UNIA opens its First International Convention

Ethiopian forces defeat an Italian invasion at Adwa, preserving Ethiopia’s sovereignty in the face of European imperial expansion. Adwa became a powerful symbol for African and diaspora anticolonial...

Organized by Trinidadian barrister Henry Sylvester Williams, the conference brought together delegates and observers from Africa, the Caribbean, the United States and Britain. It linked racial...

African leaders establish the South African Native National Congress, later renamed the African National Congress. It sought to contest racial exclusion through political organization and petitioning;...

Marcus Garvey organizes the UNIA in Jamaica, building a mass movement around Black dignity, self-help, African redemption and diaspora connection. Its pan-African vision attracted working people...

W. E. B. Du Bois and other activists convene a congress during the Paris Peace Conference. Delegates raised colonial labor, land and political rights before imperial powers and the new League of...

The second congress begins a series of meetings in London, Brussels and Paris. It develops demands for African representation, labor protections and an end to colonial exploitation, while the format...

The third congress opens in London before continuing in Lisbon. Delegates address colonial rule and racial discrimination and press for political voice, labor rights and self-government. These...

The fourth congress meets in New York and includes delegates from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. It renews demands for self-government and equal rights while revealing tensions...

Italy invades Ethiopia, one of the few African states to retain formal independence. The invasion provokes protests and diaspora solidarity campaigns; it exposed the weakness of the League of...

Italian forces enter Addis Ababa after the invasion. Ethiopia’s government-in-exile and resistance continued to contest occupation; the date marks an imperial conquest, not the end of Ethiopian...