African Americans and the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970

‘Black America Cares’

James A. Farquharson (Australian Catholic University, Australia)

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English

Routledge
26 December 2025

Regional studies; General & world history; History of the Americas; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000

Series: Routledge Advances in American History

This book is the first to recover and analyse at length the extent, complexity, and character of African American responses to the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970).

Far from having only marginal significance, the Nigerian Civil War collided at full velocity with the conflicting discourses and ideas by which black Americans sought to understand their place in the United States and the world in the late 1960s. Black civil rights leaders offered their service as agents of direct diplomacy during the conflict, seeking to preserve Nigerian unity; grassroots activists organised food-drives, concerts, and awareness campaigns in support of humanitarian aid for victims of famine in the warzone; while other black activists warned of an imminent genocide and called for an united response from black Americans. Drawing on private papers, activist literature, government records, and especially the black press, it charts the way the civil war shaped, as well as challenged, the worldview of African Americans regarding black internationalist solidarities, territorial sovereignty and political viability, humanitarian compassion, and the political trajectory of postcolonial Africa.

With a chronological approach, this study is the ideal resource for all those interested in the Nigerian Civil War and the history of black internationalism.

By: James A. Farquharson (Australian Catholic University Australia)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781032254272
ISBN 10: 1032254270
Series: Routledge Advances in American History
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 26 December 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

James A. Farquharson received a PhD from Australian Catholic University and a Masters from University of Sydney. He is a historian of the United States in the World, and his most recent article was published in Journal of Global History in 2021.