. In fact, it did the total opposite because this did nothing except focused world attention on something that was not known outside of her country.

Work Cited

Haskins, James. Winnie Mandela: Life of Struggle. New York: Putnam, 1988. Print.

7. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti

nairaland.com / Via Johnson-Odim, Cheryl, and Margaret Strobel. Expanding the Boundaries of Women's History: Essays on Women in the Third World. Bloomington: Published for the Journal of Women's History by Indiana UP, 1992. Printkwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.co

Throughout the West African Nation of Nigeria, a woman by the name of Funmilayo Ransome Kuti is no stranger. She was a true defender of the rights of women. Kuti was a very important figure when it came to the struggle for Nigeria's independence. Throughout this movement for independence, she considered herself a human rights activist. She was a leader, a leader of women and a feminist all at once. Kuti's focus was mainly on gender, race and class in her activism in anticolonial struggle and on behalf of the rights of women. She kept very close links with the women throughout Africa. She was very active in Nigerian politics and it was very rare at the time for women to be so involved as she was in politics. In 1951, Kuti was involved in the election at the Federal House of Assembly but she lost. She held a strong belief about women and her lost pushed her to publish the article entitled Women should play a bigger part in the elections. She prayed for the day when there would be universal adult suffrage. In Africa, Kuti paved the way for women in the social, political and economic fields.

Work Cited

Johnson-Odim, Cheryl, and Margaret Strobel. Expanding the Boundaries of Women's History: Essays on Women in the Third World. Bloomington: Published for the Journal of Women's History by Indiana UP, 1992. Print.

8. Oliver Tambo

nndb.com / Via Callinicos, Luli. Oliver Tambo: Beyond the Engeli Mountains. Claremont, South Africa: David Philip, 2004. Print. youtube.com biography.com

Oliver Tambo is from the country of South Africa. He was the friend of Nelson Mandela. Together, they both opened a law firm in South Africa. Tambo was a leader in the African National Congress. He was fighting for the equal rights and the freedom for the people of his country. By founding the African National Congress, he fought to help end the apartheid system. This group brought the Africans together as one to help fight for the rights. Segregation was very prominent in South Africa because the government allowed it. Tambo was a very important figure when it comes to the freedom of South Africa.

Work Cited

Callinicos, Luli. Oliver Tambo: Beyond the Engeli Mountains. Claremont, South Africa: David Philip, 2004. Print.

9. Milton Obote

hipuganda.org / Via Ingham, Kenneth. Obote: A Political Biography. London: Routledge, 1994. print.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_TurX1x9TM

Milton Obote is from the country of Uganda. His aim was to unite his country of Uganda. Upon his return to his homeland of Uganda, he was quickly elected to be apart of the Legislative Council. Shortly after his appointment, he formed what was known as the Uganda National Congress Party. This party's goal was to bring the country of Uganda back together. Obote was a major factor in the Uganda Freedom movement. He fought for the British to change their government that oppressed the people of the country. He wanted the government to ensure unity among all of the people of Uganda. Obote was fighting for the government to limit the roles of the parties that existed. In 1962, Uganda won their independence under the leadership of Milton Obote.

Work Cited

Ingham, Kenneth. Obote: A Political Biography. London: Routledge, 1994. Print.

10. Joshua Nkomo

likesuccess.com / Via Nkomo, Joshua. Nkomo, the Story of My Life. London: Methuen, 1984. http://Print.http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/02/world/joshua-nkomo-of-zimbabwe-is-dead-at-62.html

Joshua Nkomo was from Zimbabwe. He was the leader and the founder of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU). Nkomo believed that the opinions of others should have been heard. Joshua Nkomo is known as one of Zimbabwe’s main leaders when it came to fighting for Zimbabwean’s independence. Nkomo believed in equal opportunities and equal division of the land among blacks and whites. He strongly believed that once the land was divided equally, all Zimbabweans would have equal economic rights and they all will be able to enjoy the land. In 1964, Nkomo was arrested and he spent nearly ten years in prison. After he got released from prison, he still went on to fight for Zimbabwean independence. In 1980, Zimbabweans gained their independence.

Work Cited

Nkomo, Joshua. Nkomo, the Story of My Life. London: Methuen, 1984. Print.