Tag: African diaspora in America

Ooni Of Ife To Lead Cultural Festival in Chicago

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has agreed to be the royal father during the maiden edition of the Yoruba Cultural Heritage Festival taking place in Chicago, United States of America in September.

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U.S. Now Requiring Visa Applicants to List Social-Media Names

By Steven T. Dennis

The U.S. now wants to know the social-media user names of people applying for visas, part of stepped up screening of foreign visitors and immigrants.

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Philadelphia braces for annual Odunde Festival

The annual Odunde Street Festival brings a taste of Africa to South Street, one of Philadelphiaโ€™s oldest, historically African American neighborhoods. The event is one of the largest African-American street festivals in America.

This yearโ€™s festival will take place Sunday, June 9.

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Ethiopian-Americans celebrate Memorial Day in Omaha

Ethiopian-Americans in metropolitan Omaha NE celebrated  Memorial Day at Elm Wood Park, with recognition of  the  legacy of Ethiopian and American veterans who served  America and their native Ethiopia.

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The Future of Africaโ€™s diaspora is in Africa

By Akinyi Ochieng and Gregory Thwaites

With overย 30 million Africans living outside of their home countries, migration will play a big role in shaping Africaโ€™s future. While the vibrant and growing diaspora communities in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and France are gaining in visibility, it is communities of Africansย withinย Africa that will have the most transformative impact on the regionโ€™s future.

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642 Ghanaians deported from the United States

By Priscilla Aklorbortu

A report on the activities of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in the 2018 fiscal year shows that 642 Ghanaians were deported from the United States between 2016 and 2018.

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Who decides who is a real American?

By Douglas Moore Who decides who is a real American? Does any one person or group have the right to define those who are real Americans as opposed to those who are not? Continue reading “Who decides who is a real American?”

‘Call me American’ Portland resident who escaped war-torn Somalia shares story

Abdi Nor Iftin will discuss his new memoir, โ€œCall Me American,โ€ Tuesday, June 4, at 5:30 p.m. at the Southwest Harbor Public Library.

Iftin lives in Portland where he works as an interpreter for other Somalis in Maine. He was recently accepted to the University of Southern Maine, where he plans to study political science.

โ€œCall Me Americanโ€ is the true story of Iftinโ€™s survival of in war-ravaged Mogadishu, Somalia, and his journey to America.

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Nigeria Begins Registration of its Citizens in United States

By Dipo Olowookere

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), an agency that registers Nigerians on a national database, has commenced the registration of Nigerians living in the United States of America (USA).

The registration is part of the agencies commitment to include Nigerians in Diaspora into the National Identity Database. At the moment, the scheme covers those living in Nigeria, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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Meet the Ethiopian-American Economic Hitman from Wall Street to Poverty Street in the no manโ€™s land

How a little-known Wall Street sovereign fund manager ended up as a CEO of the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency to give development and transparency a whole different meaning.

By Teshome Debalke

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Minnesota Legislature elects Mike Kenyanya to university Board of Regents

Kenyan-American Mike Kenyanya, 22, was elected to a six-year term on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents

By Cynthia Simba

Newly elected regent Mike Kenyanya has a lot to look forward to. Upon completion of his bachelorโ€™s degree, Kenyanya has been awarded one of Minnesotaโ€™s highest seats in public education.

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Volunteers in Lincoln help ease the way for South Sudanese in Massachusetts

By Heather Beasley Doyle

In May 2001, Lincoln resident Susan Winship organized a presentation introducing a group of South Sudanese refugees to fellow Massachusetts residents. The arrival of โ€œthe lost boys of Sudan,โ€ as the 150 young men were known (five women were also part of the group) — thousands of young men who had fled their homeland on foot a decade and a half earlier during the countryโ€™s second civil war–had been widely covered in the media.

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29,723 Nigerians overstayed in US in 2018

Almost 30,000 Nigerians stayed beyond the period lawfully allowed by their visas in the US last year.

By Samson Toromade


A total of 29,723 Nigerian immigrants who travelled to the United States of America in 2018 overstayed their visas according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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Nigerians must now appear in person for visa renewal โ€”US

By Eniola Akinkuotu, โ€™Femi Asu and Maureen Ihua-Maduenyi

The United States Embassy in Nigeria has announced new measures for visa renewal for Nigerians.

The embassy said in a statement that henceforth, all applicants including frequent travelers, who used to use the drop box method to renew their visa, would now have to appear for interviews each time they apply.

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Kenyan Comedian to Grace Madaraka Day Celebrations in US

By Stephanie Wangari

Kenyan comedian, Eric Omondi, has been invited to the United States on June 8, 2019, for the Madaraka Day celebrations, organized by the Kenyan community in Baltimore.

The comedian has been invited to perform for Kenyans in America at The Hermes Center of St. Demetrios 2504Cub Hill Road, Parkville, 21234.

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Inaugural Grand African Run Announced in Washington

By Stacy M. Brown

The late South African Leader Nelson Mandela famously noted that sport has the power to change the world, inspire, and unite in a way that little else does.

โ€œIt speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair,โ€ Mandela said during a speech in 2000 in Monaco, France.

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The U.S. Is Crazy to Scare Skilled Immigrants Away

Welcoming foreign talent is a win-win policy.

By Noah Smith


President Donald Trump has done a lot to scare high-skilled immigrants away from the U.S. He has made it harder for them to get green cards. He has blocked some foreign students from entering and discouraged others from working during school. He is considering banning the spouses of H-1b visa holders from working in the country at all. The harassment campaign appears to be working. H-1b applications are down, as is the number of visas being issued to overseas students:

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From Kenya to Coe and back, Kip Korir is a difference maker

Kohawks’ NCAA track champion of 1974 is Coe commencement speaker

By Mike Hlas


He didnโ€™t come from Kenya to Cedar Rapids in 1970 to become an athletics star, but thatโ€™s just what happened to Titus “Kip” Korir.

Yet, it turned out to be just one segment in his accomplished life. However, he said his experience in track and field at Coe helped make him what he became.

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This Ghanaian-American Entrepreneur Started a Shea Butter Business Inspired by Her Mom

By Baze Mpinja

32-year-old Naa-Sakle Akuete has an MBA from Harvard, but the best business professor sheโ€™s ever had just might be her mother, Eugenia.

In 2014, Akuete launchedย Euโ€™Genia Shea, a line of high-quality shea butters that are packaged in beautiful, embossed tins. Founding her own company wasnโ€™t the path Akuete had in mind while she was in school, but the move proves that the nut doesnโ€™t fall far from the tree.

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South African bidder wanted necktie on eBay, Man Gave It to Him for Free when he found out why

By McKinley Corbley

One manโ€™s compulsion to clean out his closet has resulted in a heartwarming story of patriotic kindness between two strangers.

Upon assessing his necktie collection, retired CIA agent Marc Johnson decided to sell an old red, white, and blue-colored necktie that he had kept specifically for 4th of July celebrations.

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Burundi Refugees Bringing East African Cuisine To Detroit This Fall

By Megy Karydes

Events like Small Business Week help to remind us of the contributions of small business owners throughout the country, including those started by refugees. New American Economy research found that nationwide, refugees earned more than $77 billion in household income and paid almost $21 billion in taxes in 2015 alone. Refugees also have some of the highest entrepreneurship rates in the United States. Continue reading “Burundi Refugees Bringing East African Cuisine To Detroit This Fall”

Namibia tribes appeal US court ruling in genocide suit

Lawyers for the Herero and Nama tribes on Tuesday appealed a New York court ruling dismissing their compensation claim against Germany for the genocide of their ancestors in present-day Namibia.

In a filing before New York’s federal appeals court, lawyers for the two ethnicities claim a lower court erred in its March 6 decision, which said Germany was protected from their suit by the principle of sovereign immunity of a state. Continue reading “Namibia tribes appeal US court ruling in genocide suit”

Andrews University Michigan awards doctorate degree to Kenyan Chief Justice, David Maraga

By Eddy Mwanza

Kenya’s Chief Justice (CJ), David Maraga, added a feather to his cap as he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Andrews University in Michigan, USA.

The Supreme Court president shared his joy at being granted such an honour from the 145-year-old American University.

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After Zagora, USโ€™s Morocco Day to Honor 12 Moroccan Regions in 12 Years

While many non-Moroccans are familiar with the popular cities of Marrakech, Casablanca, Fez, and Tangier, most have never heard of Zagora. But in March, Washington, D.C., had an opportunity to celebrate the beauty of Zagora, the first guest of honor of the annual Morocco Day symposium.

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Tesfa Ethiopia is Organizing Charlotte’s First Ethiopian Culture Festival

Tesfa Ethiopia is organizing Charlotte’s first Ethiopian Cultural Event in order to raise funds for these students.

The event will have a free outdoor area with food and activities for families. The inside of the event requires a $10 ticket purchase and will have music, activities, and an exhibit on Ethiopia.

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Kenyan Wins $50, 000 on Ellen Degeneres Show

A Kenyan lady studying in the United States was treated to a surprise by American Comedian Ellen Degeneres when she was united with her family during a live TV talk show.ย 

Achieng Agutu, who has been struggling to make ends meet in the US, also won $50,000 after she and her family played a game during the show where they were required to pick one out of three cards which represented different figures.

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Mayor of Newark commends Nigerians on contributions to city’s development

Mayor of the US city of Newark, Ras Baraka, has praised the can-do spirit and contributions of members of the Nigerian community to the cityโ€™s development.
Baraka gave the commendation when the Nigerian Consul General in New York, Benayaogha Okoyen, paid him a courtesy visit.

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In Language Rooms, an Egyptian American interrogator struggles to prove his loyalty to the U.S.A.

By Kerry Reid

Egyptian American playwright Yussef El Guindi is mostly known to Chicago audiences from several productions with Silk Road Rising, including the world premiere of his 2005 comedy Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith, about an Egyptian immigrant family wrestling with assimilation in America.ย 

Back of the Throat, in which an Arab American man in post-9/11 America faces down government agents who take over his home in an increasingly hostile “investigation,” followed a few months later.

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Franciscan Childrenโ€™s Hospital Patient From Kenya Becomes U.S. Citizen

By Michelle Fisher

Thursday was a very special day for 18-year-old Kenya native Peter Muhia. Inside his hospital room at Franciscan Childrenโ€™s Hospital in Brighton, he officially become a U.S. citizen.

โ€œIโ€™m so thankful to everybody who participated in this and made it happen,โ€ said his mom Martha Kamau.

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A house of their own: Congolese refugees launch African church in Missoula

By Martin Kidston

When Hategeka Gilbert and Joel Kambale arrived in Montana from the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2016, neither knew just where to start their new life.

Their English was poor if they knew it at all, and even the grocery store was foreign. It was early in Missoulaโ€™s refugee resettlement efforts, and for those who came seeking a new beginning, navigating life in America didnโ€™t come easy.

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