Building Bridges. Opening Minds. Empowering Communities.
APF Honors Black History Month
An African American man walks into colored entrance of movie house in Belzoni, Mississippi Delta, Mississippi. Photo: Library of Congress
Lonnie Bunch, Founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, explains that the United States commemorated Black History Month
"to battle a sense of historical amnesia and remind all citizens that black people were also a contributing part of the nation" and "to counter the invisibility of black people and to challenge the negative imagery and stereotypes that were often the only manner black people were depicted in popular culture and in the media."

The focus of the American Pakistan Foundation (APF) on building bridges, opening minds, and community empowerment serves a similar purpose in showcasing the accomplishments and contributions of Pakistani Americans to the United States.
The March on Washington, 1963.
This Black History Month, we invite you to join APF in honoring the shared values and history between Pakistani and African diasporas in South Asia and the United States.
18th Century Slave Trade

In the 18th century, Africans from Madagascar and the east coast of Africa were transported to Pakistan's Makran coast to serve South Asian and European elites in northern and eastern parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Photo: NYPL
From Slaves to Leaders

The New York Public Library's publication Africans in India: From Slaves to Generals and Rulers , details the stories of East Africans who came to South Asia as slaves but rose to military and political authority.

Photo: NYPL
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
 "Early on, racist immigration laws kept South Asians largely out of the United States. Pressure from the civil rights movement forced massive immigration reforms that created South Asian America."
African Ancestry in Pakistan
"Pakistan has the largest number of people of African descent in South Asia. It has been estimated that at least a quarter of the total population living on the Makran coast are of African ancestry—that is, at least 250,000 men and women can claim East African descent on the southern coast of Pakistan and in the easternmost part of southern Iran."

Photo: AP/Shakil Adil/NYPL
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