Cabral was the founder and leader of the Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde liberation movement. He was a revolutionary, humanist, poet, military strategist, and prolific writer on revolutionary theory, culture and liberation. The struggles he led against Portuguese colonialism contributed to the collapse not only of Portugal’s African empire, but also to the downfall of the fascist dictatorship in Portugal and to the Portuguese revolution of 1974 and 1975.

Patrice Lumumba was the first prime minister of the Republic of the Congo. He was a leading figure in the Congo as that country established its independence from Belgium, which had controlled the Congo since the late nineteenth century. Lumumba's murder in 1961 has made him a symbol of struggle for champions of African nations' attempts to unite and to break free of the influence of the European powers that once colonized and held territory in the continent.

Jamaican born “Marcus Garvey” was a Black activist and founder of the Pan-Africans movement which aimed to unite and interact with people of African origin around the world. He was a well-known civil rights leader who established the Black Star Line, a shipping enterprise, the Negro World Newspaper, and the UNIA (United Negro Improvement Association) a friendly organization of Black supremacists. They pushed for “separate – but – equal” rights for people of African heritage as an organization and aspired to build separate Black states around the world, most prominently in Liberia on Africa’s west coast.

The Mau Mau uprising began in 1952 as a reaction to inequalities and injustices in British-controlled Kenya. The response of the colonial administration was a fierce crackdown on the rebels, resulting in many deaths. By 1956 the uprising had effectively been crushed, but the extent of opposition to the British regime had clearly been demonstrated and Kenya was set on the path to independence, which was finally achieved in 1963. Perhaps the greatest impact that the Mau Mau uprising had on the struggle for Kenya’s independence was its role in politicising and mobilising the agrarian sectors, and shaping their political awareness and economic thinking.

Shaka Zulu was born into the small South African clan of the Zulus in 1787. His father was the chief of the Zulus and his mother, Nandi, was the daughter of the chief of a nearby clan. When Shaka's father died, he became chief of the Zulus with the help of Dingiswayo. Shaka began to take over nearby clans and gain soldiers for the Zulu. When Dingiswayo died, Shaka took control of the surrounding tribes and became the most powerful leader in the area. In 1818, Shaka fought a great battle against the army of his main rival for control of the region, Zwide. The battle took place at Gqokli Hill. Shaka's army was greatly outnumbered.

Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister (1957-1960) and president (1960-1966) of the Republic of Ghana, was the leader of the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain its independence. He subsequently became a leading figure in the campaign for the United States of Africa. Nkrumah was born on September 21, 1909, in Nkroful, Gold Coast. The son of a goldsmith, he attended mission schools at Accra and government training colleges at Achimota (1926-1930) where he prepared to be a teacher. In 1945, Nkrumah co-founded the Pan African Congress, which became an influential voice against colonialism in Africa.

Minister Louis Farrakhan was born on May 11, 1933 in the Bronx, New York to Sarah May and Percival Clarke. He was born Louis Eugene Walcott, but would later adopt the surname of Farrakhan after his conversion to Islam. After attending the annual Saviors’ Day address delivered by Elijah Muhammad, Leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI), Farrakhan decided to join the NOI in 1955 and assumed the role of Leader of the NOI in 1978. To combat the negative image of African American men often presented by the media, Farrakhan organized the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. on October 16, 1995 and the Millions More Movement ten years later. Farrakhan was voted the Person of the Year by Black Entertainment Television in 2005, and the following year, he was voted the fifth most important African American leader in the AP-AOL “Black Voices” poll.