What is more impressive: to become a head of state having come from a long line of the aristocratic and well-off (Romney), or to become a head of state having come from a long line of those who were considered nothing but slaves (Obama)? Congratulations to President Obama on his re-election! Unfortunately what many Black People do not know is that this is not the first time Africans have become heads of state having come from a long lineage of those considered slaves. In 10th century Yemen the enslaved Nubian Husayn ibn Salamah became Prime Minister of a state that stretched from Mecca to the borders of Oman. There was a boy-king as head of state but Ibn Salamah was the real power behind the kingdom and everyone knew it. In the 11thcentury the enslaved Ethiopian Najah became the founder of a royal lineage that ruled the kingdom of Zabid in Yemen for over 100 years. If you want to know for yourself, or just want something uplifting to tell your children, check out The African Rulers of Medieval Yemen by Gert Muller, Pomegranate Publishing 2012 available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/African-Rulers-Medieval-Yemen/dp/1478238100/ in paperback or:
http://www.amazon.com/African-Rulers-Medieval-Yemen-ebook/dp/B007T9SGR4/ in kindle
https://theblacklist.net/
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