Rise Africa

ae5alid: Sudanese Women In Front Of The Pyramids And Tombs In...

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:12:31 -0400

Sudanese Women In Front Of The Pyramids And Tombs In Royal Cemetery, Meroe, Sudan

guardian: Danish designer finds inspiration in Ghana’s...

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:56:27 -0400

Danish designer finds inspiration in Ghana’s Ashanti empire

Trine Lindegaard worked with a family of traditional Ghanaian weavers to develop a vibrant new line in menswear. Photo: Some of the latest menswear by Trine Lindegaard.

Gallery of Trine Lindegaard’s designs

wondersofafrica: (by Jan Vranken) Luanda, Angola

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:56:12 -0400

wondersofafrica:

(by Jan Vranken)

Luanda, Angola

thepeacefulterrorist: Libyan Tuareg

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:53:15 -0400

thepeacefulterrorist:

Libyan Tuareg

geek-joints: throughjo: Moroccan house by Christophe...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:48:23 -0400

geek-joints:

throughjo:

Moroccan house by Christophe Decarpentrie

african-style: Ethiopian Tribes, Hamer by Dietmar Temps on...

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:36:23 -0400

african-style:

Ethiopian Tribes, Hamer by Dietmar Temps on Flickr.

nomadamsterdam: Mogadishu, Somalia. 2013

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:24:17 -0400

nomadamsterdam:

Mogadishu, Somalia. 2013

Photo

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:12:23 -0400

Identity Crisis I use to be able to easily say that I identified...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:49 -0400

Identity Crisis

I use to be able to easily say that I identified with being African more than I could to being black in America. But how could I identify with Congo more than America when I only lived in the country just four years? I argued, well because I ate the food, I spoke the language and my ndombolo was on point.

Then there was a period of time where I got criticized by other Africans for, “acting too black and American” and from other Congolese on my “American accent.” So then at that time I would have said that I identified with being Black-American more. Again, I argued, I could cuss like them; sing the black national anthem and crip walk down my middle school hallway.

My home experience was a whirlwind of trying to maintain Congolese customs and trying to assimilate to whatever the American culture was—which changed when I was with other brown people and then again when I was with vanilla people. Either I was Black-American or I was an African immigrant in America. But for some reason I always felt like I couldn’t be both simultaneously. I always felt like I had to choose for some reason—thinking that we were so different that I had to be one or the other. As silly as it seems, I thought I either had to like french fries or fufu; Teddy Pendergrass or Koffi Olomide; Chinese fried rice or jollof rice. It was always a coin toss in my mind and it use to drive me crazy. I was jumping back and forth depending on the crowd because I didn’t want to feel like I was denying one side.

37thstate: yannickbrouwer: This little company from Kenya makes...

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:12:33 -0400

37thstate:

yannickbrouwer:

This little company from Kenya makes toys from slippers that wash up on the beach. Pictures by Ben Curtis

The company’s name is Ocean Sole: http://www.ocean-sole.com/

"Where I Stand" Tweet Chat tomorrow at 2 PM CST | 3 PM EST

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:57:16 -0400

Join us tomorrow on Twitter @RiseAfrica as we discuss this week’s theme “Coming into Your Identity”

(Where I Stand) Week 3: Coming into your Identity Some time last...

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:44:29 -0400

(Where I Stand) Week 3: Coming into your Identity

Some time last year our Social Media Manager, Joy Otibu was asked in an interview what the most pressing issue facing the diaspora was. Her response was apt and succinct, truly reflecting our purpose as Rise Africa.

“There’s an ample amount of issues to choose from, but the most pressing issue is the matter of identity and instilling in members of the African diaspora a sense of pride that does not easily falter. Learning to adapt to an adoptive country while holding dear to the heritage, culture, and traditions of our native nations can be defined as challenging but yet necessary. It would be a travesty for members in the African diaspora to assimilate so much to their current situations that they forget their people and responsibilities back home.”

We are moulded and influenced by our experiences, our surroundings, our families and our friends. And when living away from home in the diaspora gives us experiences that make us different, there’s some kind of disconnect that emerges and a new identity is forged. By all means adapt to your immediate surroundings. In some cases it might even not make sense not too. But as Joy put it, “it would be a travesty for members in the African diaspora to assimilate so much to their current situations that they forget their people and responsibilities back home.”

This week, the third in the Rise Africa Jely Pals Diaspora series, our conversations are centered on the issue of identity. Lets hear from you. How have you dealt with issues of identity and what stories do you have to share?

-Michael Annor

Roots From The Same Land Roots from the same landYou’re there...

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:30:38 -0400

Roots From The Same Land

Roots from the same land
You’re there and I’m here
With roots in the same land
Deep and locked in blood and history
The lands that drifted apart separated us and created a distance.

Far beyond our fathers days
Our colour
Our pride
It could not be swayed.

A land united in culture and tradition
With technology considered now to be antediluvian.
Sweat wiped off the forehead and wounds closed by roots and herbs
The tilling of the land kept on from dusk till dawn.

Are We Brothers We’re brothersWe’re all black skinnedWe share a...

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:28:34 -0400

Are We Brothers

We’re brothers
We’re all black skinned
We share a complexion
So we’re family

Brothers. Are we?
Yet you play with my intelligence
And walk around with the mentality of
Africa being nothing more than
A primitive backward jungle.
Are we brothers?

We’re brothers
We’re all black skinned
We share a complexion
So we’re family

lovelyandbrown: sleeper mode.

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:48:25 -0400

lovelyandbrown:

sleeper mode.

37thState Online: Dipo Ceremony, Krobo, Ghana Photography by Anthony Pappone

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:36:13 -0400

37thState Online: Dipo Ceremony, Krobo, Ghana Photography by Anthony Pappone:

37thstate:

Photographers Note:

I photographed the dipo ceremony of the Krobo people.
Africa many cultures celebrate the passage of a child towards adulthood. Among the hills Krobo of Ghana, young girls carry on an ancient tradition. Every year, girls…

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:24:30 -0400

dynamicafrica: Vintage Africa

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:12:27 -0400

dynamicafrica:

Vintage Africa

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:25:12 -0400

le-expose: Ecaweni [by Aubrey Ndiweni]

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:24:40 -0400

le-expose:

Ecaweni [by Aubrey Ndiweni]