The Kennedy Airlift was started in 1959 by a 28-year-old Kenyan,

Tom Mboya Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya (15August 19305July 1969) was a Kenyan trade unionist, educator, Pan-Africanist, author, independence activist, and statesman. He was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya.Kenya Human Rights Commissio ...

, who sought support for promising Kenyan students to get college and university educations in the United States and Canada. It brought hundreds of students from East Africa from 1959 to 1963 and was supported by many North American educational institutions, foundations, and individuals such as the African American Students Foundation (AASF) and African Americans including

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

, and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

It got its popular nickname in September 1960 when Senator

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

in a close presidential campaign arranged a $100,000 donation from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr Foundation to cover airfare for the autumn 1960 group of East African students just as the program was running out of funds.

Background

The program began in earnest in 1959, when

embarked on a speaking tour of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to seek scholarships for students from

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. The first batch of 81 students touched down in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on September 11, 1959. They would be settled in various universities in the United States and Canada. In Kenya, Mboya liaised with Julius Kiano and Kariuki Njiiri to identify potential students for the airlifts. Both Kiano and Njiiri were alumni of US universities.Kenyan Student Airlifts to America 1959-1961: An Educational Odyssey by Stephens, Robert F. The airlifts were opposed by Britain, which did not want American meddling with any of its colonies, one of which was Kenya. British officials spread propaganda among top Kenyan students that American education was inferior to British education.

Legacy

The airlifts officially ended in 1963. Most of the graduates from American and Canadian colleges and universities went back to help build the newly-independent Kenya. Some were employed even before they had graduated, mainly in the public administration sector as district and provincial officers. Men found it easy to get jobs for which they qualified, but women faced a tougher challenge since they were offered secretarial duties despite being better qualified than most male officers in the same departments. However, the inclusion of women demonstrated foresight on the part of the airlift organizers. One of these women,

Wangari Maathai Wangarĩ Muta Maathai (; 1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan social, environmental and a political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift, she studied in the Un ...

, later won the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

, and another,

Leah Marangu Professor Leah Marangu is a Kenyan academic. She was born in South Imenti Constituency, South Imenti, Meru County, Kenya. She is considered to be one of Kenya's most distinguished and decorated scholars. Education Marangu attended Kaaga High ...

, later become the first female head of a university in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Overall, the accomplishments of the airlift students were significant. Several of them became the entrepreneurs, cabinet ministers, members

Notable beneficiaries

Over 800 students, mainly from Kenya, benefited from the Kennedy Airlift. Notable recipients include

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, the first African female and first environmentalist to win the Nobel Prize; Mahmoud Mamdani, a prominent

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southe ...

academic listed in the top 100 list of public intellectuals by ''

Prospect Magazine ''Prospect'' is a monthly British general-interest magazine, specialising in politics, economics and current affairs. Topics covered include British and other European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the medi ...

''; and

George Saitoti George Musengi Saitoti, State Commendations of Kenya, E.G.H. (3 August 1945 – 10 June 2012) was a Kenyan politician, businessman and American- and British-trained economist, mathematician and development policy thinker. As a mathematician, S ...

, a former vice president of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. Other notable recipients include

Academia and education

* Prof. Leah Marangu (Former Vice Chancellor of African Nazarene University) * Prof. Mahmoud Mamdani (Prominent

author and academic. Director of

Makerere Institute of Social Research Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of n ...

) * Prof. Miriam Were (Chancellor,

Moi University Moi University is a public university located in Kesses, Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu county, in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the Parliament of Kenya, after recommendations from t ...

. Winner of the

Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize The honors men and women "with outstanding achievements in the fields of medical research and medical services to combat infectious and other diseases in Africa, thus contributing to the health and welfare of the African people and of all humankind ...

) * Dr. Nathan K. Saziru (Former Professor,

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. Alumnus of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

)

Diplomatic service

* Pamela Odede Mboya (Former Kenyan representative to

UN Habitat The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlem ...

) * Hon. Simon Thuo Kairo (First Kenyan ambassador to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) * Prof. Washington Aggrey Okumu (Kenyan diplomat, economist and politician)

Environmentalism and conservationism

* Hon. Wangari Maathai (First African female and first environmentalist

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner)

Journalism, writing and media

Maina wa Kinyatti Maina wa Kinyatti is a Kenyan Marxist historian and former political prisoner under Daniel arap Moi's dictatorship. He is considered the foremost researcher on the Mau Mau in Kenya, one of the primary reasons that Kinyatti was arrested and impriso ...

(Kenyan Author and Mau Mau historian. Winner of the

PEN freedom to write award A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whic ...

)

Politics, trade unionism and civil rights

* Hon. Arthur Magugu (Kenyan politician and former cabinet minister) * Prof. George Saitoti (Mathematician. Former Vice President of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

) * Hon. Ochola Ogaye Mak'Anyengo (Kenyan trade unionist and politician) * Hon. Wilson Ndolo Ayah (Kenyan politician and former cabinet minister) * Dr. Zachary Onyonka (Kenyan politician and former cabinet minister)

Science, technology and medicine

* Prof. Miriam Were (Prominent A.I.D.S. researcher. Chancellor,

. Winner of the

) * Dr. Ng'endo Mwangi (First Kenyan female physician. First black African student at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of t ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) * Prof Reuben Olembo (Kenyan scientist and environmentalist. Former Deputy Director of

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

)

Barack Obama Sr.

Contrary to some media reports,

Barack Obama Sr. Barack Hussein Obama Sr. (; 18 June 1934 – 24 November 1982) was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. He is a central figure of his son's memoir, '' Dreams from My Fa ...

, the purported first husband of Stanley Ann Dunham and purported father of Barack Obama II, was not a direct beneficiary of the airlifts but, inspired by the airlift program, applied to various American universities and received private funding to attend the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. He also received funding from the African American Students Foundation (AASF) with the help of Mboya and so was part of the airlift generation.

References

External links

* JFK LIBRARY. John F. Kennedy and the Student Airlift: https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/john-f-kennedy-and-the-student-airlift * Airlift to America. Library of Congress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwMINuEqd54 * Riverdale was key to historic 'African airlift': https://riverdalepress.com/stories/Riverdale-was-key-to-historic-African-airlift,42400 * U.S. Embassy Nairobi. The Kennedy Airlift of 1959-Reverend Daniel Mbai: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibqGcwllRCQ * Friends salute Mboya’s American airlifts 50 years ago. The New African: https://newafricanmagazine.com/4195/4/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy Airlifts Colony Scholarships in the United States 1959 in Kenya 1960 in Kenya 1959 in education 1960 in education History of Kenya 1954-1968 History of civil rights in the United States East Africa Political history of Kenya 20th century in Kenya Kenya–United States relations