Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons In the Sharpeville massacre, South African police opened fire on Black demonstrators protesting pass laws, killing 69 people; the date is now Human Rights Day in South Africa.
Sources: South African History Online ; Canadian Museum for Human Rights ; South African Government (gov.za)
Read the full article: The Sharpeville Massacre, March 21, 1960
Politics
SVG by Vzb83~commonswiki et al., Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Namibia became independent after 75 years of South African administration.
Sources: Los Angeles Times ; The Conversation
Independence
Los Angeles Daily News, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1946 Kenny Washington signed with the Los Angeles Rams, becoming the first African-American player in the modern National Football League.
Sources: Pro Football Hall of Fame ; Biography.com (A&E Television Networks)
SportsDebi Thomas became the first African-American to win the World Figure Skating Championships.
Sources: Los Angeles Times (Associated Press) ; Encyclopedia.com (Gale, Contemporary Authors / Newsmakers)
Sports
Carlo Bavagnoli, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2013 Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist celebrated for 'Things Fall Apart,' died.
Death
Gigi Ibrahim, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 2021 Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian feminist writer and physician, died.
Sources: NPR ; The Guardian
Death