By Joseph Longo
Rafiki, based on the Ugandan short story “Jambula Tree” by Monica Arac de Nyeko, follows a Kenyan Romeo and Juliet romance between the daughters of rival politicians. Kena (Mugatsia) and Ziki (Sheila Munyiva) explore first-time love in a country where being gay is illegal. Doused with saturated colors and tender performances, Rafiki is a rarity in queer cinema with a bright and hopeful tone.
By Ahmar Khan
Sila Kisoso has called Canada home for 18 years, but in that time, the Kenyan-born Canadian’s immediate family has never been approved for a travel visa.
Since 2011, Kisoso has applied six times for her sisters, Naisola and Peresian, to visit Canada. Their applications were rejected, with a different response each time.
Continue reading “Despite Canadian citizenship, Kenyan immigrant can’t get travel visas for family”
By Angy Essam
Famed Egyptian/American actor Sayed Badreya is currently shooting his role in “Vanguard” movie alongside the megastar Jackie Chan.
Badreya told Egypt Today that ‘’Vanguard’’ will be a massive global production.
Continue reading “Egyptian star Badreya to co-star with Jackie Chan in “Vanguard””
By Keith Idec
Nigerian-born Efe Ajagba didn’t waste any time getting rid of Michael Wallisch on Saturday night.
The heavyweight knockout artist continuously hammered Wallisch with thudding shots in their brief bout. Referee Tony Weeks had seen enough after 4 ½ minutes and stopped their scheduled 10-rounder at 1:40 of the second round on the Robert Easter Jr.-Rances Barthelemy undercard.
Continue reading “Nigerian-born Efe Ajagba Drops, Stops Michael Wallisch in Two Rounds”
By Salem Solomon
In 2011, when protests began in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, Hend Nafea was a college student in Banha, north of Cairo. As she saw the images of young people demanding an end to the three-decade rule of Hosni Mubarak, she knew she had to take part.
Continue reading “Egyptian Woman Brutalized in Arab Spring Protest Continues Rights Campaign in US”
Immigrant-owned firms create more net jobs and have higher growth than businesses with owners born in Canada, according to newly-released research.
Ghana was one of the main West African departure points for the transatlantic slave trade.The government has launched a campaign to reach out to the descendants of those Africans who were forcibly removed from their homelands.
It has dubbed 2019 the “Year of Return”.
Several hundred people have already put down roots in Ghana, many of them African-Americans.
The programme is prepared by Patrick Lovett and James Vasina.
By Caryn Tate
The undefeated heavyweight prospect is a man of many talents but boxing is still paramount as he returns to the ring Saturday night on Showtime.
Houston, Texas is a far cry from Ughelli, a town in southwestern Nigeria. No one knows that better than heavyweight prospect Efe “The One and Only” Ajagba (9-0, 8 KOs).
Ajagba is set to the return to the ring this Saturday, April 27, against Michael Wallisch (19-1, 12 KOs) at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The bout will open the televised portion of the Robert Easter Jr.-Rances Barthelemy main event on Showtime (10:00p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT).
Continue reading “Inside the Mind of Efe Ajagba”
Egyptian football sensation Mohamed Salah has been listed among the TIME’s 2019 most influential people.
The 26 year old star also features on the cover of the magazine. Inside, HBO John Oliver paid tribute to the footballer, calling him an “an “iconic figure for Egyptians, Scousers and Muslims the world over.”
Continue reading “Mo Salah and Rami Malek Among TIME’s 2019 Most Influential 100”
By Olanrewaju Eweniyi
Nigerian-Americans are on track to becoming one of the most successful immigrant groups in American history, but that journey is not without its pressures and struggles. On HBO’s Backstories, Yvonne Orji, one of the most visible Nigerian-Americans today, shares her story
Orji talks about how she went from graduate school to pageant queen to Molly on Insecure. She has come a really long way, but her Hollywood journey actually started with her participating in Miss Nigeria in America, where she turned to comedy after she realized she needed a talent to compete. Continue reading “How She Landed Her Game-Changing ‘Insecure’ Role”
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’”
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”
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.
Continue reading “Wangechi Mutu-Keep Moving, Keep Making Art”
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.
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.
Continue reading “HOW THE BUILD ACT CAN INVIGORATE U.S. ECONOMIC TIES IN AFRICA”