Chic African Culture Africa Factbook

Did you know?

1. No African country names begin with the letters F, H, I, J, O, P, Q, V, W, X, or Y.

2. Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent.

3. The Republic of the Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa.

John Langalibalele Dube First African National Congress President

John Langalibalele Dube First African National Congress President

John Langalibalele Dube was born in now eastern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in the Inanda district on February 22, 1871. Dube whose nickname was “Mafukuzela” was an educator, minister, politician, author, and activist. He was the son of the low ranking Zulu chief Reverend James Dube one of the first ordained pastors of the American Zulu Mission.


John Langalibalele Dube First ANC President

John Langalibalele Dube First African National Congress President



At the age of 16, in 1887, he accompanied missionaries to the United States of America, where he studied at Oberlin College while working his way through school, however, despite his hard work due to the lack of money, he never received an official degree. Nevertheless, the talents that he nurtured during these Oberlin years laid the foundations for his future endeavors.

The Ohlange Institute in the Inanda district
The Ohlange Institute in the Inanda district
In 1897 when Dube returned to the United States he enrolled at the Union Missionary Seminary in Brooklyn, in New York and in March 1899, Dube was ordained as a priest by the Congregational Church. On August 8, 1900, Dube and his first wife Nokutela Dube established the Ohlange Institute on 200 acres of land in the Inanda district with 63 male students.

Chief Mqhawe of the AmaQadi donated the land on which Ohlange institute was built. The Ohlange institute became the first Black-directed institution and rivaled Tuskegee Institute. The imposition of apartheid had a negative impact on the school.

In 1953, the government passed the Bantu Education Act which had a negative impact on Ohlange institute resulting in its decline. When apartheid eventually collapsed and the first democratic elections were held in 1994, Nelson Mandela chose to cast his vote at Ohlange.


Around 1903, Dube began the first Zulu newspaper Ilanga lase Natal or Sun of Natal. In 1912, Dube was a founder member and first president of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), which was renamed as the African National Congress (ANC) in 1923. He died in Durban near his birthplace of Inanda on February 11, 1946.


Africa is surrounded by water but is not an island, here are a few African Island facts.

Madagascar is the 4th large island in the world and is located in the Indian Ocean supporting a unique biology, about 90% of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth.

Composed of 155 islands, Seychelles is Africa's smallest country. By far the largest island is Mahe, home to about 90% of the population and the site of its capital city of Victoria.

Cabo Verde has a strategic location 310 miles or 500 km from the west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site.

Africa is surrounded by water but by definition Africa is not an island because Africa is a continent. Continents can not be considered islands because of their size and also by historic definition since many people who study geography define islands and continents as two different things.

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Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My father and mother are historians of African culture and history and their influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

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