On this day — March 3 in African history

Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.

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The two-day Great Slave Auction, one of the largest sales of enslaved people in United States his… Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1859

The two-day Great Slave Auction, one of the largest sales of enslaved people in United States history, concluded in Savannah, Georgia.

Slavery
1959

British colonial authorities declared a state of emergency in Nyasaland (now Malawi) and launched Operation Sunrise, arresting nationalist leaders; the resulting deaths are commemorated as Malawi's Martyrs' Day.

Politics
1986

The 'Gugulethu Seven,' young anti-apartheid activists, were killed in an ambush by South African security police in Cape Town.

Politics