Sandra Izadore, an American who was also Fela’s girlfriend. Fela met Sandra Izsadore in California during a ten-month tour of the United States with Koola Lobitos in 1969. Izsadore, a black rights activist, introduced him to the writings of Malcolm Brown and Stokely. Carmichael, Huey Newton, Frantz Fanon and other revolutionary thinkers.
Fela credits her with inspiring his philosophy of Blackism. Fela told the New York Times:
“It was incredible how my head was turned. Everything fell into place, man. For the first time, I saw the essence of blackism (black nationalism). It’s crazy; in the States people think the black‐power movement drew inspiration from Africa. All these Americans come over here looking for awareness. They don’t realize they’re the ones who’ve got it over there. Why, we were even ashamed to go around in national dress until we saw pictures of blacks wearing dashikis on 125th St… I realized that to be a great man you have to have a great country behind you. I had no country, just a bunch of Africans running around in suits trying to be Englishmen. I decided to come back and try to make my country African.”
SANDRA IZSADORE is a singer, songwriter, author and activist who met and brought to life the African revolutionary genius FELA ANIKULAPO-KUTI in the early 1970s. Sandra appeared in the Tony Award-winning musical “Fela” with “Destiny Child’s” Michele Williams, Saycon Sengbloh and Paulette Ivory.
