Marie José Sombo

Marie José Sombo
Born	Marie José Sombo 27 December 1934 Léopoldville, Belgian Congo
Died	2014 Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nationality	Congolese
Other names	The Black Eve
Occupation(s)	Journalist Speakerine Author Composer
Employer(s)	Radio Congo belge L'Avenir
Spouse	Karim Urban da Silva

Marie José Sombo ( 27 December 1934 – 2014) was the first Black woman journalist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a pioneer of women's journalism in Central Africa. Active on radio and later in the press, she played a key role in increasing the visibility of women in the Congolese media from the late colonial period.

Biography

Early life and beginnings

Born in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) on 27 December 1934, Marie José Sombo grew up in a Congolese middle-class family. She was noticed from adolescence for her vocal fluency, diction, and radio voice. She joined Radio Léopoldville in 1950 at the age of 16, becoming one of the first Black women speakerines on Congolese airwaves.

Journalism career

After her radio debut, Marie José Sombo joined the written press, becoming the first Black woman journalist at the Kinshasa-based newspaper L’Avenir. She notably contributed to the supplement Actualités africaines alongside major figures such as Jean-Jacques Kande, Antoine-Roger Bolamba, Philippe Kanza, and André Genge.

She was trained in journalism by Élisio Da Silva, founder of the Publafric agency in Brazzaville. Her incisive style, her Lingala columns, and her strong stance on women's roles in media and Congolese society gained her wide popularity.

Advocacy and feminism

In the 1950s, Sombo denounced the marginalization of women in Congolese political life. She condemned their absence from official delegations, including the one led by Patrice Lumumba to Brussels, and called for their recognition in national history. The African press dubbed her the “Black Eve” for her pioneering courage.

She reminded us that women have a role to play in building the nation – not just as companions but as full actors of History.

— Patrick Ndungidi, journalist at African Shapers

Personal life

She married journalist Karim Urban da Silva.

Composer

As a composer, she collaborated with singer Joseph Kabasele, for whom she wrote the song Parafifi dedicated to Félicité Safouesse, now a classic of Congolese rumba.

Legacy

Marie José Sombo died in 2014, largely forgotten. Since then, African media and cultural figures have called for posthumous recognition of her role in journalism and women's emancipation.

On 23 March 2023, her husband organized a memorial for the 10th anniversary of her death, broadcast by Le Coopérant Web TV.

Quote

In April–May 1965, while a Congolese delegation of sixteen — including Patrice Lumumba — visited Brussels, Sombo wrote: “How can one explain that no Black Eve was invited to be part of this delegation?”