Ubuntu Biography Project is a groundbreaking effort to tell the largely untold stories of LGBTI men and women of African descent from all over the world. Its currently a popular Facebook page, ( https://www.facebook.com/UbuntuBiographyProject) is easily accessible to everyone. Ubuntu Biography Project (UBP) tells the largely untold stories of remarkable men and women who are involved in Human Rights, Social Justice and community building efforts around the world. No one else has ever undertaken this work before, and the impact it has had on people, is nothing short of remarkable. It is opening minds and hearts and starting conversations about what it means to be a sexual minority, and the vital role we each play in contributing to our communities.
UBP tells the stories of men and women from America, Canada, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and South America. It has posted the story of Francisco Manicongo, an enslaved West African who was taken to present day Brazil in the late Sixteenth century, the stories of Addie Brown and Rebecca Primus who were two women in America in the mid-1800s and whose love letters tell the story of their affection for each other as well as their hopes for freedom to mention but a few. Ubuntu Biography Project tells the stories of many historic individuals, including George Washington Carver, Malcolm X and Josephine Baker, as well as contemporary artist, intellectuals and freedom fighters, including Bombastic Kasha, Julian Pepe Onziema, Frank Mugisha and David Kato Kisule.
The project was born out of a desire to tell the stories of LGBTQ men and women of African descent, and to celebrate their remarkable contributions to our world. These are created in the hope that they will serve to educate and empower the whole community, while they give same-gender loving / LGBTI men and women of African descent ample reason to find pride in who they are, and to find strength in the dynamic and loving community they are connected with.
The term Ubuntu was chosen because it means “human-ness” but it is often times translated as “I am, because we are.” It is an empowering affirmation of humanity’s interconnectedness and of our collective responsibility to cherish one another. It links each of us to our desire to live and love freely, our shared interest in our creative and spiritual connections, and in humanity’s common lineage to African ancestry.
These biographies of men and women who are making a difference illuminates the story of our humanity through shared experiences, our boundless creativity, our familiar hopes, our abundant love, our unique passions, our resilience in the face of challenges, and a common desire for community.
Ubuntu Biography Project welcomes comments and suggestions, including suggestions of people whose stories should be added. Biographies are added on the recipient’s birthday, so some days have several posts, others only one, or on a few occasions, none. Please check it out every day, at https://www.facebook.com/UbuntuBiographyProject, and be prepared to be inspired.
