Ethiopia in the African American Imagination

1400s

African Americans idealized Ethiopia as an example of colonial resistance.

The idea of Ethiopia played a major role in the New Negro Movement. The nation represented many things, from a historically powerful empire to an African nation that successfully resisted colonialism. African Americans saw Ethiopia as a direct rebuttal to racist claims that Africa was without civilization.

Denied specific knowledge of their ancestry, many Black people took pride in identifying with Ethiopia as a homeland. Activists also celebrated Ethiopia’s resistance to the Italian invasion of 1935. Though most African Americans did not travel to Ethiopia or have actual roots there, Ethiopia’s history and cultural accomplishments became important symbols for many Black people.