The Nobel Prize for peace has been awarded to 120 heads of state, campaigners and organisations around the world since 1901 for doing "the most or the best work for fraternity between nations."
Past recipients included Mother Theresa and the Dalai Lama, as well as these five Africans and three African-Americans:
First Black Nobel Peace Prize Winner Ralph Bunche - 1950
Ralph Bunche was the first African-American winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. From a childhood of poverty in Detroit raised by an ex-slave grandmother, Bunche graduated from Harvard and became the Under Secretary General of the UN. He won the award for securing peace between Arabs and Jews in Palestine in 1949.
On presenting Bunche with his award in Oslo, the chairman of the Nobel Committee Gunnar Jahn said "[Bunche is] the man who succeeded in getting [Arabs and Jews] to lay down their arms. The outcome was a victory for the ideas of the United Nations, it is true, but as is nearly always the case, it was one individual's efforts that made victory possible."
First African Winner Albert Lutuli - 1960
As the president of the African National Congress in South Africa, Albert Lutuli (1898 - 1967) led ten million Black South Africans in their fight against apartheid and won the Peace prize in 1960.
In presenting the award, Chairman Jahn said "If the non-white people of South Africa ever lift themselves from their humiliation without resorting to violence and terror, then it will be above all because of the work of Lutuli, their fearless and incorruptible leader."
Lutuli accepted stating "I therefore regard this award as recognition of the sacrifice made by many of all races, particularly the African people, who have endured and suffered so much for so long. It can only be on behalf of the people of South Africa...that I accept this award."
Nobel Laureate Martin Luther King Jr. - 1964
In 1964, the African-American Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize aged 35.
Chairman Jahn stated "[King] is the first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence...to this undaunted champion of peace the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament has awarded the Peace Prize."
King said "I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice...today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to humanity."
Nobel Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu - 1984
The first Black Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Desmond Tutu was the second Black South African to receive the Peace prize in 1984 for his work against apartheid in his country.
Nobel Committee Chairman Egil Aarvik stated "Although he has never learnt to hate, none has opposed injustice with a more burning anger. Courageous and fearless he opposes his country's authorities... His clear standpoints and his fearless attitude have made his name a unifying symbol for all groups of freedom campaigners in Africa."
Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela - 1993
Nelson Mandela is widely regarded as the most significant leader in South Africa's epic campaign against apartheid, and was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 along with the country's president F.W de Klerk for their "work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa."
In his acceptance speech Mandela stated "I am here today as a representative of the millions of people across the globe, the anti-apartheid movement, the governments and organisations that joined with us...to oppose an inhuman system and sue for a speedy end to apartheid... Because of their courage and persistence for many years, we can... join together to celebrate one of the outstanding human victories of our century.
Peace Prize Winner Kofi Annan - 2001
Ghanaian United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan was a joint winner with the UN of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.
Nobel's chairman stated "No one has done more than Kofi Annan to revitalise the UN. After taking office as the UN's seventh Secretary-General in January, 1997, he managed in a very short time to give the UN an external prestige and an internal morale the likes of which the organization had hardly seen in its over fifty-year history."
First Black Female Winner Wangari Maathai - 2004
Kenyan Wangari Maathai is the first Black woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. As the first woman in Central Africa to gain a doctorate degree in biology, Professor Maathai pioneered tree-planting initiatives across Africa to conserve energy and was recently elected as the assistant minister for environment for Kenya.
Committee Chairman Ole Danbolt Mjøs stated "Maathai stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Africa...and embraces democracy, human rights and women's rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally."
Maathai accepted her award saying "My fellow Africans, as we embrace this recognition, let us use it to intensify our commitment to our people, to reduce conflicts and poverty and thereby improve their quality of life. Let us embrace democratic governance, protect human rights and protect our environment...I have always believed that solutions to most of our problems must come from us."
Nobel Laureate President Barack Obama - 2009
American president Barack Obama became the eight Black person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his "extraodinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples."
The Nobel committee stated "Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics... Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future.
"For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman."
Sources:
- nobelprize.org
Kimberly Ward - Since completing a Journalism degree at City University, London, Kimberly has written extensively online and on print for The Independent ...
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