"The first generation lives, the second generation rejects, the third generation researches..."

With this refrain, he began to narrate the history of Ottoman slavery & chart the lives of his family. Today's #BlackHistoryMonth profile is writer & activist, Mustafa Olpak. The fifth child of Mehmet, a stone mason, and Kemale, a seamstress, Mustafa Olpak was born in Ayvalık, Turkey in October 1953. After finishing primary school, he began working in a lathe workshop. Later, he would get involved in labor movements, such as the Tariş Direnişi.

Happy #BlackHistoryMonth! This year, I wanted to highlight some figures from the African diaspora in Turkey, as well as those from the global diaspora who have a connection to Turkey. Today, I'll link some existing reading/resource threads ✨✊🏾 resources:
here's a thread that I put together last september on race, racialization, and blackness in the MENA region

https://twitter.com/zwingham/status/1303346717715247109

Sept 8-9, I’ll be participating in the #ScholarStrike. Here’s a thread of articles that touch on race, racialization, and/or blackness outside of the U.S., primarily in the MENA region This article by Al-Monitor gives a brief history of the African diaspora in the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey.

Afro-Turks join global outcry over George Floyd killing almon.co/3dby via @AlMonitor