The Africa Center

We made it through another Monday! Wishing you a great week ahead. . : "Colour Pop" by @eyeattracti0n via @osengwa Models: @theflaggram Stylist: @lilymcmurrayy... Post-prod: @retouched_by_ea See more

From the acclaimed Antiguan-American novelist, Jamaica Kincaid. #SundayQuote

"Le ciel de saison" (The seasonal sky), is a powerful photo series by Congolese photographer @baudouin_mouanda, which explores the imminent effects of #climatechange on everyday life in the Republic of Congo.

Welcoming Friday with the traditional Zaouli dance of the Guro people of central Côte d'Ivoire. . The celebrated dance is a symbol of unity and is believed to bring productivity to wherever it is performed. (Video via @checkoutafrica_)

Please Read: A letter from our CEO, Uzodinma Iweala (@uiweala), in response to yesterday's events at Capitol Hill.

The historic rock-cut churches of Lalibela, Ethiopiawhich date back to the 12th and 13th centuriesthrough the lens of @tricktricktravels #TravelTuesday

Words of encouragement from the Jamaican political activist, Marcus Garvey. #SundayQuote

Happy Independence Day, Zambia . These images are from the Zambian collective @Kabumba's 2019 series 'Akantunse' which celebrates African mythology and folklore through modern re-imaginings of various figures, such as the Nyau: the "initiate conduit of life, death, and cosmology" within Chewa society; Obayifo: a vampire-like mythological creature of Ashanti origin; Dzivaguru: the creation goddess native to Zambia and Zimbabwe; and Yumboes: a fairy-race in the mythology of the Wolof-Lebou people on Goree Island, Senegal. #AfricanArtIntheEveryday

The well-known Kasséna women of Tiébélé, Burkina Faso creating hand-painted murals on traditional homes. This art form dates back to the 16th century and represents strong communal bonding between women in the village. The paintingscreated using a mixture of chalk and mudoften have symbolic social and spiritual meaning, and are said to bring protection upon the home. #AfricanArtInTheEveryday

Yesterday marked the posthumous birthday of the Afro-Cuban musical legend, Celia Cruz. Here she is performing "Quimbara" with The Fania All-Stars in front of a crowd of 80,000 people during Zaire '74a three day festival organized by South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela ahead of George Foreman and Muhammad Ali's famous "Rumble In the Jungle," in present-day DRC. The iconic festival brought some of the biggest names in music from across the diaspora, including James Brown, BB King and Miriam Makeba. Cruz has long been celebrated for never shying away from embracing her African heritage in both her personal style and music at a time when it was considered unpopular to do so. #TBT (Video via @artista_noticias_)

#EndSARS demonstrations in Nigeria took a violent turn today when authorities opened fire on peaceful protestors in Lagos after the city’s governor imposed a curfew to quell ongoing demonstrations. Amnesty International says it received credible but disturbing evidence of excessive use of force occasioning deaths of protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos, while a live stream from Nigerian artist @djswitch_ showed protestors gathering to help fellow demonstrators who appeare...d to have been shot. We condemn these violent acts and stand in solidarity with the people of Nigeria as they fight widespread injustice. . The statement in this slideshow is from @feminist.co, one of the leading organizations on the ground providing resources and helping Nigerians organize. Follow them to stay updated on what’s taking place, and check the link in our bio for more ways get involved in Nigeria’s pressing fight against police brutality via @cnnafrica. . (Images: @hitchoflife & @astoldbyanah) See more

A recent article from BBC Africa lists six African heritage sites that are under threat due to climate change. Lamu, Kenya, pictured here, is one of the historic sites listed, along with Suakin, Sudan; Coastal sites on the Comoros Islands and Ghana; Djenné, Mali and Twyfelfontein, Namibia. (Photo: @the_mentalyst) . Lamu is the oldest remaining Swahili settlement in East Africa, and an important center for the study of Swahili and Islamic culture, but the 700 year old fishing ...town is being impacted by a retreating shoreline as well as the building of the Lamu port near its historic Old Town. "A lot of what we would call natural heritage is a protection for cultural heritage," Professor Joanne Clarke from the UK's University of East Anglia told BBC, who works to raise awareness to the environmental changes affecting Africa's cultural sites. "As we destroy the natural heritage, we also leave cultural heritage sites exposed." Read the full article here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54158901. See more

#HappyMonday, here’s some beauty and tranquility from Cotonou, Benin. This image is from photographer @denisseaps' series 'Girls.' #AfricanArtintheEveryday

An evergreen sentiment form @DanaiGurira #SundayQuote.

Market sellers in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire pose with items balanced on their heads. A series by photographer Eddie Wrey (@eddiewrey). #AfricanArtIntheEveryday . While head-carrying is an ubiquitous sight across the continent, the balance of strength and dexterity it requires is an art in itself.

A traditional Nyau dancer performs in Lilongwe, Malawi. Nyau evoke spirits through ceremonial dances, the most well-known being The Gule Wamkulu, which is performed by Nyau across Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. . (Video: by @antoinedemaisonafp via @awaytoafrica)

Hair has always been a unique form of expression for African people. Throughout history and across various tribes and countries around the continent, hair has gone beyond style and functionality to represent lineage, status, and cultural pride. For more on the role of hair as an art form, check out "Hair in African Art and Culture" in our archive which can be found on our website: https://www.theafricacenter.org/archive/ #TBT #AfricanArtIntheEveryday . . Photo Descriptions: ...1. Fon woman from Benin, photo by Dominique Darbois via @cultureartsociety 2. Portrait of a Ghanaian woman, from the private collection of @annegret.affolderbach 3. Congolese schoolgirl, circa 1972 by Eliot Elisofon 4. Bamana woman in Bin Village, Mali circa 1959 by Eliot Elisofon 5. A Rwandan man, wearing the traditional Amasunzu hairstyle, date and photographer unknown. 6. Portrait of a woman from the island of Nosy Be, in Madagascar, circa 1868. Photographer unknown 7. Igbo woman from Nigeria, circa 1921 by George Thomas Basden 8. Mangbetu woman from DRC 9. A Kaffa woman in south-western Ethiopia (1910-19), image via @oldethiopia 10. Portrait of Senegalese woman in Dakar, 1974 by Maria Ashby Johnson See more

In the past week, protestors have taken to the streets of Namibia's capital Windhoek to call for an end to pervasive gender based violence. People across the country have been mobilizing on social media using the hashtags #ShutItAllDown and #ShutItAllDownNamibia, demanding that the government take meaningful action to combat rape, sexual abuse, intimate-partner violence and femicide. All over the country, everyone is frustrated, concerned, traumatised and everybody is tired, a protestor told @aljazeera. The revolution will not only be televised but it will also be tweeted and Instagrammed. We are using the power of social media as a collective. . (Video via @irukaa.official)

The city of Agadez, Niger is known as the "gateway to the desert." Located in the Sahara Desert, the city's historic center is known for its 15th century architecture, much of which is made entirely of mud brick. It is the capital of the Aïr, a Tuareg region in the north of the country #TravelTuesday. (Photo by @ajtmesquita via @africa_and_blackculture)

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we’re paying homage to the Lenape tribe, the original inhabitants of Manhattan, as well as all other Native people who have been disenfranchised due to the violent legacy of colonialism in America. The Lenape also inhabited parts of New Jersey, Delaware and Eastern Pennsylvania before being forcefully pushed South, primarily to Oklahoma, where the majority of Lenape people now live. A smaller number of Nanticoke Lenape still live in New Jersey, and... continue to fight for federal recognition till this day. . We encourage you to learn more about the indigenous history of the area you live in. If you’re looking for a place to start, check out this guide by @_modern_native_ as well as the Native Land map in our bio, which lists Indigenous territories, languages and treaties in the USA, Canada, much of Mexico, Australia, South Africa and more. #Indigenouspeoplesday See more