Month: September 2022

African Diaspora Festival celebrates identity and culture at Underground Railroad Museum

By Valerie Russ | The Inquirer

When rain threatened early Sunday morning, some of the volunteers for the African Diaspora Festival in Burlington County wondered whether they should cancel the event.

But Louise Calloway, the 92-year-old founder of the Underground Railroad Museum in Eastampton, brushed aside the doubters.

Continue reading “African Diaspora Festival celebrates identity and culture at Underground Railroad Museum”

Mana Abdi | Somali American legislative candidate is poised to make history in the Maine Legislature

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A Democratic candidate is poised to become the first Somali American to serve in the Maine Legislature after her challenger dropped out of the race.

Republican Fred Sanborn-Silvers’ withdrawal last month cleared the path for Democrat Mana Abdi in her bid for Maine House District 95. Another Somali American, South Portland Mayor Deqa Dhalac, is also running for a different House seat.

Continue reading “Mana Abdi | Somali American legislative candidate is poised to make history in the Maine Legislature”

African Street Festival returns to Hadley Park September 16-18

By Cass Teague | Pride Publishing

Annual African Street Festival by the African American Cultural Alliance is on the weekend of September 16 through September 18, 2022 at Hadley Park, located at 1037 28th Avenue North in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s theme is “We Rise To the Beat Of Our Drums.” The upcoming community event will once again honor the legacy of Nashville Civil Rights / Community Activist Kwame Leo Lillard, the founder of the festival and the African American Cultural Alliance.

Continue reading “African Street Festival returns to Hadley Park September 16-18”

U.S. Expects to Use All Employment-Based Green Cards This Year

By Michelle Hackman | Wall Street Journal

U.S. immigration authorities project that they will use up all the extra available employment-based green cards for the fiscal year ending this month, averting the risk that the government would for the second year running let thousands go to waste.

Typically, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that processes green cards and other immigration applications, hands out about 140,000 employment-based green cards to foreign employees and their families, representing a fraction of demand that results in a decadelong wait for some applicants.

Continue reading “U.S. Expects to Use All Employment-Based Green Cards This Year”

St. Louis police shoot and kill Sudanese man after standoff

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis police shot and killed a 61-year-old Sudanese refugee after he reportedly lunged at an officer after a long standoff, authorities said.

The confrontation on Wednesday began when officers were serving felony warrants for assault, resisting arrest and a weapons charge, Lt. John Green said.

Continue reading “St. Louis police shoot and kill Sudanese man after standoff”

Biden to meet South Africa leader amid differences on Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa this month, the White House announced Thursday, as the administration looks to draw African nations closer to the U.S. at a time when South Africa and many of its neighbors have staked out neutral ground on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Announcement of the Sept. 16 visit comes on the heels of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to South Africa last month, in which he said the Biden administration sees Africa’s 54 nations as “equal partners” in tackling global problems.

Continue reading “Biden to meet South Africa leader amid differences on Russia”

Artist Oluseye Ogunlesi builds a Black Ark to explore Canada’s colonial history

BY BETTY WOOD | THE SPACES

What looks like the hull of a long-lost ship has appeared at Toronto’s Ashbridges Bay – a haunting installation by Nigerian-Canadian artist Oluseye Ogunlesi exploring Canada’s ‘forgotten’ role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Dubbed Black Ark, the 12-ft-tall immersive sculptural installation is presented as part of the Luminato Toronto Arts Festival. It’s conceived as a ‘symbolic home’ to commemorate the survivors of slavery, with its form evoking both the pitched silhouette of a chapel and the bow of a ship.

Continue reading “Artist Oluseye Ogunlesi builds a Black Ark to explore Canada’s colonial history”

DOES ‘BOUND: AFRICANS VS. AFRICAN-AMERICANS’ HAVE A POINT?

By TeamEbony | Ebony

“Africans owe African-Americans an apology for slavery” is one of the incendiary remarks and fiery cultural topics director Peres Owino covers in her latest no-flex-zone feature-length documentary, Bound: Africans vs. African Americans. Owino, a self-professed hot sample of Kenyan coco, has directed a film that will have viewers question their love of Black culture and historical stereotypes they didn’t realize they held on to day to day. Bound is a straight shot to the cerebral cortex challenge of our approach to race, gender and relations.

Continue reading “DOES ‘BOUND: AFRICANS VS. AFRICAN-AMERICANS’ HAVE A POINT?”

Vestine Ncungu survived genocide in Rwanda. Now she is using her experience to help others heal


By EILEEN O’GRADY | Concord Monitor

Vestine Ncungu was 11 when she had to run for her life and hide in the trees to escape militia soldiers who were killing members of her ethnic group during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Most of her family members didn’t make it out alive. She was one of the lucky ones who escaped. She stayed safe with what remained of her extended family and eventually got permission to come to the United States as a young woman.

Continue reading “Vestine Ncungu survived genocide in Rwanda. Now she is using her experience to help others heal”

Why Nigeria is the only African country excluded from 2023 DV-Visa Lottery

By Biodun Busari | Vanguard

The United States has excluded Nigeria from its 2023 Diversity Immigrant Visa programme which is also known as the green card lottery.

Nigeria’s exclusion from the programme makes it eight years in a row that the US ignored the most populous African country in the world among immigrants entering via DVL.

Continue reading “Why Nigeria is the only African country excluded from 2023 DV-Visa Lottery”

Uchenna Nicholas Opara |This Nigerian student mopped floors to pay for his Canadian degree

By RYNNAAS AZLAN | Study International

When the sun goes down, most Canadians are already warm in their houses, eating dinner and unwinding from a long day at work. For Nigerian student Uchenna Nicholas Opara, it was time to clock in and start mopping floors at an office complex for 14 Canadian dollars an hour.

Continue reading “Uchenna Nicholas Opara |This Nigerian student mopped floors to pay for his Canadian degree”

Dr. Phillip Ozuah| New York based Nigerian doctor donates 1M Dollars to University of Ibadan

By Ebimo Amungo

A Nigerian-born physician who is based in New York has donated one million dollars to his alma mata, the University of Ibadan in South West Nigeria. Dr. Philip Ozuah made the donation to the school during a fundraiser organised by the university.

Continue reading “Dr. Phillip Ozuah| New York based Nigerian doctor donates 1M Dollars to University of Ibadan”