From my research so far shows that both Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, Africa and Haile Selassie in Ethiopia had strong views and involvement of people with disabilities that I think are ingrained in their movements that they are tied to Pan-Africanism and Rastafarianism both talk about colonialism that “disability and disabling of their countries.”

Both leaders played a big role in empowering people with disability but before I list their involvement, I must say my research in this topic is new to me that I’ll continue to research and write on.  There are scholars that have more in depth writings on this topic.

I wrote an article entitled, Rastafarian Reggae And Disability that Haile Selassie opened the first school for blind children in Ethiopia, Africa and he also dedicated his Imperial Palace to Addis Ababa University, which was one of the first African universities to admit students with disabilities.

I found out through google that in Kwame Nkrumah’s government in Ghana, during the period of 1961-1966, he implemented a rehabilitation program aimed at integrating people with disabilities into the national economy as productive workers. This program, unique among newly independent African states, sought to move away from welfarism and towards a “big push” for industrialization, viewing rehabilitation as a way to unlock the economic potential of disabled citizens.

More online source says:

Kwame Nkrumah addressed disability within the context of nation-building and development in post-colonial Ghana. His government implemented a rehabilitation program aimed at integrating disabled citizens into the national economy. This initiative, while part of a broader push for industrialization, sought to move away from a purely welfare-based approach and instead focus on enabling disabled individuals to contribute as productive workers. Nkrumah’s Pan-African vision also extended to a critique of disabling structures rooted in colonialism and a call for a more inclusive and culturally relevant approach to disability.

In the rise of cultural expression aka music and activism we see Africans and Jamaicans with disabilities taking up Pan-Africanism and Rastafarianism back to my essay, Rastafarian Reggae And Disability talks about an all disabled Reggae group, Israel Vibration who sang about the importance of Rastafarian in their early years as poor, disabled young men who were kicked out of many institutions for people with disabilities because of the openness of Rastafarianism and returning to their African ways of life.  We can say that Israel Vibration through Rastafarianism that was expressed in their music was decolonization.

Recently I am deeply into the political activism of the late Joshua Malinga of Zimbabwe who started the Pan African Federation of the Disabled in Zimbabwe and today Krip-Hop Nation and its chapter in Zimbabwe wants to help get the book of  the late Joshua Malinga publish with help of his assistant, Charity Moyo and to bring back his organization, the Pan African Federation of the Disabled and expand it under Krip-Hop Nation to a worldwide connection for disabled people in the African diaspora.

Stay tuned!