Today’s Google Doodle is that of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. It celebrates her on her 119th posthumous birthday.
“As for the charges against me, I am unconcerned,” said Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. The Nigerian educator and activist fearlessly campaigned for women’s rights and the liberation of Africa from colonial rule.
Nigerian-Italian guest artist Diana Ejaita illustrated today’s Google Doodle. It celebrates a formidable leader who founded what many refer to as one of the most important social movements of the twentieth century.
Ransome-Kuti was born on this day in 1900 in Abeokuta, the current capital of Nigeria’s Ogun state. The former Frances Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas grew up witnessing Great Britain consolidating control over Nigeria. As the grandchild of a slave, she became one of the first girls to enroll in Abeokuta Grammar School. Then she travelled to Cheshire in England to continue her education. By the time she returned home, she’d dropped her birth names and preferred to speak Yoruba.
In 1932, Ransome-Kuti established the Abeokuta Ladies Club (ALC). It fostered unity between educated women and poor market workers. She also set up the first adult education programs for Nigerian women. She later renamed it the Abeokuta Women’s Union in 1946. The organisation boasted a membership of some 20,000 and pushed for healthcare, social services, and economic opportunity. Imprisoned in 1947 for protesting against unfair treatment towards women, Ransome-Kuti and her followers also led the charge to abdicate a corrupt local leader.
A trailblazer in many ways, Ransome-Kuti was also the first Nigerian woman to drive a car.
She was also the only woman in Nigeria’s 1947 delegation to London. That subsequently lodged a protest and set the nation on the path toward self-government. Ransome-Kuti became one of the few women elected to Nigeria’s house of chiefs. She was recognised for her advocacy work on behalf of women’s rights and education. Many also revered her as the “Lioness of Lisabi” and the “Mother of Africa.”
Her daughter—Dolupo—and three sons—Beko, Olikoye, and Fela—likewise became leaders in education, healthcare, and music, continuing their mother’s legacy of activism and advocacy.
Berlin-based guest artist, illustrator, and textile designer Diana Ejaita created the Google Doodle for Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
She shared the message she’d like people to take away from the Doodle:
“Like Funmilayo, fearlessly fight for what you believe in. Thinking about Nigeria today, fighting for your rights is not just a right but a duty for future generations.
“At her time, Funmilayo knew that and made it her mission to do so. People should stick together and help one another despite social status, gender or age. Division is the perfect ground for power abuse, corruption, and social abandonment.”