Ethiopian & African American
Relations
The Case of Melaku E. Bayen and John Robinson
The Case of Melaku E. Bayen and John Robinson
By Ayele Bekerie-
New York (Tadias) – In 1935, African Americans of all
classes, regions, genders, and beliefs expressed their opposition to and
outrage over the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in various forms and various
means. The invasion aroused African Americans – from intellectuals to common
people in the street – more than any other Pan-African-oriented historical
events or movements had. It fired the imagination of African Americans and
brought to the surface the organic link to their ancestral land and peoples.
The time was indeed a turning point
in the relations between Ethiopia and the African Diaspora. Harris calls 1935 a
watershed in the history of African peoples. It was a year when the relations
substantively shifted from symbolic to actual interactions. The massive
expression of support for the Ethiopian cause by African Americans has also
contributed, in my opinion, to the re-Africanization of Ethiopia. This article
attempts to examine the history
of the relations between Ethiopians and African
Americans by focusing on brief biographies of two great leaders, one from
Ethiopia and another one from African America, who made extraordinary
contributions to these relations.
It is fair to argue that the
Italo-Ethiopian War in the 1930s was instrumental in the rebirth of the
Pan-African movement. The African Diaspora was mobilized in support of the
Ethiopian cause during both the war and the subsequent Italian occupation of
Ethiopia. Italy’s brutal attempt to wipe out the symbol of freedom and hope to
the African world ultimately became a powerful catalyst in the struggle against
colonialism and oppression. The Italo-Ethiopian War brought about an
extraordinary unification of African people’s political awareness and
heightened level of political consciousness. Africans, African Americans,
Afro-Caribbean’s, and other Diaspora and continental Africans from every social
stratum were in union in their support of Ethiopia, bringing the establishment
of “global Pan-Africanism.” The brutal aggression against Ethiopia made it
clear to African people in the United States that the Europeans’ intent and
purpose was to conquer, dominate, and exploit all African people. Mussolini’s
disregard and outright contempt for the sovereignty of Ethiopia angered and
reawakened the African world.
Response went beyond mere
condemnation by demanding self-determination and independence for all colonized
African people throughout the world. For instance, the 1900-1945 Pan-African
Congresses regularly issued statements that emphasized a sense of solidarity
with Haiti, Ethiopia, and Liberia, thereby affirming the importance of
defending the sovereignty and independence of African and Afro-Caribbean
states. A new generation of militant Pan-Africanists emerged who called for
decolonization, elimination of racial discrimination in the United States,
African unity, and political empowerment of African people.
One of the most significant
Pan-Africanist Conferences took place in 1945, immediately after the defeat of
the Italians in Ethiopia and the end of World War II. This conference passed
resolutions clearly demanding the end of colonization in Africa, and the
question of self-determination emerged as the most important issue of the time.
As Mazrui and Tidy put it: “To a considerable extent the 1945 Congress was a
natural outgrowth of Pan-African activity in Britain since the outbreak of the
Italo-Ethiopian War.”
Another of the most remarkable
outcomes of the reawakening of the African Diaspora was the emergence of so
many outstanding leaders, among them the Ethiopian Melaku E. Bayen and the
African American John Robinson. Other outstanding leaders were Willis N.
Huggins, Arnold Josiah Ford, and Mignon Innis Ford, who were active against the
war in both the United States and Ethiopia. Mignon Ford, the founder of
Princess Zenebe Work School, did not even leave Ethiopia during the war. The
Fords and other followers of Marcus Garvey settled in Ethiopia in the 1920s.
Mignon Ford raised her family among Ethiopians as Ethiopians. Her children,
fluent speakers of Amharic, have been at home both in Ethiopia and the United
States.
Melaku
E. Bayen: Pan-Africanists in Thoughts & Practice
Melaku E. Bayen, an Ethiopian,
significantly contributed to the re-Africanization of Ethiopia. His noble
dedication to the Pan-African cause and his activities in the United States
helped to dispel the notion of “racial fog” that surrounded the Ethiopians.
William R. Scott expounded on this: “Melaku Bayen was the first Ethiopian
seriously and steadfastly to commit himself to achieving spiritual and physical
bonds of fellowship between his people and peoples of African descent in the
Americas. Melaku exerted himself to the fullest in attempting to bring about
some kind of formal and continuing relationship designed to benefit both the
Ethiopian and Afro-American.” To Scott, Bayen’s activities stand out as “the
most prominent example of Ethiopian identification with African Americans and
seriously challenges the multitude of claims which have been made now for a
long time about the negative nature of Ethiopian attitudes toward African
Americans.”
The issues raised by Scott and the
exemplary Pan-Africanism of Melaku Bayen are useful in establishing respectful
and meaningful relations between Ethiopia and the African Diaspora. They
dedicated their entire lives in order to lay down the foundation for relations
rooted in mutual understanding and historical facts, free of stereotypes and false
perceptions. African American scholars, such as William Scott, Joseph E.
Harris, and Leo Hansberry contributed immensely by documenting the thoughts and
activities of Bayen, both in Ethiopia and the United States.
Melaku E. Bayen was raised and
educated in the compound of Ras Mekonnen, then the Governor of Harar and the
father of Emperor Haile Selassie. He was sent to India to study medicine in
1920 at the age of 21 with permission from Emperor Haile Selassie. Saddened by
the untimely death of a young Ethiopian woman friend, who was also studying in
India, he decided to leave India and continue his studies in the United States.
In 1922, he enrolled at Marietta College, where he obtained his bachelor’s
degree. He is believed to be the first Ethiopian to receive a college degree
from the United Sates.
Melaku started his medical studies
at Ohio State University in 1928, then, a year later, decided to transfer to
Howard University in Washington D.C. in order to be close to Ethiopians who
lived there. Melaku formally annulled his engagement to a daughter of the
Ethiopian Foreign Minister and later married Dorothy Hadley, an African
American and a great activist in her own right for the Ethiopian and
pan-Africanist causes. Both in his married and intellectual life, Melaku wanted
to create a new bond between Ethiopia and the African Diaspora.
Melaku obtained his medical degree
from Howard University in 1936, at the height of the Italo-Ethiopian War. He
immediately returned to Ethiopia with his wife and their son, Melaku E. Bayen,
Jr. There, he joined the Ethiopian Red Cross and assisted the wounded on the
Eastern Front. When the Italian Army captured Addis Ababa, Melaku’s family went
to England and later to the United States to fully campaign for Ethiopia.
Schooled in Pan-African solidarity
from a young age, Melaku co-founded the Ethiopian Research Council with the
late Leo Hansberry in 1930, while he was student at Howard. According to Joseph
Harris, the Council was regarded as the principal link between Ethiopians and
African Americans in the early years of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict. The
Council’s papers are housed at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard
University. At present, Professor Aster Mengesha of Arizona State University
heads the Ethiopian Research Council. Leo Hansberry was the recipient of
Emperor Haile Selassie’s Trust Foundation Prize in the 1960s.
Melaku founded and published the
Voice of Ethiopia, the media organ of the Ethiopian World Federation and a
pro-African newspaper that urged the “millions of the sons and daughters of
Ethiopia, scattered throughout the world, to join hands with Ethiopians to save
Ethiopia from the wolves of Europe.” Melaku founded the Ethiopian World
Federation in 1937, and it eventually became one of the most important
international organizations, with branches throughout the United States, the
Caribbean, and Europe. The Caribbean branch helped to further solidify the
ideological foundation for the Rasta Movement.
Melaku died at the age of forty from
pneumonia he contracted while campaigning door-to-door for the Ethiopian cause
in the United States. Melaku died in 1940, just a year before the defeat of the
Italians in Ethiopia. His tireless and vigorous campaign, however, contributed
to the demise of Italian colonial ambition in Ethiopia. Melaku strove to bring
Ethiopia back into the African world. Melaku sewed the seeds for a
“re-Africanization” of Ethiopia. Furthermore, Melaku was a model Pan-Africanist
who brought the Ethiopian and African American people together through his
exemplary work and his remarkable love and dedication to the African people.
Colonel
John Robinson
Another heroic figure produced by
the anti-war campaign was Colonel John Robinson. It is interesting to note that
while Melaku conducted his campaign and died in the United States, the Chicago-born
Robinson fought, lived, and died in Ethiopia.
When the Italo-Ethiopian War
erupted, he left his family and went to Ethiopia to fight alongside the
Ethiopians. According to William R. Scott, who conducted thorough research in
documenting the life and accomplishments of John Robinson, wrote about
Robinson’s ability to overcome racial barriers to go to an aviation school in
the United States. In Ethiopia, Robinson served as a courier between Haile
Selassie and his army commanders in the war zone. According to Scott, Robinson
was the founder of the Ethiopian Air Force. He died in a plane crash in 1954.
Scott makes the following critical
assessment of Robinson’s historical role in building ties between Ethiopia and
the African Diaspora. I quote him in length: “Rarely, if ever, is there any
mention of John Robinson’s role as Haile Selassie’s special courier during the
Italo-Ethiopian conflict. He has been but all forgotten in Ethiopia as well as
in Afro-America. [Former Ambassodor Brazeal mentioned his name at the planting
of a tree to honor the African Diaspora in Addis Ababa.] Nonetheless, it is
important to remember John Robinson, as one of the two Afro-Americans to serve
in the Ethiopia campaign and the only one to be consistently exposed to the
dangers of the war front.
Colonel Robinson stands out in
Afro-America as perhaps the very first of the minute number of Black Americans
to have ever taken up arms to defend the African homeland against the forces of
imperialism.”
John Robinson set the standard in
terms of goals and accomplishments that could be attained by Pan-Africanists.
Through his activities, Robinson earned the trust and affection of both
Ethiopians and African Americans. Like Melaku, he made concrete contributions
to bring the two peoples together. He truly built a bridge of Pan African
unity.
It is our hope that the youth of
today learn from the examples set by Melaku and Robinson, and strive to build
lasting and mutually beneficial relations between Ethiopia and the African
Diaspora. The Ethiopian American community ought to empower itself by forging
alliances with African Americans in places such as Washington D.C. We also urge
the Ethiopian Government to, for now, at least name streets in Addis Ababa
after Bayen and Robinson.
I would like to conclude with
Melaku’s profound statement: “The philosophy of the Ethiopian World Federation
is to instill in the minds of the Black people of the world that the word Black
is not to be considered in any way dishonorable but rather an honor and dignity
because of the past history of the race.”
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About the Author:
Ayele Bekerie: was born in Ethiopia, and earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies at Temple University in 1994. He has written and published in scholarly journals, such as , ANKH: Journal of Egyptology and African Civilizations, Journal of Black Studies, The International Journal of Africana Studies, and Imhotep. He is an Assistant Professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center of Cornell University. He is a regular contributor to Tadias Magazine.
Ayele Bekerie: was born in Ethiopia, and earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies at Temple University in 1994. He has written and published in scholarly journals, such as , ANKH: Journal of Egyptology and African Civilizations, Journal of Black Studies, The International Journal of Africana Studies, and Imhotep. He is an Assistant Professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center of Cornell University. He is a regular contributor to Tadias Magazine.
To further explore the history of
Ethiopian & African American relations, consult the following texts:
• Joseph E. Harris’s
African-American Reactions to War in Ethiopia 1936-1941(1994).
• William R. Scott’s The Sons of
Sheba’s Race: African-Americans and the Italo- Ethiopian War, 1935-1941. (2005
reprint).
• Ayele Bekerie’s “African Americans
and the Italo-Ethiopian War,” in Revisioning Italy: National Identity and
Global Culture (1997).
• Melaku E. Bayen’s The March of
Black Men (1939).
• David Talbot’s Contemporary
Ethiopia (1952).
Source: Tadias Addis