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Abstract
Fragments of Tanzanian nationalism have appeared in black print since 1959; one of the first articles, “Freedom Now!” Tom Mboya,” in the New York Amsterdam News introduced the term uhuru spoken by an East African Nationalist.1 Elements of this East African language surfaced on black radio and television commercials during the transition from Negro to black to African American in the mid-1960s. In 1966 the chant was modified and adopted as the name Lieutenant Uhura for a character, played by African American actress Nichelle Nichols, in Star Trek, one of the earliest and most popular science fiction series in the United States. 2 The appearance and incorporation of the chant Uhuru! in black America serves as an example of racial Pan- Africanism that rises from black solidarity between African Americans and Tanzanians through the power of the black press.