Month: April 2019

People

She Fled Rwanda To Survive — But Does Not Like The Words ‘Refugee’ Or ‘Genocide’

By Diane Cole

Twenty-five years ago this month, more than 800,000 Rwandans, mostly Tutsi, were slaughtered over the course of 100 days by members of the country’s Hutu majority.

Among those who lived through the terror is Clemantine Wamariya. Her memoir, The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War And What Comes After, recounts in wrenching detail her six-year trek in search of refuge from her country’s killing fields. Co-authored with Elizabeth Weil, the book was published to acclaim in 2018 and is now out in paperback.

Continue reading “She Fled Rwanda To Survive — But Does Not Like The Words ‘Refugee’ Or ‘Genocide’” →
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Festivals, Music

Mr. Eazi and Burna Boy highlight the rise of afrobeats at Coachella

By Makeda Easter

This has been a particularly global year for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The lineup also includes Nigerian stars Mr. Eazi and Burna Boy, two artists representing afrobeats, a genre that’s steadily gaining traction in the U.S. and beyond.

It’s not the first year that Coachella has hosted Nigerian artists. The 2012 performance of Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, featuring Fela Kuti’s youngest son and band, is just one example of the handful of the country’s artists who have played the Indio festival. And 2018 was expected to be a big moment for afrobeats at Coachella when Wizkid was booked, but he missed the gig due to visa issues.

Continue reading “Mr. Eazi and Burna Boy highlight the rise of afrobeats at Coachella” →
Culture, People

Wangechi Mutu-Keep Moving, Keep Making Art

Text by Ananda Pellerin

Hugely prolific multidisciplinary artist Wangechi Mutucame first to the UK as a teenager from Nairobi, before moving to the US where she studied art at Parsons and Cooper Union and completed an MFA in sculpture at Yale. Now working between New York and her home city – Mutu – known for her fantastical drawings, collages, sculptures, installations, performances and film work, regularly returns to themes related to the female body, communication, migration and the human experience.

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Culture, People

Kenyan-born Wangechi Mutu will make works for New York’s Metropolitan Museum

By Victoria Valentine

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART in New York recently announced new artist commissions.

The Met plans a series of contemporary art installations at its Fifth Avenue flagship. For one of the projects, Wangechi Mutu is creating sculptures that will be installed in the niches in the museum’s Fifth Avenue facade.

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Policy

HOW THE BUILD ACT CAN INVIGORATE U.S. ECONOMIC TIES IN AFRICA

By Ed Royce and Robin Renee Sanders

Since the U.S. BUILD Act was signed into law last October, many people across Africa as well as members of the Africa Diaspora have been asking what this global initiative might do to help revitalize American engagement with the continent. The answer is: quite a lot!

The goal of BUILD or the — “Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act” – is exactly what the American private sector has long sought. BUILD does a number of positive things to boost the U.S.-Africa economic, business, and development relationship.

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Politics

Egyptians in Canada, US vote on constitutional amendments

The Egyptians living in the United States of America and Canada have started voting in the referendum on a set of proposed constitutional amendments, in the headquarters of the Egyptian embassies in Washington and Ottawa, and the consulate in New York.

Egyptian expatriates started a three-day voting on the new constitutional amendments in 140 embassies and consulates of 125 countries worldwide, amid massive campaigning for the amendments abroad and domestically.

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Appointments, People

Pennsylvania college inaugurates an African king as its president

It was a celebration fit for a king at one Pennsylvania college.

Not only is Dr. Daniel Wubah a king in Ghana, he has now been named the president of Millersville University, according to WPMT.

“It doesn’t happen very often,” said Marth Pobee, Ghana’s ambassador to the United Nations. “This is a very proud moment, very special we’re here from New York, and the government, people of ghana need to know.” Continue reading “Pennsylvania college inaugurates an African king as its president” →

Television

Ramy Isn’t telling a universal story of the American Muslim experience.

Review of Halu Show about Ramy. He is Egyptian-American, he’s Muslim, he’s the child of immigrants, and he’s lived through the last two decades of American culture shaped by the disorienting alienation of being a Muslim teenager in post-9/11 New Jersey.

Some of the stories in Ramy seem like standard millennial-comedy fare: Ramy (Ramy Youssef) has parents who want him to settle down, and he’s wary of their values and the things they desire for him.

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Business, People

Africa meets America at Rem De Trendy Fashion boutique

By Peg DeGrassa

PROSPECT PARK — Delaware County is a melting pot of countless nationalities’ rich traditions and cultures, mixed with modern American trends and influences. Reflecting such a vibrant mixture is Rem De Trendy Fashion store, which opened this past fall at 621B Chester Pike. The part-African, part- American blended style boutique specializes in formal and casual wear, as well as custom made dresses for proms, weddings, Communions, Confirmations, christenings and other special occasions.

Rem De Trendy Fashion is the creation of designer/owner Remi Oyelami of Folcroft. The talented seamstress is a native of Lagos, Nigeria, where she opened her first dress shop, which is still in successful operation today.

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News

Nigeria’s Sahara Group signs deal with United Nations Development Programme in New York

The Sahara Group, an international energy and infrastructure conglomerate and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are joining forces to promote reliable access to affordable and sustainable energy, and to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the private sector with a specific focus on SDG 7 (affordable energy).

The partnership was formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday 15 April in New York.

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Opinion

From Obama to Omar, East Africa is having an impact in US politics

By Mohammed Guleid
East Africa is beginning to have an impact and shine in the politics of the United States.
The rise of East African influence in America started with Barack Obama, who has ancestral roots in Kenya. He became the President of the United States.

Once again, someone from Eastern Africa is causing a storm in America. Early this year, Ilhan Omar, a young woman from Minnesota was elected to the US Congress.

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Entertainment, Events

Davido to headline “Coming To America Music Festival” in Washington DC

African music continues its meteoric rise across the globe, spearheaded by the resurgence of the Afrobeats movement.  From chart-topping pop collaborations with mainstream artists such as Drake, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran and Alicia Keys, to the resounding influence of African producers and artists across the international music industry, the sound that has rocked the continent for decades, now touches the hearts of many around the world.

On April 27, 2019, international music insider Eshoon Nashun will launch the “Coming to America Music Festival” in Washington, DC with some of Africa’s top artists at The Anthem. The newly-built 6,000 seat venue in the Nation’s Capital will be the setting for mega acts including headliner, Davido, Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer.

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People

‘My empowering journey to the United States of America’

From being bullied for not being able to speak English fluently to becoming one of the young Namibians with strong potential to positively impact the country, Anna Shilongo is today finishing her Master’s in Business Administration which is one more degree to add to the other three she already attained. 

Hard work, a love for reading, commitment, and overcoming insecurities, according to Anna, are only minor ingredients to her success.

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News, Visit to Africa

Ivanka Trump Announces $2 Million for Women in Ivory Coast Cocoa Industry

ADZOPE, IVORY COAST —U.S. President Donald’s Trump’s daughter and senior White House advisor, Ivanka Trump, has announced a $2 million commitment to help women in Ivory Coast’s cocoa industry.

Speaking at Cayat, a cocoa cooperative in the town of Adzopé, Trump said Wednesday the $2 million, promised by USAID and private chocolate companies, would go toward savings associations, which are a popular way for businesswomen to gain capital in the West African country.

White House Advisor Ivanka Trump talks to women entrepreneurs, at the demonstration cocoa farm in Adzope, Ivory Coast April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

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News

American church is raising funds for children’s school in Kenya

By Paul Sullivan

A Cam Newton jersey, weekend at a beach condo, and Nativity sets made in Africa are some of the items that will be auctioned on May 4 at a fundraiser for a children’s school in Kenya.

The dinner and auction will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall at Frazer Church.

About $40,000 was raised at a similar gathering in 2018, said Charlotte Robertson, president of Mescal’s Children’s Center of Hope (MCCH), Inc., which runs the school in Luanda, Kenya. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at https://help-build-hope-frazer-memorial-united-methodist-church.pushpayevents.com/booking/attendees/new.

Continue reading “American church is raising funds for children’s school in Kenya” →