Lost History:

Spotlight on Pedro Alonso Nino

Wasted history overflows pages
Overshadowed by untruths and
     more favorable tales...
Time is stolen from us
While we decorate mad men
Honor murderers and liars,
Sing praises of the oppressors
And forget the lives of the oppressed.
Scripted and misshapen
    the American dream
Is lost in the rubble
Of the untold it seems.

Pedro Alonso Nino also known as Alonzo Pietro was a black Spaniard who was both a navigator and an explorer. He was born in Spain in 1455 [1], and set sail with Columbus on the first voyage to the new world [2]. Nino later supervised his own expeditions in the West Indies in search of wealth. Upon returning to Spain, he was seized by the king for withholding the king's share of his profits. Nino died before his trial was complete [1]. (Side note: there are many artifacts that suggest Africans found South America long before Columbus see [3, 4])

References

1. "Pedro Alonso Nino". Wikipedia; visited February 2014
2. Meg Smith. "African American Men: Moments in History from Colonial Times to the Present". Washington Post. 2015
3. "Evidence Africans Discovered America". ₦airaland Forum; visited February 2014
4. Legrand Clegg II. "Before Columbus: Black Explorers of the New World". Sense.com; visited February 6, 2014