Located in the northeast region of contemporary Ethiopia, the city of Axum sits on a high plateau next to the Red Sea. With the city’s ascendance centuries before the birth of Christ and its position next to the Red Sea, Axum became a major center for international trade. Known for its monumental obelisk and as an early center of Christianity in Africa, Axum became one … Continue reading Revisit: AXUM (CA. 100 B.C.E.-CA. 650 A.D.)
Located at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and six miles north of the Niger River in the present-day nation of Mali, Timbuktu has been a centuries-old, significant city in West Africa. In the 14th Century it became the commercial, religious and cultural center of the West African empires of Mali and Songhai. With its population of traders, merchants and scholars, Timbuktu was known throughout western Africa … Continue reading TIMBUKTU (CA. 1100- )
The Songhai Empire, the last of West Africa’s pre-colonial empires, emerged in Gao and expanded across the region. Under Sunni Ali Ber and Askia Muhammad Toure, it grew through conquest and trade. However, a civil war led to Moroccan conquest in 1591. Although the Moroccans withdrew in 1661, the empire could not be reestablished and fell to French colonial forces in 1901. Continue reading revisit: SONGHAI EMPIRE (CA. 1375-1591)
Antioch Baptist Church, founded in August 1893 in San Jose, California, was the first African American Baptist church in the area. Led by Rev. C.C. Laws, it started with a small congregation in a wooden structure. Despite challenges, the church has remained a pillar in the local community, still impacting lives today. Continue reading ANTIOCH BAPTIST CHURCH, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA (1893- )
Black Art Story 