By National Archives of Malawi – National Archives of Malawi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Today Malawi celebrates Rev John Chilembwe, Malawi’s foremost hero although that position is contested by some. In 1958, Professor Emeritus George Shepperson (late) and Tim Price published the seminal ‘Independent African: John Chilembwe and the Origins, Setting and Significance of the Nyasaland Native Rising of 1915’, becoming the possibly the first nuanced portrait of the African as a Historical figure. Up until then, social anthropology dominated Africana studies.
In 2015, in the centenary year of his uprising, I wrote a short introductory piece on Chilembwe, for the influential New York-based blog, Africa is a Country.
https://africasacountry.com/2015/12/the-legend-of-john-chilembwe
It has become much read, including being included as part of core curicula at such renowned instutions as the Kings College London. Some have found it a useful introduction to the story of Chilembwe.
Prof Shepperson passed away last in year. There is an upcoming tribute by the Society of Malawi journal, in which I am one of those commissioned to contribute. The Journal comes out next month, but those without institutional access can read my piece, in draft form, on my Academia page:
https://www.academia.edu/43804905/The_genius_of_Prof_Emeritus_George_Shepperson
Happy Chilembwe day!