Dr. Anotida Chikumbu, Assistant Professor of History, recently presented his research at the “Africa and the African Diaspora and the World Wars” Conference at Florida State University.
On Saturday, Feb. 21, Dr. Chikumbu shared his paper “The Forgotten Men: African and Colored Servicemen of the Second World War and the Rise of African Nationalism in Southern Rhodesia (Colonial Zimbabwe), c.1939-1980” at the Conference on African and the African Diaspora and the World Wars, sponsored by the Institute of World War II and the Human Experience and the Society for Black Military Studies. The conference took place at Florida State University, and brought together scholars from around the world to share their ideas and findings.
Dr. Chikumbu’s paper, part of his larger ongoing research project, examined the role played by the Second World War in the rise of African nationalism. It specifically explored the mobilization, recruitment, wartime, demobilization, and post-war experiences of African and Colored servicemen who participated in the war from Southern Rhodesia (Colonial Zimbabwe). It examined how their experiences revived African nationalism from the 1940s to the late 1970s. Her argued that the war engendered political awareness, anti-colonial sentiments, attitudes, and eventually political activity that aided the rise of African nationalism and the attainment of its goals in Southern Rhodesia. The bulk of the material for this paper was obtained from archival sources, written family records and oral interviews.
You can check out the presentation on Dr. Chikumbu’s YouTube channel here.