The Afropolitan Today

Taiye Selasi's piece, pretty much inspired the very creation of this blog. Here it is in its entirety: Bye-Bye Babar by Taiye Selasi It’s moments to midnight on Thursday night at Medicine Bar in London. Zak, boy-genius DJ, is spinning a Fela Kuti remix. The little downstairs dancefloor swells with smiling, sweating men and women fusing hip-hop dance moves with a funky sort of djembe. The women show off enormous afros, tiny t-shirts, gaps in teeth; the men those incredible torsos unique to and common on African coastlines. The whole scene speaks of the Cultural Hybrid: kente cloth worn over low-waisted...

Meet Michael Otieno, The Kenyan Entrepreneur Cashing In On Water Hyacinth. "Lake Victoria is in a sorry state because of the hyacinth, we are trying to do something about it," Michael Otieno tells me as we walk into his business premises in Mambo Leo, Kisumu county where he makes paper from the stubborn weed. Otieno is the founder and CEO of Takawiri Enterprises Limited. Established in 2006, the enterprise produces unique handmade stationery and craft items from water hyacinth. Some of their products include folders, envelopes, notebooks, seasonal cards, gift bags, and paper lamp shades. "I am trying to offer...

CALIFORNIA (March 16, 2019) The Afropolitan Shop today announced new features to give black men and women around the world an opportunity to make a living online. In an ambitious plan, the online company launched a 6-week online course to train black entrepreneurs to enable them to start and run sustainable, black-owned businesses from scratch. "You don't need to have a business to enroll. My job is to help you start and launch the business of your dreams.” said course coach, Beverly Lwenya. When she created a blog in 2007 to share African stories and images with the black diaspora,...

What is an "Afropolitan" business? In 2005 Taiye Selasi wrote the article "Bye-Bye Barbar" where she coined the term "Afropolitan". My life changed after learning that term. As a Kenyan born, British, and American bred woman, I realized that finally there was a word to describe my third culture experience and also my hopes for how I engage with the world. And I didn't have to choose one or the other but could hold both my rich African heritage with my American and British upbringing. Tayie notes in her article: "Ultimately, the Afropolitan must form an identity along at least three dimensions: national, racial, cultural...