ALEN Magazine, Spring 2021 - Vol. No. 12

ALEN SPRING 2021 | VOL NO. 12

AFRICAN LIFESTYLES, ENTERTAINMENT & NEWS EXCLUSIVE!

$7.99 US

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CONTENTS

AFRICAN LIFESTYLES, ENTERTAINMENT & NEWS COVER STORIES AFRICA -THE WORLD'S LARGEST FREE-TRADE AREA, P8 Will Trade Agreement Deliver New Economic Dawn for the Continent?

CHICAGO SISTERS BRING "WOMANISH" TO TOWN, P11 Female-created, five-story experiential exhibit is causing a cultural shift.

CYNTHIA ONYEDINMANAZU CHINASAOKWU ERIVO, P18 British actor of Nigerian descent slays in iconic African-American film roles.

FELA'S LEGACY, P22 Almost 25 years after his death, a new generation reinvigorates the rhythm of Fela's Afrobeat genre.

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CONTENTS Publisher Fred C. Nwankwo

AFRICAN LIFESTYLES, ENTERTAINMENT & NEWS

Editor in Chief Jalyne Strong-Shaw

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NEWS

Contributing Writers Rebecca Marcellus Dr. Adam Nwankwo Chris E. Ukachukwu

04 FROM THE PUBLISHER

Correspondents Elo Ogwo Emmanuel Onua

05 NEWS BRIEFS 06 ON THE MOVE

Photography Edico Digitals ALEN Brands Events

08 BUSINESS

Circulation Tunji Omowale

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FEATURES

Advertising/Marketing Kunle Ojo Linda Taylor Amina Sekou Toure

15 ALEN PROFILES: TIFFANY ALICHE, TIFFANY HENYARD, & SENA AMENYO 24 EXPERIENCE MANDELA'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AT ILLINOIS HOLOCAUST MUSEUM 28 FILMMAKER RAUL PECK'S "...BRUTES" EXAMINES ORIGINS OF WHITE SUPREMACY, RACISM, WHITE SUPREMACY

US Operations Distribution /Subscriptions Nneka Boakye West African Operations Distribution /Subscriptions Kwame Osei

30 ZOZI TUNZI SERVES US MISS UNIVERSE STYLE 34 ADVERTISING MARKETPLACE

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36 "THEY SAY . . ." - CONVERSATIONS ON AFRICAN PROVERBS

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From the Publisher

W

elcome to the premiere issue of ALEN. We are excited to present our redesigned, quarterly magazine to you. This rebranded product is an offshoot of African LifeStyles, our flagship publication that was created in 2008. The name ALEN is an acronym for African Lifestyles, Entertainment and News. Our topics will typically include profiles in business and politics, fashion, arts, travel, places and events from the perspectives of the people of the African Diaspora. We hope that you find our content and format compelling.

The decision to rebrand this publication was made in order to appeal to a wider audience and younger demographic. We found it crucial that we not only rebrand the magazine but also that we build a team that includes strategic alliances with qualified professionals who will handle separate but related aspects of producing a high caliber publication.

We hope you enjoy our content – starting with the cover story on Cynthia Erivo, an award-winning, British-born actress and singer of Nigerian heritage. Erivo’s career trajectory in the American entertainment industry is causing quite a stir. Equally captivating is the feature on the late AfroBeat legend, Fela, and our article on the collaborative opportunities that the newly formalized African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement presents for economic growth in Africa and business opportunities for American investors.

Let me take this opportunity to thank everyone who, in one way or another, contributed to this premiere edition, especially our editor in chief, Jalyne Strong-Shaw. She brought a lot to this rebranding

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effort, especially in her capacity also as the creative director of ALEN. Words cannot express my appreciation to our early subscribers and advertisers. You took a blind leap of faith by believing in us when many would have waited. Your subscriptions and advertisements are the reasons why ALEN magazine is in people’s homes today.

But, as exciting as it is to announce the return of the magazine, I would be remiss if I did not mention the recent passings of three close friends, Okechi Nwabara, Dozie Ogbuefi, and Anizoba Onwumere, who were enthusiasts and long-time supporters of African LifeStyles magazine, the predecessor of ALEN Magazine.

Anizoba lived in Nigeria. Okechi and Dozie lived in Chicago. All three of them never stopped asking what it will take to bring the magazine back, citing the need for a trendy magazine like ALEN and how it could positively address events in the African Diaspora.

They are all dearly missed, especially now, knowing the pride they would have felt to see my ALEN vision brought to fruition.

As you open this inaugural issue of ALEN, it is our sincere hope that our stories inspire you, and that you continue to support our vision, which is to bring you stories and events that promote collaboration among people of African descent across the black diaspora.

Happy reading!

Fredrick C. Nwankwo

Fredrick C. Nwankwo ALEN Publisher

NEWS BRIEFS

Twin Nigerian Pharmacists Administer Vaccines in Texas

Nigeria-born twin brothers Chinonso and Ekene Agbasi, CVS Pharmacy managers in North Texas, have administered thousands of COVID-19 vaccines.

By Sophia Beausoleil From 5NBC-DFW

People standing in line at a CVS Pharmacy waiting for a COVID-19 vaccination is not an unusual site, but recently some did a doubletake when they saw who administered the shot.

Twin brothers Chinonso “Chino” and Ekene “Kenny” Agbasi have done everything together and the two CVS Pharmacy managers are now helping fight the pandemic.

“It means a lot, being a part of history knowing that we’re one of the first people to come out and do the vaccine, to take initiative to get people back to their normal lives,” Chino said.

He and his twin have helped vaccinate thousands of people since January. They’ve transitioned from vaccinating people at long-term care facilities to now vaccinating customers at CVS Pharmacy locations across Dallas/Fort Worth.

Even with the masks, people can tell the pair look alike.

“It’s always an ice-breaker when people walk in and they’re looking at us like?” said Kenny about them being twins. “We’ve had people who wanted to take selfies and stuff like that.”

“I think the bond we have is beyond special because we always had the same journey, we’ve literally been together since we were born,” Chino said.

The 33-year-old brothers are originally from Nigeria. They moved to the United

“. . . being a part of history knowing that we’re one of the first people to come out and do the vaccine, to take initiative to get people back to their normal lives.”

States when they were 18. After they attended pharmacy school, they took an internship with CVS Pharmacy in Midland, Texas.

The two now manage CVS Pharmacies in Midlothian and Mansfield.

“Being a pharmacist, every day I live that dream being here behind the counter talking to people about their medications and now helping people get vaccinated for COVID, helping them get back to their normal lives, so it’s a rewarding experience for me and that’s what I wake up excited about and that’s a good feeling for me,” Chino said.

“I love that I get to share this experience with the closest person to me, which is my twin brother,” said Kenny.

The two even gave each other their COVID-19 vaccines.

“That was very emotional, that was very rewarding and it was a special moment for both of us,” said Kenny.

To continue the trend of sharing monumental moments together, the two are currently engaged and plan to have traditional Nigerian weddings at the end of the year, a week apart.

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On The Move

Sisters Cause Cultural Shift with the All-Female Created “WomanISH” Art Installation and Immersive Experience Danyelle and Dionna Gray are two sisters from Chicago, black female entrepreneurs, and, together, the founders of the “WomanISH” pop-up experience, a safe space for women to be heard, celebrated, and seen. Located in the heart of downtown Chicago at 114 S. State Street, “WomanISH” is not just another pop-up, rather it is a five-floor, 38,000 sq. ft, first-of-its-kind destination created by women for everyone to participate in.

In fact, Danyelle and Dionna see “WomanISH” as more than an exhibition. “To them, it is a cultural movement,” Forbes wrote about the sisters’ creation. “WomanISH” is an exploration of identity and perspectives of women and a movement that creates Dionna and Danyelle Gray, founders of the “WomanISH” exhibition progressive visual and physical experiences for all to explore, currently open through June 30 in downtown Chicago. contemplate, and share.

“Statistically, women of color are granted business loans 30 In an article about the Gray sisters and the “WomanISH” percent less than any other group of women.” Her sister Danyelle exhibition, Rolling Out writes, “The representation of women in notes, “We’re excited in 2021 to have a full-scale nonprofit to give all spaces has been a rallying cry that has grown louder in recent back to the community.” years.” The position of Kamala Harris as the first female US Vice Danyelle Gray graduated the University of Missouri with a President points to a consciousness shift when it comes to how Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Her women are viewed in spaces of power. Dionna and Danyelle extensive education and knowledge quickly earned her highexpound on that view with “WomanISH.” level marketing positions in top Fortune 100 and 500 companies The result is an experiential exhibit catered to varied such as H&R Block, Viacom, and CBS Radio. As co-founder of perspectives of women. The exhibition, which features 16 “WomanISH,” Danyelle leads the charge as Head of Operations installations of the work of female artists from around the country, where she manages marketing campaigns for the movement that is an Instagram-friendly interactive experience. The concepts includes the ongoing popular panel are produced as large room activations, series “Discover Your Ish.” intimate installation experiences, After graduating from Florida pathways, and transitions. In the curated International University with a space, the Gray sisters highlight topics of bachelor’s degree in Communications, importance to them, like Black Girl Magic, Dionna Gray soon went to work as gender pay gap, censorship of women’s a Marketing Account Manager at bodies, and mental health. “Each room CBS, where she was responsible for talks about an important issue facing developing and executing large-scale women,” Dionna revealed in the Rolling marketing campaigns for a number of Out interview. “This is, of course, fun major brands including T-Mobile, Audi and great for social media, but there are and the Bahamas. As co-founder of important messages behind every room “WomanISH,” one of Dionna’s main and piece of art.” She adds, “We want the responsibilities is making sure the message to be that women are powerful mission is always at the forefront of and capable of immense greatness.” partnerships, events and marketing.

“Our goal is always to uplift women, The sisters are planning to take give them voices and have their “WomanISH” to other cities. perspectives heard,” Danyelle points out.

Additionally, their tireless dedication to “I think women always have to fight for the empowerment of women plays a big their piece of shine in any space. The art part in the entertaining and informative space is no different. That’s why it was so podcast they host with six of their important to have an amazing experience girlfriends, called “Girl Do Better.” that was brought to life with all female The “Womanish” experience opened artists.” on September 3, 2020, after being By the end of 2020, it was reported that postponed due to COVID 19. The “WomanISH” had sold more than 30,000 exhibition is now open at 114 S. State tickets. The exhibit’s Chicago success has St., Chicago, through June 30, 2021. afforded the sisters the chance to launch Tickets are on sale at WeAreWomanish.

“The Womanish Small Business Relief com.

Fund” to provide grants to small business —From reports on Blacknews.com and The sisters and two friends admire their creation: the owners, with businesses owned by Black “WomanISH” pop-up exhibition, located at 114 S. State St., RollingOut.com women given priority. Dionna explains,

“We want the message to be that women are powerful and capable of immense greatness.”

Chicago.

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On The Move Left: The Rooftop Lounge of Nō Studios, the collaborative workplace established by John Ridley in the former Pabst Brewery, Milwaukee, WI. Below: Announcement for a vitual event hosted by Nō Studios. Inset: John Ridley, founder of Nō Studios.

Milwaukee’s Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Opens Haven for Creatives in His Hometown Milwaukee native, Hollywood producer/ director, filmmaker, screenwriter and author John Ridley reached a career high when his screenplay for “12 Years A Slave” won an Oscar in 2014. Spurred on by his sister’s advice to follow up the Oscar with something equally significant, Ridley achieved an important personal goal in October 2018, opening Nō Studios, an arts-oriented business geared toward filmmakers and other creative minds, located at the former Pabst Brewery complex in the heart of Milwaukee.

Nō Studios is a multi-function event and office facility, featuring offices, co-working space, a state-of-the-art screening room, a performance stage, café bar, gallery and rooftop lounge and deck. Currently, the business uses about 9,000 square feet of space within The Brewery, a 40,000-squarefoot mixed-use complex. Remaining space in the complex is leased as offices for tenants that include Milwaukee Film Inc., which operates the Milwaukee Film Festival; 371 Productions LLC; and the film program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts.

Ridley says, “The center was born out of a desire to create a collaborative workplace and social community that offers an environment for artists and art lovers to come together.”

Invariably, Nō Studios serves as a haven for the artistically talented and their patrons where connections are encouraged and supported. In fact, the company’s registered slogan is “Socialize with purpose.”

Ridley’s sister, Lisa Caesar, an investment banker with Wall Street experience, is the

company’s Chief Operating Officer and runs the day-to-day operations. “She really is the brains behind the operation,” Ridley has intimated in interviews. Caesar admits that she is “conservative by nature,” while “John tends to have the bold vision.”

Ridley devised the unusual business name,

Photo courtesy of Rocco Ceselin

explaining on the company’s website: “Nō Studios derives from the word play between a rejection artists are so often told, with, nō, the Sino-Japanese root word for “skill” or “talent”.

Nō Studios sells memberships to creative types, including filmmakers, visual artists, musicians and other creators, granting them access to a live performance stage, a room to screen films and other spaces where they can host arts events. Memberships start as low as $60/year for the online community and virtual event calendar and increase in steps to include additional features such as access to the rooftop lounge or to co-working space.

Some memberships and services are reserved for Wisconsin residents only.

Pre-COVID-19 pandemic, Nō Studios events ranged from performances by local musicians and local art showings, to poetry readings and film screenings. Post-pandemic, the organization is fulfilling its mission to serve as a hub for artistic support and expression through virtual and livestream offerings. In October 2020, Nō Studios featured a virtual talkback with Milwaukee artist Khari Turner; in March, the company produced “Women, Wine + Tech 2.0,” a webinar on diversity and inclusion issues affecting women in technology, and streamed it to participants; and in May, Nō Studios will host an online marketplace for creators to showcase their wares and participants can shop safely from home.

The full-service creators’ hub also offers virtual event services, including production, marketing and event management. In addition, there are opportunities to secure funding for creative endeavors. In February, Nō announced a plan to give up to $100,000 in grants each year to help Wisconsin artists to complete their artistic projects, with special consideration given to state creatives identifying as Black, Indigenous and people of color; LGBTQIA+; female or femaleidentifying; disabled; and/or veterans.

No Studios is located at 1037 W. McKinley Ave., Milwaukee, WI, approximately a 90-minute drive from downtown Chicago.

For more information visit www.nostudios. com or call (414) 394-7106; email: info@ nostudios.com.

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“The AfCFTA is expected to lift around 68 million people out of moderate poverty and make African countries more competitive.”

Dr. Albert Zeufack, Chief Economist for Africa, the World Bank Photo by The World Bank

Will Trade Agreement Deliver New Economic Dawn for Africa?

Africa’s journey to market integration began in earnest with the commencement of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – the world’s largest free-trade area – on January 1, 2021, creating a market of 1.2 billion people and the eighth economic bloc in the world with a $3-trillion combined GDP, that is expected to more than double by 2050. The creation of an “African Common Market” has been a major regional goal for decades, since the Lagos Plan of Action of 1980. Now, the continent is emerging as a surprising leader in advancing rules-based trade—and its success is highlighting how developing countries could play a key role in shaping a 21st century trade agenda.

“The African Continental Free Trade Area has the potential to increase employment opportunities and incomes, helping to expand opportunities for all Africans,” said Albert Zeufack, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa. “The AfCFTA is expected to lift around 68 million people out of moderate poverty and make African countries more competitive. But successful implementation will be key, including careful monitoring of impacts on all workers –women and men, skilled and unskilled—across all countries and sectors, ensuring the agreement’s full benefit.”

As reported by the World Bank in July 2020, AfCFTA represents 8

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a major opportunity for countries to boost growth, reduce poverty, and broaden economic inclusion. If implemented fully, the trade pact could boost regional income by 7% or $450 billion, speed up wage growth for women, and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035.

The World Bank’s report suggests that achieving these gains will be particularly important given the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, which was estimated to cause up to $79 billion in output losses in Africa in 2020. The pandemic has caused major disruptions to trade across the continent, including in critical goods such as medical supplies and food. Because of the pandemic, Africa is expected to suffer its first outright recession in 25 years as output shrinks by as much as 5.1 percent this year.

Successful implementation of AfCFTA would help cushion the negative effects of COVID-19 on economic growth by supporting regional trade and value chains through the reduction of trade costs. In the longer term, AfCFTA would provide a path for integration and growth-enhancing reforms for African countries.

By replacing the patchwork of regional agreements, streamlining border procedures, and prioritizing trade reforms, AfCFTA could

BUSINESS

AfCFTA help African countries increase their resiliency in the face of future economic shocks.

According to the report, the agreement would reshape markets and economies across the region, leading to the creation of new industries and the expansion of key sectors. Overall economic gains would vary, with the largest gains going to countries that currently have high trade costs. Côte d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe—where trade costs are among the region’s highest—would see the biggest gains, with each increasing income by 14 percent. AfCFTA would also significantly boost African trade, particularly intraregional trade in manufacturing.

Intra-continental exports would increase by 81 percent while the increase to non-African countries would be 19 percent.

Throughout much of the 20th century, Africa lagged behind other regions in global integration. Its tariffs remained high and trading patterns have—for many countries—remained unchanged from the colonial era.

But things have shifted recently. A variety of countries in Africa at all levels of development—such as Morocco, Ethiopia, and Mauritius—have begun integrating into global value chains, accompanied by foreign direct Continued on page 10.

Trade Minister Kyerematen Says, Under AfCFTA, Ghana will be an Entry Point for Canadian Investors From ModernGhana.com

Ghana has assured Canadian investors of her readiness to serve as the entry point to the Sub-region for opportunities in the regional markets.

Under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) there is an estimated market size of over 1.2 billion consumers with a growing middle class.

Alan Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, said this when Kati Csaba, the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, called on him in Accra.

He said Ghana and Canada have enjoyed close bilateral relations for over a century, covering high level of cooperation in trade, investments, development, and humanitarian assistance.

The Trade Minister said that both countries shared common membership in many international organizations, such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth, and the World Trade Organization, where in most cases Ghana and Canada found common ground on many global issues.

He recounted Canada’s contributions to the development of the country in many critical roles stimulating sustainable economic mea-

sures and reducing barriers to doing business.

It was also evident in climate-smart agriculture as an engine for inclusive and sustainable economic growth, improving access to and use of affordable and nutritious foods, increasing access to sanitation and Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry, Ghana hygiene services in underlishing strategic platforms such as the Ghaserved areas and promoting gender equality and the empowerment of na–Canada Business Council Act to address potential commercial relations challenges women and girls, Kyerematen said.

“Trade between the two countries has and facilitate trade and investments between grown steadily and doubled over the past de- the two countries.

The Council would further support the cade from about $201 million in 2010 to over Ministry’s ongoing efforts to identify busi$540 million in 2019,” he said. ness opportunities and other trade and inKyerematen said the country intended to vestments related activities that could be leverage strong bilateral relations by making exploited by private sector operators of both Canada a destination market for value added countries for the enhancement of bilateral goods under Ghana’s Industrial Transformaeconomic, trade and investment cooperation, tion Program.

In that regard, he said, Ghana could ben- Kyerematen said.

Csaba, on her part, said Canada was lookefit from Canada’s experience in vehicle asing forward to exploring investment avenues sembly and manufacturing of machinery and in Ghana, especially opportunities offered by component parts, fertilizers and industrial government’s One District, One Factory prochemicals. gram.

The Ministry would actualize that by estabALEN MAGAZINE - SPRING 2021

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“. . . it’s going to take a long time, unfortunately, for these trade barriers to fall and for trade frictions to reduce. But you’ve got to start somewhere . . .”

Andrew Alli, a former president and CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation Continued from page 9.

investment and rising productivity.

These gains would flow largely to the most vulnerable citizens.

Successful implementation of AfCFTA would lift an estimated 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty and boost the incomes of nearly 68 million others who live on less than $5.50 a day. Wages would rise, with women seeing increases of 10.5 percent and men by 9.9 percent by 2035. It would also boost wages for skilled and unskilled workers alike—10.3 percent for unskilled workers, and 9.8 percent for skilled workers.

These gains largely reflect AfCFTA’s emphasis on lowering trade costs. Decreasing tariffs, reducing nontariff barriers, and improving hard and soft infrastructure at the borders will reduce red tape, lower compliance costs for traders, thereby boosting intracontinental trade and ultimately make it easier for African businesses to integrate into global supply chains.

But getting there will not be easy. Many countries will face substantial political pressure to protect uncompetitive domestic industries that stand to lose from foreign competition. Research shows that policymakers that are able to resist short-term political fixes stand to gain the most through increased productivity gains. While the overall net effects will be positive, AfCFTA’s implementation will result in job losses in sectors where countries are less competitive—and governments will need to be ready to support workers with adequate safety nets and policies to retrain them.

Much work remains to be done and Africa’s envisioned free trade area still faces many hurdles. Nigeria, for instance, just reopened four of its land borders to trade in December 2020, more than a year after closing them to try to reduce Right: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is shown arriving to Niamey, Niger Republic, ahead of the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union Heads of State and Government on July 6, 2019, where he signed the AfCFTA agreement. President Buhari was criticized for waiting a year before signing the agreement. President Buhari said he was waiting for the results of a detailed study on how the agreement will impact the Nigeria.

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smuggling, dampen the illegal inflow of small arms and drugs, and protect local manufacturers. But Nigeria still prohibits up to 26 goods from being imported into the country, and its Central Bank has also denied foreign exchange at official market rates to importers of more than 40 other goods. Regardless of the free trade agreement, experts maintain that Nigeria’s trade policies have only grown more restrictive.

Nigeria isn’t alone. Intra-African trade is notoriously low, amounting to only around 15 percent of the continent’s total goods trade as of 2016. In West Africa, trade relations between Gambia and Senegal are just beginning to officially open up after the construction of the 1.2-mile Senegambia Bridge. In East Africa, meanwhile, tensions still mar trade relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Inadequate trade-related infrastructure, lack of financial access, restrictive customs procedures, and extensive political uncertainty all play a role. And add to that protectionism among some African countries seeking to decrease their dependence on imports and promote local manufacturing, as is the case with Nigeria, among others.

As a result of these trade barriers, Andrew Alli, a former president and CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, said he doesn’t expect true free trade in Africa anytime soon: “I think it’s going to

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is a trade agreement between African Union (AU) member states with the goal of creating a single market followed by free movement and a single-currency union. The agreement was brokered by the AU and signed on by 44 of its 55 member states at the African Union summit in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018.

take a long time, unfortunately, for these trade barriers to fall and for trade frictions to reduce. But you’ve got to start somewhere, and the AfCFTA provides a framework and a road map for that to happen.”

It is these long-standing frictions to economic cooperation among African countries that the AfCFTA seeks to solve. And, if all goes well, it should. Despite some criticism, “we have to remember that [the agreement] is part of African Union 2063,” Andrew S. Nevin, chief economist at PwC Nigeria, said in January. That is, “it’s a 50-year vision for Africa, and it’s step by step by step.” Trade barriers in Africa, whether political or cultural, will only be removed gradually.

Countries like Ghana, Egypt and South Africa were in fact prepared with the required customs infrastructure to ensure commercially meaningful trading started, he said, adding Ghana had on January 4, 2021, officially recognized the first consignment of goods to be exported under the AfCFTA, an event other countries would be replicating soon to mark the milestone.

According to Mene, market integration is not an event but a process that takes time, pointing out that it took the European Union almost 60 years to achieve its current depth of integration.

“Africa’s market integration would take some time but you have to start somewhere,” he said.

Only Eritrea out of the continent’s 55 countries In fact, UNECA (United Nations Economic is yet to sign the agreement which has already Commission for Africa) argues, the agreebeen ratified by 34 member states. Through its ment is Africa’s only path to sustainable African Trade Policy Center (ATPC), UNEdevelopment. Alli explained that “people are CA has been working with the African Union looking to invest in where they see there’s Commission (AUC) and member states to AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene: a market for what they are investing in, deepen Africa’s trade integration and effec“Market integration is not an event but a process whether that is in infrastructure, manufactively implement the agreement through policy that takes time.” turing goods for local consumption, or other advocacy and national strategy development. things.” If you have “a fragmented market UNECA also works with the International like Africa is today, it discourages investment.”

Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and independent trade experts with the AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene said, “The most imfinancial support of the European Union to support the implementaportant point that I want to emphasize is that Africa is now trading tion of the AfCFTA across the continent. under new rules, new preferences, because we want to build a It remains to be seen whether the AfCFTA will actually end arbisingle integrated market on the African continent. It may take some trary border closures and trade frictions that have dogged African time before each of us sees the direct benefit. We are not going to be deterred by our critics who say they don’t see evidence that countries over the years. If it does, it could mean a new economic trading has actually started.” dawn for the continent.

Speaking during a virtual press conference on January 12, 2021, Mene dismissed talks that the AfCFTA arrangement was being rushed, saying there’s no trade agreement where all members were ready at the same time.

Africa’s actions so far show that it is up to the task, and AfCFTA is laying the foundation for it to reap the benefits of integration into the global economy.

-From reports on worldbank.org; UNECA.org; foreignpolicy.com ALEN MAGAZINE - SPRING 2021

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#Dadication

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BUSINESS

Community Building

Meeting Critical Housing Needs for several years, the Sphinx Development Corp. has developed more than 1,400 units in ten projects in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Pictured left, President/CEO Jay Oji (in brown suit) and Vice President/COO Joseph Agumadu (in blue suit) celebrate the 2012 grand opening of their Fiji Senior Housing project with former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppart (top) and the chairman of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (bottom). Their latest project, Sierra Vista Senior Villas (far left), will be completed in June 2021. The facility features a spacious lobby (below), and modern kitchens in the affordably priced units (below left).

Real Estate Developers, Oji and Agumadu, Provide High Quality, Affordable Housing for Low-Income, Underserved Seniors Having secured needed financing, Jay Oji and Joseph Agumadu, principals of the Dallas, TX-based Sphinx Development Corporation (SDC), are completing the Sierra Vista Senior Villas, a 272-unit, affordable, independentliving community for seniors whose earnings are at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The development is on target to be completed by June 2021.

Oji, SDC President and CEO, is an entrepreneur with a passion for using business applications to help marginalized communities meet their housing and healthcare needs. He has helmed SDC since the mid-1990s. Oji explains the strategy behind his company’s development projects, stating, “We search for locations that are underserved by the affordable housing industry and employ experienced vendors to bring our ideas to life with inventive architectural design, landscaping and construction.”

The multi-faceted businessman also founded and oversees the operations of Oji and Associates, Inc., a real estate valuation and counseling firm in Dallas, and he serves as a director with TriGen Group, LLC, a healthcare workforce capacity builder.

Joseph Agumadu joined SDC as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 1997. Agumadu’s background is in real estate research and data collection. Initially, Agumadu and Oji informally collaborated on a few projects—to test the compatibility of their working styles—before deciding to make their partnership official. Agumadu recalls, “It wasn’t easy, but there was something about the shared level of professional respect that

made me know that we were up to something unique in this arrangement. With that in mind, everything else was just a hiccup that could be overcome. What’s important is that Jay recognized my value and, throughout our partnership, he has been fair. And, we have grown steadily,” he adds.

Oji’s business acumen and community development endeavors are certainly appreciated in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. He has received the Executive Leadership Award from the State of Texas, Outstanding Texan Award from the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, Businessman of the Year Award from the Dallas Igbo Community Association of Nigeria, and both houses of the State of Texas have recognized him for his exemplary community organizing efforts.

The two businessmen’s latest project is made possible through a partnership with Fort Worth Housing Finance Corporation and Berkshire Hathaway, and $33.05 million in total loans secured with Citi Bank, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and the City of Fort Worth, to finance

the venture. The total cost for the affordable senior independent living community is estimated at $42.66 million.

The Sierra Vista Senior Villas development is built on 8.872-acres, located at 2942 South Riverside Drive (north of the South Riverside and East Berry Street intersection). Oji and Agumadu are committed to meeting the needs of potential residents and are employing best practices to provide high quality yet affordable rental units in a safe and beautiful environment.

Over the years, the Sphinx Development Corporation has developed more than 1,400 housing units within ten projects.

The company has consistently achieved significant success, receiving national honors for Best Affordable Rental, and finishing as a finalist for the National Association of Home Builders 50+ Housing award. One of its developments has been featured in local Dallas newspapers for its innovative design with retail frontage and live/work units.

For more information about Sphinx Development Corporation, visit www.sdcus. com.

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“ WHEN I GRADUATE, YOU GRADUATE WITH ME.” If you’re thinking of finishing your high school diploma, you have more support than you realize. Find teachers and free adult education classes near you at FinishYourDiploma.org.

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TIFFANY

ALEN PROFILE

“THE BUDGETNISTA”

ALICHE

Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche, an award-winning teacher of financial education, is quickly becoming America’s favorite, personal financial educator.

Audiences are attracted to her relatable demeanor and down-to-earth advice on money matters when they catch her on television shows including “Good Morning America,” “The Real,” and “The Today Show,” or read about her in Time, Essence and the Wall Street Journal.

An Amazon #1 bestselling author, Aliche has written The One Week Budget and the Live Richer Challenge series.

Through her company, The Budgetnista, she created a financial movement that has helped over one million women worldwide collectively save more than $150 million, pay off over $100 million in debt, purchase homes and transform the way they think about their finances.

These women that participate in this global movement call themselves, Dream Catchers.

She learned the financial lessons upon which her successful business is built from her father, Irondi Aliche, whom she affectionately calls “my hero.” Tiffany recalls, “My dad has taught me everything I know about money.

Born and raised in humble beginnings in a small, rural village in Nigeria, he is ‘The American Dream’ personified.

He came to the United States as a financial professional with little money but big dreams. Through hard work and discipline, he achieved educational, professional and personal success — and he passed the lessons he learned on to his five daughters.”

Aliche adds, “My college friends were shocked to hear that my dad would sit me and my four sisters down every week to learn a new financial principle that was directly tied to what was going on with our family’s household finances. His advice shaped my positive thinking about money and was instrumental in the (mostly) smart financial decisions I’ve made to this day. I’ve made it my mission to help spread the power of healthy financial habits to as many people as I can reach.”

Tiffany also credits her ten years of experience as a preschool teacher in Newark, NJ, for defining her purpose behind The Budgetnista—education.

In 2019, Tiffany transformed her commitment into legislation when she partnered with Assemblywoman Angela V. McKnight to write a bill that was later signed into Law A1414 (The Budgetnista Law). This law made it mandatory for financial education to be integrated into all middle schools in New Jersey.

To further her mission Tiffany has created and teaches numerous financial classes both online and in person. Her signature course is her annual, “Live Richer Challenge” with over 900,000 women participating in one or more of her challenges.

She also blogs about personal finance for The Huffington Post and The Budgetnista Blog, co-hosts an award-winning podcast, “Brown Ambition,” and has an online school, the Live Richer Academy that teaches over 27,000+ members how to create, implement and automate their own financial education path.

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ALEN PROFILE

DOLTON MAYOR

TIFFANY HENYARD

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“I am grateful, honored, and blessed that the voters came out and voted for me to be the next mayor of Dolton,” said Tiffany Henyard on April 6, 2021, declaring final victory in what had been a hotly contested mayoral race in south suburban Dolton, IL. It is an historic win, as the former Dolton trustee became the first woman mayor of the south suburb, and at 37-years-old, she’s the youngest mayor in Dolton history.

In February, Henyard held off three Democratic primary challengers and won with 34 percent of the vote, compared with 30 percent for incumbent Mayor Riley Rogers, 29 percent for village trustee and community activist Andrew Holmes, and 6 percent for Robert Shaw, a former Chicago alderman and twin brother of the late former Dolton Mayor William Shaw. She went on to win the Dolton Village mayoral general election in a landslide, securing 82 percent of the vote compared with 18 percent for challenger Ronnie Burge.

The Village of Dolton is a south suburban municipality of Cook County, located just beyond the city limits of Chicago. According to the US Census, in 2019 Dolton had a total population of 22,348 of which 92.5 percent is African American, 3.8 percent is white (non-Hispanic), and 2.7 percent is Latinx.

A native of Dolton, Henyard is a graduate of the village’s Thornridge High School, and she graduated summa cum laude from Robert Morris University, Chicago, where she majored in business administration. She has been an entrepreneur since she was in high school and owns the Good Burger restaurant.

Henyard brings eight years of village trustee experience to her new role. “In order to lead, you must follow,” Henyard says of her years prepping for the mayor’s seat.

“I’m ready to lead.”

“I am sensitive to the needs of the village and firmly believe that government should be a body of trust, and everyone who serves the village is a trustee either hired or elected, for the benefit of the people,” Henyard says.

Dolton has been described as a small suburb with some major issues, notably increasing crime in the area, crumbling infrastructure, housing blight, business closures and a “big unpaid water bill,” according to news reports. Add to these problems the concern that Dolton is, as Henyard says, “a divided community.”

With much work to be done as mayor, Henyard says, “It is an awesome task bestowed on me.” She hopes to bring together opposing factions of the community for the betterment of all. “I want to transform and revitalize our wonderful village,” she says.

The Dolton Mayor-elect cites her commitment to implementing government policy reform, rendering fair services to everyone, and fighting against corruption.

Henyard promises, “The government by deception will stop,” and she plans to develop an administration characterized by a “respectful, service-oriented culture using proven management principles with a sense of fairness.” She adds that she wants to be held accountable for her administration.

Furthermore, according to Henyard, residents of Dolton will experience her style of “compassionate and transparent” government “from day one.” Mayor-elect Henyard will host her inauguration celebration on May 8 and assume her mayoral administrative duties in the Village of Dolton on Monday, May 10, 2021.

ALEN PROFILE Ghanaian native Nathaniel Sena Amenyo migrated to the US soon after earning a bachelor’s degree in 2006.

His friends tagged the outgoing, gregarious, and talkative young man with the nickname Alinco, a reference to the comedian who starred in Nigeria’s popular “Papa Ajasco and Company” 90’s sitcom. Nickname aside, Amenyo is a serious, self-described “community-first guy,” whose passion for connecting with people and supporting the progress of the community, would eventually lead him in 2016 to create “The Progressive Minds Show.” The twice-weekly, online (Facebook and YouTube) program features interviews with accomplished persons who work in the interest of societal advancement, such as Secretary of State Jesse White, former Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, other elected officials, healthcare advocates, civic leaders, and political and social activists.

Amenyo’s dedication to service projects extends back to his homeland, where, before attending college, he cofounded “Save The Dance,” a yearly dance competition involving all high schools in Ghana, aimed at creating awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS, STDs, and malaria among the youth. He continued to commit himself to helping others after completing his MBA at Argosy University in Chicago in 2012, and while holding job positions with such companies as Enova International, Yawsoft Technologies, BMO Harris, Legends Media Network Group, and Walgreens. He volunteered at Cavalry Church, Naperville, as a youth leader from 2008 – 2010, and founded/coached a local soccer team for the youth at Christ Center of Hope.

“I have the privilege to serve my community here in Chicago in many aspects,” Amenyo says, pointing to two occasions in which he addressed the divide between Africans and African Americans with shows on the South and West sides of Chicago that highlighted the “positives” in these communities. In 2017, he was part of a team that marched at the Daley Center to stop slavery in Libya, and he later joined Rev. Jesse Jackson for a press conference on the subject. In 2018, the Abolition Institute awarded him for his work and support in the fight against slavery in Mauritania.

During a stint as General Manager of WGHC 98.3, a Ghanaian radio station on Chicago’s Northside, Amenyo spearheaded events geared toward bringing “peace, unity, and love” to communities of color and curbing crime and gun violence in Chicago. By 2019, the enterprising young man would form The Exchange Foundation and host an event with the purpose of connecting, celebrating, and embracing the different cultures within the African Diaspora. The event coincided with the observance of the 400th anniversary of American slavery (1619) and Ghana’s recognition of “The Year of Return.”

He also founded The African Diaspora Summit Series (TADSS), an ongoing gathering of people of communities of African descent engaging in conversations that hopefully lead to increased understanding of the cultures comprised of black people.

With the goal of reaching more of the masses with his unifying message for the African diaspora, Amenyo is in the process of launching 105Xchange, an internet-based radio station with 24-hour news and feature programming.

For now, catch “Alinco” Amenyo’s “Progressive Minds Show” streaming live on Facebook and Youtube every Wednesday, 6 - 8 pm CST and Sunday, 2-4 pm CST. Visit his website, thepmsshow.com, for more information.

SENA

“ALINCO”

AMENYO

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CYNTHIA

ONYEDINMANAZU C H I N A S A O K W U

ERIVO

What’s In A Name?

Her Stellar Entertainment Career Success May Have Been Assigned at Birth

C

ynthia Erivo, the child of Nigerians, born and raised in London, is captivating American movie audiences with her genius portrayals of African-American iconic figures. On the heels of playing anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman in the eponymously named film “Harriet,” Erivo took on the equally challenging role of the Queen of Soul in National Geographic’s “Genius: Aretha” the biopic of the award-winning, international recording artist and civil rights activist Aretha Franklin. Erivo’s expert embodiment of these two revered, historic Black American women, as well as her acting in less lofty roles, have garnered the 34-year-old actor accolades and awards as well as, in some circles, skepticism and criticism.

Somehow, however, Erivo rises above it all with particular grace and a fair amount of grit.

At birth, she was given the name Cynthia Onyedinmanazu Chinasaokwu Erivo. Her Nigerian ancestry is Igbo as are her middle names. In Igbo tradition, names are indicative of circumstances in play at the time of a child’s birth. In Erivo’s case, her name “Onyedinmanazu” translates to the question: “Who is good in their absence?” The query alludes to the knowledge that in your presence people may sing your praises but it remains to be seen whether they would say the same when you are not around. Her other Igbo name “Chinasaokwu,” translates to “My Guardian Spirit responds to my critics,” a moniker that has become increasingly consequential in Erivo’s adult life and professional career.

Erivo was raised in Stockwell, South West London, by her Nigerian mother, whom Erivo has described as “an intuitive nurse,” who always knew her daughter was destined for the stage. In a New York Times interview, Erivo noted, “It was no surprise to her when it happened because she kind of already knew. So, when I said to her that I was going to be an actress, I was going to sing, she said, ‘Good, make sure you work hard.’” Erivo was one of only four persons of color accepted in her year into London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her rise to acting renown in America began with Erivo’s outstanding portrayal of Celie in Broadway’s “The Color Purple” in 2015. She won a Tony for this role in 2016, (she also won a Drama Desk Award), and that same year she took home a 18

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“ As a singer, I truly believe that my job is to communicate and tell the stories that sometimes are difficult for people to tell for themselves...

Aretha did that with her eyes closed. She had a wonderful way of communicating the things that she had been through, through songs.”

Erivo as Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s “Genius: Aretha”.

Photo by National Geographic/Richard DuCree

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“I don’t think it’s different to be a Black girl in England than it is to be a Black girl from America. We all collectively share in a pain of displacement, and not feeling like we quite belong in places.”

Erivo shines in the acting roles that have made her famous (left to right): Darlene Sweet in “Bad Times at the El Royale; Belle in “Widows; playing Harriet Tubman in “Harriet;” and as Aretha Franklin in “Genius: Aretha.”

Grammy (for the cast album) and later a daytime Emmy for performing on NBC. For her 2018 role in the film noir, “Bad Times at the El Royale,” alongside actors Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm and others, Erivo was nominated for a Saturn Award, and won a Black Reel Award and a London Critics Circle Film Award.

But it was her riveting depiction of the titular role in Director Kasi Lemmon’s epic film, “Harriet”, that boosted Erivo’s star status with an outpouring of industry recognition. Erivo was nominated for a Best Lead Actress Oscar for her role in “Harriet” and she earned a Best Original Song Oscar nomination for “Stand Up,” a song she co-wrote for the movie. For “Harriet,” Erivo also earned nominations for two Golden Globes (Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama and Best Original Song), a Screen Actors Guild Award (Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture), and four NAACP Image Awards in various categories. In 2019, Erivo was nominated for the BAFTA (British Academy Film Award) Rising Star Award. In all, Erivo’s work in “Harriet,” garnered her at least 25 acting/songwriting nominations and ten award wins from film and music associations. Her previous award wins for “The Color Purple” have placed Erivo very close to gaining membership in the rarified EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Awards – winning) group of performers. The multifaceted talent she’s displayed in previous roles led her to landing the plum part of the Queen of Soul!

Erivo’s virtuoso singing ability, applauded since her early London and Broadway theater days, was acknowledged by Aretha Franklin, herself, when she visited Erivo backstage after one of “The Color Purple” performances. Erivo has said in interviews that she landed the part of Franklin by singing a portion of “Ain’t No Way” at the 2019 Tony Awards, when a reporter asked on the red carpet what her guilty-pleasure song was. “Unbeknownst to me, that interview gets sent to [executive producers] Clive Davis and Brian Grazer, [and] the rest is history,” Erivo told People magazine. “I get a call from my agent, who says National Geographic is doing the next Genius and it’s about Aretha Franklin and they would like you to consider playing the role, and there’s a meeting coming up if you want to take it.”

In the eight-episode series “Genius: Aretha,” Erivo brought Aretha to the viewers’ hearts and held her in dignity throughout the 20

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depiction of Franklin’s phenomenal, history-making and oftentimes harrowing life story. Despite the fact that she is not exactly a dead-ringer for Aretha (physically, Erivo, a very petite 5’1” tall, is four inches shorter than Franklin), you never for one second stop to wonder if Aretha was not on the screen herself. Erivo’s genius is her ability to totally become one with the character to the extent that the viewer forgets (or forgives) any differing physical attributes that may detract from total belief in the portrayal. Erivo mastered Franklin’s mannerisms, her accent and non-verbal cues.

Moreover, Erivo had to not only portray one of the world’s greatest vocalists but also had to sing like her, performing the vocals for Aretha’s songs in the series. Erivo said she prepared for the role by “relistening to [Aretha’s] music, to discovering [Aretha’s] rare interviews and reading some amazing books on her — all to really capture Aretha’s attitude and spirit. I wanted to pay homage to the way she would think and the choices she would make, because they were really specific.” About Aretha, Erivo has said, “She means the world to me. As a singer, I truly believe that my job is to communicate and tell the stories that sometimes are difficult for people to tell for themselves... Aretha did that with her eyes closed.

She had a wonderful way of communicating the things that she had been through, through songs.”

Erivo has been through a few things, too, on her road to stardom.

Her selection to portray key African-American figures, such as Harriet Tubman and Aretha Franklin, over well-known, talented African-American actors, has elicited a fair share of controversy, some arguing that Erivo is “not black enough” for such opportunities because she is not a descendant of slaves. To which, Erivo protests, “I don’t think it’s different to be a Black girl in England than it is to be a Black girl from America. We all collectively share in a pain of displacement, and not feeling like we quite belong in places.”

Erivo took to social media to share her dismay over criticisms levied at “Harriet” director Lemmings, who is, pointedly, an African-American female, about her choosing Erivo for the coveted role. In a long Instagram post, Erivo related why the criticisms hurt her personally, writing: “I struggled a little with whether or not to post anything about this role, because even though there is so much encouragement coming through, there’s also anger spurred on by me being from the UK. I guess there is a bigger conversation to

Erivo at the 2020 SAG Awards, wearing a Schiaparelli gown.

plays Jiminy Cricket. She has also just completed her first children’s book titled Remember to Dream, Ebere, to be published this year by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The picture book tells the tale of a mother and child and the dreams they build together. Each night when Ebere’s mother puts her to bed, she says, “Remember to dream, Ebere.” And dream, Ebere will do, imagining herself as the captain of a Rocketship capable of going anywhere in the universe.

be had about heritage and experience. There’s also a bigger conversation to be had about who Harriet really was. Those conversations cannot be had in an Instagram post. What I would rather say is that my journey to this woman has been long and detailed. It is one I have not taken lightly. When people speak of foreign privilege, truthfully life would be unbelievably easy if that were applied to me but that is not the case.

I cannot tell how protective I am of this woman and her story.”

There have also been attempts to stir up dissension between Erivo and Academy award-winning actor Jennifer Hudson, who is slated to play Franklin in the upcoming film, “Respect.” Erivo scoffs at such provocations, saying she’s excited to see “multiple projects celebrating Aretha. I’m greedy. So, any Aretha I can get, I’m getting,” Eriva added. “It’s something that we as Black women barely get so, to have her celebrated like this is so cool.”

For her part, Erivo is set for some impressive upcoming projects. She is playing a character in Disney’s live-action “Pinocchio” in which Tom Hanks plays Geppetto and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Erivo’s mother, a Nigerian nurse who “always knew” her daughter was destined for greatness, was the Oscarnominated actor’s date to the 2020 Academy Awards.

One wonders, to what heights will Erivo climb in her unchartered journey? Past successes indicate unlimited opportunities for the multi-talented superstar who’s endowed with a rare and beautiful sense of humility, a demeanor that allows her to shower naysayers with uncommon grace, and the fortitude to meet every challenge in art and in life. We imagine as the future unfolds, praise will continue to be heaped upon Erivo in her presence as well as in her absence, and if, by chance, some less savory comments are made, her Guardian Spirit will respond well to her critics. Such outcomes, after all, are written in her name: Cynthia Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Erivo!

— Contributed to by Fred Nwankwo, Jalyne Strong-Shaw and Chris Ukuchukwu ALEN MAGAZINE - SPRING 2021

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In the 70’s, Fela Kuti gave birth to Afrobeat music, which has, in turn, become the progenitor of the highly popular Afrobeats genre of a new, youth generation.

FELA’S LEGACY

By Dr. Adam Nwankwo

This striking global emergence of Afrobeats further burnishes Fela’s legacy.

Fela Kuti, Grandmaster of the globally acclaimed Afrobeat music genre, was the first African singer-songwriter to generate worldwide interest in African music. The resultant global appetite for African music is owed to the pulsating, mood-lifting, and funky, get-up-and-dance tempo that Fela created. Predicated on his use of music to advance a bruising criticism of Nigeria’s military regimes, his creation of the Afrobeat music genre, and his role in triggering a wide following of young African (particularly Nigerian) musicians, Fela established a thriving legacy that’s now experiencing a 21st century rebirth.

Perhaps the greatest contribution to what would become Fela’s phenomenal success was his decision to enroll in the London School of Music in 1958 and, later in his career, his brief relocation to Los Angeles in 1969. These moves led him, first, to a fascination for jazz music and, then, to a penchant for America’s R&B, funk, and rock music. He eventually returned to Nigeria by 1970 and the rest of his music career is history.

Fela utilized his profound understanding of the music of both Africa and of the West to whip up an amalgamation of globally enduring music genres – jazz, funk, rock, and traditional African rhythms – into a revolutionary genre called Afrobeat. While his first hit single, “Jeun K’oku” remains alluring, it was the 1976 politically rebellious single, “Zombie,” that catapulted him to stardom. The song, critical of the Nigerian military, cost his mother’s life, due to a brutal, government-engineered attack on the commune where Fela, his family, and musicians lived.

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But from that point on, Fela’s Afrobeat music took off. His 1999 CD, The Best Best of Fela Kuti, is comprised of meticulously selected monster hits, including “Lady,” “Shakara” and “Zombie”.

Surprising omissions to this compilation are “Jeun K’oku (Chop & Quench)”, the smash hit that launched Fela’s music career, and my all-time favorite, “Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am” a blockbuster ballad made the more compelling because of the contribution of Fela’s long time drummer and the co-founder of Afrobeat, the late Tony Allen, who was described as perhaps the greatest drummer of all time by Brian Eno of the British rock group, Roxy Music.

Even though Fela passed away in 1997, the music genre he pioneered continues to thrive. His two sons, Femi and Seun, who joined their father’s band as teenagers, have since emerged as remarkable maestros of Afrobeat.

Afrobeat’s impact on the western world was first felt in the late Tony Allen, Fela’s drummer and 1970s when one of music’s great- Afrobeat co-founder

est drummers – Ginger Baker, of the British super-group Cream, went to Lagos, Nigeria, to collaborate with Fela. The result was the compelling album, Live, with tracks of poly-rhythms that are loaded with a mixture of funk, jazz, and traditional Nigerian music. After the Fela-Ginger Baker collaboration, Afrobeat simply took off.

By the turn of the 21st century, the genre permeated the western world. Antibalas, a Brooklyn-based Afrobeat band with a knack for touring the U.S., Canada, and Europe, released three albums – Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1, Talkatif, and Who is This America?, — between 2000 and 2004. Also, Chicago Afrobeat Project, a 14-piece ensemble formed in 2002, has been at the center of the emergence of North America’s Afrobeat. In their 2019 release, What Goes Up Remixed, the band featured Fela’s master drummer, Tony Allen.

The genre simultaneously penetrated Canada. Afrodizz, Canada’s best known Afrobeat band, is touted as one of the most prominent Afrobeat groups in the post-Fela era, notably for live performances that are bona fide dance floor favorites. The eight-member band hails from Montreal and came together in 2002. Afrodizz won the Best Artist category in the 2006 Montreal International Music IniBeyoncé paid homage to Fela during her 2018 tiative Awards for the second album, Froots, and their hit single, Coachella performance, delivering a pulsating “Killing Floor”, remains a must-have Afrobeat ballad.

Other notables in the advancement of Afrobeat are Africans rendition of Fela’s classic “Zombie.” such as the Beninese singer-songwriter, Angelique Kidjo, Ghana’s Amakye Dede, Nigeria’s Yinka Davies and The Lijadu Sisters, who that surpassed two billion streams on Spotify. America’s top music were active in the genre from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s. In adstars’ attention to Afrobeats led Rolling Stone magazine to report in dition to these diverse bands that have continued to advance AfrobeJanuary 2021 that American music listeners were gravitating toward at, some music-oriented establishments and mega artists have highglobal genres, particularly Korean Pop and Afrobeats. The magalighted the remarkable influence of Fela and his Afrobeat music. zine further stated that in 2020 streams for Afrobeats and NigeriFor instance, in 2005, an music more than doubled in the U.S. compared to the previous Universal Music USA year, and more Nigerian artre-mastered and repackists, specifically Burna Boy aged all of its Fela Kuti and Davido, reached the albums for distribution in U.S. charts than ever bethe United States and, in fore. Burna Boy and Wiz2008, an off-Broadway kid both won awards at the production of legendary 2021 Grammy Awards last Fela Onikulapo Kuti’s March: Burna Boy for the life, titled “Fela!”, was Best Global Music Album an instant sellout during category with his “Twice as its run.

Tall” cut, while Wizkid won More recent acclaimed the Best Music Video for his recognition of Fela and song with Beyoncé, “Brown his Afrobeat music came Skin Girl” from Lion King: from Beyoncé – the inThe Gift album. This striking domitable queen of pop global emergence of Afrobemusic who garnered a ats further burnishes Fela’s whopping nine Gramlegacy. my nominations and two To today’s music lovers, Grammy awards in 2021.

Fela’s genius is obvious. The Beyoncé paid homage impact of his legacy was felt to Fela during her 2018 strongly shortly after his death Coachella performance, when the world realized the delivering a pulsating loss of a pillar of the globKEEPERS OF THE LEGACY rendition of Fela’s clasal music industry. Fela is the sic “Zombie.” On sev- Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (left), known as Wizkid, and Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (right), undisputed progenitor of two aka Burna Boy, are two of Africa’s biggest artists and Afrobeats entertainers. Both of eral occasions Beyonce´ them won Grammy awards in March 2021, as their popularity and influence is growing tremendously popular musical has spoken about Fela’s amongst American audiences. genres: Afrobeat and Afrobeinfluence on her music. ats. Befittingly, Fela is one of Accordingly, Beyoncé’s 2020 Lion King album spotlights the the nominees for 2021 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Afrobeats genre, which is considered to be the direct offshoot of with the likes of popular music megastars, Tina Turner, Jay-Z, Mary Fela’s Afrobeat creation. Beyonce´’s album features six of NigeJ. Blige, and Foo Fighters. ria’s heavyweight Afrobeats entertainers, including Wizkid, Tekno, While it may be argued whether Fela is one of the Greatest Of All Yemi Alade, and Mr. Eazi. Drake, the Canadian rapper and the most Time, there’s no debate that African music has caught fire around streamed artist of the decade, had previously collaborated with Wizthe world and Fela’s legacy will be enshrined in the global conkid and Brit singer Kyla in 2016 on “One Dance,” a dancehall song sciousness and felt in perpetuity.

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MANDELA STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM

Illinois Holocaust Museum’s Showcase of Mandela’s Fight For Freedom In Dramatic Visuals, Digital Technology Runs through Sept. 12, 2021 Visitors to Illinois Holocaust Museum’s temporary exhibition, Mandela: Struggle for Freedom, can experience the tiny cell where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison, make a virtual protest poster on a digital light table, or enter a secret apartment for freedom fighters forced underground.

Mandela: Struggle for Freedom, explores the earthshaking fight for justice and human dignity in South Africa – and its relevance to social justice issues of today – through imagery, soundscape, digital media, and artifacts.

The exhibit opened to the public on Saturday, Feb. 20 and will remain at the Museum through September 12, 2021.

Nelson Mandela was one of the most famous human rights defenders of the 20th century and the face of a movement against racial injustice. His unbreakable will inspired people around the globe to mobilize for human rights and contributed to a worldwide crusade demanding racial equality. A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994, Mandela devoted his life to fighting apartheid and creating a more just society.

“Themes explored in the exhibition including the role of nonviolent protest, the power of youth, and the indignities of incarceration still resonate today, making this exhibition both Above: South Africa, Tokoza Township, Johannesburg. 1991. Police watch an ANC rally while children taunt them by toyi-toying on the other side of the fence (Photograph by Graeme Williams). Left: In this Feb. 13, 1990, file photo, African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela gives the black power salute to 120,000 ANC supporters packing Soccer City stadium in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa, shortly after his release from 27 years in prison. Opposite page: Mandela in hiding in 1961 (UWC-Robben Island Museum Mayibuye Archives, photograph by Eli Weinberg).

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“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

— Nelson Mandela, 1964

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Photograph of segregated stairs is part of the “wall of laws” section of the “Mandela: Struggle for Freedom” exhibition at the Illinois Holocaust Museum.

timely and compelling,” says Chief Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Arielle Weininger.

“Nelson Mandela’s impact and voice reached people around the world, and that voice still resonates today,” says Museum CEO Susan Abrams. “As we continue to see racism, antisemitism, and hatred on the rise, this exhibition provides visitors with the chance to use Mandela’s lifelong fight for justice as a source of inspiration.”

Among its many dramatic visual features, the exhibition replicates Mandela’s eight-foot by seven-foot prison cell. When entered, the cell becomes a digital theatre whose walls bring to life the story of repression and resilience. This part of the exhibition exposes visitors to Robben Island’s dehumanizing conditions, the tools of hard labor, the censored letters, the meager contents of the cell, and a littleknown plot to escape.

Exhibit Details • Five zones – Apartheid, Defiance, Repression, Mobilization, and Freedom – house interactive exhibits, artifacts and objects, oral histories, videos, and art. Each zone references a different color of the South African flag, adopted with the first democratic elections of 1994 to symbolize unity. Visitors start with the stark black-andwhite of apartheid oppression and end in the full living colors of freedom.

• An imposing “wall of laws” stretching five meters high is covered with apartheid signs and laws based solely on skin color. Under South Africa’s former apartheid system, these laws dictated how people lived their lives, including where they could go and what they could do. Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and labor exploitation, imposing control on all aspects of life – as evidenced by the number and diversity of laws. A replica bench at the exhibition entrance sets the tone by inviting “Europeans only” to sit.

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• The scene of young Mandela’s famous first TV interview in 1961 in a clandestine apartment location is recreated in front of the actual film footage (the Widlake interview). At this time, freedom fighters are moving underground. A “covert” area in this gallery zone features hidden objects, peekholes, and coded phone messages.

• A tiny prison cell comes alive with silhouettes of Mandela moving about in his daily routine, then relays a story of continued resistance in the face of repression. Visitors are exposed to the dehumanizing conditions of Robben Island, the tools of hard labor, the censored letters, the meagre contents of the cell, and a little-known plot to escape.

• Original artifacts include a battered ballot box used in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 when Mandela became president; a letter in Mandela’s own hand, sent from prison to a leader of anti-apartheid mobilization; a notepad Mandela used during negotiations for democracy; and a message Mandela wrote in the Canadian Senate during a visit shortly after his release from prison in 1990.

• In-gallery activities include a virtual poster-making station on a digital touchscreen table, with the ability to project your poster among others displayed in the exhibit (this can also be done online).

Poster-making was a major part of the South African community resistance. People with few resources would gather to make inspiring posters that called people to action and solidarity in the struggle.

Hundreds of examples still exist.

Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center honors the Survivors and victims of the Holocaust and transforms history into current, relevant, and universal lessons in humanity. The Museum is open Wednesday-Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM with last admission at 4:00 PM. For more information, visit www.ilholocaustmuseum.org or call 847-967-4800.

On it.

Ending racial injustice requires all of us to work together and take real action.

What can you do to help?

Educate yourself about the history of American racism, privilege and what it means to be anti-racist. Educate yourself

about the history of American racism, privilege and what it means to be anti-racist.

Commit to actions that challenge injustice and make everyone feel like they belong, such as challenging biased or racist language when you hear it.

Vote in national and local elections to ensure your elected officials share your vision of public safety.

Donate to organizations, campaigns and initiatives who are committed to racial justice.

Let’s come together to take action against racism and fight for racial justice for the Black community.

Visit lovehasnolabels.com/fightforfreedom

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EXTERMINATE ALL THE BRUTES Acclaimed Haitian Filmmaker Raoul Peck Examines Origins of White Supremacy, Racism & Genocide in Groundbreaking Series HBO Documentary Films’ “Exterminate All The Brutes,” from acclaimed filmmaker Raoul Peck (“I Am Not Your Negro,” HBO’s “Sometimes in April”), is a four-part series that provides a visually arresting journey through time, into the darkest hours of humanity.

Through his personal voyage, Peck deconstructs the making and masking of history, digging deep into the exploitative and genocidal aspects of European colonialism – from America to Africa and its impact on society today – challenging the audience to re-think the very notion of how history is being written.

“I felt the need to even go to a broader scope of the story of racism and white supremacy,” Peck said in an interview. He contends that in his experience European audiences hold the belief that racism is an American concern, not comprehending that racism in the United States is a “continuation of a long history of Eurocentric domination.”

Based on three works by authors and scholars – Sven Lindqvist’s Exterminate All the Brutes, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States and Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s Silencing the Past – “Exterminate All The Brutes” revisits and reframes the profound meaning of the Native American genocide and American slavery, and their fundamental implications for our present.

Peck dedicated three years to assembling a massive amount of imagery, including film clips, archival footage, historical documents, photographs, artwork, and animated scenes. The Guardian reports, “The result is a discursive collage of uncommon ambition that connects injustices and atrocities from the Spanish Inquisition (when the notion of biological race was born) to Christopher Columbus, the transatlantic slave trade, the Indian Removal Act, the Alamo, the Congo Free State, the Battle of Omdurman, the Nazis, Hiroshima and the presidency of Donald Trump, braiding the micro with the macro, personal accounts with mass culture, history with contemporary life and fiction. As Baldwin himself said: ‘History is not the past – it is the present.’”

The series artfully weaves together the rich documentary footage and archival material, as well as dynamic animation and interpretive scripted scenes and aims to tell a sweeping story in which history, contemporary life and fiction are wholly intertwined. Peck meticulously disrupts formal and artistic film conventions, freely weaving together scripted and unscripted content.

“As writers, creators, filmmakers we have no choice but to try and reflect our societies and give some sort of analysis of them the best way Filmmaker Raoul Peck

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“Everybody needs to acknowledge that the story of the United States started with a genocide.”

we can,” says Peck. “And as artists, we need to break the limits of our art.”

Illustratively, Peck inserts his own personal story throughout the series, including home movies, family photographs, and clips from his own films. In this way, the filmmaker mines his own experience of being a person of color raised in two former colonies, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, who has lived for years in colonizer’s nations, including the US, France, and Germany. “I am an immigrant from a shithole country,” Peck muses at a point in the series that shows film footage of his family.

Peck intentionally exposes the groups and events that have been hidden and silenced in Archival photographs shown in the film: Portrait of a nurse and a child (ca 1850), H.E. Hayward and history and dives deep into taboo topics. He and African American attendant, Frances (ca 1863). shines a revelatory light on “settler colonialism, slave nurse Louisa (ca 1858), Sallie SmithPhotograph

by Courtesy of The Paul Getty Museum/Missouri Historical Society/HBO whereby settlers violently replace indigenous filmmaker Raoul Peck sets out to illuminate the intertwined curpeoples and then use the land in perpetuity,” the rents of hate and bigotry running through history. Focusing on the Guardian writes. In a review of the series, The New Yorker posits, United States’ legacy as a colonial power, Peck explores how race “Peck evokes some crucial historical connections that rarely appear first became institutionalized, the in popular culture.”

Nazi program of “elimination” and “[He] gathers a set of historical “I leave room for you as an audience its antecedents in the West, and the atrocities of vast geographical and to find your place, to bring your own looting of the African continent in a historical scope—the colonization “gentlemen’s agreement.” of the New World by means of the experience, your own emotion, your Part 2 genocide of Native Americans, the Peck revisits the stories of Christoenslavement of Africans in the Amer- own reflection.” pher Columbus, the Alamo, and the icas, the imperial conquest of Africa Trail of Tears from an indigenous

by European powers, and the Holoperspective in the second episode, caust—and traces their inextricable “Who the F*** is Columbus.” He connections, their shared theme of shows how “official” history is white supremacy,” writer Richard shaped by those in power and solidBrody surmises in the review. ified by myth and popular culture.

“Everybody needs to acknowledge Next, he examines the “doctrine that the story of the United States of discovery” used to justify the started with a genocide,” Peck says. enslavement of millions of Africans “Until you can do that, nothing and questions his own story within makes sense.” He admits, however, these narratives. that the US doesn’t like tampering Part 3 with “their origin story.”

In the third installment of the Nevertheless, Peck’s series is conseries, “Killing at a Distance or... sidered “a strident deconstruction of How I Thoroughly Enjoyed the western narratives, both popular and Outing,” Peck looks back at human academic.” The objective is to get migration, trade, and weaponry, and viewers to dissect their own assumpScene from “Exterminate All The Brutes.” tions. For most viewers, personal Photograph by Velvet Film/David Koskas/Courtesy HBO shows how Europeans used industrialized steel to conduct warfare from reflection on the themes and issues ever-greater distances. Then, he exraised while watching all four parts plores the endless cycle of militarization throughout the centuries of “Exterminate All The Brutes,” will leave them uncomfortable, – from George Washington’s efforts to jumpstart American arms slightly unmoored, and questioning what they had been taught and manufacturing, to the Monroe Doctrine, and finally, to the horrors what they thought they knew. of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

But Peck invites viewers to sit in that uncomfortableness for a Part 4 while, saying, “I leave room for you as an audience to find your In the series finale, “The Bright Colors of Fascism,” Peck explace, to bring your own experience, your own emotion, your own plores the challenge of reconciling America’s true history with reflection.” its ideals of freedom and democracy, pointing to the struggle for He contends that it will be up to the individual viewer, after all, native representation and the legacy of slavery in institutionalwhat he or she will do with the information provided. “It’s not ized racism today. Reflecting on his time in Berlin, Peck links the knowledge we lack. What is missing is the courage to understand modern resurgence of white nationalism with fascism, slavery, what we know and to draw conclusions,” a maxim Peck repeats colonialism, and Nazism. often enough throughout the film to drive home the point.

“Exterminate All The Brutes,” which debuted on HBO with two “Exterminate All The Brutes” Episode Descriptions: episodes on April 7, and the final two episodes on April 8, is curPart 1 rently streaming on HBO Max and Hulu.

In the series premiere, “The Disturbing Confidence of Ignorance,” ALEN MAGAZINE - SPRING 2021

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Crowned as Miss Universe in 2019, South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi became the second black woman to earn the title in the pageant’s 68-year history. The 26-year-old, tall, regal beauty captured the prestigious crown—and the world’s attention—by showcasing her unique glamour and style; strategically flaunting her natural hair style and wearing fashion designs that reflect her South African heritage or are made by South African designers.

Photos from Zozitunzi/Instagram

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Zozi modeled this stunning ensemble by MAXHOSA AFRICA, a South African knitwear brand founded in 2012 by designer Laduma Ngxokolo.

For this custommade gown by Biji La Maison the inspiration was South Africa’s minerals. The ombre´ beaded-block fringe dress was entirely beaded by hand.

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A NATURAL BEAUTY Zozi shines in a bling & silver dress available through the South Africa online company _Mode-Co. facebook.com/mode.co.za

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They Say CONVERSATIONS ON OUR AFRICAN PROVERBS

“

We speak to a wise man in proverbs and not in plain language.”

W

herever they originate, proverbs are a significant part of oral tradition passed down from generation to generation in various forms. Proverbs are an important source of information in African knowledge systems because they contain the thoughts and beliefs of African people. The late Kwame Gyekye, a Harvard-trained Ghanaian scholar and author who specialized in Akan philosophy, suggests that people who want to be wise should pay attention to the concepts such as truth, justice, spirituality, and cosmology that are embedded in proverbs.

Throughout the African continent you’ll find a proud history of oral storytelling punctuated regularly with proverbs, some of which have made their way into everyday language in other parts of the world.

For example, the popular saying, “It takes a village to raise a child” has become so ingrained in popular culture around the globe it has practically become a cliché. The saying originates from the Igbo or Yoruba people of Nigeria where, as in many other parts of Africa, raising a child requires the participation of an entire community.

African proverbs in a modern world Whatever the frame of reference, proverbs have been a source of guidance for African communities in times of uncertainty and remain an inherent part of various societies. According to the Ashanti people of Ghana, “We speak to a wise man in proverbs and not in plain language.” For many people in various African countries, proverbs are wisdom and wisdom is life.

Nowadays, there’s a growing sense in some cultures that proverbs are the fading residue of old traditions and philosophies. However, they are by nature an expression of human observation on everyday occurrences and timeless matters concerning nature, family, birth, life, and death. Increasingly popular sayings of today could well become the cross-cultural universal wisdoms of tomorrow. After all, according to another African proverb, “A wise man who knows proverbs can reconcile all difficulties.”

—Source: “The Timeless Wisdom of African Sayings” (goldrestaurant.co.za)

JOIN THE CONVERSATION In coming issues, ALEN Magazine will use this space to muse on various African proverbs and encourage conversation on their meanings for modern society. If there is an African proverb that you would like to express and explore, please submit via email to: ALENMAGMEDIA@ gmail.com 36

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CORY, stroke survivor.

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Getting back to birthday parties starts with getting informed.

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