Lagbaja, the entertainer without a face
BY JOHN MUKENDI It was one of the most exciting moments of my two-week stay this month in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire’s largest city. A local friend invited me to a … Read More
Tag: soumanou salifou
Rediscovering African music legend Manu Dibango
By Soumanou Salifou It was a gorgeous Saturday evening in a cozy, very elegant theater on a West African beach. Red carpet, first-class decorations… nothing, really, like the rest of …
U.S. Ambassador to Benin, Ruth Davis, discusses bilateral relations
BY SOUMANOU SALIFOU In an exclusive interview with The African a few months after the inception of the magazine, then-ambassador of the United States to Benin, Ruth A. Davis, discussed, …
What we, African immigrants in the United States, owe Dr. King
By Soumanou Salifou Thirty years ago this August 27, I landed at John F. Kennedy airport in New York as a prospective student in one of America’s most prestigious institutions … Read More
Our uphill march toward racial tolerance in America
By Soumanou Salifou According to news reports based on interviews and recent statistics, anti-black sentiments have risen over the past four years despite the election of the first black president … Read More
Africa’s half-full democracy bottle — August 2011
Africa’s half-full democracy bottle – August 2011 By Soumanou Salifou It looks like the outside world exaggerates the democratic progress in Africa. On June 13, 2005, after a high-profile meeting …
Tension in Obama’s family — June 2011
Tension in Obama’s family – June 2011 By Soumanou Salifou President Obama is in trouble with the black branch of his family – voting African Americans and African-born Blacks on …
Open letter to President Obama – February 2009
Open letter to President Obama – February 2009 By Soumanou Salifou Like many other children of the baby boom generation, and knowing the America that I have learned to know …
One Love – February 2004
One Love – February 2004 By Soumanou Salifou In an appeal to black people all over the world, Bob Marley sings in his hit One Love/People Get Ready: “One love, one …
French-Speaking Africa and France: an odd relationship – August 2003
French-Speaking Africa and France: an odd relationship – August 2003 By Soumanou Salifou In today’s unipolar world dominated by the United States, French-speaking African leaders’ allegiance to France, a second-class …