THE ETHIOPIAN WORLD FEDERATION, INCORPORATED built on the efforts of African Americans who, in 1936, sent a delegation consisting of three prominent Harlem figures, all leaders of the black organization known as United Aid for Ethiopia. Reverend William Lloyd Imes, Pastor of the prestigious St. James Presbyterian Church, Philip M. Savory of the Victory Insurance Company and co-owner of the New York Amsterdam News, and Cyril M. Philp, secretary of United Aid, sailed to England in the summer of 1936 to speak with Emperor Haile Selassie concerning financial matters.

THE ETHIOPIAN WORLD FEDERATION, INCORPORATED was established in the United States in 1937. Its aims were to mobilize support for the Ethiopians during the Italian invasion of 1935-41 and to embody the unity of Ethiopians (Black people) home and abroad. Sections were established in other parts of the Americas. Later, the TEWF,INC. was given charge of an area of land in Ethiopia for housing returning emigrants.