Month: February 2019
By Lins Honeyman
Last October saw the release of the long-awaited second album from Congo-born, Dallas-based pianist, arranger and producer Gilbert Mulamba.
The release’s inlay card describes the project as “a mosaic of cultures, sounds and grooves for the ultimate worship experience” and, with recording having taken place in the US, Congo, France, South Africa, Mexico, Haiti, Israel, China and as many more countries, it’s a truly international affair.
Impressively, Gilbert secured cameos from big name artists such as Joel Kibble of Take 6 fame and Grammy-winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal whilst Dove-nominated pianist Ben Tankard and CeCe Winans’ bass player Thaddaeus Tribbett also lent their substantial talents – all of which adds to the rich tapestry of sound contained within the album’s 13 mostly instrumental tracks.
Continue reading “Meet Gilbert Mulamba: The Congolese musician who records with US luminaries”
By Elaine Pofeldt
The future of entrepreneurship in America will include many more people of color than in the past, as recent data shows. The city of Memphis is making the most of the trend. It is working to accelerate the growth of minority-owned businesses in a flagship program that could potentially become a model for other cities to emulate in their economic development programs
Under the leadership of Mayor Jim Strickland, The 800 Initiative, launched in May 2018, has set a goal of growing the revenue of 800 minority-owned businesses with paid employees that the city has identified by $50 million by 2023.
The program is offering business coaching, technical assistance, education and access to loans and grants to help the businesses scale. The program also aims to help 200 minority-owned businesses without paid employees to grow their revenue into the six figures and start hiring employees.
The 800 Initiative, hosted by the city’s Office of Diversity and Compliance, is funded in part by a $500,000 allocation in the city’s 2018-2019 budget, and a $1 million commitment over four years by FedEx.
Continue reading “Memphis’s Goal: To Grow Revenue At Minority-Owned Firms By $50M In Five Years”
After years locked in a battle with a policing hospitality unit, the owner of an Edmonton shisha bar has won his fight to stay open.
On Tuesday, an appeal committee overturned a decision by the city’s licensing department to shut down Nyala Lounge, located northeast of downtown.
“I think the city went one step forward, we appreciate that, as the African-Canadian community, we thank the city councillors,” said owner Mulugeta Tesfay.
“The people spoke, the community spoke, the place is safe.”
The committee — made up of councillors Moe Banga, Jon Dziadyk and Tony Caterina — upheld additional conditions imposed on Nyala last summer and said a written decision would follow.
Members decided the bar’s inability to operate over the past week-and-a-half, during a postponement of the hearing, would serve as sufficient penalty for breaching conditions.
The Ethiopian Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical scientists Association in the Diaspora (EPPAD) was formally inaugurated at a symposium held on 16 February 2019 at Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC.
The symposium provided a unique and valuable opportunity for the professionals to learn from each other and exchange ideas of significance importance.
In his opening remarks, Erimas Tilahun, President of EPPAD said that the association aims at bringing pharmaceutical and other related professionals together and serve as a platform for policy dialogue, knowledge exchange, promotion of business and access to safe and quality medicines in the US and Ethiopia. Biniyam Eshetu, Head of the Diaspora Affairs Division at the Embassy, also spoke at the occasion.
Continue reading “The Ethiopian Pharmacists Association in Diaspora inaugurated in Washington DC.”
📸: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea, tours the “Ark of Return” slavery memorial at United Nations Headquarters in NYC.
The memorial pays tribute to the courage of slaves and abolitionists, while also raising awareness of the continued dangers of racism and prejudice.
Read more from source
By Aminata Sy
Immigrants are a force in Philadelphia, but their educational needs are neglected. As of 2016, Philadelphia’s immigrant population had increased by 69 percent since 2000, accounting for more than 232,000 residents.
by 69 percent since 2000, accounting for more than 232,000 residents.
An estimated 1 in 4 children in the city immigrated themselves or were born to immigrants, and Philadelphia’s labor force has about 1 in 5 immigrants.
Africans make up the fastest-growing segment of this immigrant population, yet belong to a marginalized group.
In the School District of Philadelphia, immigrants and native-born students of African backgrounds rarely see themselves reflected in curricula. What message does this absence of their people, their histories, their cultures send to children? “You don’t belong — Philadelphia isn’t your city, America isn’t your country.”
Students of African immigrant backgrounds endure bullying for being African, “too black,” or speaking English with an accent.
Historically in America, Africans have been viewed through a stereotypical lens of wildlife and backwardness. These perceptions persist and continue to hurt Philadelphia children.
Continue reading “Philadelphia’s many African students need culturally inclusive education “
Paul Kagame spent the past two decades helping Rwanda overcome a 1994 genocide against the minority ethnic Tutsis that left an estimated 800,000 to 1 million people dead.
Kagame, the president of Rwanda, has embraced social media, eased the cost and hassle for international businesses to invest in the African nation, and looked to South Korea as a model for lifting his nation’s fortunes.
According to his critics, Kagame is yet another African strongman draped in more public relations-friendly clothing who forcefully and violently silences his political opponents.
His sharpest critics include Paul Rusesabagina, of “Hotel Rwanda” fame, who lives in the United States and who told The Washington Post in 2016 he was living outside his home country because he feared for his safety.
What does any of this have to do with Charlotte? Glad you asked. Kagame spent the weekend here, attending the NBA All-Star Game — Rwanda is likely to have one of 12 teams in the newly announced startup league in 2020 that includes significant backing from the NBA — before making a pitch to local business leaders on Monday at The Ballantyne Resort. (NBA Commissioner Adam Silver visited Kagame last year in Rwanda.)
Kagame came at the invitation and urging of Andy Agaba, a native of Uganda and Harvard graduate who runs a nonprofit here that, according to its website, is a Christian economic development organization.
The Adinkra Group, an African Cultural Edutainment Resource and Consulting company based in Washington, DC, is set to launch the second annual Back2Africa Festival and Tour in partnership with The Ghana Tourism Authority and the Year of Return, from 26th of February to the 8th of March 2019 with a line-up of events that focuses on arts, performances, education and service projects in Ghana’s most historic venues in Kumasi, Cape Coast and Accra.
The Back2Africa Festival’s mission is to connect people of African descent with the culture and traditions of Africa and will feature performances from artists traveling from the US including The CrossRhodes, a duo comprised of R&B/Soul Sensation Raheem Devaughn and hip hop emcee Wes Felton and Farafina Kan: The Sound Africa – an intergenerational West African Drum and dance company.
The Back2Africa Festival’s mission is to connect people of African descent with the culture and traditions of Africa and will feature performances from artists traveling from the US including The CrossRhodes, a duo comprised of R&B/Soul Sensation Raheem Devaughn and hip hop emcee Wes Felton and Farafina Kan: The Sound Africa – an intergenerational West African Drum and dance company.
“The Back2Africa Festival and Tour is important particularly as it truly represents the spirit of the Year of Return. We are a family and community on a birthright journey returning to make connections. It’s the first time to Ghana and the African continent for the majority of our group of nearly 100 travellers aged between 6 – 65 years old who are coming to enjoy Ghana but also to learn, share and exchange their talents, perspectives and energy with Ghanaian people,” shares Diallo “Daheart” Sumbry, Founder of The Adinkra Group and a life-long educator who has been travelling to Africa for over 20 years.
The American Choral Music Association (ACDA) has invited the Nairobi Chamber Chorus, a Kenyan choir group, to perform in the associations’ 60th jubilee conference in Kansas City.
It is the largest choral music event in America bringing in the very best from across the globe for the annual extravaganza.
“Congratulations to you and your singers on your exemplary achievement,” read an excerpt of their invitation letter from Sara Lynn Baird, the Performing Choir Chair.
Nairobi Chamber Chorus director, Ken Wakia, guided them on their way to becoming the first ever Kenyan group to perform on Broadway at the famed Lincoln Center back in 2018.
Broadway at the famed Lincoln Center back in 2018.
Along with London’s West End theatre, Broadway theatre is widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
The Kenyan choir didn’t disappoint and went on to belt out such polished melodies and tamed voices, engulfing the hall packed with nearly 400 black tie executives drawn for the US, Germany and the rest of the World.
Outside Accra’s shiny new Kotoka International Airport is a fleet of 30 black Land Cruisers waiting for a motley group of 60 African-Americans gripped by wanderlust.
The airport, birthed from the partnership between Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), now processes around 1,250 passengers per hour with a goal of welcoming some six million passengers each year to the leafy West African country, according to Joshua Otchere of Ghana Immigration Service.
This is Ghana’s attempt to become the hub of sub-regional travel by distinguishing itself from the likes of Lagos.
“We are now offering better services, faster turnaround times from airlines and a world-class experience when traveling, which we believe will compete with the rest of the world along with great retail spaces,” says Otchere.
It is a fitting welcome to the star-studded group of visitors including international supermodel Naomi Campbell and actors Idris Elba, Anthony Anderson and Rosario Dawson among many others. Ghana, once a major hub for the transatlantic slave trade from the 16th to the 19th centuries, has several historical ties with the USA.
Continue reading “Ghana Earning Its Stars And Stripes Through Tourism”
Dr. Wendy Okolo’s career has taken flight at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. agency responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.
She received Black Engineer’s Most Promising Engineer in Government Award during the BEYA STEM Conference in Washington D. C. recently.
Okolo is an aerospace research engineer at the Ames Research Center, a major NASA research center in California’s Silicon Valley.
She was only 26 years old when she became the first black woman to obtain a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. She earned both undergraduate and doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering from UT Arlington.
Her previous research has been recognized and funded by the Department of Defense through the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship; Zonta International, through the Amelia Earhart Fellowship; and the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics through the John Leland Atwood Graduate Fellowship.
Currently, Okolo is a Special Emphasis Programs Manager in the Intelligent Systems Division of NASA’s Ames Research Center.
The United States of America has injected $40 million towards boosting Ethiopia’s health sector to provide quality and affordable healthcare services to its citizen.
With an estimated population of over 105 million people since 2017, the Horn of Africa country would greatly benefit from the finances.
The US, Ethiopia’s largest bilateral donor in the health sector has already invested over $4 billion in development and humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia over the past five years.
Health service delivery in Ethiopia is characterised by an inadequate number of well-trained health providers, limited health infrastructure and shortages of finance, equipment, and supplies, which on the flip side has offered opportunities for investors.
Continue reading “United States invests $40 million in Ethiopia’s health sector”
US Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo released a press statement on the occasion of the 54th Independence day anniversary of Gambia on February 18th.
Pompeo stated in the statement that the US remained committed to a strong partnership with The Gambia and looked forward to continued cooperation on efforts to promote democracy, good governance, and economic growth.
See more details of the message
Continue reading “Michael R. Pompeo salutes Gambia on National Day”
More than 7,000 miles separates Western New York from Namibia, Africa, however that distance will seem less now thanks to a recent grant award and the Building Cultural Bridges program.
Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES is part of a grant consortium that was recently awarded a three-year Learning Technology Grant from New York state. The grant, in partnership with Educators of America and its Building Cultural Bridges program, focuses on increasing cross-cultural awareness between diverse countries.
“This is a great opportunity for our students and staff to see beyond our borders and community,” said Bryan Olson, Coordinator of Distance Learning. “By utilizing video technology equipment, students and staff will travel to places that are culturally and ethnically different from their own. It makes the world smaller and unites us as a global community.”
said Bryan Olson, Coordinator of Distance Learning. “By utilizing video technology equipment, students and staff will travel to places that are culturally and ethnically different from their own. It makes the world smaller and unites us as a global community.”
The $527,011 grant will provide video technology equipment, project-based learning projects and program support through personnel to facilitate the program and connect classrooms. The students in the E2CCB component school districts of Pine Valley, Jamestown, Gowanda, Cassadaga and Forestville, in addition to Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda and Cleveland Hill UFS districts, will benefit from the enhanced programming.
Continue reading “Group in New York awards grant to help American and African students interact”
You might hear his voice and wonder why you’ve never heard of J.S Ondara but that is set to change because we are going to introduce you to the silky-voiced crooner.
Ondara is a Kenyan who moved to the United States of America six years ago after winning a Green Card lottery that allowed him to settle down there, where he picked up guitar playing from scratch.
The interesting thing about his artistic journey is that it all started with a bet gone wrong!
He had bet with a friend that the song Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door was written by the band, Guns N’ Roses, his favourite band and not by the legendary musician Bob Dylan.
Continue reading “Meet J.S Ondara: The next big musical export from Kenya to the world”
The poor economic outlook, weak investment climate and concerns about property ownership are all reasons affluent South Africans are looking for a second citizenship as a matter of priority, says Nadia Read-Thaele, director of LIO Global, World Residence and Citizenship.
This year has seen a notable rise in emigrations and HNWI (high net-worth) individuals looking to shift some of their wealth into offshore destinations to secure a second residency or citizenship, said Read-Thaele.
“Many clients do not actually want to leave the country, but want a second passport as a security option,” Read-Thaele stressed, adding that a second passport is often sought as it allows freedom of travel as many of the top European and Caribbean Programmes offer visa-free access to top international markets.
While the UK, Australia and USA are top options for emigration, these have among the highest property prices in the world and many other draw-backs for South Africans.
It is also very difficult to get into these countries, the immigration expert said.
South Africans are therefore looking to ‘buy’ a second citizenship, either by a donation of sorts to the government or investment into property, or a combination , depending on what that government’s programme requires in order for investors to qualify.
Nimetembea sijamuona msichana kama Aoko…
imetembea sijamuona msichana kama Aoko…
This is one of the most famous lines in arguably Jabali Afrika’s greatest song of all time, Aoko.
Teenage Kenyan music fans — and most certainly those in their early 20s — may not resonate with songs by one of the continent’s most iconic Afro-rock jam bands, but the journey by the legendary ensemble reads like a fairytale.
Teenage Kenyan music fans — and most certainly those in their early 20s — may not resonate with songs by one of the continent’s most iconic Afro-rock jam bands, but the journey by the legendary ensemble reads like a fairytale.
After bolting out due to unresolvable differences, former members of Kenya National Theatre (KNT) Dance Troupe formed Jabali Afrika on February 12, 1993.
Justo Asikoye, Peter Mutua, Josek Asikoye, Evans Chagala, Victor Savana Elolo and Robert Owino threw in the towel to chart their own way, but one would wonder why this powerful troupe split even after making a serious musical impact in the country and beyond.
Justo Asikoye, Peter Mutua, Josek Asikoye, Evans Chagala, Victor Savana Elolo and Robert Owino threw in the towel to chart their own way, but one would wonder why this powerful troupe split even after making a serious musical impact in the country and beyond.
“We wanted independence, freedom and space to express our creativity in a more profound manner. Our decision to break away wasn’t that easy because we had already established ourselves at KNT, but we had to make a decision anyway,” says Justo Asikoye, 48, one of the most recognisable faces of Jabali Afrika.
Continue reading “After 20 year sojourn in America, kenyan band, Jabali Afrika, returns home”
An opinion piece by Herman J. Cohen former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (1989-1993), U.S. ambassador to Senegal and The Gambia (1977-1980), a National Security Council member (1987-1989) and a 38-year veteran of the Foreign Service.
President Trump likes to overturn his predecessor’s initiatives, but so far the US-Africa relationship has been defined by policy continuity—a rare bipartisan bright spot among domestic and foreign turmoil. Yet there are clouds on the horizon. Public statements by senior American officials, including President Trump himself, foreshadow potentially troubling moves which threaten to undermine decades of mutually beneficial relations.
The first half of President Trump’s term has been good news for Africa. His first Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, is an expert diplomat and the right man for the job. Work continues apace at President Obama’s two signature programs, Power Africa and Feed the Future; at George W. Bush’s Millennium Challenge Corporation, and at PEPFAR, the hugely successful U.S. initiative to fight HIV/AIDS. Every year, more African nations are taking advantage of unilateral free-trade privileges under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The military’s U.S. Africa Command continues to provide assistance and advisors to nations fighting Islamist terrorism and other threats to regional stability. These programs are working. But there are a few indications that the Trump administration could pull the rug out from underneath.
Continue reading “TRUMP MAY BE ABOUT TO UNDERMINE OBAMA’S AFRICA POLICY |”
Three new exhibitions and over a dozen programs will take place from February through May
PhilAesthetic returns to the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) to celebrate the African Diaspora.
Funded through The PNC Foundation through the PNC Arts Alive initiative, and curated by AAMP, PhilAesthetic shines a light on the vastness, depth and impact of diasporic arts and culture here in Philadelphia, and worldwide.
This year marks the 400-year anniversary of the arrival of Africans to British colonies of 1619. These individuals brought with them a rich cultural tapestry that would shape the foundations of our country, and go on to influence creative expression around the globe.
Honoring the cultural contributions of diasporic communities past and present, this year’s PhilAesthetic celebration includes three new exhibitions at AAMP, including “AAMP on Paper: Selections from the Permanent Collection,” along with “Baye Fall: Roots in Spirituality, Fashion” and “Resistance and The Sacred Star of Isis and Other Stories,” which include photographs by MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora founders Laylah Amatullah Barrayn Adama and Delphine Fawundu. In addition to these exhibitions, PhilAesthetic includes more than a dozen programs held both at the museum and with partnering institutions around Philadelphia through May.
Continue reading “PhilAesthetic: AAMP celebrates the African Diaspora in Philadelphia”
More than 100 artisans and 170 films from around the world are being showcased at the 27th Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles.
The multiday event in the largely African American neighborhood of Baldwin Hills aims to connect Africans to people of African descent from around the world.
“As a result of the slave trade and colonization, African people are spread all over the planet, so we get a chance through this festival, get a chance to know each other,” said the festival’s executive director, Ayuko Babu.
Film, fine art, fashion and jewelry with Africa as inspiration are all featured at the festival.
Continue reading “Pan African Festival Connects African Diaspora Through the Arts”
From Feb. 17-23, the Wellesley African Students’ Association (WASA) invites the Wellesley College community to take part in Africa Week. Originally called the African Film Festival when it was established in 2004, the event as a chance for the community to focus on different African perspectives through film.
Continue reading “West African Students host annual African week to highlight diversity”
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on Saturday announced their plan to launch the Basketball Africa League (BAL), a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa.
The BAL will be built on the foundation of current club competitions FIBA is organizing in Africa. Scheduled to begin play in January 2020, the BAL would mark the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America.
The NBA also announced its plan to introduce a re-imagined direct-to-consumer offering of NBA games for fans in Africa by the start of the 2019-20 NBA season. The offering would include new packages, features and localized content, with additional details to be announced at a later date.
Continue reading “NBA and FIBA announce plan to launch professional basketball league in Africa”
By BUKOLA IDOWU
With an estimated inflow of $25 billion remitted by Nigerians abroad in 2018, chief economist at PriceWaterCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, Prof Andrew Nevin, said Nigeria’s citizens living outside the country are its biggest export.
Nigerians had remitted $22 billion in 2017 making it the highest in the Sub-Saharan Africa region followed by Senegal and Ghana with $2.2 billion each for the year. Currently, the country is in the top five nations in global remittances.
PwC’s Chief Economist, in a report titled, “Nigeria Economic Outlook: Top 10 Themes For 2019”, noted that remittances remitted to Nigeria represent 6.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and translate to 83 per cent of the Federal Government budget in 2018.
He said Nigeria’s migrant remittance inflows was also seven times larger than the net official development assistance (foreign aid) received in 2017 of $3.359 billion, stating that, “Nigeria’s biggest export is not oil; it is actually people, because of the remittances coming in.”
Continue reading “Nigerian diaspora remitted $25 billion home in 2018”
On Friday, Feb. 15 from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Senate Chambers of the Old Capital Museum, the African Studies Program and the Office of Outreach and Engagement at the University of Iowa presented My Daughters Are My Writings, a new play based on oral histories of seven Iowa City residents from Sudan compiled by two UI graduate students, followed by a talk by Steve Howard, a scholar visiting from Ohio University (Athens), about Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, a Sudanese Muslim social reformer whose work initiated the Republican Brotherhood before and after Sudan’s independence from Britain.
The play is a truly interdisciplinary affair: Written by UI alum Margot Connolly, based on excerpts from Howard’s book and interviews by graduate students from the history department, it is directed by UI theater graduate student Britny Horton, who acts in the play alongside three fellow graduate students.
Taha is best known for the Second Message of Islam, which distinguishes the verses in the Koran revealed in Medina (the basis of Sharia law) from those initially revealed in Mecca. The latter, from Taha’s perspective, would provide the basis of an ideal religion based on freedom and equality — including the equality of men and women.
Continue reading “Interviews form basis of new play about the legacy of Sudan in Iowa City”
For many Major League Soccer players, the offseason is a much-needed time to rest, travel and relax with family. But for Los Angeles FC forward Latif Blessing, the offseason was a time to focus on his greatest passion — using the sport of soccer to give back to his hometown.
Continue reading “Los Angelese FC forward Latif Blessing gives back to his Ghanaian village”
As I headed home on the plane, my mind was abuzz. The engines steadily hummed in the background, dulled only by the even louder thoughts that raced through my mind. The plane lights were dim. Snores ebbed and flowed around me, my neighbors nothing but still heaps piled under blankets. Meanwhile, I sat wide awake, staring ahead into space, unable to settle down.
I was on my way back to the US after a 3-week span of conferences and research project work in East Africa. This exercise isn’t new to me, however. I am a penultimate example of the “reverse diaspora,” where a particular area of expertise (my academic research) which is focused in Kenya has landed me there for increasingly more frequent stints every year for the past several years. While I was born in America to Kenyan immigrant parents, I was raised in Kenya from a young age.
I went on to pursue secondary education in America, and now hold a faculty appointment at a US institution. In some shape or form, I knew that I’d return some day.
Continue reading “Bridging the gap: Africa’s science landscape and the African diaspora”
By Landry Signé and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
This year’s Black History Month is being celebrated with a higher sense of African pride, given the unprecedented enthusiasm generated by Marvel’s “Black Panther” last year and increased conversations about a better representation of minority groups.
“Wakanda”—a fictitious, prosperous, “futuristic, powerful, and proud African nation”—salutes black culture by “shedding light on black excellence.” After the movie’s release, many in black America—and across ethnicities—and around the world are wondering how to turn this fiction into reality.
During the hype of “Black Panther,” we both were giving talks on how to unlock Africa’s potential to African-American professionals, community, and business leaders. Many of them asked us how they could help make Africa as successful as the imaginary Wakanda. In other words, where are the opportunities to develop mutually beneficial relations between Africa, African Americans, and the United States?
We propose strategies focused on three themes: tourism in Africa; trade and investment in and with Africa; and knowledge, innovation, and technology sharing to improve U.S.-Africa relations.
Nigeria headquartered online retail giant, Jumia is mulling a listing in America. It appears the efforts of Rocket Internet to cash out on Jumia will finally pay off as the eCommerce giant is planning to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) this year on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
As reported by Bloomberg, the planned listing could value the company at $1.5 billion. The move to have the company listed on the NYSE raises a couple of questions, one of which is about the choice of New York and not any of the African countries Jumia operates in.
MTN Group — the major stakeholder of the company — is looking forward to raising $600 million from the offering, having revealed plans to sell its 40% stake in the company last year.
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