YAAPD

Designer Spotlight on a game changer in the diaspora: 

Loza Maléombho, born in Brazil, is representing one of Africa’s fashion power nations, Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire). Growing up in Africa’s fashion capital, Abidjan, Loza harnessed her love and passion for design and fabrics at a tender age of 13, designing her school uniform as well as her mother’s uniforms. 

Eager to push her creative talents further, Loza studied Animation at the University of Philadelphia in the USA. Before launching her own self titled label in 2009, she gained some experience under the guidance of some prominent designers: Jill Stuarts, Yigal Azrouel and Cynthia Rowley. 

So you may ask, apart from her phenomenal clothing lines that have been showcased at events such as the AFI Mercedes Benz African Fashion Week and receiving worldwide recognition for being phenomenal in her field, what makes her special? 

Ms. Maléombho moved her company in 2012 back to the continent, specifically, her home city! According to Okay Africa, "Her current mission is to redefine the label “Made in Africa” with a positive social and economic impact in the West African country.” So I should probably take this time to let you all know that bringing the experience from the diaspora and investing that knowledge on the continent gets my blood racing and my eyes sparkling. So may be just take some time to appreciate her for making this happen. 

So what exactly does this consist of? 

OkayAfrica let us know that, “Part of that includes empowering women with a small manufacturing workshop that produces the brand’s collections and hires young women from unfavorable backgrounds” Loza Maléombho also works closely with local artisans on featured products such as Indigo dye fabric, jewelry, shoes and accessories.“I am also building a brand which celebrates culture and tradition in modernity, but in a way that isn’t possible without a multi-perspective... I have lived in different environments and I adapted to different cultures, those experiences have defined who I am and manifest throughout the collections I create. I think there is a market of people who don’t identify to only one culture and who relate to that multi-culturalism.”

So let us praise a Queen she is an inspirational figure. At the same time, let us praise Ivory Coast and the hundreds of fashion designers who only know how to slay. Let us hail the African fashion designers all over the continent and in the diaspora who are killing the game. 

Photo creds: @theafricatheynevershowyou

Info creds: 

https://www.notjustalabel.com/designer/loza-maleombho

http://www.okayafrica.com/news/loza-maleombho-zaouli-ss16-collection/#slide1

I was scrolling through the Time Magazine Lightbox when I stumbled upon some photos by Jimmy Nelson, a photographer whose life work is devoted to capturing dying cultures. As I scrolled through the gallery, I noticed that four out of the 13 photos posted were of African tribes. The photos were all truly beautiful, but two caught my attention in particular. There were guns in the photos of the Akree, Bona, Magid, Locharia, Garo & Gobo, Karo Tribe and of a man from the Hilao Moyizo Village, both in the Omo Valley. The juxtaposition between the subjects’ traditional dress and their modern weapons struck me. How will they change tribal culture? What will they do to tribal interactions? I could not help but wonder if the weapons photographed contributed to the fact that Nelson was photographing dying traditional African cultures – there were more photos from Africa than from any other continent. We talk about globalization on the continent so much, but I think it is important to recognize the effect it has on culture. Africa’s modernization and entrance into the global economy is certainly something that should be encouraged, but the unique cultures that existed before modernization cannot be forgotten and lost.

Mark your calendars for the 2015 Sankofa54: African Youth Empowerment Conference! Registration is officially live! This year's theme is The Next Chapter: Africa in the Global Context. We are excited to come together, as scholars, professionals, and global thinkers and conduct a thoughtful appraisal of Africa’s global presence in order to better understand the unique position in which Africa stands in the world today, and how this next chapter of globalization can lead us into an age of unity and prosperity. To learn more about next year's Sankofa54, please visit our website: yaapd.org

On Oct. 30 some members of YAAPD and YASA gathered in Berkeley common room to have a stimulating video chat with Sharon Obuobi of AADAT for its African Art & Activism Campus Tour. AADAT is an art platform for African art and activism and generates conversations about the importance of the presence of African art and culture in society.

One of the topics we discussed included students’ African Identity within the context of campus and society. Dianne Lake said, “My African identity has come to encompass what it means to Black in America and Yale. . . it has made me urge to learn more about my culture and also Black American culture.” Daad Sharfi added that for her, being from Sudan, her African identity was something she always grappled with. “My friends in Sudan identify as Arab, but coming to Yale has made me own my African identity so much more.” For many, coming to terms with their cultural roots and deciding how significantly it is a part of their life is a journey every African Yalie must take. It’s also one that varies between individuals; our identities are much like branches that sprout from the same seed.

Another important issue discussed was our prospective roles in the future of Africa. We are probably too often reminded of our roles as “the future leaders of tomorrow”, but how can we also relate that to our cultural heritage? “I think because of the friendships I’ve made at Yale, I care more intensely about things I  might not have. . .  I know a lot about Nairobi and about Kenya, but because my friends are from so many other places I have become more aware of different regions and the issues they face, “ said Ivy Nyayieka on the subject. Yaa Ampofo added that for her, “Helping to instill a sense of environmental responsibility into Africa” was an obligation she felt owed to the continent. Other goals discussed were giving back to communities, helping to foster education and build schools, and provide water and shelter.

As AADAT is especially concerned with issue of African art and activism, the discussion naturally landed on African art and how it plays a role in our lives. Art is everywhere in our lives and it plays a profound role in how we can communicate our beliefs. However, what is an artist’s social responsibility and to what extent should art be used as a medium for political and social commentary? Some African artists have taken to photography as a means to raise awareness for environmental responsibility by capturing the oil spills in Nigeria while some use their craft to advocate for women’s rights. Still as integral as art may be to the African culture and the diaspora, art is still something greatly undermined in African society. Often, you’ll find parents urging their children to pursue careers in the STEM field and even condemning the idea of art as a means to live. Even then, art is something that seems to be greatly undermined in Africans’ eyes. African fashion breathes of vitality and beauty in everything from the rich patterns, fabrics, and textiles that the continent produces, yet it’s not looked upon with the same admiration as fashion is in the western world. How can we teach a continent to be more appreciative of the beauty it creates?

On October 17th 2014, the Yale World Fellows, the Yale Global Health Leadership Initiative (GHLI) and YAAPD organized a panel to discuss the Ebola epidemic, the international community's response and the path ahead.

This one-hour panel featured Dr. Kristina Talbert-Slagle, a Senior Scientific Officer at the Yale GHLI, Susana Edjang--Yale World Fellow and Economic, Social and Development Affairs Officer for the Executive Office of the U.N. Secretary General, as well as Christopher Lockyear, a Yale World Fellow and the Operations Manager at Doctors Without Borders. The discussion was moderated by Jackson Institute Senior Fellow and Director of Global Health Dr. Elizabeth Bradley.

The discussion started off with the three panelists briefly introducing themselves and was followed by a concise explanation of the epidemiology of the Ebola virus. Dr. Talbert-Slagle emphasized how the virus is transmitted through droplet transmission. The highest risk for person-to-person transmission is prolonged contact with bodily fluids. She also addressed the important point of the capacity of the virus to become airborne only with the accumulation of many mutations in the virus RNA.

The discussion moved forward into addressing what the panelists thought was needed in order to combat the epidemic. The consensus was that the unpredictable nature of the epidemic required a large deployment of well-trained personnel with a strong chain of command. It is not enough to simply be provided with the money to build isolation centers because competent people are needed in staff these centers. Edjang estimated a the number to be  500 to 600 people with the appropriate skills and willingness to work on the ground as the manpower needed.

When the media signifies “Africa” by using stereotyped images, then you think of stereotypes when you think of African countries. You think of illiteracy, and a need for emigration and escape, and a need for aid. On the Humans of New York page, a man from Kinshasa puts it wonderfully: “We don’t like pictures like this. It is not good to deduce [sic] an entire country to the image of a person reaching out for food. It is not good for people to see us like this, and it is not good for us to see ourselves like this.” Congo has an incredible amount of farmland he points out.

Sometimes, when I complain about unfair images of Africa, students argue that Yale is different. People are educated.

“How come you know these songs,” a friend’s suitemate will ask him when he sings along to American pop music.

From the photos this boy has seen of Africa, he cannot fathom how it is possible that my friend knows these songs. How is it possible that you, from the continent of wild game and underdevelopment and disease, have had access to Coldplay?

A)   What is Pan-Africanism?

Pan-Africanism emerged as a political movement based on the belief that all people of African descent have an overriding racial identity and that they must unite under this identity to defeat slavery, racism and colonialism, and achieve global equality through national independence.

Today, with national independence for most African people having been achieved, the Pan-African movement aims to secure socio-economic independence for all people of African origin by ensuring the political and economic integration of Africa . Pan-Africanists also want to secure equality for all people of African origin in the global corridors of power.

B)   When did Pan-Africanism start? 

The formal Pan-Africanist movement can be traced to 1900 when Trinidadian barrister Henry Sylvester Williams organized the 1st Pan-African Congress in London. The Congress was initiated by Williams’ Pan-African Association to advance their goal of “ secur(ing) throughout the world, the same facilities and privileges for the black man as the white man enjoys.” [1] Delegates from Jamaica, Gold Coast ( now Ghana) , Nigeria, Liberia, Canada, Haiti, Trinidad, the United States, Canada and St. Lucia attended this 1st Pan-African Congress.

C)   Some famous Pan-Africanists leaders are? 

W.E.B Dubois, who co-founded the NAACP was also a prominent Pan-Africanist and organized 4 Pan-African Congresses between 1919 and 1927. He died in Ghana on the eve of the March on Washington.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, though a late-comer to the movement is one of the most well known figures of global Pan-Africanism. When he led Ghana to independence as her 1st Prime Minister  he declared that “ the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent,” and backed his words with action by helping to found the O. A.U . He is also credited with coining the term “neo-colonialism, ” and was voted the “African of the Millennium” by listeners of BBC’s Focus on Africa radio program.   

Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican and the founder of the United Negro International Association, a socio-economic movement which sought to empower people of African descent economically by establishing the Negro Factories Corporation and to resolve the American race question by relocating African Americans to Liberia.[2]

Registration for our annual conference is officially open! Each year, The Yale Undergraduate Association for African Peace and Development hosts the SANKOFA54: African Empowerment Conference, a two-day event that aims to provide students with the necessary tools, networks, and mentor relationships needed to effect change.

We recognize that solidarity and communal efforts of students on the continent and abroad is necessary for the future success of African development and peace. But we also acknowledge a need for studying and understanding our history and past, hence the name Sankofa, which is the name of an Adinkra symbol that reminds us of the need to return to the past in order to chart a prosperous and peaceful future. The theme of this year's conference is: Pan-Africanism in the 21st Century. During the conference, we will explore strategies for us to overcome the dilemmas of divisions and how we as individuals, as communities and as nations can work together to forge partnerships that foster success across the continent and promote peace.

Last week, I attended a Dean's tea and discussion with Ruth Botsio in the Afro-American Cultural House. Ruth is a Yale alumna and current Vice President of the Yale Club of Ghana. While she had many wonderful insights and pieces of advice, what stuck with me the most was the way she compared Africa to a light. She said, "It is often said that African is a dark continent but that is a fallacy; Africa is a bright light and it is increasingly getting brighter. The opportunities that currently exist are unparalleled elsewhere." While we don't often think of this, Africa is indeed a continent bursting with intelligence, talent and drive. It is bursting with potential. But potential is nothing without opportunity. As an African living in America, it is easy for me to sit here and discuss all of the talent that is going to waste amidst the conflict and corruption that plague many African countries and yet, do absolutely nothing about it. This discussion with Ruth was a great reminder of the responsibility I have as an African living abroad.

I must think beyond myself. I have been blessed with the opportunity to attend one of the best institutions in the United States. I cannot, however, limit this experience to myself when it is possible to use it to provide opportunities for young people who live in Africa and are just as capable as I am but are just missing the right set of circumstances. As Ruth says, African rising isn't synonymous to me rising. While I admit that my first instinct is to spend the rest of my life in the West because it seems much more convenient to do so, I have to think of the motherland. And for me, the motherland is Sudan.