In the course of history, the world has witnessed the prowess of a number of black men. These are the world’s unforgettable black men:
1. Martin Luther King:
Rev. King was the son of a church minister who in his later life fought racism, employing civil disobedience, a technique popularized by Mahatma Gandhi, another world-renowned revolutionary in the 20th century.
His famous “I Have A Dream” speech is one of the most powerful declarations with striking future significance as Obama assumed the presidency of the United States.
Martin Luther was a minister, humanitarian and civil right activist who was assassinated for his persistence in fighting for the freedom of the black community in the United States.
Rev. King was born on 15th January, 1929 and brutally murdered on April 4, 1968, when he was shot on the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. For his tenacity, King is one of the top world’s unforgettable black men.
2. Mandela:
Madiba, as fondly called is a global figure whose name speaks for itself. He is yet another top name in the list of world’s unforgettable black men.
Regardless of the penalty, he fought for the freedom of his people. 27 years imprisonment is no joke but with Madiba it was all worth it.
He is that kind of revolutionary that the prison bars could not subdue. Madiba was great, compassionate, resilient and incredibly influential. Without the sword and the gun, he did it, obtained freedom for South Africans. In life and in death, he remains their national father.
Madiba is a global figure whose name speaks for itself; the typical human being with a human heart. Around the world he is remembered for peace, unity, forgiveness and progress. He is an international epitome of resilience and strength.
3. Barrack Obama:
Barrack Hussein Obama II is the 44th President of the United States. He was born on 4th August in Hawai, to a Kenyan Father and an American mother.
More than any other thing significantly attached to this black African man is the fact that he is the first black man ever in history to be a United States President. He is not just an African American but a Kenyan by decent.
Before winning the US presidency, Barrack served 3 tenures as the Senatorial representative of 13th District in the Illinois.
He ran against the now democratic presidential candidate. Hillary Clinton and won by a substantial margin. Obama will complete his second tenure in office by November, 2016.
Obama was named the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2009.
4. Michael Jackson:
Michael Jackson has been a household name for longer time than remembered. The musical icon who started off as a charming and talented child star is popularly known as the king of pop.
The American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor lived a controversial life, however his talents in entertainment is hard to ignore. Every professional dancer at this time holds MJ on a pedestal.
As a musical artiste, he is recorded to have sold over 400 million records on a global rating. Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009.
5. Chinua Achebe:
Albert Chinua Achebe is one of the greatest African writers of all times. Known for clarity and simplicity of expressions, the patriotic Nigerian novelist, poet and educationist constantly depicts the African society in his literary works – using African characters, plot and experiences.
He never failed to embellish his works with ‘well translated’ African proverbs which leaves a vivid picture in the reader’s imagination; he told African Stories in the African way.
Chinua Achebe authored the largely recognized Things Fall Apart which sold over 12 million copies. The book has been translated into 50 other languages.
Till the time of his death in March, 2013, he was a professor at the David and Marianna Fisher University as well as the Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University,Providence, Rhode Island.
6. Muhammad Ali:
One thing that is for sure about Muhammad Ali’s personality is his firm stance in what he believed in. He didn’t just tag along or sheepishly join the popular bandwagon. He gave purpose to his pursuits especially as an activist.
Ali dominated boxing all through the 1960’s and 1970’s, taking the heavyweight title three times, that long career in the ring however took a drastic toll on his physical health. He was so well loved that in 2005, George W. Bush bestowed upon him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He was regarded as the most influential sportsman of the century. It had however not always been that way. When he first entered the world of boxing in 1960 named Cassius Clay, he was considered an unbearable loud mouth.
In his older days, he assumed the role of an international religious leader than a retired athlete.
7. Kofi Atta Annan:
Kofi Annan is the 2nd African and 7th Secretary General for the United Nations. The highly respected African personality hails from Kumasi, Ghana.
The 78-year old in his time as UN Sec. Gen made tremendous impact in fostering resolutions to conflicting regions of the world. His genuine resilience in that area made him outstanding.
Till date the reputable personality is still making contributions to governance as well as the economic improvement of the African continent.
Under the Kofi Annan Foundation and beyond, the former Sec. Gen has been involved in several humanitarian causes. This trait earned him the Kora All Africa Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. That same year he was also awarded the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.
8. Usain Bolt:
Meet The World’s fastest man and the highest paid athlete ever in track and field. Usain is a Jamaican sprinter who has sustained the title of the fastest man ever timed on the tracks.
What is most significant about the super-runner is that he makes a world record and breaks it in the next event. He is the first man to hold both the 100m and 200m world records.
Usain who runs 5 times in a week is one of the most anticipated athletes to perform at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The sprinter has been awarded the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year, and a 3-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.
Bolt says he intends to retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships.
9. Haile Selassie:
Haile is an Ethiopian military commander; the 225th and last Ethiopian Emperor. He was born in July 23, 1892, and crowned king in 1930, believed to be a descendant of King Menelik I.
His vision was to re-brand the Ethiopian education and socio-economic system. He is one of the African war lords who vehemently resisted imperialism in Africa.
Haile fled in exile during the second World war, after commanding the army that resisted the Italian invasion. From his being reinstated as king of Ethiopia, he ruled for years till the 1974 when he got overthrown by the Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.
The coup was a result of the hopeless situation of famine and unemployment; his opposition capitalized on these circumstances to topple his government. He died in 1975.
The Emperor made a historic and significant visit to Jamaica in the 1960’s. His coming was so revered and viewed as the fulfillment to the prediction of Marcus Garvey that “the day of deliverance of the black race would dawn when a black king was crowned in Africa.”
Rastafarians saw him as the messiah. They kept touching his plane, and screaming out loud, “God is here!” Haile is reported to have said,
“Do not worship me, I am not God, I am only man. I worship Jesus Christ.”
10. Frederick Douglass:
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist and statesman.
The orator and writer who escaped slavery, led the abolitionist movement. As such, his write ups and speeches were all geared towards the drive to emancipation.
He was an undiluted intellectual whose efforts to attain racial freedom in the United States will not be forgotten in a hurry. Douglas died of a heart attack on February 20, 1895.