There will always be someone who has it better or worse than us all. As Bob Marley said “Every man thinks his burden is the heaviest …Who feels it knows it not ” #CountYourBlessings .

I watched a 20/20 episode that reminded me to count my blessings.  Imagine never being able to be in a relationship or to easily and freely interact daily with people because certain sounds make it physically unbearable to be around them- and it’s a  disease called Misophonia that turns a seemingly “normal person” into “Incredible Hulk” style fits of rage that requires a cure instead of just personal choice. Imagine only having the taste for rocks and it being a condition called Pica instead of just the personal choice of being a picky eater with an acquired taste. I personally had to mute the sound of the women eating rocks because I couldn’t physically take it -much like the man with Misophonia ; however he has to find a way to mute the world because most sounds make him physically unable to function. I guess we all have levels of diseases & conditions with triggers that we either possess the capability to control or not. It’s about finding that balance and knowing when not finding that balance gets too out of control for you not to ask for help. The mind and its balances and imbalances are very powerful and no matter what we do to curb and control our ailments we can never run away from ourselves.

On this same day I also watched NY1’s The Call with John Schiumo , which offers New Yorkers an opportunity to weigh in on the topic of the day. The topic of the day was the recent news that the NYPD had more than 685,000 ”stop and frisks“ with over 40% being young Black and Latino boys/men.

“In a passionate opinion, a federal judge granted class certification status in a landmark trial opposing racial disparities in stop-and-frisk policing, and put the New York City Police Department on notice that they might face court oversight by the end of trial…Every person who has been stopped by police since Jan. 31, 2005, without reasonable suspicion will become a member of the class as a result of the decision, a number that court documents indicate will likely include “well over one hundred thousand” people…A staff attorney from the civil rights group that brought the lawsuit said the decision showed that the court understood that stop-and-frisk policy implicated high-ranking city officials in civil rights abuses…”The Court has rightly recognized that illegal stops-and-frisks are not limited to a few rogue police officers but are the product of a program designed at the highest level of the police department and affect hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of New Yorkers,” said Darius Charney of Center for Constitutional Rights. “As a result of today’s ruling, all those for whom this practice is a daily reality will now have an opportunity to challenge it as a violation of their fundamental constitutional rights and to ask the Court to order real changes in NYPD stop-and-frisk policy.”…In contrast, a New York City Law Department spokesperson offered muted criticism….”We respectfully disagree with the decision and are reviewing our legal options,” Connie Pankratz said.” READ MORE

A White gentlemen called in saying that the politicians , activists and Black and Latino people who were against “stop and frisks” were trying to run away from the crime riddled past of New York about 20 years ago during the crack epidemic, which somehow in our NYC narrative has become synonymous with Black, Latinos and crime- which now “stop and frisks” was/is part of the law and order of our society to prevent those days from rearing its ugly head again by keeping a certain sector of society in order on the streets or in a cage -domesticated from their animalistic wilds as to not ruin society for the civilized masters/majority. Ironically in this same week, a study came out to say that White people in America particularly in places like New York are no longer the majority. The  caller went on to say that if young Black and Latinos boys to men would stop with the sagging of the pants and make themselves look respectable then the police would see them as people who respected themselves and in turn treat them with respect. It just so happens that this is also the anniversary of Sean Bell’s shooting. While I agree that as a Black woman I as just as offended by the sagging pants of young boys and particularly the grown ass out men who we would all think would know better in they way the carry and represent themselves; I surely am not naive to the fact that clothing choice alone will not have police giving respect to these same young Black and Latino boys to men because just as many in designer suits have been disrespected, stopped and frisk with no wrong doing or explanation by police, as those shabbily showing their entire asses to the world.

A White woman called in and even challenged the host to stop saying it’s “stop, question and frisk” instead of just straight up “stop and frisk” as she stated even the Supreme Court had defined it because it makes it seem better than it is as if the police are stopping these young Black and Latino boys/men at an alarming rate to just possibly talk with them. The show’s host replied her by saying he will continue to call it ” stop, question and frisk” instead of “stop and frisk” because that is the name of the law and as a proffesional journalist he had no proof that all the stops by NYPD came with frisks. Even without proof stating that some came as just “stops and questions”, he was convinced that some had to have come with just questioning without frisks, as he went along to say how he doesn’t care what the supreme court said. That statement to me from someone that just proclaimed that he as a young White boy in the 80’s growing up in Staten Island-wore his bright green fat laces in his Adidas which was a part of the hip-hop style of that era and was never stopped and frisked by the NYPD;  yet that same hip-hop style back then and now is blamed for the frequency of young Black and Latinos getting “stopped and frisked”. He had even proclaimed to the caller that made the wardrobe argument that the debate on wardrobe had already been argued on both sides- with one side proclaiming freedom of choice and the other side proclaiming change starts with the the victim -I mean the suspect. I was floored when the usually cool John Schuimo got flustered with the White woman caller telling him the “uncomfortable truth” to a point where he raised a few octaves in his voice to reply that she was not teaching him anything he didn’t already know. As a journalist I thought he would know that the supreme court was the highest court to judge laws of the nation, so he should care what they say. The White female caller went on to say that it is obvious that the majority of the people who would be for the “stop and frisk” law would be White and the ones that would be against it would be Blacks and Latinos because they are the majority on the receiving end of it.

This all comes at a time when Trayvon Martin Vs  George Zimmerman is in the news with the same ideas of wardrobe, color and suspicion as a reason to “stop and kill” disguised as “Stop, question and kill when necessary to save the life of the aggressor”. This has brought the same divides in right and wrong depending on which side of the pedulum your deepest fear lies; whether it is in the victimization or being the victimizer- where we either  choose to put color aside or make it the focus in defining the victimization or the victimizer. Either way we can never run away from ourselves no matter how we paint the picture in our favor.  The same period in time when a young Black man makes world news for being killed because he looked suspicious in a hooded sweatshirt , a young White man made world news as the youngest self made billionaire with his signature wardrobe of choice being his Black hooded sweatshirt without any suspicion. When do we become a society or a world that truly faces our own truths. As Bob Marley said “Every man thinks his burden is the heaviest. Who feels it knows it not“.

As I was processing all of this last night, I saw these back to back tweets on my twitter timeline which said a lot to this very narrative going on not only in New York, but all over the world. Some of us are able to face our truths and demons and survive attempts to take away our lives like Abner Louima, Rodney King and  Chamique Holdsclaw and some like Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin, Mary Richardson Kennedy and Junior Seau are not. When racism and mental illness toppled with life hits you hard- your talents, your poverty, your wealth, your race or geographical location can not save you if you can’t attain the faith and tools needed to lift you out of the hood of darkness. This made me look differently at the horrific Basketball Wives bullying incident last week that had social media in such an uproar that it made the usually abrasive “I ain’t never scared” Tami Roman forced to deactivate her usually busy twitter account because she could not take the backlash any longer. As horrific as the incident may have been in seeing one woman break down another woman in such an abusive manner -I also realized that many of us failed to see that we watched Tami Roman literally have a mental breakdown on national TV with no recourse outside of serving as entertainment. If the rumors are true that this was all scripted then they all deserve an academy award and to have this train wreck of a show laid to rest as petitions have come out demanding before it ends up being the cause of someone’s life being taken away mentally or physically.

All I could think after seeing these  tweets was-Wow -Language is a powerful weapon. Something that has been coming up a lot lately in how we address one another and issues and how once again color/culture plays a role in the allocation of the address even when they are the same words.

I was at an African design forum the other day once again discussing and defining this idea of Re-Branding Africa and what New African Fashion is, when one of the panelist who happened to be half German and Ethiopian but raised all over Africa with Peace Corp parents – went into an argument with such conviction that somehow “Luxury” could be found in Italy or France, but not in the entire continent of Africa; Even though she makes and sells product that she brands as 100% Made in Africa to luxury retailers in the West while having convinced her “fellow Africans” that they do not make nor represent a globally recognized aesthetic of luxury products worthy of luxury production charges. Is it any worse when the same put down of the value of your worth comes from those who proclaim themselves as kin with an obligation to help you rise rather than from those who have built their reputation on keeping you stagnant or making you fall in order for them to rise?

What makes Ankara fabric designed in Africa any less luxurious than when Burberry designs it in London? What makes organic cotton grown in Uganda and made into a t-shirt in Uganda any less luxurious than the same organic cotton shipped to Italy, France or the USA and made into a t-shirt warranting the luxury label charging often 100 times more than their African counterparts? If Luxury is defined in fabrication and artistry of design and we start with the same source of luxury fabrication- all that is left is artistry. When your belly is empty  and craving to be fed- the luxury of waiting to indulge in a meal that will take all day to prepare in its finest artistry in taste becomes an unattainable luxury to indulge in for many African artisans. We all can agree that there is a lack of good paying jobs in Africa and that more often than not because of this there is only one income taking care of entire families with opens the door for exploitation in labor, not so much different from many parts of the world including Italy, France and USA which the panelist dubbed as known for luxury in a way that Africa has not arrived at yet. Much too often Africans are too busy with little choice between demanding real partnerships of investments in their labor or just being the laborers serving but not participating in the luxury market because of lack of opportunity, lack of information, financial circumstance in the fact that it takes money to make money  with Africans always never having money to make money, or being held back by the fear of change for the worse in rocking the boat and an unshakable pride in admitting that we often grow generation after generation never having been taught how to own our own, demand partnerships and just even knowing our worth. All of these things keep Africans stagnant in never attaining the luxury of being artisans with the luxury of time in the details it takes to attain the type of perfection where even imperfections add value to what is wanted and warranted in art. When you are automatically devalued because of geographical location, how can one attain that higher value unless they take themselves to a more geographically valued place?

Hearing the conviction behind the flawed arguments of  Africa not representing “Luxury” just made me wonder if the panelist making the argument had any real connection to the roots of Africa to categorically bypass its past- hailed to the highest of luxury with images of Emperor Haile Selassie I or Ashanti Kings and Queens long before she came to valiantly proclaim an obligation to pick up the pieces from their fall. She chose even to bypass the reality of Africa’s present, where just recently the Huffington Post had an article with the headline “Luxury Brands Target Nigeria As Boom Economy Creates New Class of Elite“. The use of words and descriptions in language is so important and powerful in its impact on the psyche of human beings. As Nelson Mandela said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” All I can say to my fellow Africans constantly faced with this burden of language reaping havoc on our psyche and forward movements is that the time has come to know our worth- defined by us and not by the rest of the world outside of us.

“Scholars and scientists now conceive that Africa is the first place of mankind
Africans were the first builders of civilization
They discovered mathematics, invented writing, developed sciences
Engineering, medicine, religion, fine arts, and built the Great Pyramids
An architectural achievement which still baffles modern scientists’

[INTRO VOICE 2]
The 225th Emperor [echo] direct descent from Solomon and The Queen of Sheba [echo]
He is the “King of Kings, The Lion of Judah [echo]”
The name Haile Selassie I means “Power of the Trinity”

[Verse 1: Stephen Marley]
Educate yourselves, of Africa
To liberate yourself, Africa
Keep your heads up high
No more will we cry
Eeeeyh

Our history that they stole, Africa
Is written in our souls, Africa
Oldest nation on this earth
Know just what you worth
Well well

Ships that sail to distant places
Robbed us of our rising worlds
History says that you’ve betrayed us
Talking of the Gods you serve
Hear the rambling in the sky
Tears that our fore fathers cry
And today we’re still in chains
Take the shackle from our minds
You’re the corner stone
The king upon the throne

How beautiful are thou, Africa
Our nation have to bow, Africa
Don’t you fall from grace
You’re that secret place
Aye! Aye-ah-aye!

[Verse 2: Wale]
Power to the people, Motherland representa
I’m on trial with the man she my co-defendant
And I demand her attention, can you focus women?
I’m getting closer to the sky errytime I hit it
Haile Selassie I, “Power of the Trinity”
Soul made in naija, my voice made in Italy
White mans world that I’m livin’ in, some say
But it was Africa the continent we all came from
Can’t nothing come between me and you
So before I have seeds gotta understand my roots
Gotta understand the truth. We is all king’s ’round here
Lifes not all fair, work till we fall dead
Paul goin’ hard ’till I urn like a Pall-Bearer
Although my body’s in the U.S my heart’s there
I can never be ashamed of her, I got my features and my name from her
Mama Africa

[Verse 3: Stephen Marley]
The richest place on earth
Know just what your worth
Talking about the God you serve

Keep your heads up high

No more will we cry
They infiltrate our homes, Africa
They claim it as their own, Africa
Now we must stand tall
To break down all these wall-alls
Well well

Our children must be taught, of Africa
The science and the art, Africa
Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nahhh!

Educate yourself, Africa
To liberate yourselves, Africa
Keep your heads up high
No more will we cry

Beautiful are thou, Africa
A legend have to bow, Africa
Oh Oh!

Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)

Just this past week, New York Post writer, Phil Mushnick wrote a “racially condemning” or just “the uncomfortable truth” about Jay Z and his minority ownership of the new Brooklyn Nets as Brooklyn’s native son who would possibly be defining the style/marketing direction of the Nets with a suggestion of renaming the team “The New York Niggas/Niggers” in his usual cultural popularization of the word through the music that allowed him the luxury of being a minority owner of The Nets.

“…why not have him apply the full Jay-Z treatment? Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N—-s. The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B—hes or Hoes….”

I couldn’t really understand the point of this article outside of exposing the Jayz Jay Z we already knew and being yet another White person looking for an excuse to publicly use the word Nigger in his social commentary  on how Black people using the word Nigger has someone been the downfall of modern society poising even little White children like his own who had never heard the word used until they heard rappers like Jay Z say it. Oh Please Mr. Mushnick -you are full of shit and you know it- I would bet anything that your children heard that word long before they Knew who Jay Z was. The crazy part is that  White people don’t see the justifiable anger by Blacks to stick by Jay Z in this condemnation as making millions on polluting his own people and society at large with illegal and bad behavior, but yet they don’t see anything wrong with holding up the Kennedy’s as American royalty for doing the same thing. If the Kennedy’s can erase their past illegal activities and bad behavior that also polluted their own people and society at large  from the history books to become glorified as American royalty in making their wealth legit- then why can’t Jay Z?

According to Mushnick Jay Z will basically define the same Brooklyn and New York of Showtime’s Girls, caught up in the same race baiting or telling yet another side of an uncomfortable truth of not just Brooklyn, not just New York and not even just our nation but seemingly the entire world in the way we use language and perception in seeing and speaking to and about the same contexts. We either face the elephant in the room head on constructively or run away from it. Partly because of Mushnick and others statements this past week -the question came up for social media consumption and debate saying “When Do We Allow Whites To Criticize Blacks?“,  as if any clear conclsuion outside of race baiting was going to come out of posing a question like that in the race baiting Root. Yes I said it- there are Black focused news and information outlets that are just as much race baiters as their White counterparts. The definition of race baiting (the unfair use of statements about race to try to influence the actions or attitudes of a particular group of people) does not change because of color, the same way that Nigga/Nigger ’s definition does not change because of color. We all have to stick to one concise definition to keep a society from constant confusion in division.

I believe that faith in knowing there’s a higher power who creates miracles can save those who believe. The idea of a God that kills when faced with disobedience and non-believers, when one of the fundamental teachings of most faiths and humanity is “Thou shall not kill” is extremely ill-conceived to me and very UnGodly. I always hear people talking about they are “God-fearing” people, but I saw this quote that spoke to what I feel in my heart when I hear “God-Fearing”.

After seeing the images/words below in the form of a chain letter in hopes of being granted miracles by passing it along and by making one fear God in knowing that questioning or denying the power of God in anyway can eventually get you killed is very unGodly to me as well . This type of ideology makes me wonder about the teachings of religious fear mongering, which is far from the love from and of the higher power that I have come to know in my spirituality and faith.

We all should take a moment in prayer and reflection to really look deep within ourselves as we go to our selected places of worship on Sunday to truly decide if we are praising God in fear or in love, for by his/her deeds shall a man/woman be known because we can never run away from ourselves.

Ya running and ya running
And ya running away.
Ya running and ya running
And ya running away.
Ya running and ya running
And ya running away.
Ya running and ya running,
But ya can’t run away from yourself
Can’t run away from yourself -
Can’t run away from yourself -
Can’t run away from yourself -
Can’t run away from yourself -
Can’t run away from yourself.
Ya must have done (must have done),
Somet’in’ wrong (something wrong).
Said: ya must have done (must have done),
Wo! Somet’in’ wrong (something wrong).
Why you can’t find the
Place where you belong?
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away);
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away);
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away);
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away);
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do (running away).
Every man thinketh his
Burden is the heaviest (heaviest).
Every man thinketh his
Burden is the heaviest (heaviest).
Ya still mean it: Who feels it knows it, Lord;
Who feels it knows it, Lord;
Who feels it knows it, Lord;
Who feels it knows it, Lord.
Ya running and ya running
And ya running away.
Ya running and ya running
And ya running away.
Ya running and ya running
And ya running away.
Ya running and ya running
But ya can’t run away from yourself.
Could ya run away from yourself?
Can you run away from yourself?
Can’t run away from yourself!
Can’t run away from yourself!
Yeah-eah-eah-eah – from yourself.
Brr – you must have done somet’in’ -
Somet’in’ – somet’in’ – somet’in’ -
Somet’in’ ya don’t want nobody to know about:
Ya must have, Lord – somet’in’ wrong,
What ya must have done – ya must have done somet’in’ wrong.
Why you can’t find where you belong?
Well, well, well, well, ya running away, heh, no -
Ya running away, ooh, no, no, no,
I’m not (running away), no, don’t say that – don’t say that,
‘Cause (running away) I’m not running away, ooh! (running away)
I’ve got to protect my life, (running away)
And I don’t want to live with no strife. (running away)
It is better to live on the housetop (running away)
Than to live in a house full of confusion. (running away)
So, I made my decision and I left ya; (running away)
Now you comin’ to tell me (running away)
That I’m runnin’ away. (running away)
But it’s not true, (running away)
I am not runnin’ away. (running away)

We are at the point again in Africa -post colonialism- where Africa/Africans seem to be charging forward in a new era of the wind of change that will once again re-brand Africa/Africans not only to the world at large but also amongst Africans. I am a big fan of Franca Sozzani in her bold genuine steps to really be a trailblazer in the publication/fashion world to right international wrongs and to showcase beauty on a global scale, while encouraging and challenging us all to do the same.  I was elated to see Franca in my homeland of Ghana letting the world know that our designers can and are competing on a global scale and I was even more ecstatic to hear that Vogue Italia will be a media sponsor for the upcoming Ghana Fashion and Design Week. This is the sort of Pan-African inclusiveness that has been part of the African story and agenda since independence ; yet seems lost amongst many global Africans.

“It’s not often we build a web article and find the need to tag it with the keywords ‘Ban Ki-moon’ and ‘fashion’. Not that the UN secretary general isn’t stylish enough for us, but on this occasion L’Uomo Vogue has decided to give him the cover slot of their May issue in honour of an entire edition dedicated to ‘rebranding Africa’. Let them explain: “Africa is a land with a myriad of resources and unexpected opportunities; above all it is a young continent with a huge desire for self-affirmation and for men and women to be guaranteed the same measure of dignity. It is a ‘continent in progress’, a land in constant evolution, with an ongoing commitment to offering its people better living conditions,” the editorial team at the Italian men’s branch of Vogue explain in a press release. It continues: “Africa needs to recreate an image for itself that moves away from the picture of war and famine habitually presented to us by the media. And indeed there is a positive side to the continent, one where there are textile companies, oil deposits and modern cities rising up in countries we are as yet unfamiliar with; huge steps forward have been taken in the field of education, which have led to the building of primary schools, high schools and universities.” Who better, goes their thinking, to illustrate a celebration of Africa than Ban Ki-moon, who is interviewed by the magazine’s editor, Franca Sozanni, about the continent’s sustainable growth (the woman on the right is singer Lira, the picture is the other image being floated by L’Uomo Vogue to explemplify what else you can find between its covers)...That they have opted not to put an African person on the cover seems odd. But the image of a man (a very important man, at that) behind a desk, in a suit, the world sitting behind his shoulders, is clearly there to convey a certain seriousness. It will be interesting to see how such an exercise as ‘rebranding Africa’ plays out on the pages of L’Uomo Vogue.” READ MORE

“Africa is in the news — but not just for the sad and familiar reasons of conflict and suffering. The continent is entering the fashion arena, with the quality of its handwork, artistic creativity and its potential for economic growth bringing Africa literally in vogue. The key word for an overall résumé of changes in attitude and perception is “rebranding.” Ms. Sozzani did an “all black” issue for women’s Vogue in 2008, and she has subsequently promoted multiculture with a focus on black creativity and beauty on the magazine’s Web site, Vogue.it . Ms. Sozzani’s personal commitment helps to dispel any idea that rebranding Africa via fashion is a gimmick or that it might sit uncomfortably beside the deep-set issues of poverty, disease and gender. The editor has been appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Fashion4Development — a global campaign that uses fashion-based initiatives to support the United Nations’ wider issues in helping Africa…” READ MORE

“L’Uomo Vogue‘s Rebranding Africa issue is an idea whose time has come,” Fashionista contributor and founder of Africa Style Daily Zandile Blay said. “From fashion to film to politics, the continent is in the midst of a total makeover so Franca Sozzani and L’Uomo Vogue are right to document it. But Blay says that coverage on Africa’s “makeover”–like the kind we’ll see L’Uomo Vogue‘s May issue–is too few and far between. “As an American editor I find it disappointing that only European publications are delving so deeply into the topic,” she said. “Where are the US publications in this global conversation?” Read More

While I believe in the notion of Re-branding Africa and understand that L’Uomo Vogue’s All Africa May/June issue is part of a UN initiative in assistance to help to re-brand Africa to the international community by truly living up to the idea of “free trade” -which more often than not leaves Africa/Africans at a loss with little dividends to show in freedom or trade; I would have preferred to ban Ki-moon from the cover -LOL!  In all seriousness, I would have preferred Ban Ki-moon to be replaced with some of the floating images inside of the special issue of Africans like the AC Milan players and South African singer Lira -who are truly the ones re-branding Africa globally. In all fairness the international world has not enhanced Africa/Africans as much as Africa/Africans have enhanced the world. Ban Ki- moon on the cover is not exactly the type of image of re-branding Africa that many of us Africans like myself have in mind as a re-branded post independence continent.

The wind of change that brought about a plethora of post-colonial independent African nations did not have to seek permission from the international world nor the UN to re-brand itself as free independent post-colonial nations with their own unique and personal African identity that was once heralded the world over with great leaders like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara, Jomo Kenyatta, Sekou Toure, Patrice Lumumba and so many other men and women past and present. We have in the past and continue til today to invite international assistance in our growth, but not in a growth of image that indirectly or overtly implies that Africa/Africans have to be more like the Western world to compete globally and to re-brand its image. The last November 2008 cover of L’Uomo Vogue’s first All Africa issue also made this same mistake by putting Forrest Whitaker on the cover with features of Quincy Jones, John Legend, Matt Damon,  Michelle Obama and others “all expressing their affection for and their personal connection to Africa“.  While this November 2008 issue according to Robin Givhan was to “focus on people, projects and ideas. She did not want to make an aesthetic statement about Africa. So she didn’t fill the magazine with images of Western models in overpriced vaguely ethnic frocks. And unlike a recent issue of India’s Vogue magazine, which sparked outrage among activists and humanitarians, this one won’t show peasants posing with $5,000 handbags. ”Fashion is not only about clothes,” Sozzani says. She broadens it so that it speaks to the vague and all-encompassing notion of identity..” Read More

Unfortunately one of Africa’s biggest problems is this vague all-encompassing notion of identity that usually never takes into account that Africa is a vast continent made up of a plethora of countries with their very own African identities. More often than not we live on the cusp of the two extremes where African faces are shown to represent Africa’s poverty and most things wrong with Africa, while Western faces are shown to represent the growth,progress and what is good about Africa. If it is about African growth, progress, charitable organizations and true free trade of emerging market business-there are Africans on and off the continent who can and should be representative of that firstly to Africans and secondly to the international world. We can speak for ourselves and have our own African images representing ourselves because we have been the ones generation after generation on the frontline of re-branding Africa and showcasing our African identity to the world.

“L’Uomo Vogue‘s May issue delves into a topic rarely explored by fashion magazines: World politics. In fact, the whole issue is dedicated to the “rebranding of Africa”, and features the unlikely cover star of 67-year-old Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the UN….Africa does not need charity,” cover star Ki-moon says. “Africa needs investment and partnership. Joining forces with civil society and private sector, including non-traditional players, like the fashion industry, has become indispensable. Sustainable development is my top priority” Read More

I, in full disclosure must inform that I have yet to receive my copy of this issue to delve deeper into the content beyond the cover; However as much as I congratulate Franca Sozzani on the bold step with the May/June second All Africa issue of L’Uomo Vogue -I still feel we have a long way to go in the international community along with our own African communities world wide in understanding that just as the re-branding issue of once emerging markets like China in its undeniable global growth and appeal at its heights during Kofi Annan’s term as UN Secretary General would have never had Kofi Annan on the cover to represent re-branding of China – Africans like myself would have also preferred to see the image of our own on the cover as our continental representation. The images of a continent/nations says a lot to and about its future!

In my own efforts in representing fashion, beauty and other companies trying to enter the African market, I have found enough difficulty in convincing clients that their westernized blonde and blue eyed/closer to White than Black ideal of beauty in their advertising and marketing strategies can not and should not be translated as representative of entering the African market without any African faces along side of it.  I also have found that there  is still so much miseducation and misconception that Africa can somehow be generalized like China or America, but the worst part of my experience has been in seeing that Africa generally presents itself continentally as a power struggle constantly hindering a lot of growth brought on by our own selves and our lack of being able to do anything on our own without aid and assistance from others because instead of building the right structures and finding African solutions to African problems, we rather spend more time fighting amongst ourselves in a power struggle to be top boss in doing things at our own time and setting self serving timelines in progress, while usually granting multinationals and the international community full and free access to be at the forefront and the face of our leadership and progress because as the saying goes “Everyone wants to be a chief, But nobody wants to be an Indian“?  Generation after generation we seem to be complicit in consuming and outputting the same ol’ same ol’ as we watch our dreams deferred. Africa/Africans need to collectively change our attitudes as Dr. Nkrumah said, in order to stop being complicit in hindering our own growth! We as Africans need to be more diligent and pro-active in setting the example and course for the future of our continent and in making sure the images representing our nations and continent are reflective of our independence stance in Forward Ever, Backward Never!

“In the future as the world of Africa & the West mate more & more into the totality of world culture, the creative strength of the African personality, which is evident in tribal sculpture, will contribute far more profoundly to human fulfillment than can yet be imagined” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah- 1966

“I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me….I made it quite clear that from now on – today – we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must realise that from now on, we are no more a colonial but a free and independent people. But also, as I pointed out, that also entails hard work. That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs. We are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations, that we are prepared to lay our own foundation. Our own African identity…We have won the battle and we again re-dedicate ourselves. Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa….We face neither East Nor West, We Face Forward” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

“Made In Africa”

[INTRO VOICE 1]
Scholars and scientists now conceive that Africa is the first place of mankind
Africans were the first builders of civilization
They discovered mathematics, invented writing, developed sciences
Engineering, medicine, religion, fine arts, and built the Great Pyramids
An architectural achievement which still baffles modern scientists’

[INTRO VOICE 2]
The 225th Emperor [echo] direct descent from Solomon and The Queen of Sheba [echo]
He is the “King of Kings, The Lion of Judah [echo]”
The name Haile Selassie I means “Power of the Trinity”

[Verse 1: Stephen Marley]
Educate yourselves, of Africa
To liberate yourself, Africa
Keep your heads up high
No more will we cry
Eeeeyh

Our history that they stole, Africa
Is written in our souls, Africa
Oldest nation on this earth
Know just what you worth
Well well

Ships that sail to distant places
Robbed us of our rising worlds
History says that you’ve betrayed us
Talking of the Gods you serve
Hear the rambling in the sky
Tears that our fore fathers cry
And today we’re still in chains
Take the shackle from our minds
You’re the corner stone
The king upon the throne

How beautiful are thou, Africa
Our nation have to bow, Africa
Don’t you fall from grace
You’re that secret place
Aye! Aye-ah-aye!

[Verse 2: Wale]
Power to the people, Motherland representa
I’m on trial with the man she my co-defendant
And I demand her attention, can you focus women?
I’m getting closer to the sky errytime I hit it
Haile Selassie I, “Power of the Trinity”
Soul made in naija, my voice made in Italy
White mans world that I’m livin’ in, some say
But it was Africa the continent we all came from
Can’t nothing come between me and you
So before I have seeds gotta understand my roots
Gotta understand the truth. We is all king’s ’round here
Lifes not all fair, work till we fall dead
Paul goin’ hard ’till I urn like a Pall-Bearer
Although my body’s in the U.S my heart’s there
I can never be ashamed of her, I got my features and my name from her
Mama Africa

[Verse 3: Stephen Marley]
The richest place on earth
Know just what your worth

[HARMONIZING WITH MUSIC]
Talking about the God you serve
[HARMONIZING WITH MUSIC]

Keep your heads up high
No more will we cry

They infiltrate our homes, Africa
They claim it as their own, Africa
Now we must stand tall
To break down all these wall-alls
Well well

Our children must be taught, of Africa
The science and the art, Africa
Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nahhh!

Educate yourself, Africa
To liberate yourselves, Africa
Keep your heads up high
No more will we cry

Beautiful are thou, Africa
A legend have to bow, Africa
Oh Oh!

Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)

I was brought to think about my life as an African in the Diaspora a few weeks ago after I had an unvited engagement of words and looks with a Black American woman in a store, much like the restaurant incident scene in the African Booty Scratcher film which reminded me just how much of a Restless City I truly live in- depicted beautifully without the awful pain of the angst in the grittiness of it as poetically told by Nigerian photographer/filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu.

Here I was minding my own business waiting on the line to pay for my tank top; there was a heavy set Black American woman and her friend behind me already going on between themselves about why the man in the store kept looking at them like they were going to steal something. The heavy set woman coughs without covering her mouth and I feel the sprinkle of unwanted sickness in the air behind me. I turn around and gave her the look of  ”really-so you couldn’t just cover your mouth”. She was not pleased with this look and proceeded to loudly tell her friend “Did you see that, did you see what she just did to me” as she went ahead and mimicked my gesture. I turned back to her, looked at her and just shook my head like here we go. She didn’t take well to that either & proceeded to threaten me by saying “keep it up and catch yourself getting a beat down”. I proceeded to shake my head and laugh because she had no clue that she had the wrong woman today and that that big mouth- be the loudest voice in the room -threaten with physical violence- Basketball Wives ratchet style intimidation behavior was in no way going to work with me because as Star Jones’s twitter hashtag to put an end to this type of madness goes #EnoughisEnough. There was no way this woman was going to see that she did anything wrong  and possibly take any personal responsibility for her actions which induced my reaction, and there was no way I was going to allow her to intimidate me into submission even if she is three times my size with a whole lot of mouth.

That day I was going to be David to her Goliath, but with no physical violence in standing my ground in being able to walk into a store and make a purchase without having to be coughed on, intimidated and threatened by another human being just because she felt like it, was having a bad day or hated her life and therefore felt the need to take out her anger and frustration of her situation on me. I proceeded to just ignore her but she had already worked herself up about how I so called disrespected her by not being pleased with her coughing on me, so she went on to be the loudest mouth in the shop saying “these people come into this country from other places and they don’t know how to act”. I wanted to roll on the floor and bust out laughing at the idiocy of her statement under the circumstances, but I looked too damn good and was on my way to meet a friend for dinner so I just turned around laughed coyly and said ” So this is your country?” in a thick Ghanaian accent, which I totally don’t have on a regular basis particularly since I was born in New York but raised in Ghana as a baby; however at the times when these moments call for it, I bring it out proudly in full force since she had already ignorantly put me in the immigrant box without knowing anything about me- I guess based on my “exotic looks” clutching my fierce leather and raffia bag made in Burkina Faso, West Africa- even though technically I was just as American as she thinks she is. This is why I called her a Black American in describing her and not an African-American because obviously she wanted nothing to do with Africa nor did she respect Africa in anyway because to her I was just another immigrant in “her country”. She all of a sudden had nothing to say about my statement on whether this was her country that I was in, but now her friend in an effort to protect her in her foolishness instead of urging her to just squash it as a friend who knows better and is looking out for the best interests of a friend would do- decided she was going to have something to say as well. She looks at me and proceeds to say “oh she thinks she is better than you because you are poor”. Once again I wanted to roll on the floor in laughter of hearing such idiocy that made no sense to me whatsoever since I don’t know how I would know she is poor unless I just chose to stereotype her by her behavior and looks, nor how I would think I am better than her when we were both on the same line waiting to make purchases from the same store. I went on to purchase by item and walked past her as she went out of her way to try to bump me – which I just laughed , shook my head and told her that I hope that made her day because if she took it any further I would have had her immediately arrested.

When you act like an animal, you deserve to be caged no matter your race, gender, socio-economic class, sexual preference etc. because as human beings the one empowering trait we have above animals is our cognitive skills to know right from wrong and to not just act out without thinking about the consequences of our actions-which seems to be lost to many particularly in this day and age of glorified violence/bullying on reality TV- particularly amongst women where there never seems to be any consequences- which is far from reality.

This took me back to many years of my own and many other Africans’ experience in the Diaspora, particularly when it relates to Black Americans and other Blacks in the Diaspora who have this unmitigated low self esteem, lack of self love and respect factor that automatically somehow makes them think Africans and others feel as if we are better than them just because we choose to carry ourselves differently with a type of dignity and self respect that is so called “foreign” to many. The struggle to make it outside of Africa for Africans is often even harder than to make it in Africa, but for most Africans failure is not an option because none of our lives are our own because we build ourselves up to build up our families, villages and nations- As the saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child” and each one of us willingly or unwillingly carries that pride or burden with every move in achievement that we make, so the least of our life problems are thinking that we are better than other Blacks in the Diaspora, but we definitely strive to be better Africans in representing our continent and nations while in the Diaspora as to not be lumped into any negative stereotypes -which we do feel we are better than!

These African filmmakers and actors beautifully and simply tell the stories of everyday life of everyday Africans in the Diaspora caught between the very fine balance of our two worlds that are often as much different as they are the same in many aspects of life, struggle and the constant pursuit of attaining happiness in our  African Dreams.  Please checkout these films and support the Global African film industry that is burgeoning from Africa to the Diaspora.

Directed by Andrew Dosunmu, RESTLESS CITY tells the story of a young man surviving on the fringes of New York City, where music is his passion, life is a hustle, and falling in love is his greatest risk. African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement will release the 2011 Official Sundance Selection in theaters, beginning April 27, 2012.

AFRICAN BOOTY SCRATCHER the short film by Nikyatu Jusu.
Prom nears and things seem to be spiralling out of control for the typically composed ISATU. In this coming of age story,West African tradition conflicts with American idealism and Isatu is forced to reassess her alliances.

Bronx Princess By Yoni Brook and Musa Syeed
Rocky Otoo is the Bronx-bred teenage daughter of Ghanaian parents, and she’s no pushover. She is a sassy high-achiever bound for college. With freedom in sight, Rocky rebels against her mother’s rules. When their relationship reaches a breaking point, Rocky flees to her father, a chief in Ghana. What follows is captured in Bronx Princess, a tumultuous coming-of-age story set in a homeland both familiar and strange. Her precocious — and very American — ideas of a successful, independent life conflict with her father’s traditional African values. Reconciling her dual legacies becomes an unexpected chapter in this unforgettable young woman’s education.

Prince of Broadway is the story of Lucky and Levon, two men whose lives converge in the underbelly of New York’s wholesale fashion district. Lucky, an illegal immigrant from Ghana, makes ends meet by soliciting shoppers on the street with knock-off brand merchandise. Levon, an Armenian-Lebanese immigrant, operates an illegal storefront with a concealed back room where counterfeit goods are showcased to interested shoppers. Lucky’s world is suddenly turned upside down when a child is thrust into his life by a woman who insists the toddler is his son. While Lucky copes with his new domestic dilemma, Levon struggles to save a marriage that is falling apart. The seedy side of the wholesale district is revealed through a journey that continually confronts the interplay between what is fake and what is real.
Set in the shadow of the Flatiron building and soaked in the colorful bustle of Broadway, the film is as much a brutal drama as it is a tender comedy. Shot in a fast-paced guerilla style that is akin to the hustler lifestyle, the film reveals the lives of immigrants in America seeking ideals of family and love, while creating their own knock-off of the American Dream.

SideBar
Interesting discussion of the Uncomfortable Truths

In honor of Ghana’s 55th year of Independence and women’s history month we honor and celebrate the daughters of Yaa Asentwaa- the image makers and global African powerhouses representing the future of the Black Star Nation of Ghana thru their powerfully creative endeavorers. March 6, 1967 Ghana was declared an independent African nation with the first globally recognized Black president who forever changed the global lexicon on what “Black Star Power” and “African Personality” was, is and will be.  Before Dr. Kwame Nkrumah stood at Black Star Square AKA Independence Square – there was Yaa Asantewaa who would forever epitomize why we call the continent with the most natural resources Mama Africa. Yaa Asantewaa showed why many African nations  are built on matriarchy and how the power of the women from village to city has always been there and will forever be there for the birth, nurturing , growth and progression of its future.  America may have Rosie the Riveter as their icon of unstoppable women who refuse to sit back  and be denied or have their freedom be deferred to their men to do right by them in a time of war; the women who gleefully say to their men anything you can do I can do better; however Rosie ain’t got nothing on Yaa.  Women of global Africa and in particular the women of the the Black Star Nation of Ghana will forever have the legacy and battle cry of Yaa Asantewaa empowering them in their sense of spirit and responsibility to building the future of Ghana as they consume & embody these words.

“Now I see that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our king. If it [was] in the brave days of Osei Tutu, Okomfo Anokje, and Opoku Ware, chiefs would not sit down to see their king to be taken away without firing a shot. No European could have dared speak to chiefs of Asante in the way the governor spoke to you this morning. Is it true that the bravery of Asante is no more? I cannot believe it. It cannot be! I must say this: if you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight! We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.” Yaa Asantewaa-Queen King Of Kings…

Today we have great young women of global Africa continuing to build on this legacy, while remembering that Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah said “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa.”

Get to know some of the many women who I call  ”Daughters of Yaa Asantewaa” hailing from the Black Star Nation…The work of Independence Continues……

Politics & Governance

By now most know that Samia Nkrumah has become one of Africa’s new darlings for the future of women in politics. With the polarizing Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the former first lady & founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement out of the running for the 2012 Ghana elections, many have their eyes on Samia Nkrumah to possibly be the first woman elected to Ghana’s presidency, following in the footsteps of her father & Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf & other women presidents around the world in also solidifying her place in the world record books as 1st. With the rise of Samia Nkrumah being elected as MP (member of parliament ) in her father’s hometown & then being named the chairperson for the CPP ( her father’s party ) along with the subsequent departure of Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, who was the CPP’s 2008 presidential candidate as well as the foreseen flag-bearer for 2012, there is now an opening for Samia Nkrumah to surge forward toward her presidential dreams & to follow in her father’s footsteps….READ MORE HERE

By now most people have become familiar with the ICC (International Criminal Court ) in its bias to bring only African heads of states and criminals to justice as representative of the criminality of governance in the world. While the ICC maybe criticized particularly amongst Africans for its apparent bias, today I celebrate one of our own Daughters of Yaa Asantewaa showing that in order to have a say at the table of power , one must first have a seat at the table. Get to Know Judge Akua Kuenyehia….

“Akua Kuenyehia’s office, on the top floor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, is filled with Africa. There are maps of the continent, African art on the walls and a shelf of beautiful African carvings…Judge Kuenyehia, one of three female African judges at the ICC, is first vice-president of the court. And because all the cases currently at the ICC are African, the Ghanaian judge feels that her knowledge of her home continent serves her well…For example, she and her colleagues had to approve the forms that victims of war crimes fill in if they want to take advantage of the court’s unprecedented move to allow them to have a greater involvement in proceedings….”When people run away from conflict they often take nothing with them, so we cannot ask them to produce passports, email addresses or paperwork,” explained Judge Kuenyehia…As well as being first vice president, Judge Kuenyehia is also one of the judges in the pre-trial division, which deals with preliminary issues, including admissibility of cases and the confirmation of charges against an accused. This means she assesses all the evidence that Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo brings against a war crimes suspect, and decides with the other pre-trial judges whether a case should come to trial…A former lecturer in criminal law, gender law and international human rights law at the University of Ghana, Judge Kuenyehia has co-authored several books and influential papers on how law is interpreted and implemented throughout her continent. She told IWPR she has spent many hours arguing over cases with her husband, who is still a practising lawyer in Ghana…She has sought to encourage African women to gain a better understanding of the law, setting up networks of female professionals who go out into communities to promote awareness of legal rights and issues…She represented Ghana on the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW, committee in 2003 and worked hard to contribute to its reputation and influence….READ MORE

Filmmakers

Filmmaking has grasped young Ghanaian women like wildfire in excellence amongst this new generation. There are a plethora of Ghanaian women filmmakers that are making their mark on the global film industry, while being in the forefront of building the African and in particular Ghanaian film industry, so many that I just can’t name them all, but be prepared to know their names because the takeover is coming to a theater/TV screen near you. We can not celebrate the future until we celebrate the past and in filmmaking there is no other woman representative of the Black Star Nation better than Auntie Efua AKA Efua Theodora Sutherland, whose own legacy continues through her charitable organization  Mmofra Foundation- where children and culture connect.

Efua Theodora Sutherland (1924-1996) renowned playwright from Ghana, affectionately called Auntie Efua, entered in the annals of African cinema history in 1967, in association with the production of Araba: The Village Story. The film was produced for the U.S. television network ABC to document the successful Atwia Experimental Community Theatre Project. The initiative is recognized worldwide as a pioneering model for the now popular Theatre for Development. She is well known and admired as dramatist and writer, continuing in her chosen field of drama having never produced another film. Her role as foremother in African cinema, documenting African culture and experiences, is indicative of the practices of many African women. Some women have entered filmmaking as a primary career, while others have used the moving image as a medium of expression in their work. And thus, Efua Sutherland was a devoted and passionate cultural producer whose vision and influence continue to reach far and wide. At the funeral of “Auntie Efua”, Kofi Anyidoho reflected on her life in this way:

“Dr. Efua Theodora Sutherland. ‘Auntie Efua’ is best known for her pioneering work as a cultural visionary and activist, her impact on society at once comprehensive and enduring. Teacher, research scholar, poet, dramatist, and social worker, she devoted her life to the building of models of excellence in culture and education, and to the training of young people who would carry her vision into the far future…” It was also in the final phase of her work that she gave to Ghana and the African world probably her grandest artistic vision for uplifting and reuniting African peoples through the arts—an original proposal for the Pan African Historical Theatre Festival, the Panafest Movement. This final gift underscores the significance she attached to connections between Africa and the Diaspora. She played a very critical role in the establishment of the W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture. She belonged to an extensive global network of friends, many of them eminent creative minds….READ MORE

HERE…NOW… THE FUTURE ……

Amma Asante (born 1969) is a British Ghanaian writer/director/producer who has recently garnered the coveted big budget film project that many filmmakers dream of.  Amma’s first feature film A Way of Life was partly written to honor the Welsh identity of her niece and nephew. It won her a BAFTA (British Academy Film Award) for special achievement by a writer/director in a debut film. According to Amma “I found myself wanting to challenge the stereotypes, and show that people who seem different can be incredibly similar. I wanted to find the humanity that links us all, really. That’s what a good film is all about….” Amma’s second feature film of her career will be “Belle“ based on a true story of Dido Belle ( a mixed raced woman raised as an aristocrat in 18th-century England) projected at a budget of  over 10 million dollars.  Amma Asante is showing herself as a force to be reckoned with not only in the responsibility in educating the world on people like Dido Belle, but also being the manifestation of global filmmakers telling our global African stories all over the world.

“As a child, Asante attended the Barbara Speake stage school in Acton, London, where she trained as a student in dance and drama. She began her film and television career as a child actress, appearing as a regular in the British school drama Grange Hill. She fronted the “Just Say No” campaign of the 1980s and was one of nine Grange Hill children to take it to the Reagan White House. She went on to gain credits in other British television series including Desmond’s (Channel 4) and Birds Of A Feather (BBC1), and was a Children’s Channel presenter for a year. In her late teens, Asante left the world of acting behind and eventually made the move to screenwriting with a development deal from Chrysalis. Two series of the urban drama Brothers and Sisters followed, which Amma wrote and produced for her production company and BBC2. Asante’s 2004 feature film, A Way of Life, was her directorial debut. In November 2004 The London Film Festival awarded Asante the inaugural Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award, created to recognise the achievements of a new or emerging British writer/director who has shown great skill and imagination in bringing originality and verve to film-making. February 2005 saw Amma collect the award for The Times Breakthrough Artist of the Year at The South Bank Show Awards and nominations for Best Newcomer at both the Evening Standard and London Film Critics Awards. At the BAFTA Film Awards in February 2005 Asante received the BAFTA Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a Writer/Director in a debut film…Read More

I recently got to know filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu and found out she was part of  the petite spifires of the Black Star nation much like myself. I was happy to be introduced to her by our ever growing daughters of Yaa Asantewaa sisterhood slowly and steadily erecting globally, after first being introduced to her work “Me Broni Ba” AKA My White Baby-the bane of our colonial lexicon of affection in mental slavery . Akosua tackles a deeply seeded root from Africa to the Diaspora that have told generation after generation of global Africans that somehow being compared to White or Whiteness equates to being beautifully right. Akosua was 1 of 23 filmmakers selected to receive a Creative Capital 2012 grant for her upcoming project Black Sunshine which tackles yet another deeply seeded subject that is often untouchable not only in conversation let alone on full theatrical blast for the world to get in on the conversation of Albinism and the African perspective. As our global creatives continue our legacy, I look forward to having more and more of our stories told in our own voices.

“Akosua Adoma  Owusu is an award-winning filmmaker and artist of Ghanaian descent. A protege of prolific filmmaker, Kevin Jerome Everson, she received her MFA in the Schools of Film & Video and Fine Art at the California Institute of the Arts, and her BA at the University of Virginia. Owusu`s short film “ME BRONI BA” (“My White Baby”) garnered critical acclaim with screenings at over 60 international film festivals including Rotterdam, London Film Festival, Visions du Reel, Silverdocs, and the Cannes Film Festival at Short Film Corner. It was ranked Top 10 in the October Issue of ArtForum Magazine in 2010 and earned several Best Documentary awards, including a Golden Gate Award nomination in New Visions at the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival….Following the success of “ME BRONI BA,” Owusu`s next short work, “DREXCIYA”, was inspired by a myth of the Detroit-based techno band. It was praised at the 2011 Tarifa African Film Festival ‘for its radical nature’ and ‘poetic insight’ and went on to win Best Experimental Film at the Expresion en Corto Film Festival in Guanajuato, Mexico. Shortly after graduating from CalArts, she was the youngest of 42 black conceptual artists included in the group exhibition, 30 Seconds Off an Inch, at the famed Studio Museum in Harlem, where she also exhibited solo video projects. Her videos have shown at art venues including the Museum of Modern Art, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid, the National Gallery of Art, Transformer Gallery, BOZAR, LA Freewaves, Vox Populi, Spaces Gallery, and The Luggage Store Gallery. She was also a featured artist at the 56th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar and a Directing Talent at the Berlinale Talent Campus and the Durban Talent Campus in South Africa….Owusu`s professional experiences include Development and Production internships at Echo Lake Productions and HBO Films. For the latter, she received an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences grant to provide post-production assistance on Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair. She participated on the screening committee and jury of AFI Silverdocs and Festival Des Trois Continents. One of five recipients and the first Ghanaian to receive the award, Owusu will be funded by Focus Features` Africa First Program to direct a short film entitled “KWAKU ANANSE”, an adaptation of a traditional Ghanaian folktale mixed with live action and animation. She is currently developing her first feature, “BLACK SUNSHINE”, about a young albino girl. The film participated in the “Produire au Sud” workshop in 2010 and the Amiens Script and Screenplay Development Fund in 2011. The feature is an international co-production with Owusu’s company, Obibini Pictures, musician Salif Keita, his Salif Keita Foundation, and Arizona Films based in France…. READ MORE

California based Leila Djansi is a rising star amongst Ghanaian filmmakers. With her  often controversial love/ hate relationship with Ghanaian media, it seems Ghanaian audiences just can’t seem to get enough of how beautifully she captures their nation and tells their stories, while bringing an international audience to Ghanaian films by making great choices in casting and telling stories that are relatable to the world. Leila’s films continue to win awards in Ghana and abroad. Sinking Sands was no different winning 3 out of the 9 nominations and her newest release “Ties That Bind” seems to be accumulating the same praises of fine filmmaking starring great global African actors like Kimberly Elise, Ama K. Abebrese and Omotola Ekeinde.

You are among a growing number of African women who have studied filmmaking in the United States. You began your career in Ghana before traversing the Atlantic. What was your experience with cinema growing up in Ghana?

It wasn’t an elaborate experience really because not much was going on then. But, what was ongoing was fun. From where I am now it seems very amateurish but its how I got here. I learned the basics and got myself fortified for where I am now.

What are some of the differences and similarities in working in Ghana and the United States? Do you bring both an US aesthetic and Ghanaian perspective to your work?

Apart from the US working environment being more conducive, really not that much difference. I do try to bring both aesthetics to bear. If you are going to make an appealing film, you must make it within an acceptable standard.

Among your film credits are, I Sing of a Well, Sinking Sands and the soon to be released Ties That Bind. What have been some highlights during the production of the films? How have they been received?

Highlights, they were all fun to make. Tears and Laughter. Money and No money. I Sing of a Well was not well received. Ghana is a very tricky and delicate place. The people’s minds get conditioned and it takes time to add more to what they already know. So from the get with I Sing of a Well, we made mistakes. Casting, budgets and logistics wise, we made grave mistakes. But all that was a learning process which made Sinking Sands a success and more acceptable….READ MORE

Shirley Frimpong-Manso seems to be the go to writer/director/producer amongst established and up and coming Ghanaian actors who want quality work locally that sets the bar higher than your average Nollywood or Ghallywood films. Shirley seems to bring the challenege that many Ghanaian actors need in pulling out academy award nominated and winning roles for some of Ghana’s top actors like Lydia Forson and Jackie Appiah. She is one of the few women filmmakers from Ghana who is making great strides and gaining international recognition while being based solely in Ghana.
“Frimpong-Manso is a founder and CEO of the film, television, and advertising production company Sparrow Productions. Frimpong-Manso “seeks to raise the standard of film production in Ghana and Africa by telling progressive African stories as seen through the eyes of Africans.”She won ‘Best Director’ at the African Movie Academy Awards 2010…. Read More

Sam Kessie, a London born,Ghana raised & now Atlanta residing writer/director/producer/set designer and all around film creator, who has done it all from the bottom up into an award winning filmmaker taking on the daunting & epic task of telling the story of one of Africa’s sports heroes,Azumah Nelson AKA The Professor, can now add 2012 Ghana Music Awards nomination to her accolades for her beautifully crafted video  “No One Knows” by M3NSA featuring Asa. Sam has made it her goal to follow in the footsteps of great women of Ghana like Auntie Efua by also setting up her own charitable foundation The TKAFoundation or (Tomorrow’s Kaleidoscope of Artists) which raises funding in support of the arts along with teaching the freedom in filmmaking to Ghana’s disadvantaged youth.   ….Read More

FASHION

All you have to do is step off the plane at Kotoko airport to know that Ghana is where it’s at for fashion on the continent. I maybe biased but if you don’t believe me ask Franca Sozzani of Italian Vogue. It seems the world is delightfully enthralled with everything African these days and nowhere is the demand and elation of endless satiation more felt than what is being called the new renaissance of African fashion. For decades the grand dame of New York fashion week’s front rows, Zelda Kaplan had been wearing and telling everyone about her insatiable love and passion for African fashion, or as she tells it  ”Primitive Cultures”. This year in the most dramatic fashion forward of ways Zelda died sitting in her front row seat adorned in her beautiful primitive fashion without the show even stopping. Well Ms. Zelda,may the notion of “Africa as primitive culture” get laid to rest with you in fashion’s past because today’s African fashion innovators are far from primitive and have been steadily challenging the many preconceived and adopted notions about what African fashion is all about. There are countless male and female fashion designers doing the damn thing globally while raising the Black Star flag, but here a just a few of Yaa Asantewaa’s daughters of fashion that you should get to know.

Mimi Plange to me is the budding female version of Oswald Boateng, representing Ghana on a global high end level without utilizing the expected fabrications and stylings of what is traditionally seen as Ghanaian or African, yet making everyone proud from Ghana to the Diaspora in knowing that their brands represent the best in quality globally . Mimi is slowly and steadily becoming the new young talent that is the toast of the town amongst fashion elites like Andre Leon Talley, whom she counts as a mentor along with collaborating with the Sex and the City’s fashion god of sexy to die for footwear (until the red bottom takeover), Manolo Blahnik.

“With a mother who modeled for Ghanaian magazine Drum, Accra-born Mimi Plange has loved fashion from an early age, sketching under the guidance of an architect uncle. She learned the trade as a freelance contractor, first as a women’s designer at Rachel Roy. For her fall/winter collection under the label Boudoir d’Huitres, the designer presented 28 looks inspired by her homeland in a loft-like space with a sense of professionalism and a keen eye for editing…Her fourth collection shows just how adept she is at finessing her ideas into shapes geared to an upscale consumer who wants to dress in a variety of ways—she’s no Jane One-Note. She took the idea of African scarification to come up with the zigzag concepts on simple white sheaths, as well as for her cool biker trousers in luxe leather teamed up with a camel-hair T-shirt. She has a refined sense of fabric and mixes the rich copper tones of the African plains in wonderful little dry wool slip-like dinner dresses, some falling from jeweled halters, and others draped origami-style in bustiers that are flattering, not just a design conceit…READ MORE

Christie Brown is the go to designer at home in Ghana where she too brings Haute Couture to the home grown fashion in crowd by utilizing traditional fabrications with untraditional structuring of beautiful fashion creations. With a newly opened boutique in the hot shopping district of Osu,where foreign currency is king- Christie Brown will be sure to draw in her fair share of locals and visitors looking for top quality high fashion with dollars, pounds, euros and cedis to spare.

“Aisha Obuobi – creative director and founding partner of Christie Brown Ltd – began her love affair with fashion at an early age. Her grandmother, who the brand is named after, was a seamstress so she grew up watching Ms. Christie Brown, stooped over a sewing machine, creating beautiful clothes…like pieces of art – out of rich, vibrant materials. As a little girl, she reveled in playing with shreds of African print material and designed mini collections for her favourite dolls…Aisha started this label whilst in her final year at the University of Ghana, Legon, where she majored in Psychology and she is driven by the desire to create beautiful pieces that will enhance the natural beauty in Christie Brown’s clients. In 2009, Aisha won the highly coveted “Emerging Designer of the Year” award at the inaugural Arise Fashion Week, in South Africa. She was invited to sit on a panel at the African Economic Forum, which took place at Columbia University, New York, and Marie Claire (international) featured Aisha as one of twenty-one “Daring Women of 2010″, noting the “the energy, the courage, the creativity,” and “the drive” behind her work.…” Read More

As far as fashion journalism goes there is no other than Ghana’s own Zandile Blay. I first met Zandile during the time when she used to curate networking events for fashionistas while complaining about having to travel to London again for a lengthy period for work and study- poor thing-LOL! Those days have come and gone with stints at Paper Magazine and Huffington Post, but Zandile has continued to establish herself in the cutthroat world of global fashion journalists while still steadily letting the world know about all things beautiful that Africa has to offer thru her labor of love Africa Style Daily. Zandile while writing about the world of global fashion has also been the subject of many writers who also celebrate her “it girl” fashion sensibilities. Zandile recently penned a New York fashion week story letting Huffington Post readers know about the African fashion invasion that is slowly creeping up in the fashion world, ready for its close up!

“From the exuberant sexiness of HVS to the sumptuous elegance of David Tlale to the architectural austerity of Telfar, their labels show an African aesthetic that goes beyond ‘Tribal Prints.’ Yet, that we are even exposed to their aesthetic at all speaks of their greatest triumph: an ability to break into the West despite scarce resources, scant mentorship and few mainstream fashion contacts. In fact with the exception of Plange, who counts Duro Olowu and Andre Leon Talley as mentors, almost none of the designers above can boast of similar connections. In addition, they seem far from being on the radar of career-changing program’s like the CFDA Fund, Ecco Domani Fashion Fund or W Hotels’ recently launched Fashion Next…To solve this, these enterprising African designers are leveraging alternate methods like Twitter and Facebook to gain support and exposure…” READ MORE

Belinda Baidoo is a model, new mom and entrepreneur leading the way with others who are looking to change the face of Ghana’s fashion with upscale styled boutiques sprouting up along the busy international area of Osu in the capital city of Accra. As they say home is where the heart is and Belinda’s love for fashion is being developed at home in Ghana where she began her career as a model. Belinda opened the b2 models agency to give aspiring Ghanaian models the mentorship and opportunity  to blaze their own trails right along her own. Belinda first came on the scene after winning Top Model of Afrique in 1998 & then went on to sign with a Q model management , one of the top agencies in New York-known to many as the global fashion capital of the world. Belinda has been seen on billboards, advertisements in New York’s infamous Times Square along with international fashion magazine spreads and major Ad. Campaigns for international companies such as: Guinness, L’Oreal, Nike, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Motorola. Belinda has also been featured in international publications such as Vogue, Essence and Cosmopolitan, just to name a few. Belinda thru her modeling agency  b2Models continues to mentor & develop Ghana’s international models of the future.

Cultural Curators

The great writing daughters of Yaa Asantewaa like Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and Ayesha Harruna Attah are telling the beautiful stories of the Ghanaian experience in literary form with their books Powder Necklace and Harmattan Rain, while what I call cultural curators of our generation are utilizing multimedia platforms to continue the oral, written and visual history of our global African experience.  There are so many cultural curators amongst the daugthers of Yaa Asantewaa who are finally coming into their own and getting their just due proudly preserving the culture of Ghana/Africa while maintaining the balance of sharing the culture through a global creative lens.

I recently had the pleasure of finally meeting Nana Oforiatta-Ayim on her travel to New York to showcase her work as part of The New Museum’s Triennial entitled “The Ungovernables” – showing until April 22, 2012. Nana was first introduced to me by iconic living legend of photography, James Barnor because of our collective dedication to see the wonderful artistic cultural history of Ghana preserved and well showcased for generations to come. We are now on course to build our global Black Star Collective in honor of Yaa Asantewaa and Dr. Nkrumah by putting Africa first because we know that Africa was the beginning and is the future.

“Nana Oforiatta Ayim is a cultural historian, writer and filmmaker based in Accra and London. She is currently working on a research publication and exhibition for the EU/AU on cultural heritage and contemporary arts institutions in Africa with architect David Adjaye (2011, Bozar, Brussels) and a book on Ghanaian photographer James Barnor (2010, Trolley Books, London). Her writing has appeared in publications such as The National Geographic, The Statesman, The Dubliner and Time Out. She has lectured and presented her scholarship at Universities, including Cambridge, Kumasi, London and Oxford. She has curated exhibitions and events for institutions such as The British Council, The British Museum, The Liverpool Biennial, The Royal Festival Hall and The Victoria and Albert Museum. In her fiction and short films she deals with the themes of translation and the gaps within language. Her first fiction book ‘The Tightrope Walker’ will be published in May 2010. Her films have been nominated for awards at various festivals, such as The Milan African Film Festival, The RAI Ethnographic Film Festival and The Real Life Documentary Film Festival. They have also been shown at venues such as The Museum of African Diaspora and used in university curricula. She is a founding director of ANO, a non-profit organization dedicated to the interface of culture and development in Africa and its Diaspora. She has an MA in African Art History and is completing a PhD in African Languages and Cultures at the University of London...” [Credit:This is My Africa]

I was introduced to Yaba Blay’s documentary (1)ne Drop dealing with the never ending issue of identity politics and colorism amongst Blacks in America before I ever knew it was done by a Ghanaian, then I learned that this Ghanaian professor was young, in touch and will organize the daughters in a quick New York City minute if  and when ever she sees our young girls and boys being disrespected  and led astray by the likes of those in and outside of our community.  Yaba Blay and other non-Ghanaian daughters of Yaa Asantewaa created  ”We Are the 44% ” coalition to bring much needed awareness to violence against young Black and Latina girls.  Blay does not only act from the heart of a mother at these times but also from the power of the legacy of Yaa Asantewaa fully locked & loaded to defend and protect the culture.

“Yaba Amgborale Blay is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at Lafayette College where she also teaches courses in Women’s & Gender Studies. She received a BA in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Salisbury State University, an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from the University of New Orleans, an M.A. and Ph.D. in African American Studies and Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from Temple University. Prior to her tenure at Lafayette College, she taught African American Studies at Temple University, African and African Diasporan Studies at Florida International University, and Africana Studies at Lehigh University. Professor Blay has developed and taught such courses as Engendering Black Popular Culture, the Politics of Hip Hop Culture, Black Images in the Media, Dimensions of Racism, and Black Feminisms….”Yaba’s research interests are related to Africana cultural aesthetics and aesthetic practices, the politics of embodiment and African/Black identities, issues of gender in Africa and the Diaspora, Black popular culture, and critical media literacy. Her dissertation, Yellow Fever: Skin Bleaching and the Politics of Skin Color in Ghana, relies upon African-centered and African feminist methodologies to investigate the social practice of skin bleaching in Ghana….” READ MORE

As a a long time fan of WBAI, it’s always great to hear a Ghanaian voice even if it comes in a British accent-LOL! Esther Armah is not only a sweet in the morning radio voice but also a writer whose first book “Can I Be Me” -a collection of essays about her travels as a journalist navigating her Black British identity across Africa & America- hit the top 10 list for best selling books for January and February on the website African American Literature Book Club dedicated to books by and about global Africans/Black people.

“Esther Armah is a radio & tv host, playwright and award-winning international journalist. In New York, she hosts Wake Up Call, WBAI 99.5FM’s morning show and is a regular commentator and guest host on GRITtv with Laura Flanders  and MNN’s Ancestor House with Camille Yarbrough. Esther has written extensively on African Diaspora issues for The Guardian in London, Essencemagazine in the US and West Africa magazine in Africa and Europe. The themes of her written work are reflected in the issues portrayed  in Armah’s four New York stage plays,  Can I Be Me? Forgive Me? Entitled! and SAVIOUR? Esther is the creator and moderator of ‘Afrolicious: an Emotional Justice Arts and Conversation’ series in New York. A global citizen, she now lives in Brooklyn, New York…(Source Here)

PHILANTHROPISTS

To say June Sarpong is a trailblazer is to say the least about her many accomplishments. This young icon of British television has become one of the best known Ghanaian philanthropist with honours from Buckingham Palace as an ambassador of  the Prince’s Trust along with being a Co-Founder with her fellow Bristish Ghanaian and former Hollywood executive Dee Poku of W.I.E (Women: Inspiration and Enterprise) – an organization that empowers and inspires women through its websites, symposiums and community.

“This month’s profile is a TV/radio personality who was at the forefront of urban youth TV programmes during my teenage years.  In era where “dark skin” women were not shown much love on TV she was a pioneer of the “young black female presenter”, here’s her story; Sarpong was born in London to Ghanaian parents. She was educated at Connaught Girls School in Leytonstone and Sir George Monoux College in Walthamstow. She began her media career with Kiss 100 and later became an MTV UK & Ireland presenter (MTV Dance Floor Chart and MTV Select show). As the one of the female faces of Channel 4’s Sunday morning strand T4 for the last nine years, she interviewed Tony Blair for a T4 special, When Tony Met June which aired in January 2005. She also runs her own production company, Lipgloss Productions. Projects in development include a sitcom and a programme on climate change…In recent years, Sarpong has presented other series including Your Face Or Mine?, a game show co-hosted with Jimmy Carr for E4; Dirty Laundry, an urban talk-show which was an original idea of Sarpong’s; Playing It Straight, a dating game-show filmed in Mexico for Channel 4, and Sarpong has presented the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party and the Party In The Park. Sarpong is a regular at the MOBO Awards and has presented them for three years in a row. She has also appeared on BBC Television’s Question Time, 8 out of 10 Cats, and Have I got news for you. She also has appeared on the programme, Never mind the buzzcocks and introduced reports on youth culture for This Week. In 2006 she hosted ITV2′s WAGs Boutique. Sarpong has also appeared on the third series of Bo Selecta…)…Sarpong is an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust and also campaigns for the Make Poverty History movement. In April 2005 she visited Ghana to make a film for Make Poverty History. She also hosted the major Make Poverty History event in London’s Trafalgar Square in summer 2005 on behalf of Nelson Mandela and Bob Geldof. Also On 7 July 2007 Sarpong presented at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London…Probably her most significant honour to date came at the age of twenty nine and after six years as a broadcaster, she was awarded an MBE in the 2007 New Year Honours List for “services to broadcasting and charity”…. READ MORE

Nana Eyeson-Akiwowo while building her career in editorial positions at globally known publications like Seventeen and Essence, established her charitable organization African Health Now to make sure that global Africans without money and insurance would be able to have basic healthcare after the personal experience of her father suffering a heart attack in Ghana catapulted her to seek to make a difference for others who are less fortunate financially but just as deserving of proper healthcare. Nana’s annual healthcare drives in Ghana where she comes as mother Christmas, fundraising and organizing Ghanaians to come together to take care of the basic healthcare needs of our communities has now been expanded to include the diaspora with an ever growing number of global Africans unable to receive basic healthcare because of lack of insurance and money.

“In 2006 my father suffered a heart attack in a taxi cab after leaving the hospital and being treated for numbness in the leg. Considering that at my father’s age at the time he was 68, any US hospital would have automatically checked his heart and other vitals especially if he came in for numbness in the leg or any lack of mobility of the leg or arms. However that is not the case in Ghana, at most hospitals you could barely get to see a doctor let alone have someone run your vitals. And though we were fortunate enough to have the means to get him better care, it made me wonder what happens to people who don’t have the means. And who speaks for them? ” READ MORE

Rebekah Frimpong -Filmmaker/Poet/Mentor/Activist and Philanthropist has manifested her words “Revolution over loot! Africa must be free in our hearts, Africa is our home only we can change the landscape of tomorrow”, as she works tirelessly to keep her dreams of being a great filmmaker alive while helping others manifest their dreams through her philanthropic work  with her Mama Africa charitable program. Rebekah is constantly on the move in creativity with all her heart and soul poured into project after project regardless of the obstacles and challenges put in her way as a filmmaker and philanthropist.

“Rebekah A. Ofori-Frimpong was a Miss Ghana Africa USA 2010/11 finalist in the Miss Africa USA 2010/11 Pageant , she is also a mentor, teacher, filmmaker, and activist.  As a Miss Ghana USA 2010/11 finalist, she pushed for a platform of Global Health for Africa and for Africans living in the United States.  She believes that a new face of African health is possible by encouraging African people to empower themselves through healthy lifestyles.  Her approach to Global Health and presenting a new face of African health is to connect communities in the United States and Africa through a three tier approach that will encompass social, environmental, and preventative measures in relation to improving health conditions worldwide.  She attributes her success to her mother and the many strong women in her life.  She has studied Public Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and has a pre-med degree in psychology and life science from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has had many years of experience in clinical research, education, women’s health, and environmental studies.  She developed MaMa Africa concept four years ago after working with teenage mothers in Virginia.  The MaMa Africa program, Rebekah hopes will be something that can be implemented around the world and she aims to reach at least 1, 000 mothers by 2012…” READ  MORE

Menaye Donkor Muntari- former Miss Universe Ghana 2003, Model, Actress, Philanthropist prides herself in being an image role model for young girls, particularly young global African girls, by promoting a healthy body image that comes with self love and confidence. Menaye’s modeling career and editorial credits span from Africa to Europe and America including being the only African woman featured in Fox Sports sexiest World Cup WAGs (Football wives & girlfriends) in 2010 along with a feature in Maxim Magazine’s Italian edition ,just to name a few. Menaye has an ongoing health & fitness blog with OK! Magazine’s Famously Fit and will be a guest judge on the African based Project Runway styled show entitled “Fashion Power” shooting in Ghana & Nigeria. Menaye is not only a beautiful model, but also a great philanthropist who recently commissioned an ICT center at her namesake charity school for boys and girls in Ghana. Menaye has been a great role model for young girls in Ghana with her push for education, AIDS awareness and her upcoming new fashion based shows making the dreams of young fashion designers and fashionistas from Ghana come true with an opportunity for mentorship and to promote their designs internationally. The Menaye International School in the central region of Ghana offers free education to over 150 underprivileged children and she continues to build a brighter future for Ghana one child at a time.

MUSIC IS A WEAPON

The daughters of Yaa Asantewaa have taken over the music world in the craziest of ways from opera, to rap, to R& B, to dance, to hip-hop, to pop and all sorts of mixtures and inflections brought together thru their global African experiences. These women know the power of music and they use it as a weapon to tell our global African stories while debunking the myth of a singular African sound. There are so many greats musically coming out of this generation but here are  a few of the ones to watch.

Born in Battersea to Ghanaian parents, Tawiah’s soulful rock melodies with gospel inflections compliment her quirky rainbow child punk rock fashion stylethat is very much her own. One can clearly hear & see the culmination in adaption of her personal influences which she touts as Kim Burrell, Björk, Radiohead, Erykah Badu & Ella Fitzgerald as her musical favorites & Vivenne Westwood as her fashion favorite. Tawiah comes to us from the Brit School peforming academy in London,which boasts recent success stories like Amy Winehouse, Adele & Leona Lewis. Tawiah’s short resume in music is impressive as she has rocked the stage singing backup for Corinne Bailey Rae & touring with uber producer Mark Ronson’s band. Taiwah recently inked a deal with Warner Music Group & is ready to take the world by storm as yet another child of the Black Star nation who will meet a meteoric rise to fame!

Vienna-born and raised, with parents from Ghana, Anbuley is a vocalist with presence and a style that sticks in the mind. She’s also got an unerring sensibility when it comes to drawing on those roots of hers to make inspired dance music…’The singer started out adding her resonant voice to some deep, Africa-inspired bass tracks with producers like Bert on Beats and Ku Bo. If you heard those, you remember them. Last year, she put out her equally memorable Tsakemo EP, followed by the Kemo’ Yoo Keke EP on Austria’s Seayou Records.The cuts mix the stunning efficiency of Euro dance with the organic power of the traditional music Anbuley grew up with. A lot of that power is channeled through her voice. And it sounds even more heavy when you know “Kemo’ Yoo Keke” is about not letting people push you around….” READ MORE

While American Hip-Hop connoisseurs debate over whether the Australian import and newly signed artist on T.I.’s Grand Hustle label, Iggy Azalea, or the toast of European fashion couture houses and Harlem stunner Azealia Banks are the two to watch in the new renaissance of female MC’s to give the reigning queen Nicki Minaj a run for her money and talent; the other side of the atlantic is toasting Ghana’s own dominating female MC and Queen of Azonto, Tiffany, who will be making her US debut at Ghana’s 55th Independence Concert on March 17th, 2012 at the Armenia Hall Ballroom produced by Boogie Down Nima Productions.

Rhian Benson Born in Accra, and raised in Wales, Ghana and India, Rhian grew up in a very musical environment. Her Welsh mother was an accomplished singer, and her father, an Ashanti naval officer, is a gifted guitarist. Rhian started playing piano at the age of nine and picked up guitar soon after and before long, a budding singer songwriter. Behind the warm honeyed voice is a sharp mind, Rhian gained an economics degree at the London School of Economics and worked in banking in the City for a time, a somewhat stark contrast to her own desires for a life in music. Her studies continued at Harvard in America, until her mother fell ill and Rhian returned home to care for her ailing mother. With time to think she found healing and release in music and decided to chase her singing dreams, feeling as though it was a risk worth taking in order to dance her heart’s dreams into life. With the help of Danish rising star production duo, Daniel Fridell and Jonas Rendbo, Rhian has diligently and lovingly cooked up the ingredients for her new album title ‘Hands Clean’ to be released in early 2011. HANDS CLEAN is a refreshing departure from Rhian’s previous work. Rhian’s well known sultry vibes are teamed with a collection of pulsating electronic grooves to introduce her fans to a hidden ground where Sade meets DJ Shadow. This is a bold album that dares to redefine modern soul music. Rhian has been nurturing her expressive style and is looking forward to showing the world more of her exquisite soulful sound. Everything about this album has been organic and refreshing, and Rhian is quoted as saying: “I met Jonas and Daniel for a brief writing session in Copenhagen a while ago and we just hit it off immediately, the guys were so passionate about creating truthful music that speaks from the soul to the soul. They instantly understood the sound and feel I was looking for… so I asked them to produce the entire album with me and I thank God they said yes!’ Rhian’s sophomore album -‘Hands Clean’- represents a strong evolution of her unique style and ventures into fresh and bold sonic terrain for the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter. These confessional tales of love and life represent a new direction for this singular artist as she journeys beyond the ‘Gold Coast’. “I experienced great change in my life since writing my first album so when I began writing ‘Hands Clean’ all I wanted to do was create a sound that in some way captured that state of flux”. READ MORE

As far as an authetic soul sound of Ghana goes there is no other than the reigning queen Rebecca Acheampong, AKA Becca, who has taken Ghana and Africa at large by storm with powerful music celebrating positivity, womanhood and sisterhood.  The glowing beauty of Becca shines as bright as a black star on a clear moonlit night when she calls us to Push and bring the Fire of  an African woman.

“Becca, the latest sensation in Ghana Music. The beautiful, simple and young looking 22 year old lady, an old student of Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast and Croydon College in London where she attained her certificate in Child Care and Education is back to her motherland Ghana to prove what she is made of…”. READ MORE

And Then there’s the incomparable Ghanaian Hungarian who goes by the name Sena. Sena is amongst the many European daughters of Yaa who are taking over the world of truly global music with versatility and their pulse firmly placed in their African foundation, such as  German Ghanaian songstress Y’akoto . To say the world needs a bit of Sena Dagadu in their life is truly an understatement because Sena’s effortlessly powerful voice resonates within the soul with that sort of soothing satiation that makes one remember why music is as essential to life as water and should be cherished in pure love. Yes I am a big fan of Sena, whether she is lending her voice to the reggae rhythms of her band Irie Maffia, taking us through the journey of global Jazz’s soul with Forward Ever or Barabas Lorinc Eklektric, FOKN’ around with the Bois in Ghana and Budapest or blowing our minds with another unexpected solo project that introduces us to a new sound in how we hear Shakespeare’s sonnets. Sena is the truth, fully representing for Hungary and the Black Star Nation of Ghana as a musical daughter who would make Yaa Asantewaa proud as she takes over the world with her electrifying sound. Now sit back and enjoy a truly independent global Black Star experience!

“The Future of Ghana is Bright …provided our leaders will make good use of financial resources…I believe that Ghana can do much better by investing in its people. I think that if you don’t provide education and training at all levels, we will miss that boat because Paradise is right here in Ghana. I believe it…I think we have a great Ghana but we have more to go but we have all the pieces in place to polish up into a wonderful place…God put us at the center of the universe for a reason. We are the shining bright start of Africa and I think Ghana is coming into its own…I also believe that Ghanians this year have taken a whole new appreciation for Ghana, but at the bottom of it is we need to work out our economics because at the end of the day it boils down to our economic strength apart from our spiritual strength. We’re thru with poverty, we’re thru with being highly indebted anything, we’re thru… I think we are going to a new place, completely new and it will have nothing to do with the spirit of poverty because there’s a spiritual awakening also happening right now in Ghana and that awakening is also identifying what that spirit of poverty looks like and we will have nothing to do with it. I think 10 years from now if we should have this interview again , we’ll be telling a different story…”

“I want to see a time when the children of Africa will not have a need to go overseas to make it..” Princess Asie Ocansey- CEO Neko Tech Centre -Daughters of Yaa Asantewaa

Photo Credit HERE

2008 was the year, the full circle year of transition played out in the fantastic realities of my life & the sports teams of the two nations of my birth &  foundation. After being “off the cuffly” told by one too many fashion clients that I had been working with -some for over a decade plus- that putting Black models in their advertising campaigns would somehow put them in the “Urban” AKA “Black/hip-hop fashion” category & devalue their contemporary, designer & luxury brand categories; I decided to walk away from being complicit in the devaluing of who & what I represented to the fashion industry, to the world &  to those clients who came to me for my global fusion approach in building their brands because it became very clear that they saw worth in the images who looked like me only when it was attached to celebrity.

This was the period when layoffs started & global recessions started being talked about around the world. This was a time when both Ghana & the U.S.A were about to go through major political transitions. In Ghana there was the NPP & the NDC; while in America there were the Republicans & Democrats pulling all stops to victory. In both Ghana & the USA -there was no incumbent president running for re-election in either of two parties- in our so called multi-party Democratic systems. The incumbent outgoing President Kufour, who had turned the Ghanaian economy around with a focus on foreign investments in Ghana, convinced by his western education that building wealth from the top would eventually trickle down to the majority at the bottom-AKA “the embodiment of Capitalistic Democracy “, hoped to pass the torch to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his former Minister of Foreign Affairs & Attorney General. Nana Akufo-Addo, who President Kufour was hoping would continue what he had started, lost the 2008 elections by a close margin because more Ghanaians than not saw him as the child of  a G.W. Bush like presidential legacy- fully wrapped in elitism, a sense of entitlement & serving the needs of the rich with very little vision or concern for the poor. In America, a little known senator from Illinois named Barack Hussein Obama joined the race for the Democratic nomination to take back the White House after the test run with the people proclaimed 1st Black president made the way for the first historically proclaimed first Black President of the United States of America who fought to the end to win the costliest election America had ever seen.

“The 2008 campaign was the costliest in history, with a record-shattering $5.3 billion in spending by candidates, political parties and interest groups on the congressional and presidential races…” Read More

Football & accomplishing dreams was all I could think about as I stepped foot back on Ghanaian soil in January 2008 after close to 8 years of absence. This was just a few months before those historical elections: one that showed an African nation could put on a democratic election & hand over power with little to no blood shed  in defying the stereotypes of African despots, fraudulent elections needing foreign overseers & nations constantly at the verge of civil war with every election, & another election across the Atlantic that ushered in a milestone historical moment where the world thought that America had somehow stepped into a post-racial era that had made amends with the shame & pain of the ties that bind us from the shores of Africa thru the middle passage & arrival into America, by electing Barack Hussein Obama -the seed, heir & embodiment of America’s most racially polarizing taboo -a White American woman having a child by an African man.  These two elections ushered in the promise of what was to be a great year of hope, change & many more milestones to be had for many including myself in physical form & metaphorically.

I embarked on a new business venture combining my skills from America- my birth nation, & my love for Ghana- the nation that raised me & set my foundation in life. I went to document what had become of the Black Star Nation of Ghana 50 years after independence during the first Africa Cup of Nations held in Ghana after 8 years. The nation was a buzz with excitement brightly colored in red, gold & green with black stars shining. This was to be the year when Ghana would reign supreme again in taking back the Africa Cup after a stellar showing as the last Africans standing at the world cup  of 2006.  The Black Star team was fully loaded with heavy weight international players like captain Stephen Appiah, Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, Laryea Kingston, Richard Kingson, John Mensah, John Pantsil, André Ayew, Asmaoh Gyan & a return of a native son Junior Agogo -who became a fan favorite with superb goals & a beautiful adonis physique to match that of the warrior kings of the Black Star Nation.

The most anticipated game of the cup came on February 3rd as forever rivals Ghana & Nigeria went into battle with Ghana coming out victorious. That same night of jubilant raucous celebration got even crazier as my New York crew & I stepped into “The Office”- now known as “Rockstone’s Office”  after being bought by the grandpapa of hip-life Reggie Rockstone. In the midst of the Ghana victory celebration, we convinced them to put on the super bowl being played that same night as our New York Giants went up against forever rivals New England Patriots ringing in yet another victory for my New York Ghanaian ass to believe that this was truly going to be a year wrapped in victory for me on so many levels in everything I loved. Well those dreams began to fall apart as Ghana went on to take third place with the ultimate victory at the Africa Cup of Nations going to Egypt. I had never witnessed how powerful a football match could be to an African nation until I literally saw the raucous hustle & bustling nation of Ghana go into complete silence & darkness after the dreams of a Black Star victory on native land was shattered. Dreams of what was to come continued to fall apart after Plaxico Burress, the celebrated honrary MVP who clinched the Giants win in catching quarterback & game MVP, Payton Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds remaining became the pariah of New York & Mayor Bloomberg’s personal vendetta in his no tolerance policy for illegal guns in New York after accidently shooting himself in a night club that  November which ended his career with the Giants & earned him a two year bid in jail.

Slowly but surely that year saw more highs with greater lows in victories & dreams of what could be fall apart after the much celebrated elections in Ghana & America proved to be lackluster & borderline abominable in truly moving the two nations forward  in hope & change economically & progressive peaceful relations between citizens of both nations; mirroring my own shattered dreams economically & many personal relationships which slowly also fell apart when I finally began to realize that many may want to ride with you during the highs of the victory, but are quick to find their way out during the lows of things falling apart.

Well 2012 has brought a new light in the awakening of dreams & reality, along with a new spring in my step in hope & recognizing the growth & bloom of those dreams that were planted in 2008 in my personal life, a new election year with most of the same players in Ghana & the USA & of course FOOTBALL- with my Black Stars being favored to take the Africa Cup of Nations after once again making history in being the last African team standing in the 2010 World Cup along with my New York Giants who are once again in a super bowl match up with our forever rivals the New England Patriots. To say that I am nervous in my superstition from the effects & affects of the occurrences in 2008 to the present is to put it mildly, but I am surely as excited today about the possibilities of new beginnings, victories  & dreams realized for myself & my two nations as I was back in 2008 when I took the ultimate leap of faith in determining my own destiny.

As the great Langston Hughes said ,” Hold fast to dreams,for if dreams die,life is a broke winged bird that cannot fly“!

February 1st will be the final group match for the Black Stars against Guinea in domination of their group play to get them closer to the ultimate victory in taking home the cup & Sunday marks Super Bowl 46 as New York, New York shows just why we are Giants & so fly that they had to name us twice! I will be in full beast mode supporting my Black Stars & Giants to victory because in someway their victories for the ultimate prize have become metaphors in mirroring the victories over my own dreams.

“There is a new buzz of life at the centre of the earth. The performance of the Black Stars in the 28^th Orange African Cup of nations has given the average Ghanaian something to be proud of. On Saturday night, the referee’s final whistle, bringing the Black Stars’ match with Mali to an end in Franceville, in oil-rich Gabon, was greeted by a spontaneous bout of joy in Accra and other cities, towns, and villages in Ghana, where the colonial flag was first lowered in Black Africa in the wee hours of March 6, 1957…The Black Stars, the famed national team of Ghana, named specifically to reflect the aspirations of the black race, had accounted for the tough customers in the Eagles of Mali, in one of the most uncompromising second round matches of the on-going African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea…For Ghanaians, who have had nothing to cheer about the economy worsened by price hikes in petroleum products, the 2-0 victory recorded with two of the most clinical finishing in association football, was celebrated wildly into the night...Football, it has long been established, is the passion of the nation. The Black Stars 2-0 victory over the audacious national team of Mali was milked in a manner that suggested that the team and their handlers would attain folklore status, should they succeed in their endeavour to bring the continental trophy home to register Ghana’s fifth win in the African championship.” READ MORE

The story of being caught between two nations with the heart always moving toward the foundation is also a story that is being told not only in my life, but also in the life of  New York Giant, Mathias Kiwanuka. Many may never understand the passion in a dream when the victory is not yours alone, but also for the people of two nations who have poured everything into your birth & foundation to make those dreams come to fruition. As we celebrate the first day of Black History Month, which is usually focused on African-American history, those of us like Mathias Kiwanuka & I can never forget that our Black history represents & pays homage to the ties that bind us from both sides of the Atlantic.

“Mathias Kiwanuka says he does not remember how old he was when he first found out his grandfather had been assassinated. He struggles to remember the point at which he realized the true meaning of his own last name. He is not certain when he became aware of his family’s importance in African history. But that is not important, Kiwanuka said recently, because he knows now. He read about his grandfather Benedicto Kiwanuka’s becoming the first prime minister of Uganda and heard about the plight forced upon a man trying to mold freedom out of a society stiffened by chaos. He learned about the pain and suffering Benedicto saw and felt. And so he knows, too, about Benedicto’s being killed by the despot Idi Amin, a death foretold by some, dreaded by many and seen by experts as a development that set back progress in East Africa for years. This week, as the Giants prepare to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, Mathias Kiwanuka will be the subject of countless articles and interviews. The reason is obvious: This is his return home. Kiwanuka, now a linebacker for the Giants, was born in Indianapolis. He went to Cathedral High School, a little more than 10 miles from Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be played Sunday. He won two state championships. Everyone will want to tell his story, whether it is about his old high school days or how he ended up at Boston College. But Kiwanuka also knows that there is something greater than a birthplace, something more meaningful than the city where a boy learns to read and write and block and tackle. Indianapolis may be his hometown, Kiwanuka said, but Uganda will always be his homeland. That is why, one day last week after Kiwanuka had answered a barrage of questions about the old days in Indianapolis, he stopped for a moment by a doorway to the Giants’ training center and considered how much being Ugandan could possibly resonate with a kid who grew up in Indiana. “How much does Uganda mean to me?” he said, his eyes wide. “It means everything.” Read More

For the remaining players of the Black Star team of 2008, this victory also means everything for their nation & their teammates who missed the chance of victory with them in 2008 & have subsequently retired  from the national team voluntarily or due to injury. For many of the veteran players from the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations team, this victory may also be their last chance in realizing the dream that they promised their nation & themselves in leaving a new legacy for the future Black Stars to speak of years down the line as they speak of the greats like Tony Yeboah &  Abedi Pele -whose sons continue the family legacy as rising stars in Ghana’s current Black Star team.  Ghana had a brief dominance of the game in the 1960’s when in 1963 Ghana made its first appearance at the Cup along with being honored as the host nation of the cup with back to back championships.

Here’s to Willing My Giants to Repeat The Glory of 2008’s Victory!

As we prepare for the elections that will once again be a defining moment for my two nations -here’s a look at what was.

No Matter Where We Maybe In The World …Home Is Never Too Far Away

Black Star Rising from globalfusion on Vimeo.

With all things Africa being the “new black” in global fashion, once again Vogue Italia’s Editor in Cheif, Franca Sozzani dared to do what her counterparts Black, White or other alike do not do. Franca Sozzani recently took an explorational mentoring tour of Africa to see for herself what the buzz about the so called “New African Fashion” was all about, so she can hopefully represent it properly &  in its authentic full spectrum outside of European & American embellishment & aesthetic. As much as many Black publications in America & Europe give lip service to the lack of  Black inclusion in publications like Vogue, where are they in seeking out & mentoring global African design talents who would love the opportunity to learn from & be showcased in their publications just as much as Vogue. For 2012 I hope we look deeper into the goings on & dealings of our own houses & try to do better by ourselves as much as we complain about what others don’t do. Say what you will, but know when to give credit where it is due & in this case Franca Sozzani has come to resurrect an economically forward moving ideal of Pan-Africanism, where it is less about shared pigmentation & more about a shared mindset toward Africa’s global fusion.  Grazie a voi vi applaudire Franca for once again doing what others only talk about!

“When Franca Sozzani, editor of Vogue Italia, visited the Huffington Post offices last month she revealed that her proudest professional moment was publishing the “Black Issue,” which helped promote diversity in the fashion industry. Well, she continued that campaign with a trip to the African country of Ghana to mentor a group of designers from the WEB-Young Designers Hub. “You have lots of potential in this country. During my stay in Africa, I visited Togo and Nigeria but it was only here in Ghana I noted an authentic sense of fashion. In designing your creations, make sure that they feature not only references to Ghanaian culture but also have an international appeal so that your garments can also be successful also abroad.” READ MORE

“In Accra Franca Sozzani met both with Kofi Ansah, a young designer from Ghana and the young talents of The WEB-Young Designers Hub, an association of local young fashion designers who hosted a runway show of their collections in her honour…” READ MORE

For many fashionistas the name Kofi Ansah maybe unfamiliar, but for those of us who are true connoisseurs of progressive avant-garde haute couture style African fashion, Kofi Ansah represents the creme de la creme of modern day icons in traditionally inspired global fashion. His global resume is long- from working with Guy Laroche in Paris & Cecil Gee in London, he has had well over 20 years building his signature aesthetic in Europe before returning to Ghana to rejuvenate & rebuild its fashion industry to become a global contender.

Kofi Ansah is by far the go to designer in Ghana who has been lauded with accolades of honor to represent the fashion of Ghana at major national celebrations. He was the winner of the prestigious Millennium 2000 African Fashion Awards along with being the chosen designer to design the highly coveted Ghana at 50 anniversary cloth fabric for the Ghana at 50 Golden Jubilee Celebration. Kofi Ansah also designed the costumes for the opening & closing ceremony of the CAN 2008 African Cup of Nations that was staged in Ghana to international acclaim. I am sure it was a great learning & giving experience for both the Vogue Italia team & Kofi Ansah along with the members of WEB because fashion is so cyclical  & global that we all have something to bring to the table to share & learn. Ghana is coming into its own in creative vibrancy in celebrating past greats such as iconic fashion Photographer James Barnor & building a future for its creatives with a strong foundation that is becoming more & more undeniable by the world. The Black Star Nation is truly shining & the world just can’t seem to get enough. As we like to say Akwaaba- Welcome to Our World!

From the Motherland to the world -WE ARE AFRICAN & WE REPRESENT: Ghana @50 Fabric By Kofi Ansah, Dress design by Onyx Noize for PGF (Product of Global Fusion)

By now most know that Samia Nkrumah has become one of Africa’s new darlings for the future of women in politics. With the polarizing Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the former first lady & founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement out of the running for the 2012 Ghana elections, many have their eyes on Samia Nkrumah to possibly be the first woman elected to Ghana’s presidency, following in the footsteps of her father & Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf & other women presidents around the world in also solidifying her place in the world record books as 1st. With the rise of Samia Nkrumah being elected as MP (member of parliament ) in her father’s hometown & then being named the chairperson for the CPP ( her father’s party ) along with the subsequent departure of Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, who was the CPP’s 2008 presidential candidate as well as the foreseen flag-bearer for 2012, there is now an opening for Samia Nkrumah to surge forward toward her presidential dreams & to follow in her father’s footsteps.

“During that time we passed laws like fee free compulsory education, marriage & inheritance bill- so many things, vocational bills,- we were competing…when Nkrumah set up the state enterprises he made sure that the women were involved…Look at all the factories that Nkrumah set up, we had our own airlines -Ghana airways, Black Star line, so many many of them…can u believe that we were manufacturing sugar here- 2 sugar estates- how at this time in our Ghana history -after 54 years of independence we are still importing even toothpick to this country- it’s a shame, it’s really really a shame -if we would have continued Nkrumah’s vision of industrialization, farming where we had all the state farms -every district had a state farm… & we were feeding our people. Ghana is not a place even to import rice & yet Ghana is so handicapped – things are falling apart -we have gone backward backward -for after 54 years of Ghana’s independence we still can’t feed ourselves- It’s a SHAME….” Honorable Lucy Anin

As I said to all those intellectualizing about how to give Ghanaian children free education, how to bring jobs, factories etc. to Ghana as if it had never been done before-guess what? -none of us are reinventing the wheel. It was done before us successfully and til now we’ve gone more backward than forward -so we need to stop trying to reinvent the wheel or play ourselves or others for a fools where the so called right time and right way never comes because we stay in stagnation only talking about it , sometimes even starting it but never completing the task. The intellectuals love to over intellectualize  and the illiterates underestimate the power of the mind and creativity. Whether you can go around flashing Masters and PHD’s or the scars of the common laborer doing the groundwork as symbols of expertise in knowing how to build from root to fruit- we must still utilize  the blueprint of our past success to enhance and build the future…. Forward Ever…Backward Never!

As James Barnor said “Nkrumah was able to win because he was able to unite the people regardless of tribe…we all wanted Independence NOW!”  2012 – One Ghana in Awakening & Reclaiming Our Future…By remembering and learning from our past

“A leading member of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP) John Ndebugre has stated that the Convention People’s Party (CPP) will be destroyed if it goes ahead with plans to expel 2008 flag bearer Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom. According to him, the party will poll less than 1 per cent if recent happenings between Dr. Nduom and some executives of the party are not resolved. The Chairperson of the CPP, Samia Nkrumah on Monday fired salvos at Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, for allegedly orchestrating activities to disintegrate the party. Samia stated that Dr Nduom is behind “all negative happenings” taking place in the party. “We’ll not tolerate this nonsense, enough is enough, we are fed up with this nonsense” Samia said. Samia also threatened that Dr. Nduom could face expulsion from the CPP if he is found guilty of all the accusations leveled against him. Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom has been accused by party officials including General Secretary Ivor Greenstreet of being behind calls for an early congress….” READ MORE

Dr. Nduom has put in the hard work to bring visibility & viability back to the fledgling party of Ghana’s first president, but with public infighting & outbursts from Samia Nkrumah threatening to dismiss Dr. Nduom from the party if he does not fall in line to the mandates of the party with her as the chairperson determining the movements of the party, it was inevitable that in a nation that holds respect for our elders at the top of all things in our culture, that Dr. Nduom would not take kindly to public disrespect by a young female novice to the political arena in a resurrected CPP, which he was a catalyst in returning as a player in what has become a two party system in Ghana, rendering all other parties irrelevant.

“The Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Samia Yaba Nkrumah, has told Citi News that the party has no intentions of bringing Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom back into its fold. The Member of Parliament for Jomoro said the party wishes Dr Nduom well, adding that his resignation presents the CPP with a “golden opportunity” to surge forward in unity without “ambiguity” and hurdles. ‘We wish Dr. Nduom well but we knew that it was a possibility he would leave the party. It does not affect us in anyway. It rather presents us with a great opportunity to do away with the ambiguity that had been attached to this party for some time now. There is no disunity within the party,” she stated. However, Samia, daughter of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, denied allegations that she is the main reason for Dr. Nduom’s decision to quit the party after her public outburst and threat to expel the party’s 2008 flag-bearer.…” READ MORE

On December 28th, Dr. Nduom held a press conference to officially announce his resignation from the CPP, electing to start his own independent party that will carry through on the vision he had set forth as the presidential candidate for the CPP.

“The decision by Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom to abandon the CPP ship to form his own party could at best be described as the most risky political gamble of the century. The move does not come as a surprise to most political watchers because it had been on the radar for quite sometime now. Nobody begrudges Dr. Nduom for the decision, coming at a time when the entire CPP leadership were turned on him. Over the past years, Dr. Nduom had had some brushes with the leadership of the CPP and in one of such instances under the Professor Edmund Delle administration, Dr. Nduom together with Freddie Blay and Kojo Armah, then Members of Parliament for the CPP were suspended from the party following some disagreements. The current executives find Dr. Nduom a tough nut to crack. He disagrees with them on policy direction, whilst the current executive thinks the party should hasten slowly by building its structures first, Dr. Nduom sees it differently. History our elders say, keeps repeating itself. The CPP was born in 1947 when its founder, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, then General Secretary broke away from his colleagues in the UGCC over whether to accelerate agitations for self government or go it slow. It is unimaginable how Dr. Nduom thinks he can win the Presidential election with an entirely new party when he had performed abysmally in 2008, garnering one-point-three percent of total votes cast….”READ MORE

2012 seems to be building up to be a very exciting & unpredictable election year for Ghana with many more surprises in store. There is no secret being made about the disunity between the current NDC administration & former President Rawlings & his controversial first lady, who have made it their job to cause all sorts of havoc, strife & drama in the life of current President Mills & his administration, with accusations of bad leadership, corruption & just an all around lack of confidence in what they see as his weak ineffective term as president after he had been under the tuteledge of former president J.J. Rawlings as his vice president. It seems there is no loyalty, love & frienship left amongst many of the leading parties in Ghana -which will inevitably lead the way for the NPP & Nana Akufo- Addo to easily sweep in over the dark cloud of disunity, choas & confusion of the challenging parties to win the 2012 election, if the NPP can avoid these types of public battles in showcasing any disunity that may or may not arise in their own party. It seems with speculators speaking of what led to the defeat of Nana Akufo-Addo in 2008, the once inappropriately boastful flag-bearer of the NPP who spoke of his sure fire victory, his almost entitled presidential legacy & his un-presidential verbiage on his bedroom/sexual capabilities employing a political agitator to go ask his wife about  how he is in bed -has been silently watching his competitors implode on themselves, much like the Democrats in the United States are watching the Republicans do the same in America.

Anyone in politics knows that any party that is not unified ends up splitting the vote  in favor of  electing its opposition. This public strife and disunity amongst the NDC & CPP alike maybe the best Christmas present the NPP and Nana Akufo-Addo got this year in looking forward to a guaranteed victory in 2012, unless his message somehow completely does not resonate with the majority of Ghanaians, his party falls into the same chaos or some other unforeseen surprises come up to tilt the scale away from an NPP victory.

Ghana in 2011 has been filled with political surprises in a never ending topsy turvy cycle of turncoats , judases & plain old disgruntle party members who have taken the position of my way or no way toward their own parties. First Lady Nana Kondau’s unprecedented battle to unseat a sitting president of her own party by contesting his seat for his second term along with her constant barrage of insults & challenges against President Mills, juxtaposed with her husband’s cosigns with his own barrage of no confidence rhetoric against his former VP has all but put the nail in the coffin of a guaranteed unified NDC voting pool for 2012.

“Former President Jerry John Rawlings and founder of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) yesterday invoked the spirit of the infamous 31st December 1981 Revolution when he stressed the urgent need for what he called a ‘house cleaning exercise’ to rid the party of corrupt officials. He said it was not too late for leadership of the party to go back to the grassroots- to the foot soldiers- and listen to them because ‘the level of despondency amongst our support base is largely due to the detachment of our leadership from the people.’ Addressing a large crowd of mainly NDC foot-soldiers at the National Theatre in Accra yesterday as part of the events to mark the 30th anniversary of the 31st December Revolution, the NDC founder decried the manner in which President Mills and members of his administration were running the country with corruption at its highest peak.’Many in the NDC leadership now believe they do not owe any explanation to the populace,’ he said. On allegations of abuse of office, corruption, malfeasance, incompetence and a host of other vices characterising the current administration, Mr Rawlings said, ‘they respond in good measure by accusing the opposition of having done worse things……’ Read More

These days it seems like Former President J.J. Rawlings & his first lady have all but signed the papers as supporters of the NPP to win the presidency in 2012. They seem to be playing a school yard game of the flamboyant popular kids bullying the nerdy sickly weak kid that once followed their every wish & command, who is now met with constant insults & public taunts because that sickly weak kid all of a sudden grew up & found strength in his own voice & became his own man & leader, much to the chagrin & angst of those who once led him. Will President Mills be able to pull his own “revenge of the nerds” style victory by silencing the raucous banter of the Rawlings family & their supporters against him? This is the question that many of President Mills‘ supporters are eagerly looking forward to be answered as the 2012 election approaches.

Will Samia Nkrumah be the Barack Obama of Ghana- a one term MP of mixed heritage, who finds herself at the right place at the right time in a fledgling party who needs the hope & change that she represents in a beautifully well cultivated package that will be pleasing to the eyes, ears & tastes of Ghanaians begging for change & newly found freedom in hope, much like her father represented as he stepped out of the shadows of the big six & became the superstar who led Ghana to victorious independence from colonial rule & gave the Convention People’s Party (CPP) global recognition? The rift in the CPP  that forced Dr. Nduom’s resignation has clearly made many wonder if either Dr. Nduom or Samia’s political ambitions have not superseded the needs of Nkrumahist loyalists. It has even gone as far as causing not only a divide in the CPP, but also in Samia’s immediate family with her younger brother Sekou. Samia’s immediate family is coming more & more into question as she becomes more of a public figure in Ghana. With Ghana’s growing population of Italians & general globalization, are Ghanaians ready for the first man of their first female president to be Italian? You rarely hear about or see Samia’s Italian/Danish husband Michele Melega & son Kwame. I have scoured the internet looking for photos of them together & I can’t seem to find any, which makes we wonder would the visual be too much for some Ghanaians to digest & stand behind when many of them can’t even see themselves voting for their fellow full blown Ghanaians just because they are from another tribe or from the North?

Perhaps the new generation of Ghanaians who have been making noise to be rid of the old brigade in order to build their future are looking for the second coming of Dr. Nkrumah , so they could write the wrongs of their fathers & mothers who many of the younger generation believe were complicit in bringing the coup against him that eventually stifled the future of not only Ghana, but of Africa as a whole to a dream deferred instead of a dream realized. Many first & second generation American & European born children of Ghanaians along with the new expats who are flooding into Ghana seeking their African dream, maybe the voting block & constituency that may change the game toward one candidate or another in the upcoming 2012 elections. There is a rapidly growing number of dual citizenship card carrying Ghanaians & their children who are becoming more & more politically involved, have learned the power of their vote from abroad & are ready to utilize that power in 2012 in Ghana. Samia Nkrumah on the surface is the face of this constituency in Ghana & abroad, but does she have the platform, know how & fire to cause a political explosion in new beginnings for Ghana like her father did?

In historical reality, Dr. Nduom’s departure from the CPP in dissatisfaction with their efforts to rebuild the party gradually instead of surging forward in full force as a true contender to take Ghana’s presidency in 2012 is more reminiscent of Dr. Nkrumah’s unflappable fortitude in breaking from the reigns of Ghana’s Big Six to surge forward in his own path to declare “forward then to Independence Now“! Dr. Nduom can easily go back to his former NPP party & bring his supporters to guarantee the type of split allegiances that will benefit a NPP victory, but he has chosen to go on his own, declare an independent new party in Ghana where he is founder & leader, much like Dr. Nkrumah did with the CPP. Dr. Nduom’s presidential packaging is also as appealing to the people of Ghana who are looking for their own Ghanaian version of President Obama & First Lady Michelle Obama. Dr. Nduom is a social media savvy,  intelligent, highly educated, well spoken statesmen with an equally intelligent, highly educated, well spoken & elegant would be first lady by his side, whose platform much like Michelle Obama is also to inform & educate Ghanaian people about healthy living, healthy eating & growing your own food. While in the vision of Dr. Nkrumah, Dr. Nduom has declared a New Independence Movement in Ghana with young men & women at the forefront, many pundits have already declared  Dr. Nduom’s decision to surge forward independently as a big mistake in a decision that is said to be self serving, much like they said about Dr. Nkrumah’s decision to do the same.

Ghana’s politicos do not belive Dr. Nduom can possibly pull in more than even a meager 1% of votes, let alone pull an upset. As Ghanaians young & old become more & more frustrated with what seems to be a two party system that just continues to give more of the same year after year without any major big leaps in progress economically or otherwise to show for it, Dr. Nduom may just be able to build an audience amongst those who want a completely diffrent alternative than the two parties of the NPP & the NDC can offer them.  Dr. Nduom much like  then senator Barack Obama has been building his constiuency amongst the youth who want to play more of an active role in politics in order to have a say in determining their future. If Dr. Nduom along with his wife continue to be the source of inspiration for the dreams & hopes of the youth for a better Ghana, then just like then Senator Barack Obama & then independent founding father of the CPP, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah- the new wind of change will be in the air with a new unprecedented precedented presidential upset!

I look forward to following & covering the 2012 Ghana elections much more than I look forward to the 2012 American elections. Where America has become a nation filled with political tomfoolery with the majority of the nation rapidly losing hope in politics/politicians, which may end up in the reverse effect of 2008 where a record number of enthusiastic Americans, particularly youth voters came out to vote, turning into a record number of dissasitied & disaffected Americans not turning out to vote in 2012; Ghanaian youth are bursting with enthusiasm of what can be & must be for the future with more & more formidable choices to choose from.

Mark my words, any presidential candidate in Ghana who goes after & attains the youth vote will more than likely win because there is a new surge of politically in the know & involved younger generation of Ghanaians from Africa to her Diaspora that are ready, willing & able to make their voices heard & their votes count by any means necessary in creating a new Ghana wrapped in the cloth of the Forward Ever , Backward Never dreams of Nkrumah that has been a dream deferred for much too long for far too many generations of Ghanaians. Future Africa & particularly Future Ghana is ready for its Close Up & Take Over, so may the best candidate who speaks to & represents Ghana’s future be the victor! As the saying goes Many Are Called but Few are Chosen!

Photo Credit: Peter Dicampo Photography (Samia & Crowd)

Learn about Christmas Traditions Worldwide Here

Afrikaans: Gesëende Kersfees…Afrikander: Een Plesierige Kerfees….African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats…Albanian: Gezur Krislinjden…Arabic: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah…Argentine: Feliz Navidad….Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand…Azeri: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun…Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal…Basque: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!…..Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha-Subo Nababarsha….Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce…. Brazilian: Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo….Breton: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat …Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo….Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!..Chile: Feliz Navidad…Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun…Chinese: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan…(Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun…Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito...Colombia*: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo…..Cornish: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth….Corsian: Pace e salute….Crazanian: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo…Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi….Croatian: Sretan Bozic…Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok….Danish: Glædelig Jul…Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak…Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar or Zalig Kerstfeast…English: Merry Christmas…Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!…Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon…Estonian: Ruumsaid juulup|hi…Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!…Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad…Finnish: Hyvaa joulua…Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar…French: Joyeux Noel…Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!...Galician: Bo Nada…Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr! German: Froehliche Weihnachten…Greek: Kala Christouyenna!….Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!….Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka…Hebrew: Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova….Hindi: Shub Naya Baras…Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!…Hawaian: Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!…Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket…Icelandic: Gledileg Jol…Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal…Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah…Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat…Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay…Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie…Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto….Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags….Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha…Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!…Latvian: Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu!…Lausitzian: Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto…Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus…Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu…Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un ‘n moi Nijaar…Macedonian: Sreken Bozhik…Maltese: LL Milied Lt-tajjeb…Manx: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa…Maori: Meri Kirihimete…Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh…Navajo: Merry Keshmish…Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul…Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado…Papiamento: Bon Pasco…Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu…Pennsylvania German: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!…Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo…Philipines: Maligayan Pasko!…Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie…Portuguese: Feliz Natal…Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha…Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua…Rhetian: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn…Romanche (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!…Romanian: Craciun Fericit**…Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom…Sami: Buorrit Juovllat…Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou…Sardinian: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou…Serbian: Hristos se rodi…Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce…Sami: Buorrit Juovllat…Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou…Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh…Serb-Croatian: Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina…Serbian: Hristos se rodi… Singhalese: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa…Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok…Slovene: Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto…Spanish: Feliz Navidad…Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År…Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon…Tami: Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal…Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!…Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai…Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun…Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym…Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho…Vietnamese: Chung Mung Giang Sinh…Welsh: Nadolig Llawen…Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic…Yoruba: E ku odun, e ku iye’dun!…Akan:AFIHYIA PA …Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukkah,

Source: Neloo.com

Learn about Celebrating our Global Diversity with the Diversity Calendar

Beres Hammond’s song “It’s not over until it’s done” is a song that we should all keep in our hearts this holiday season & hold with us throughout the new year….

“Last night I learned my lesson well…It couldn’t be clearer…See I thought I was number one…As a true burden bearer…It’s customary we meet in the square…Discussing how hard life is to bear…Another brother couldn’t wait for us to leave…To spread his bed right there…Last night I learned my lesson well…So I have to tell you…Sometimes the thing we cherish most…Has no real value…So I give thanks for life (yeah, yeah)…Even when there seems to be no one way to the problem, yeah…I still give thanks for life…Ever wishing and hoping that the table will turn…Now I know that once you have life…There’s a chance you’ll be able to overcome…Where there’s a will, there’s a way…It’s not over until it’s done…If you believe, you will achieve…Everything can just turn around..” READ MORE

I attended the panel discussion on Helen Jennings’s book “New African Fashion” at the New York Public library the other night. As a great fan of Ghanaian designer Mimi Plange , Somali designers Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim, the website Heritage 1960 & Arise magazine, I figured this would be a great lesson on what this so called “New African Fashion” is because these are some of the top young new faces representing this concept to the world at large. At a time when there is new found glory for African fashion with many African designers trying to navigate their way through international exposure amongst the plethora of non-African designers creating or copying African designs & aesthetics in fabrics & silhouettes, I wanted to finally understand what exactly is so new.

I realized that this idea of “New African Fashion” is only really new to those who have never known nor just chose to ignore African fashion through the centuries until the western world dubbed  our global African flyness worthy of being celebrated once again. I just came back from a trip to Ghana, where I was schooled on the fact that I like many have fallen into the trap of the semantics  of calling things “new” as if we are somehow reinventing the wheel that had already been sprung generations before many of us were even born. I had on a top that I created for my PGF (Product of Global Fusion) capsule collection, which my aunt quickly recognized & informed me that the fabric I was wearing was not just “African Print” but actually had its own individual name & was an old fabric from when she was a child. I was happy to have been taken out of my own ignorance to be educated on the fact that every fabric design, although generalized to the world as “African print” actually had a name , history & story behind it- which I like most in the western world who have embraced what is now the ubiquity of African prints in fashion have been completely oblivious to. I was further made to feel like the ignorant westerner when my mom & my aunt went in to tell me that the pencil skirt & jacket that I wanted made was boring & old & that now they had some hot new styles & silhouettes that I should consider. I nearly gagged in my laughter because here I was thinking that I was so fashion forward as my elders told me to have a seat & schooled me on what was really haute! As I looked through old family photos of my mom, aunt, uncles, grandmother & grandfather,  it became apparent that this whole idea of “New African Fashion” was just the latest buzz term for the regurgitation of what was only new to a new generation without a firm grasp of our history. As Geydu Blay Ambolley,  the father of hip-hop music in Ghana, said in my documentary Black Star Rising “Everything derived from Africa, they just take it, redefine it & sell it back to us“! Truer words have never been spoken as I thumbed through Ms. Jennings’s book to find the same images that those of us in fashion have seen over & over again as representative of African fashion & attempting to educate us on what many of us already know & live as Africans.

“African wax prints are generally known to have patterns that tell stories of relevance to the wearer. These include proverbs, poems and traditional African fables. The colours also hold significance as they can represent social standing, age, tribal orientation and marital status. The term ‘African print’ was generally used by the European textile firms in Africa to identify fabrics that were machine-printed and had wax resins and dyes on both sides of the cloth to achieve batik effect. The history of African prints dates back to when batik wax-resist textiles were first imported into Africa from Indonesia in the 1800s, through West African soldiers that served in Indonesia from early 1800s to just beyond the mid 1800s. These batik wax-resist fabrics were also brought into Africa by European traders, mainly the Dutch. The fabrics were then customized and designed to reflect local African tradition, culture and symbolisms. Many of the designs found on fabrics depict events, proverbs, persons of importance or local flora and fauna. African prints are mostly found in Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria. They can also be found in many Central and Eastern African countries. The use of African wax prints outside of Africa is now also on the increase. Many Westerners are accepting the beautiful and natural blend the fabrics portray in every design. Felix Anaman of Felix Anaman Clothing says his fashion house has excelled over the years because it believes in playing and promoting the African fabric, together with the design concepts that go with it. He stated, “It has been predicted by fashion experts that African prints are what will make fashion fashionable in some few years to come, which is why we, as designers, ought to promote it.” READ MORE

“IN the years since Yves Saint Laurent showed his iconic 1967 “African” collection, fashion designers have repeatedly tapped the heritage of Africa in search of inspiration. Just last season Burberry and Michael Kors were among several labels that mined the continent as a source of ideas. Yet in the popular imagination, especially in the Western hemisphere, African fashion more often than not means animal prints, mud cloth and cowrie shells. In her new work, “New African Fashion” (Prestel; $35), Helen Jennings, a fashion journalist, hopes to broaden that view. Part coffee-table book, part glossary, it highlights designers — some established, some fledgling — whose work is African made or inspired.While there is no single way to describe African style, the fashion industry tends to favor characterizations that to many people smack of condescension. “Fashion is full of meaningless terms like ‘tribal’ and ‘urban,’ ” said Ms. Jennings, who is also the editor of Arise, a two-year-old monthly African fashion and culture glossy. “Like the word ‘exotic’ — it makes me cringe.”“African fashion hasn’t been documented very well,” the author told the audience. She and the panelists were emphatic that African fashion did not have to fit a preconceived notion of what is “African.”Ms. Plange studied architecture and rarely uses traditional prints or textiles in her garments.“I want to prove to people that African fashion can’t be pigeonholed,” she said. “I can compete globally.” Her craftsmanship got the attention of André Leon Talley, who helped edit her fall 2011 collection. She also collaborated with Manolo Blahnik…” READ MORE

It seems that generation after generation we are all complicit in consuming the same ol’ same ol‘ in convincing ourselves that we have invented something new. From global African music, fashion & overall culture it seems we always have to wait & praise westerners for telling our stories & teaching us about our history. This is nothing new, all you have to do is watch films like Cadillac Records or even know the simple history of hip-hop fashion that became the soup dujour to the fashion world after Tommy Hilfiger took it  down the runway, while global Africans like Karl Kani , Willi Smith & so many others had already popularized it on global concrete runways long before Tommy Hilfiger made it so called “acceptable” outside of our global African tribes. Right now the narrative that most western journalist tell about “African Prints” is that most of the African market share come from the Dutch company Vlisco completely negating the fact that there are major and small scale African owned and African based companies like GTP and ATP that design and market homegrown African textiles to a larger African market than their european counterparts, who may have introduced these prints to the African market with Africans perfecting it in African authenticity years later. These African based and owned companies are on a constant battle to survive because they do not have these high powered lawyers or proper government regulations to protect the African’s market share along with fighting off Chinese and European knock offs, international press going out of the box to truly seek the story from the people who have globally popularize “African Prints” to a point now that it it solely associated with the continent instead of just surface research, and the the general overall mindset locally and globally that somehow Africans don’t know their worth until Westerners come to put a price on it. At some point we have to take real responsibility in protecting & preserving our culture globally by not repeating the same mistakes of the past.

I was told that Helen Jennings, Editor of Arise, gave a great presentation of African fashion before I got there, which I missed because I was caught up in yet another Ocuppy Wall Street protest, which this time directly targeted President Obama in yet another multi-million dollar fundraising event in New York with protest signs saying “Obama is owned by Wall Street”, which isn’t too far from the truth when we see how much wall street corporate money goes into financing all political campaigns eventhough politicians swear up & down  that they are somehow different from the rest who serve the interest of lobbyists more than the interests of the people who elect them & who they make tons of campaign promises to every year- to serve them differently than those who came before them. All around the world same song- same fuckery. By the time I was finally able to enter the library through the crowd of protestors outside, the panel was already in full discussion mode with Ms. Jennings seemingly quiet & somehow distracted or disconnected from the discussion as if she didn’t really want to be there anymore as a European selling the history of African fashion to a standing room only crowd of global Africans. I guess it was a good thing that the presentation went on for too long to allow time for a Q & A for someone like me & some others to keep it all the way real-LOL!

“We’ve basically been exporting our culture…the west has taken/borrowed a lot from Africa; whereas Africans have just sat down & let their own culture be taken away from them, but now it’s a renaissance- we are claiming back what is ours & we’re adding value to what is ours to make it globally acceptable & globally appealing!” READ MORE

I was able to catch the part of the discussion that interests me the most when it comes to African fashion, which is the actual business of selling & attaining financial gain from the creations of African designers & a general workforce in the African fashion industry. There was a general consensus amongst the panel with Mimi Plange keeping it all the way real in exclaiming that she is in the business of fashion to make money & not just for the hype of the plethora of African fashion week shows sprouting up all over the world, focused more on hype & publicity rather than getting these designers into retail stores & educating them on the actual business of fashion that is a multi-billion dollar industry, where the financial gain amongst African designers is extremely disproportionate to their western counterparts who are defining this so called “New African Fashion”, much like it has always been for everything invented & created by global Africans throughout the years. I heard the usual & almost insulting excuse of “it takes time” because somehow Africans need to be educated on the basics of just putting together a quality fashion show production as if African owned production houses like ASHA , who I have worked with for many years along with so many others, have never done shows for New York Fashion week & other fashion weeks all over the world before Arise Magazine & others came with their new platforms to showcase African designers. This is all BS to me because I have been working in the industry for over 14 years & I am not the only African who has been doing so on many levels from publicity, to show production, to retail buying & management, to design & everything else that comes with the business of fashion. The main issue here is that African experts in these fields are never sought after by many companies- African or otherwise because we somehow continue to believe that non-Africans know best  & fall in line to always look outside of our communities to get ahead & progress in many & sometimes all of our business ventures, without ever acknowledging that we have excellent resources within our global community.

Why should it take time to bring in buyers to a fashion show when anyone who handles publicity & show production knows that the focus of any fashion show is to sell & make money for the designer; therefore retail buyer outreach is more important than having random celebrities, fashionistas & socialites in your front row, who often will never buy 1 piece from any designer that doesn’t give them something for free. Many of the people who attend these African Fashion Week shows around the world are there mostly to be seen & for the party atmosphere, most of them will never go out of their way to seek out the designers showing to actually patronize them with the money that they freely give to the Guccis  & Vuittons of the world. I have said there was an issue with the fact that I saw very few to no buyers from the beginning, as I applauded the first Arise Magazine New York Fashion Week show that gave new life to showcasing African designers that had been done, sponsored & stopped by Anglogold Ashanti years before Arise Magazine came on the scene. My sentiments have been taken by some as “hating” & being overly critical to those who are trying to do something great for the African fashion industry, but all I can say to that is that we can never grow if we can not accept constructive criticism & it takes resources & money to create an industry because while press hype is great, it doesn’t pay the bills or give anyone but press & those who put out these kinds of books any concrete jobs to support an industry. What Africa needs more than anything in all sectors is real jobs & to build on structures that are already in place to create more jobs, not more applause, pats on the back, more it takes time talk & meager handouts to show that we are trying to build an industry that has already been in place outside of  the structure that is deemed acceptable to the western world.

‎”If you want to address poverty, you have to bring work-it’s value creation. We’re not here to make charity t-shirts , We are here to make a product & why not come here? There’s a skill base that is being developed. We’re doing good. They are capable of doing great things. It’s quite incredible to think we might save the world thru fashion” . Vivienne Westwood & the Westwood Team on manufacturing in Kenya

I thought it was a great step in the right direction when Mimi Plange spoke about looking to manufacture & build factories in Ghana to produce her collection, which will build the industry by creating concrete jobs while building the “Made in Africa” label, just as Made in America, Made in France, Made in Italy, Made in China & other “Made In” labels have built brands that are globally recognized & esteemed with a specific focus in tailoring & manufacturing that is uniquely symbolic of those nations. Africa needs people who are formidable partners in their true growth financially, not just those who want to continue the usual exploitation & telling Africans it takes time to develop while others are profiting without waiting for the so called time it takes to actually see the financial gains. The Somali twins who design Maatano expressed their desire to have the opportunity to be the ones at the forefront to bring Africans designs created by Africans with them specifically in mind before the Zara’s & H&M’s of the world flood Africa, which I also thought was an excellent idea that must come to fruition with Africans supporting them because African Fashion is not based on one specific aesthetic of prints, it cuts across all varieties of cultures & styles from casual to formal, to traditional & all points in between. The designers of Maatano also made it a point to point out that while in their predominantly Muslim mother country of Somalia, there are only really two silhouettes which most of the women wear & add their individuality to it through color palate  & the beautiful jewelry which they adorn themselves with; their personal aesthetic with Maatano is much more than just two silhouettes influenced by their Somali heritage.

This brings me to the fact that we also have to be aware of consuming the idea that there is somehow one set idea of what African Fashion is supposed to represent in a continent that is now broken up into 56 countries. I was actually shocked & taken aback the other day as I walked into my local Jamaican resturant when the gentlemen who was serving me looked at me & said “Are you from Africa?”, I ofcourse happily replied “Yes”, then he went on to tell me that the woman that had just left was from my country. I looked at him with a side eye since I had not mentioned which country I was from  & I could clearly decipher that the woman that just left was from a francophone African country & not from Ghana, so I said “How do you know she’s from my country”, he then went on & replied “you’re from Africa right, she’s from Africa too”.  I replied, “Is Jamaica the same as Trinidad , Haiti, Dominican Republic or St. Lucia even though they are all in the Caribbean?” He looked at me in shamefully realizing his mistake & ignorance & said “Miss that’s not nice”.  I shook my head & thought wow, here we go again with me having to explain to someone that Africa is a continent with many countries, who speak thousands of different languages. I was disheartened especially because I had to explain this to someone who I would have thought would know better coming from the nation of Bob Marley & the Maroons , who have always spoken of their African heritage as Jamaicans, while sighting specific countries of origin. This man who was well into his 40’s was shocked when I told him that we all speak different languages & that there were thousands of languages in Africa. I guess this is the burden & calling we have to take on as global Africans, making sure we are there for these teaching moments with our own firm grasp of our languages & our history, so we can set the record right in our representation.

The generalization that there is one African aesthetic in fashion, outside of the idea that Africa really represents a true global aesthetic in its African authenticity because it is the root of humanity needs to be better addressed & defined in building the African Fashion industry. We have only ourselves to blame in our acceptance of the mixed messages that we often send. We have African designers saying that they just want to be seen as designers & not African designers, while talking about building the African fashion industry & complaining about how non-Africans are copying & defining what the African fashion industry should be or look like. We can’t have it both ways. You don’t hear Dontaella Versace complaining about being called an Italian designer or the house of Chloe & Louise Vuitton being upset by the fact that they are considered the epitome & embodiment of French design & aesthetic. Vivienne Westwood manufacturing her collection in Kenya does not make her any less an English designer or anymore an African designer than her counterparts like Burberry & others who have taken African prints & made them their own, nor does Marc Jacobs designing for Louis Vuitton make him a French designer or make the Louise Vuitton aesthetic considered American instead of authentically French.  African designers do not have to do collections with solely or any wax or mud prints at all to make them authentically part of African fashion.  What differentiates these African designers from the rest is that they are African from their roots; therefore their design influence will always be African inspired with an African personality, whether they are utilizing African prints or not because the history is carried along with them season after season, much like their European & American counterparts. It is up to us as publicist, writers, fashion editors,stylists, buyers,designers, manufacturers, show production entities etc. to speak to the African consumer & to let them know that we have done the research as to what they want, who they are & what suits their African personality in order to bring them in to support African designers just as much or more so than they support European, American & Chinese made goods , which have been flooding the African continent to the peril of the African Fashion Industry.

We need to speak to the African consumer in our advertising & educate them that building the African Fashion Industry means supporting, buying & wearing the products created by African designers not just jumping on the bandwagon & consuming the European, Chinese & American made goods & designers who are selling them their idea of what new African fashion is. We need to come to a point in our industry where each one of us takes personal responsibility in telling our own stories & building our own industry with a true African personality in mind, void of the cliche terms of “new African fashion” & kowtowing to global appeal by westernizing what is & has always been authentically African from the fruit to the root. If we truly believe that Africa is where humanity began & that there is a specific African identity that comes & evolves in newness of creativity from nation to nation, then we have to be more diligent in putting that message out there in a concise & consistent manner instead of just falling in line with the status quo of having our story redefined, pigeonholed & told to us by non-Africans, no matter how much they tell us that they love us & want to help us build by following their way & structure.

As most of you who have read my writings know, I am far from a PC(Politically Correct) African. My concept of Global Fusion is less about some sort of gumbo inspired “kumbaya” melting pot, where Africa with all its rich history & contributions to the world blends in or metamorphosizes into an acceptable western aesthetic, as opposed to shining a light on the fact that Africa is where humanity began with great influence throughout global culture that has now been watered down,devoid of its spices or redefined to appease or appeal to different segments of the world. I prefer my jollof rice authentically flavor filled with the hotness of spices that makes you feel it within your bones & soul without any Asian or Italian noodles added to it- as it is being done now in Ghana- because an Italian or Asian will not kowtow to appeasing me my serving me their national taste with shito & African flavors added to it.

I thumbed through the book “New African Fashion”, but I must admit that I didn’t purchase it because I refuse to continue the same ol’ story of having my history be told to me by those who have never truly been immersed in the culture & history until they saw profit to be made. I am not saying that this is not a great well put together book, but it does not show or tell me anything that I have not already seen & known before, so in that case I would rather give my hard earned money to global Africans who are also telling our stories from an authentically African perspective like Jacqueline Shaw with her new book Fashion Africa. It always seems like for global Africans to share their passion, vision & expertise with the world on the global Africa that they were born into, & live & breath daily -they always have to do it with their own money  to the point of going bankrupt in their labors of love to make their dreams come true. For Instance look at the amazing work done by Nigerian born Oroma Elewa with Pop’ Africana, which gives Vogue such a run for its money that they have had to acknowledge her & her work many times in their own publication. If one woman with a vision & a dream to be & showcase the new face of Africa can create such greatness with her own money & limited resources, imagine what she could do with the right financial backing & the same access  given to the Helen Jennings of the world, who are always sought after to be the face, vision & expert on all things African brought to the world’s attention?  I am not implying that non-global Africans shouldn’t be allowed to write books about Africa; however I am questioning the expert title given to these writers who are telling stories of people & places that they are often no more than passerby’s  & visitors of, while those who actually have been immersed in & live the culture are often passed over for equal opportunities to tell their own stories. This is my real issue in all of this, which goes beyond just one woman’s book. How often, if ever, are non-Europeans given the opportunity to be entitled to the title of “expert” in writing about or presenting European culture to the world? I can hear the loud sounds of crickets in many not being able to find any examples of this.

I am not afraid to be called racist, nationalist or pro-African because I would rather support my fellow global Africans who are truly the ones who have had to live the culture, put in the work, build our industry, give us accolades in support,  & are the true keepers & storytellers of our history, much like Andrew Dosunmu , Yinka Shonibare, James Barnor , Constance C.R. White & so many more past & present who have been telling & showcasing the beauty of global African fashion, culture & aesthetics long before Ms. Jennings thought to teach us about what she considers “New African Fashion”.

“When Franca Sozzani, editor of Vogue Italia, visited the Huffington Post offices last month she revealed that her proudest professional moment was publishing the “Black Issue,” which helped promote diversity in the fashion industry. Well, she continued that campaign with a trip to the African country of Ghana to mentor a group of designers from the WEB-Young Designers Hub. You have lots of potential in this country. During my stay in Africa, I visited Togo and Nigeria but it was only here in Ghana I noted an authentic sense of fashion. In designing your creations, make sure that they feature not only references to Ghanaian culture but also have an international appeal so that your garments can also be successful also abroad.” READ MORE

It always amazes me how we justify our own lack of consistency in rhetoric of what we support & give acclamation to. The same fashionistas who raged all hell about Essence Magazine losing touch with their readership & consumer base by hiring a White Fashion Director as the face of a magazine dedicated to African-American women are the same ones who praise Arise & tout it as the new era representation of global Africa, without acknowledging the fact that the main vision in charge of this so called new global African aesthetic is also a European with a magazine created in Europe with African financial backing. These are the same people who are in charge of Black publications that never think to expand globally into Africa, the Caribbean & Latin America in service of the billion plus global Africans there, who would be more than appreciative to see their own likeness as well, while they consistently hire White photographers to capture our aesthetic in some ill-conceived idea of diversity, as qualified Black photographers sit around waiting to be called upon & to get a fair check by being given the same opportunity & access that is denied to them by non-global African focused publications. These are the same fashionistas who applaud any time Vogue gives a cover to a person of color or a European or American designer puts more than one model of color in an Ad. campaign or on their runway, while failing to challenge global African publications & designers to be the change they want to see by putting more African faces & creatives in their own publications, Ad. campaigns & runways. Why is it so taboo or somehow not representing diversity if Tracy Reese or Oswald Boateng sends all Black models down the runway, or Essence, Arise or Ebony doing special issues with solely global African representation as Vogue Italia & Lanvin did with us all applauding them for doing so as some sort of evolvement in new era progress as an industry since the days of Versailles. It is never considered taboo or shocking for non-Black American & European designers & publications to steadily only utilize European & American White models & designers, as we continue to complain then praise them for giving us special issues in diversity statements by sending all or some global African models down their runways once in awhile, in an attempt to appease us for the mean time.

I am actually a fan of Arise magazine & applaud them for their efforts in bringing about the much needed dialogue of who we are as Africans & our place & progress in the world of fashion &  global culture in general, but I am not going to pretend that it is anything new from the status quo of Africa being sold to us from a European vision. If we want to have an honest conversation about building Africa then let’s start by being honest with ourselves & start supporting global Africans who are doing everything possible to tell our stories without the international & national support, hype & access that has always been afforded to their western counterparts. Let’s start by having a vision & a stance that truly represents a new Africa that does not remain conditioned by its conditioning in being the definition of insanity by doing the same things the same way, over & over again & expecting new results. As Nina Simone said – “We’re in the middle of a revolution & I see the face of things to come” -That face will be an African face telling & teaching the history of African culture from fashion, to film, to art & all points of global African business defined by & for the African personality & sold to the world as is -without any kind of need to water down or appease some new idea of a global market that we have contributed to & enriched for centuries without ever getting our fair share in recognition or financial gain. Let’s stop talking about how things take time when the time is NOW!

“I made it quite clear that from now on -today – we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must realise that from now on, we are no more a colonial but a free and independent people. But also, as I pointed out, that also entails hard work.That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs. We are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations, that we are prepared to lay our own foundation.Our own African identity. As I said in the assembly just minutes ago, I made a point that we are going to create our own African personality and identity. It’s the only way that we can show the world that we are ready for own own battles.I am depending upon the millions of the country, and the chiefs and people, to help me to reshape the destiny of this country.We are prepared to pick it up and make it a nation that will be respected by every nation in the world.We know we are going to have difficult beginnings, but again, I’m relying upon your support, I’m relying upon your hard work.Seeing you in this… it doesn’t matter how far my eye goes, I can see that you are here in your millions and my last warning to you is that you are to stand firm behind us so that we can prove to the world that when the African is given a chance he can show the world that he is somebody! We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world!” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

When Will This Cease To Be The Picture ? When Will We Start Leading Ourselves Without Having to Be Part of An Entourage Flanking The Same Faces? When Will We See That We Are Just Repeating History Instead of Doing Anything New! When Will Our Global Fusion Include An Equal Gain? When Will We Be Paid For The Work We’ve Done?

“Something in the nature of an economic revolution is required. Our development has been held back for too long by the colonial-type economy. We need to reorganize entirely, so that each country can specialize in producing the goods and crops for which it is best suited.” Neocolonialism- The Last Stage of Imperialism. It is said, of course that we have no capital, no industrial skill, no communications, no internal markets, and that we cannot even agree among ourselves how best to utilize our resources for our own social needs. Yet all the stock exchanges in the world are pre-occupied with Africa’s gold, diamonds, uranium, platinum, copper and iron ores. Our CAPITAL flows out in streams to irrigate the whole system of Western economy. Fifty-two percent of the gold in Fort Knox at this moment, where the USA stores its bullion, is believed to have originated from OUR shores. Africa provides more than 60 per cent of the world’s gold. A great deal of the uranium for nuclear power, of copper for electronics, of titanium for supersonic projectiles, of iron and steel for heavy industries, of other minerals and raw materials for lighter industries – the basic economic might of the foreign Powers – comes from OUR continent…Experts have estimated that the Congo Basin alone can produce enough food crops to satisfy the requirements of nearly HALF the population of the whole world and here we sit talking about regionalism, talking about gradualism, talking about step by step. Are you afraid to tackle the bull by the horn?”  Address to the Conference of African Heads of State and Government, May 24, 1963″ DR. Kwame Nkrumah