On this day — August 6 in African history

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Jamaica became independent from the United Kingdom after more than 300 years of colonial rule.

Sources: National Library of Jamaica ; Jamaica Information Service

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

US President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, outlawing discriminatory practices that had disenfranchised Black voters across the American South.

Sources: National Archives ; National Constitution Center

Library of Congress — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Susie King Taylor was born into slavery in Georgia. She learned to read and write at a secret school, and during the Civil War served the 33rd United States Colored Infantry as a nurse and laundress while teaching the soldiers their letters. Her Reminiscences of My Life in Camp, published in 1902, made her the first and only African American woman to publish an account of her Civil War service.

Sources: American Battlefield Trust ; US National Library of Medicine

Britain imposed the Lagos Treaty of Cession on the Kingdom of Lagos, annexing the port city in what is now Nigeria under the banner of suppressing the slave trade.

Sources: Ardhi Initiative (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) ; Historical Nigeria

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz seized power in Mauritania, overthrowing elected President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

Sources: The Washington Post (AP) ; Government of Canada

South African actress Connie Chiume, known internationally for her role as a tribal elder in "Black Panther," died at age 72.

Sources: Euronews ; AllAfrica (Congress of South African Trade Unions press release)