Martin Luther King, Jr over the course of his lifetime was able to visit Africa.
In 1957, on the invite of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, he visited the country as it celebrated it independence from Great Britain.
On returning, MLK delivered an address entitled, “Birth of a New Nation” in which he discusses in extent the impact of the Ghana visit in his life. Read the entire speech and sermon here via the King Institute at Stanford University.
Additionally, recently discovered archives uncovered audio clips of MLK discussing his trip to Africa and the impact it had on his life.
King’s speech and the video above demonstrate that there was awareness on both sides of the other’s efforts for freedom and equity.
On his way back from Ghana, King stopped by Nigeria – likely also meeting with leaders of the country’s independence movement (Nigeria at the time was on the path to its independence which it would achieve in 1960). Additionally, he had a layover in London where he met with Trinidadian writer and political activist C.L.R James.
