Presence
From The Peopling of New York City
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West Africans in the New World: African Immigrant Presence in American Popular Culture
By definition, African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Because of the similar racial background, African immigrants are often lumped in with the larger African American population. African immigrants, however, describe Africans that have moved from their homeland, due to a complex series of push and pull events, and have settled in the United States. This website specifically features African immigrants from Liberia, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Because of the extremely diverse nature of African ethnic groups, there is no single African immigrant identity. Due to a small population, African immigrants are generally under the radar of average Americans. Their achievements and contributions to U.S. culture are relatively small but notable. First and second generation African immigrants can be seen in a wide variety of areas from academia to athletics to acting. Nigerians have had the biggest impact on the subject of academics. Many authors have derived from Nigeria including Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka. Some famous novels produced by these authors include Things Fall Apart and The Man Died: Prison Notes, respectively.
Notable African Scholars
Barack Obama, the junior United States Senator and candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, could possibly be included within the group because he's a prominent child of an African (Kenyan) immigrant. However, Obama was raised by his American mother and his Kenyan father never sought permanency in the U.S. A few notable African academics include John Ogbu, a Nigerian-American anthropologist and professor known for his theories on observed phenomena involving race and intelligence, and Kwame Anthony Appiah, a Ghanaian-American philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history.
Entertainment
In entertainment, actor Gbenga Akinnagbe born to Nigerian parents who's most famous for his role in the HBO series The Wire, R&B artist Akon, and rapper Chamillionaire are also distinguished. Liberians have even made their own genre of music called Lib Hipco. Click the various links for a samples! Also check out our About Us page for a sample of our try at Lib Hipco!
Nollywood
The cinema of Nigeria is a developing industry that has also become increasingly productive in recent years. To bring their ideas together, Nigerians have invented Nollywood Nigerian replica of Hollywood. Both intermingle with a variety of ideas and themes. The term is of uncertain date and origin, but is derived from Hollywood in the same manner as Bollywood. Although Nigerian films have been produced since the 1960s, the rise of digital cinema has resulted in a growing video film industry. Many foreign and local critics have criticized Nollywood for its trite plots, poor dialogue, terrible sound, and poor production values. In just a decade, Nollywood has grown from nothing into an industry that employs thousands of people.
Sports
Sports has come to be a field where African immigrants have made their mark on American culture. Their presence has been most visible in soccer and basketball. Freddy Adu (Ghanaian) and Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigerian) have made the biggest impact in each sport respectively. To the right left is a picture of soccer phenom Freddy Adu, who went pro at the age of just 14!
Below is a video clip of some of the greatest moments in Hakeem Olajuwon's career.