President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud address a joint session of Somalia’s federal parliament on Jan. 2, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Villa Somalia
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud address a joint session of Somalia’s federal parliament on Jan. 2, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Villa Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s president on Tuesday rejected an agreement signed between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland to give landlocked Ethiopia access to its coast, calling it a violation of international law.
“We will not stand idly by and watch our sovereignty being compromised,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told a joint session of Somalia’s federal parliament.
Somaliland, a region strategically located by the Gulf of Aden, broke away from Somalia in 1991 as the country collapsed into warlord-led conflict. The region has maintained its own government despite its lack of international recognition.
On Monday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi signed a memorandum of understanding to allow Ethiopia to lease a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) stretch of coastline to establish a marine force base.
Somaliland’s president said the agreement also included a clause that Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country in the near future.
Somalia’s president said Somalia and Ethiopia share a long history and that embracing a peaceful coexistence is the only way to ensure lasting peace in the region.
He also expressed concern that Ethiopia’s presence could give rise to extremism, saying that Ethiopia’s incursion into Somalia in 2006 to fight the Islamic Courts Union led to the rise of the extremist group al-Shabab, which still poses a significant threat.
Members listen as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud address a joint session of Somalia’s federal parliament on Jan. 2, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Villa Somalia
“We need to be cautious to avoid jeopardizing the significant strides we’ve made towards defeating this group, and this move is creating another opportunity for al-Shabab to recruit,” Mohamud said.
Al-Shabab through its spokesman, Sheik Ali Dhere, urged the Somali people to unite and defend their land and sea against perceived external threats. The statement was carried by the group’s radio arm, Andalus.
With a population of more than 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.
The agreement strengthens the security, economic and political partnership between Ethiopia and Somaliland, a statement from the Ethiopian prime minister’s office said.
The agreement “is unlikely to affect regional stability in the short term,” said Matt Bryden, strategic advisor for Sahan Research, a Nairobi-based think tank.
Somalia has no means to impose its will by force on Somaliland, but it is likely to deploy instruments of juridical sovereignty to isolate it, Bryden said. These include restricting the activities of aid agencies and donor governments, restraining international flights and warning foreign commercial interests against doing business with Somaliland, he said.
However, an escalation in political and diplomatic posturing by neighboring countries such as Djibouti and Eritrea is “very likely” in the longer term, Bryden said.
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Associated Press writer Tom Odula in Nairobi, Kenya contributed.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, left, and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi shake hands after signing a MoU giving Ethiopia access to the sea on Jan. 1, 2024. Photo: Courtesy @AbiyAhmedAli on X
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, left, and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi shake hands after signing a MoU giving Ethiopia access to the sea on Jan. 1, 2024. Photo: Courtesy @AbiyAhmedAli on X
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Landlocked Ethiopia took the first steps toward gaining access to the sea on Monday, signing an agreement in the capital of Addis Ababa with the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland to access the Somaliland coastline.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi.
As part of the deal, Somaliland plans to lease a 20-km (12.4-mile) stretch of land along its coastline to Ethiopia to establish a marine force base, Abdi said at the signing.
With a population estimated at over 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.
The agreement strengthens the security, economic and political partnership between Ethiopia and Somaliland, a statement from the Ethiopian prime minister’s office said.
Somaliland President Abdi said the agreement included a statement that Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country in the near future.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago, but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory and reactions by officials from there were swift.
“Somalia is indivisible. Its sovereignty and territorial integrity is uncompromisable,” Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, Somalia’s petroleum and mineral resources minister, said.
Somalia posted on the social media platform “X,” formerly Twitter: “Ethiopia knows well that it can’t sign a military pact/MOU to lease a port with the regional head of state- that mandate is the prerogative of the Federal Government of Somalia.”
Somali state-owned media said in a post on social media that the Somali Cabinet would convene Tuesday to discuss the agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia.
Somalia and Somaliland reached an agreement in Djibouti on Friday to strengthen cooperation on security and the fight against organized crime.
Ethiopia lost its access to the sea when Eritrea seceded in 1993. Ethiopia has been using the port in neighboring Djibouti for most of its imports and exports.
Mbongeni Ngema, the South African creator of the film Sarafina!, has died in a car accident. He was aged 68. Photo: Courtesy Mbongeni Ngema Instagram
Mbongeni Ngema, the South African creator of the film Sarafina!, has died in a car accident. He was aged 68. Photo: Courtesy Mbongeni Ngema Instagram
JOHANNESBURG — Renowned South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema, the creator of the Broadway hit “Sarafina!”, has died in a car crash at the age of 68, his family said.
Ngema was killed in a head-on accident while returning from a funeral in a rural town in Eastern Cape province, the family said in a statement Wednesday. The celebrated playwright was a passenger in the vehicle.
He was best known for writing “Sarafina!”, which premiered on Broadway in 1988. It was adapted into a musical drama starring Whoopi Goldberg in 1992 and became an international success, being nominated for Tony and Grammy awards.
“Sarafina!” told the story of a student and how she inspired her peers to fight against racial segregation in apartheid South Africa after her favorite teacher, played by Goldberg, was thrown in jail for protesting against the system.
The story was based on the events of the 1976 Soweto uprising in South Africa, when thousands of students took part in protests against the apartheid government.
Apartheid was an institutionalized system that discriminated against non-whites and ensured South Africa was ruled by the minority white population from 1948 until the first all-race democratic elections in 1994.
Ngema’s body of work also included the lauded theater production “Woza Albert,” which premiered in 1981 and won more than 20 awards around the world. The political satire explored the second coming of Jesus Christ as a black man in South Africa during apartheid.
Tributes to Ngema poured in, including from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The many productions he created or to which he contributed inspired resilience and pride among us as fellow South Africans and took South Africa and our continent into the theaters, homes and consciousness of millions of people around the world,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party and one of its biggest rivals, the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters, both conveyed their condolences.
The ANC said in a statement: “He was a globally acclaimed playwright, composer and producer. We have lost a true legend, a doyen, and a genuine ambassador of theater.”
The Economic Freedom Fighters party described him as “more than just an artist; he was a cultural icon and a beacon of hope during some of our darkest times.”
Zizi Kodwa, South Africa’s minister of sports, arts and culture, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Ngema’s work “touched and moved audiences around the world and made an important contribution in telling the South African story.”
A parking lot attendant signals for people going to the Immigration Center in Miami to park Friday June 13, 2008. By the end of the century, the U.S. population will be declining without substantial immigration, senior citizens will outnumber children and the share of white residents who aren't Hispanic will be less than half of the population, according to population projections released Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Photo: J. Pat Carter/ AP File
A parking lot attendant signals for people going to the Immigration Center in Miami to park Friday June 13, 2008. By the end of the century, the U.S. population will be declining without substantial immigration, senior citizens will outnumber children and the share of white residents who aren't Hispanic will be less than half of the population, according to population projections released Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Photo: J. Pat Carter/ AP File
By the end of the century, the U.S. population will be declining without substantial immigration, older adults will outnumber children and white, non- Hispanic residents will account for less than 50% of the population, according to projections released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The population projections offer a glimpse of what the nation may look like at the turn of the next century, though a forecast decades into the future can’t predict the unexpected like a global pandemic.
The projections can help the U.S. prepare for change, from anticipating the demands of health care for seniors to providing insight into the number of schools that need to be built over the coming decades, said Paul Ong, a public affairs professor at UCLA.
“As most demographers realize, population projection is not an inevitable destiny, just a glimpse into a possible future,” Ong said. “Seeing that possibility also opens up opportunities for action.”
Population changes due to births and deaths, which are more predictable, and immigration, which is more uncertain. Because of that, the Census Bureau offers three different projections through 2100 based on high, medium and low immigration.
Under the low-immigration scenario, the U.S. population shrinks to 319 million people by 2100 from the current population of 333 million residents. It grows to 365 million people at the end of the century under the medium immigration scenario and to 435 million residents with high immigration. In each immigration scenario, the country is on track to become older and more diverse.
Americans of college age and younger are already part of a majority-minority cohort.
Aliana Mediratta, a 20-year-old student at Washington University in St. Louis, welcomes a future with a more diverse population and believes immigration “is great for our society and our economy.”
But that optimism is tempered by existential worries that things seem to be getting worse, including climate change and gun violence.
“I feel like I have to be optimistic about the future since, if I’m pessimistic, it disables me from doing things that I want to do, that are hard, but morally right to do,” Mediratta said.
Here’s a look at how the U.S. population is expected to change through 2100, using the medium immigration scenario.
2020s
By 2029, older adults will outnumber children, with 71 million U.S. residents aged 65 and older and 69 million residents under age 18.
The numeric superiority of seniors will mean fewer workers. Combined with children, they’ll represent 40% of the population. Only around 60% of the population that is of working age — between 18 and 64 — will be paying the bulk of taxes for Social Security and Medicare.
2030s
“Natural increase” in the U.S. will go negative in 2038, meaning deaths outpacing births due to an aging population and declines in fertility. The Census projects 13,000 more deaths than births in the U.S., and that shortfall grows to 1.2 million more deaths than births by 2100.
2050s
By 2050, the share of the U.S. population that is white and not Hispanic will be under 50% for the first time.
Currently, 58.9% of U.S. residents are white and not Hispanic. By 2050, Hispanic residents will account for a quarter of the U.S. population, up from 19.1% today. African Americans will make up 14.4% of the population, up from 13.6% currently. Asians will account for 8.6% of the population, up from 6.2% today.
Also in the 2050s, Asians will surpass Hispanics as the largest group of immigrants by race or ethnicity.
2060s
The increasing diversity of the nation will be most noticeable in children. By the 2060s, non-Hispanic white children will be a third of the population under age 18, compared to under half currently.
2080s
Under that medium immigration scenario, the U.S. population peaks at more than 369 million residents in 2081. After that, the Census Bureau predicts a slight population decline, with deaths outpacing births and immigration.
2090s
By the end of the 2090s, the foreign population will make up almost 19.5% of U.S. residents, the highest share since the Census Bureau started keeping track in 1850. The highest rate previously was 14.8% in 1890. It currently is 13.9%.
FOREIGN BORN AND IMMIGRATION
Experts say that predicting immigration trends is more difficult than in the past when migration was tightly linked to the pull of economic opportunity in the U.S.
When immigration is instead driven by the push of climate change, social tensions exacerbated by authoritarian rulers and gangs, as well as fluctuating anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S., it is harder to predict, said Manuel Pastor, a professor of sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California.
“In the past we would say we get immigration from economics, and you can make some reasonable projections,” Pastor said. “Now, we have these push pressures for people to come to the U.S., and we have a further racialized reaction to migration, we have a much wider band or error, or the potential to make mistakes.”
RELIABILITY
How reliable will the numbers be, especially as race and ethnic definitions change, and immigration levels are hard to predict?
While there is an extreme level of uncertainty projecting almost eight decades into the future, it is a good starting point, said Ong, the UCLA professor.
“Over 80 years, birth and death rates, fertility rates and migration rates can be changed through policies, programs and resources,” Ong said.
Mediratta, the college student, imagines that 20-year-olds like her two centuries ago were also concerned about the future, but they didn’t have TikTok or Instagram to amplify their worries.
“It seems like things are bad all the time,” Mediratta said. “I feel that things were probably bad all the time 200 years ago, but nobody could tell everyone about it.”
Participants in a virtual African Leadership Conference organized by St. Paul-based African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS) on Dec. 8, 2023 gathered later in the evening for an in-person celebration of the 15th Anniversary of AEDS’ founding. Photo: Courtesy AEDS
Participants in a virtual African Leadership Conference organized by St. Paul-based African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS) on Dec. 8, 2023 gathered later in the evening for an in-person celebration of the 15th Anniversary of AEDS’ founding. Photo: Courtesy AEDS
After three successful conventions, African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS) returned for the annual African Leadership Conference. The theme for this year’s event, which was held virtually on Dec. 8, was “African Immigrants’ Challenge in Wealth Building Efforts.” Panelists from across the nation explored strategies for African immigrant economic prosperity.
“This is a space where we can share information and build a network across the U.S.,” said AEDS President Gene Gelgelu.
AEDS works by linking African immigrants in Minnesota’s Twin Cities metro area to resources to help them attain home ownership, build businesses, and achieve financial security. The leadership conference brings together African immigrant officials and leaders from across the state to address economic disparities.
Minnesota has some of the widest racial disparities in economic achievement in the country. The state has the second largest income inequality gap between Blacks and whites in the nation – second only to the District of Columbia. Many African immigrants in Minnesota lack the necessary resources and connections need to improve their economic well-being and close the wealth gap. By bringing together African immigrants and leaders, AEDS hopes to gather ideas on how the community can speed up addressing economic inequalities.
A key theme was the idea of entrepreneurship as an avenue of upward mobility. Panelists discussed the advantages of owning a business over working traditional jobs, including increased professional freedom. But they also nodded to the potential challenges of immigrant entrepreneurship. Business owner Margaret Dureke said that it was important to nurture entrepreneurial talent in the community by being supportive.
“We need to push the people who want to become entrepreneurs,” Dureke said. “We need to become financially independent.”
AEDS Director Idris Mohamed said many African newcomers struggle to acclimate to cultural changes as they navigate establishing their businesses in a new country.
“Many of us ran businesses back in Africa but came here unprepared because the way it’s done here is very different,” Mohamed said.
One way Africans could adjust, Mohamed said, was to embrace small business educational programs. By seeking training, African immigrants could familiarize themselves with American business practices, he said. One thing nonprofit director Hibo Abdi wants to see in trainings is a focus on technology education.
“A lot of the younger immigrants are tech savvy but the older generations are left behind,” Abdi said.
Amidst the optimism around entrepreneurship, professor Sombo Muzata, an assistant professor of Political Science at James Maddison University, urged Africans to remember the value of traditional schooling and careers. An MIT study found that lower profits and higher closure rates plague Black owned businesses, making entrepreneurship a risky endeavor for many Black people. Muzata said it was important to encourage entrepreneurial growth, while also being realistic about potential challenges.
“Not everyone is going to succeed as an entrepreneur, so education is our next best shot,” Muzata said.
But the dream of African immigrant prosperity could be futile, panelists said, if they did not first pour into the children. After all, they would be the ones to carry the torch when today’s business leaders retire. Beirut Abagofi, a policy aide for the City of Minneapolis, said that there was a direct link between the quality of children’s’ education and workforce readiness in adulthood, adding that it was crucial to prioritize polices that would support young African learners.
“For me the workforce preparation is deeply tied to the education system,” Abagofi said. “They need to align.”
Fortunately, African youth in America are doing relatively well. A Kansas University study found that immigrants aged 16 and over have an employment rate of 69%, six percentage points above that of the American rate.
Still, there are gaps. A report from the Migration Policy Institute revealed that despite being more educated, African immigrants earn less on average than immigrants from other regions. About 20% of African immigrants are said to be living below the poverty line. Film director Chuckwunonso Dureke, a child of Nigerian immigrants, said her upbringing taught her the value of African youths’ access to a strong internet connection.
“For African youth to have internet access in the 5G era would be powerful, you’re gonna need certain things in your hour to be able to keep up,” Dureke said.
Beverly Booker Ammah, an associate professor at Howard University, said there are obstacles such as forms of “unproductive” entertainment that prevent African immigrant youth. Ammah said she would like to see a shift in the interests of young Black youth, where appetite for pop culture is replaced by intellectual curiosity.
“It is key to have analytic discussions about what are those distractions and how youth and elders can dismantle them to move forward,” Ammah said.
Gelgelu thanked participants before concluding the conference, mentioning his anticipation for seeing guests in person in the summer of next year. But before everyone signed off, he reminded them why conferences like the National African Leadership Conference are important for the community.
“We think we are so resilient, but we have to remember we are navigating two cultures, our own and the one here,” Gelgelu said.
AP Breakthrough Entertainer: Ayo Edebiri is rising to the top, and she’s bringing her friends along
This year alone, the 28-year-old Emmy-nominated actor starred in “Bottoms,” “Theater Camp,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” guest-starred on “Abbott Elementary” and “Black Mirror” and returned for the second season of “The Bear” — the show that initially shot the stand-up comedian and writer-turned-actor to fame.
With roles in everything from bawdy and brutal live-action teen comedy to animated film to kitchen-based dramedy, Edebiri landed a spot as one of The Associated Press’ Breakthrough Entertainers of 2023.
“I think it’s like not the reason why you do any of this, but it’s very humbling and moving that it’s happening because I think that it means that people are responding to my work,” Edebiri says of all her newfound recognition during a video call while filming on location in New Mexico. “And that is all you can ask for as an artist, for just people to pick up what you’re putting down and in whatever way possible.”
Edebiri grew up performing at her parent’s church and would often perform stand up with her friends at open mics when she was in high school.
“I think (church) was my first exposure to everything, really, to music, to performing, to speaking in front of people,” she says. “I think I really have a love for live performance, especially that feeling of just like being in a communal space.”
Edebiri had always imagined taking on a more practical job like teaching, which she majored in at New York University, performing stand-up around the city in her spare time. It was not until she met other successful Black female comedians who were making a living from the art and still able to obtain heath insurance that she began to entertain the idea of pursuing comedy professionally.
“They have these things that to me — especially as a child of immigrants — I need cold, hard proof,” said Edebiri. “I don’t need a dream. I need to know that I can have dental and I can get an eye exam once a year.”
She switched her major from teaching to playwriting: “I realized I would rather do that and be happy than always be wondering,” she said.
She would soon begin booking writing jobs on shows like “Sunnyside,” “Dickinson,” and “Big Mouth,” along with minor acting roles. Edebiri later became Missy’s voice on “Big Mouth” and landed a recurring role on “Dickinson.”
“I was really fortunate to have people in my corner who were like, ‘We’re going to help you. Like, why wouldn’t we?’” Edebiri says.
As she rises to the top, one can’t help but notice the creative community she surrounds herself with, a constant throughline that seems connected to her early days as a performer who loved the communal aspect of the arts.
“I’ve just been lucky to be a part of all these different folds, and I’m fortunate the people that I love also love each other and, you know, have people they love and introduce me,” she says.
She and her longtime friend and working partner Rachel Sennott (“Bottoms”) have been creating together since they studied at NYU. She also counts among her friends Molly Gordon ( “Theater Camp,” “The Bear”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”) and Christopher Storer, the creator of “The Bear.”
“I’ve known Chris since I was like 21 or 22. I feel like I’ve also been watching him grow, even though he’s older than me and so accomplished and such a genius,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, like I’m watching you grow; you’re watching me grow in my confidence as a performer, in my taste.’”
After being nominated in the outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series category for the upcoming Emmys, recognizing her work in the first season of “The Bear,” she’s submitting in the lead actress category for Season 2. Edebiri says she’s grateful for the change — not because it’s an elevated category, but because it makes room for her co-stars.
“It also means that Abby (Elliott) and Liza (Colón-Zayas) could potentially be recognized for their work on the show in the supporting category. We really are just such an ensemble piece,” she says.
Like the young girl growing up in church, Edebiri’s love for the arts still revolves around creating a communal space with her fellow artists.
“I think we’re really lucky to have that type of alchemy with each other,” she says of the cast of “The Bear.” “I really love working on it and I love everybody who is a part of it.”
Author, literary advocate, and cultural influencer Marley Dias will become the youngest person to ever keynote the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Photo: Courtesy Marley Dias
Author, literary advocate, and cultural influencer Marley Dias will become the youngest person to ever keynote the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Photo: Courtesy Marley Dias
18-year-old Marley Dias, one of Time Magazine’s 2018 “25 Most Influential Teens,” will make history on Jan. 15 when she becomes the youngest person to keynote the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast in Minneapolis, joining luminaries such as Dr. Bernice King and the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis that have headlined it.
The annual breakfast which honors the legacy of the late civil rights leader will be marking its 34th year and is one of the nation’s largest. It is presented by General Mills and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to raise funds to fund college scholarships for Twin Cities students. The state’s education department recently revealed that Black Minnesotans have a postsecondary educational attainment rate of 31%, half of that of their white peers.
“Each year, this event gives us the opportunity to come together as a community to create an imperative to live out Dr. King’s legacy today and celebrate his unwavering commitment to education,” said Mary Jane Melendez, chief sustainability and global impact officer at General Mills.
The event’s theme, “Leading Onward– Elevating New Voices for Justice and Equality,” was inspired by Dr. King’s commitment to uplifting the youth in the Civil Rights movement. Dr. Yohuru Williams from the University of St. Thomas will lead a moderated conversation with Ms. Dias following her remarks.
The 18-year-old activist and cultural influencer first came to the national spotlight when in 2015, at the age of 11, she launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks initiative, which aimed to collect and donate 1,000 books featuring Black girls as the main characters to schools and libraries across the United States. That initiative has collected 15,000 books-to-date.
She is a student at Harvard and also hosts and executive produces Netflix’s Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices. Additionally, she serves as the ambassador of National Educational Association’s (NEA) Read Across America program.
This will also mark the longest consecutive streak of women keynote speakers in the breakfast’s history. Since 2021 when Dr. Bernice A. King, daughter of the late civil rights leader, delivered a keynote along with Ambassador Andrew J. Young, speakers since then have been women.
Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO at UNCF, in a statement Thursday praised his organization’s partnership with General Mills which he said has been critical in securing a college education for many underrepresented students in the Twin Cities.
“This year, UNCF celebrates its 80th anniversary, and through our incredible partnership with General Mills we have been able to provide unprecedented support for HBCUs and the students they’ve served over the decades,” said Dr. Lomax.
Minnesota’s four-sibling pop band, NUNNABOVE, will perform for the second year. They appeared on America’s Got Talent in 2018, and the group has since performed at a wide variety of local festivals, community events and fundraisers in and around the Twin Cities. Known MPLS, a youth choir, will also perform.
The event will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Doors open at 7 a.m.
To purchase tickets or for more information, visit MLKBreakfast.com. The event will include an ASL interpreter.
Lifeworks CEO Gertrude Matemba-Mutasa addresses the audience during an appreciation reception the nonprofit hosted for its partners on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 in St. Paul. Photo: Jerusa Nyakundi/Mshale
Lifeworks CEO Gertrude Matemba-Mutasa addresses the audience during an appreciation reception the nonprofit hosted for its partners on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 in St. Paul. Photo: Jerusa Nyakundi/Mshale
Lifeworks hosted a reception at the Bell Museum on Dec. 7 to celebrate a successful 2023 and the partners that made it possible.
The Richfield based nonprofit helps people with disabilities find paid work and help them with finding volunteering opportunities and field trips. It works with an average of over 3,000 people with disabilities annually.
The Thursday reception provided the opportunity for Lifeworks’ CEO Ms. Gertrude Matemba-Mutasa to update partners on the nonprofit’s wins this year and to thank them for their partnership. Some of the key partners present that she thanked was Allianz, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota and Marsden, among others. These are some of the companies that offer paid work to those with disabilities that Lifeworks refers.
“These employer partners have embraced the notion that workplaces that fully include people with disabilities see two times more profit and higher productivity than their competitors,” said Matemba-Mutasa during formal remarks. “If you are here from a business that is not hiring people with disabilities, yet, we would love to talk to you and figure out how we can get that done,” she added.
Ms. Matemba-Mutasa is the only African-born person leading one of the Twin Cities’ 25 largest metro-area civic and cultural nonprofits, and one of only two Black people, the other being Mr. Rico Alexander of Parents in Community Action (PICA). For 2023, Twin Cities Business Journal ranked Lifeworks, which was founded in 1974, ninth largest in the Twin Cities with 2022 revenues of just over $90 million while PICA was number 25 with revenues of just over $39 million in 2022.
Ms. Dawn Selle, vice president of external affairs and community partnerships at The Sanneh Foundation, poses for a portrait during a reception hosted by Lifeworks for its partners on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 in St. Paul. Photo: Jerusa Nyakundi/Mshale
The CEO spoke with Mshale after her formal remarks and said one of the most existing things she is looking forward to that her organization is embarking on in 2024, is disability inclusion training for companies and organizations looking to integrate disability hiring as part of their hiring and human resource strategy. She said there is already a waiting list for the training.
“We can provide services all day long (for the disabled) but without disability inclusion training we are not going to really meet their needs,” she said.
Mr. Mamady Konneh, executive director of We Network Now which connects African professionals, said he was fully in support of Lifeworks’ mission and work in the community understood the value of what it brings to the community and not just to the disabled community. He however said he wished it was not such a taboo topic in many African communities to discuss those with disabilities.
“In the African community, disability is a taboo subject and some even hide it, and for me its services like the ones provided by Lifeworks that we can let the community know will help their loved ones live up to their full potential,” Mr. Konneh said.
Ms. Dawn Selle, vice president for community partnerships at the Sanneh Foundation, was one of Lifeworks’ partners that was attending the event. She said Lifeworks’ mission and activities in the community complement those of nonprofits like hers that also work to ensure individual reach their full potential.
Mr. Mamady Konneh, executive director of We Network Now, speaks with other attendees at a reception Lifeworks hosted for its partners on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 in St. Paul. Behind him is Lifeworks CEO Gertrude Matemba-Mutasa. Photo: Jerusa Nyakundi/Mshale
“We are here to support them (Lifeworks), bring them up and to show that nonprofits don’t have to compete against each other and we do work together, especially for our people,” Ms. Selle said.
The Shingle Creek Center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Dec. 7, 2023 as viewed from the west on the Shingle Creek Parkway side. The strip mall has been purchased by African Career Education & Resources Inc. (ACER) and the Ignite Business Women Investment Group. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
The Shingle Creek Center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Dec. 7, 2023 as viewed from the west on the Shingle Creek Parkway side. The strip mall has been purchased by African Career Education & Resources Inc. (ACER) and the Ignite Business Women Investment Group. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
Brooklyn Center’s Shingle Creek Center is under new ownership. The strip mall, across the street from the Hennepin County Regional Center, now belongs to African Career Education & Resources Inc. (ACER) and the Ignite Business Women Investment Group.
The two entities closed on the $5.2 million purchase of the property on Oct. 13, buying it from BPC Shingle Creek Holdings, a Delaware registered LLC based in Encino, California.
ACER is a Brooklyn Park based nonprofit that works on connecting people of color, especially Black immigrants and refugees, to resources such as affordable housing, employment opportunities and education.
IBWIG came into existence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic when 32 African immigrant women business owners who were facing rent increases, evictions and poor landlord practices came together and formed a Real Estate Investment Cooperative.
The Shingle Creek Center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Dec. 7, 2023 as viewed from the north on the Summit Ave side. The strip mall has been purchased by African Career Education & Resources Inc. (ACER) and the Ignite Business Women Investment Group. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
According to U.S. Census data, as of July 2022, people who identify themselves as Black or African American make up 31.5% in Brooklyn Center, and 29.8% in neighboring Brooklyn Park, making them the single largest minority group. African immigrants call the two cities “Little Africa.”
“We came together because we believe that, by bridging our businesses, we can create wealth, change lives, and build a larger market audience,” said Jannie Seibure, manager of Cavalla Travel, a member of IBWIG. “This purchase proves that we can do anything, if we stick to it long enough.”
Ms. Nelima Sitati Munene, left, executive director, and Ms. Denise Butler, associate director, of Brooklyn Park based African Career Education & Resources Inc. at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis on Aug.1, 2023 during an event by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to celebrate the formation of Minnesota’s Office of New Americans (ONA). ACER on October 2023 closed on the $5.2 million purchase of the Shingle Creek Center in Brooklyn Center that will house a small business incubation center and the new headquarters for the nonprofit. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
ACER and IBWIG closed on the property in October and have taken possession of the entire strip mall with the exception of where the former Brooklyn Center Target store stands. The empty Target store is under the ownership of the city.
With the newly acquired property, ACER and IBWIG plan to transform the strip mall into a destination hub of small and commercial spaces for the region’s microbusinesses. Businesses and tenants currently housed within the Shingle Creek Center will not be affected.
There are 16 commercial units in the strip mall and only four vacancies and on track to have all of the nearly 40,000 square feet leasable space taken up.
Ms. Denise Butler, associate director of ACER, told Mshale her organization’s offices will move its headquarters from neighboring Brooklyn Park and occupy one of the four vacant spaces at the mall in the spring of 2024. IBWIG will also have a home at the mall.
ACER, which as part of its mission is the provision of technical assistance to BIPOC-owned small and microbusinesses, plans to establish a small business incubation center at the mall once it moves in.
“We know that it’s not enough for our businesses to have access to commercial spaces — we need to have control of those spaces ourselves so we can be the architects of our own economic futures,” Butler said.
Clockwise from bottom left during a candidate debate on Dec. 1: Mr. Arthur Biah, chairman of the board of directors of the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota (OLM), Ms. Charlesetta George, Ms. Romanda Gaye-Schaeppi and Mr. Mohammed Dukuly won elections for seats on the OLM board on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. Photo: KMTV Screengrab
Clockwise from bottom left during a candidate debate on Dec. 1: Mr. Arthur Biah, chairman of the board of directors of the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota (OLM), Ms. Charlesetta George, Ms. Romanda Gaye-Schaeppi and Mr. Mohammed Dukuly won elections for seats on the OLM board on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. Photo: KMTV Screengrab
Terms for four of the nine members on the board were expiring and up for election on Sunday.
Six candidates – including three that were seeking reelection- vied for the four board seats. The candidate field was split evenly between men and women.
One board member, Mr. Alec Deah, did not seek reelection.
Messrs. Arthur Biah and Mohammed Dukuly were reelected while the voters decided not to retain Mr. Ishmael Komara on the board. Biah is also the current board chair.
Big win for women
Voters also decided to double the number of women on the board by electing Mses. Charlesetta George and Romanda Gaye-Schaeppi to join Mses. Edwina Willie and Cora Sneh. The board will now have five men and four women.
Members serve a two-year term.
The board of directors is the governing body of OLM, which is a membership-based organization, but day-to-day operations are run by the executive director who reports to the board. The current executive director is Kamaty Diahn.
Yesterday’s election was held at the Liberian Community Center in Brooklyn Park starting at 7 a.m. and went on for 12 hours. It was conducted by an independent elections commission chaired by local nonprofit sector executive Mr. Stephen Wreh-Wilson.
The electoral body chair in a written statement on behalf of the commission expressed “deep gratitude to the OLM membership for their active participation throughout the electoral process.”
“OLM congratulates the newly elected members and calls upon the community to extend a warm welcome to these leaders,” she said. “As the elected board members assume their roles, the organization looks forward to a future marked by unity, growth, and prosperity under their guidance.”
Minnesota is home to the largest population of Liberians in the nation.
Induction
The four elected on Sunday will be sworn in on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. The ceremony will be held starting 5 p.m. at the Liberian Community Center, 7001 78th Ave. N, Brooklyn Park, MN 55445.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, left, shakes hands with Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during the EAC Summit of Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania on Nov. 24, 2023 where Somalia was officially admitted into the East African Community (EAC) trading bloc. Photo: Courtesy EAC
President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, left, shakes hands with Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during the EAC Summit of Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania on Nov. 24, 2023 where Somalia was officially admitted into the East African Community (EAC) trading bloc. Photo: Courtesy EAC
Somalia officially joined the Community of East African States (EAC) on Friday, the regional organization with a single market allowing the free movement of goods and people announced.
The EAC, which has its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, now comprises 8 countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC was the last member to join the regional organisation, in 2022.
The member countries have “decided to admit the Federal Republic of Somalia under the accession treaty”, declared Burundian Head of State Évariste Ndayishimiye, outgoing President of the EAC.
Excluding Somalia, the EAC countries cover an area of 4.8 million square kilometres and have a combined gross domestic product of 305 billion dollars, according to the organisation’s website.
With a population of some 17 million, Somalia has the longest coastline on the African continent (more than 3,000 km), bringing the EAC’s potential market to more than 300 million people.
The Somali government, supported by the international community, has been fighting the insurgency of the radical Islamist Shebab, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, for over 16 years. Kenya and Uganda are contributing troops to an African Union force deployed in Somalia to fight the rebels.
Somalia’s entry into the EAC is “a decisive step in the bloc’s expansion into East Africa”, notes the Mogadishu-based Heritage Institute for Policy Studies think-tank, but points to “Somalia’s poor record on governance, human rights and the rule of law” which could hamper its integration into the bloc.
