Dr. Martin Luther King meets Kenneth Kaunda

Kenneth Kaunda visited the United States in 1960. There, he met with Martin Luther King. This was an example of diaspora populations reaching out to others across the world. Four years later Kaunda would become president of a free Zambia. Both King and Kaunda were fighting for the liberation of oppressed people of African descent under white supremacist rule. Solidarity was the strongest method in fighting colonialism and racism aboard. Martin Luther King lead the campaign for civil rights and racial justice in America facing violence and FBI surveillance. Zambia acquired independence by peaceful means, but it was unwilling to tolerate Apartheid South Africa, Portuguese Angola or Rhodesia. President Kenneth Kaunda provided support to armed struggles in Southwest Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Rhodesia, and South Africa. The ANC and SWAPO used Zambia as a base of operations. One advantage Martin Luther King had in regard to his movement was the legal basis of the US Constitution. All citizens have basic rights and freedoms that protects them from abuse. African Americans were denied these legal protections, but it could be challenged in US courts. African colonies under British rule did not have such legal protections. This explains why some former colonies had to take up arms to put an end to white minority rule.