African Awards - search results

In the weeks since Augsburg student Ahmednur Ali was shot and killed just feet from Currie Park and the Brian Coyle Community Center, area residents, community organizations and institutions, and police have stepped up efforts on a number of fronts to improve public safety and community relations in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

West African artist Rabi Sanfo has found a home for his metal sculptures in Minneapolis. His art has been on display across the Twin Cities in colleges, museums, art exhibits, and very recently at the Minnesota State Fair.

Most East Africans are quite familiar with her music, especially herhits "Missing ma Baibe,” “Bad Boy ft. Nyashinski” and “Ninanoki” withNameless." Amani, Kenya's top female artist and most popular in themusic scene, is currently touring the U.S. Amani started singing whenshe was six years old, performing in different talent shows, but herprofessional music career begun about eight years ago.

On Amie Dibba's last trip to her home country of The Gambia she stumbled across a familiar land and a familiar tune. Dibba frequently heard the polyphonic version of her favorite song “African King” - the song that she wrote for her Child of Africa album had morphed into a popular cell phone ringtone. Those bobbing their heads to the catchy R & B/Reggae beat did not recognize Dibba's face, but that was temporary. A couple years and awards later, Amie Dibba's voice and face are recognizable to her fans in The Gambia, the United States, and everywhere in between.

Up-and-coming Tanzanian moviemaker and Minnesota resident, Josiah Kibira, is working on finishing touches for his third movie shot on location in his country of birth. The title of his movie is “Bongoland II,” which he describes as being about “looking at us (Africans)in our own backyard.”

“We are questioning how we do things and why we accept things the way they are just because someone is afraid to scream –‘the emperor is naked,’” says Kibira.

It's Saturday night and I've just walked into Blue Nile Restaurant. Bebe Cool, Uganda's talented Ragga artist will be performing later tonight, and I have no notion of what to expect. At the moment, DJ Kevo from Kenya is at the turntables enticing the crowd to the dance floor.
   

MINNEAPOLIS – After the superlative introduction by Minneapolis’s Dakota Jazz Club’s owner, Lowell Pickett, I expected a rich, preeminent performance by Dee Dee Bridgewater, surpassing anything I’d experienced before.

At its 23rd annual awards gala in New York last week, The Africa-America Institute recognized Tanzania for what the organization said was the country’s significant progress in education, environmental conservation, and creating a business-friendly environment.

Fifty years ago, in the late summer of 1957, Althea Gibson made history as she captured the U.S. National Championships title on the grass courts of Forest Hills. With that win, the 30-year-old Gibson became the first African-American¬ – male or female ¬to win that most prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournament crown.

Ugandan musician Joseph Mayanja a.k.a. Jose Chameleon is currently on a tour of the United States that is scheduled to bring him to the Twin Cities on August 11th.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization today announced five winners – from China, the United States, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania – of this year’s Literacy Prizes.

The honours are awarded yearly to recognize particularly effective efforts made in the fight against illiteracy, one of UNESCO’s priorities, and raise awareness of the work of thousands worldwide promoting the cause of literacy for all.