Spike Lee and wife Tonya named as Benin ambassadors for African-Americans in the US
The West African country has come up with several initiatives encouraging people of African descent to reclaim their heritage and pursue citizenship where eligible.Last year, the government passed a law offering nationality to people with an African ancestor who was taken from their homeland as part of the transatlantic slave trade.The appointment of the ambassadors follows the recent launch of a website where the descendants of enslaved Africans can apply for citizenship.RFI reports that Tonya Lewis Lee was among hundreds of people who applied and received a favourable response.Spike Lee has previously stated that DNA analysis traced his father's lineage to Cameroon, while his mother's roots were from Sierra Leone. His wife's specific country of ancestry has not been made public.Both have long been advocates for civil rights and social justice in the US in their works. Spike Lee's films are often based on African-American experiences and explore themes of race, identity, and justice.The Benin government said that "through their long-standing commitment to justice, their exceptional creativity, and their global reach", both have "profoundly shaped the contemporary narrative of the African diaspora".They have not publicly commented about their appointment.Benin's coastline is part of what was once known as the Slave Coast - a major departure point for enslaved Africans shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. Between 1580 and 1727, the Kingdom of Whydah, a major slave-trading centre located on what is now Benin's coast, is estimated to have exported more than a million Africans to the US, the Caribbean and Brazil.
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Spike Lee's masterpiece about racism in the USUlster Museum: Slave trade artefacts feature in new exhibitionWatch: Thousands celebrate Benin's voodoo holiday
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Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Liverpool street where Beatles legend George Harrison was born puts a chain up...to stop tourists getting in
They come from Here, There and Everywhere to see the childhood home of the Beatles legend George Harrison. But residents in the terrace street where the late guitarist spent the first seven years of his life have become increasingly irate at being inundated with tourists and day trippers – and have now chained off the road in an attempt to stop the disruption. Access to Arnold Grove was restricted earlier this month after residents complained that the number of Beatles fans descending on the street had surged since a blue heritage plaque was put up outside number 12, where Harrison lived, last year. A chain now in place across the entrance to the street in Liverpool's Wavertree district carries a sign which says: 'Private Road - Residents Access Only'. Arnold Grove is unadopted, meaning Liverpool City Council is not responsible for it. Harrison, the Beatles' lead guitarist, was the youngest of four children and lived in the street until his family moved into a council house in the suburb of Speke. The three-bedroom property is now and Air BnB marketed at Beatles fans. As is the case with John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney's childhood homes in South Liverpool, Arnold Grove has become a hotspot for tourists - featuring on tours - and residents of the Wavertree street said this has only increased since the plaque was installed. The BBC reported on Monday that a chain was put up as residents had complained about their privacy being invaded by tourists. Chris Bennett, who lives on the street and is licensee of The Cock and Bottle pub on the nearby High Street, told the BBC: 'Since the blue plaque went up it's been ridiculous.. The volume of traffic is too much now and we don't get any peace. 'The first taxi could come at 9am and my wife will see another on the road when she gets home at 9pm. 'You get people looking through the window and if you leave your front door open they look through the door.' The Magical Mystery tour run by the Cavern Club, the Liverpool venue synonymous with the Beatles, is one of the tours which frequently calls at the site. But a resident called Onyema, who didn't wish to give his surname, said he had lived on Arnold Grove for around a year and did not see the visits of Beatles fans as a problem. He told the Liverpool Echo: 'Tourists don't park here, they park the tour coaches on the main road and then they come here. They always come around but I don't have a problem with it. 'It's a good street to live on - it's a lovely place. I like the fact tourists come here.' Harrison's widow, Olivia, unveils the plaque outside his childhood home in May 2024 The tour used to take people onto the street but this has stopped since the chain was put in place. Holly Andrews, 36, from Pennsylvania, USA, was among the Beatles tourists to depart the bus in Wavertree on Friday. She was sad not to have made it onto the street but understood concerns from the residents. She said: 'I did this tour in 2008 and I was just looking at my photo from being in front of the house. But in the same token, these people have a right to their own privacy and their homes. 'It's great to be able to see it and imagine the guys walking down the street and doing their thing. But it's also being respectful to the home owners and striking that balance.' Liverpool-based Beatles tour guide Jackie Spencer wrote on Facebook: 'Many people are contacting me asking my opinion on the chain across Arnold Grove. I've been biding my time and considering how to reply, but the truth is I am livid. 'Not at the residents of Arnold Grove. Not at all. 'They've put up with a lot over the years and in my 30 years as a guide they've always been lovely and welcoming to me because I have never overstepped the mark and treated everyone with the respect and gratitude they deserve. (left to right) Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney in a Beatles publicity picture from 1963 'I am livid at the fake unlicensed guides, taxi drivers & lone tourists who have absolutely no respect for people's privacy.' 12 Arnold Grove was marked with a blue plaque to celebrate George's contribution to culture through film, music and his humanitarian work. The musician's widow, Olivia Harrison unveiled the Historic England plaque in May 2024. Somewhat prophetically, she said that while her husband would have been 'touched' by his childhood home being honoured, she felt he would be 'nervous' the current residents might get disrupted because of it. A spokesman for the Magical Mystery tour told The Telegraph that it had received no previous complaints about increasing tourist numbers, and said it had a 'great relationship' with the street's residents. Harrison died in November 2001 at the age of 58 following a battle with cancer.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Ghana govment withdraw students from schools as fight for Bawku rise, oda tins to know about di kasala
One chieftaincy conflict bin dey go on for one part of Ghana for more dan 60 years. Di 'Bawku conflict' na between two ethnic groups for di Upper East region of di kontri and according to sabi pipo di fight na sake of who go rule di pipo on top di land. Ova di years, tension don dey di area wia fight don dey happun every time. E bin lead to death of many pipo wey dem destroy properties. Govment afta govment don struggle to deal wit di conflict. Di small arms commission and oda groups raise alarm about weapons wey bin dey move around for dat part of di kontri as di conflict dey continue. One lawmaker wey be ex-senior police officer Peter Toobu tok for local radio network Joy FM for April 2025 say tins don dey get out of hand. "Di flow of weapons for Bawku na real tin, di proliferation of small arms and light weapons for dis kontri na big matter." Im add say "e dey possible say pipo wey bin dey trade in arms for dia go dey make plenty money." Im also fear say oda pipo don dey "radicalise di youth" for Bawku to continue di conflict. Recently, di youth for di area don attack security personnel - dem also kill some of dem, sometin oga Peter Toobu, di retired police office dey worried about. Q: Wetin happun over di weekend Ova di weekend, gunmen don allegedly storm senior high school campus for Bawku and Nalerigu wia dem open fire. Dem bin kill two male students for di Nalerigu senior high school Saturday evening. Assembly member for di Denugi electoral area confam di tori, according to state news outlet daily graphic. Anoda kasala happun for di Bawku senior high school dat same Saturday night wey dem allegedly kill one student for dia. Dem don also allegedly set di house of di member of parliament for Bawku, Mahama Ayariga on fire. Dis no be di first di house of di MP bin dey under attack for di last few months. Q: Why dem shutdown schools wey dem evacuate students Di municipal education office shut down di Bawku senior high school indefinitely afta di death of di student. Director for di education office oga Isaac Agbeko announce di closure of di school "sake of safety concerns for both students and teachers." Inside one statement from di govment communication minister, dem tok say dem dey "evacuate students from di Nalerigu and Bawku senior high schools" afta di tension bin rise. "As part of govment effort to enforce peace for dia, we bin dey evacuate all students from various educational institutions for di affected areas, some of wey bin dey targeted for di conflict," Felix Kwakye Ofosu, di govment tok tok pesin write inside di statement. Q: Why dem renew curfew for Bawku, Nalerigu and dia environs Di latest tension don force di interior ministry to revise di curfew time for those areas. Inside one statement di interior minister Muntaka Mohammed tok say "wit di advice of di North East regional security council and by executive instrument, we don impose curfew hours for Nalerigu and di oda townships from 2 PM to 6 AM effective Sunday 27 July, 2025." "Dis na until further notice; govment bin dey call on di chiefs, elders, di youth and pipo for dia to exercise restraint for dis tough time and use non-violent means to ensure peace." Di ministry also tok say "we don ban all pipo for Nalerigu and di oda communities from carrying arms, ammunition and any oda offensive weapon." "Any pesin we go find wit arms and ammunition go dey arrested and prosecuted." Dem ban motorbikes afta dem kill one local Kusaase chief for Asawase for Ashanti region Q: Why dem ban motorbikes, smock and oda clothes for Kumasi Bifor di weekend killings for Nalerigu and Bawku, dem bin kill two pipo for di Ashanti region; of dem na local chief of Kusaase - Alhaji Abdul-Malik Azengbe. Police begin investigation for di matter but sabi pipo tink say dey connected to di same Bawku conflict sake of one of di feuding parties bin dey involved. Afta di death of di local chief di Ashanti regional security council don take some measures - no motorbikes go dey allowed on top di road between 7PM and 6AM until further notice - motorbike riders no dey allowed to carry passengers or additional pesin during di day - di use of unregistered motorbikes dey banned - di inter-tribal football competition wey bin dey go on for di area dey suspended wit immediate effect - no motorbike rider dey permitted to wear smock, jacket or three-piece suits as pipo bin dey use dem to hide weapons - pipo no dey allowed to carry weapons whether dem dey licensed or not inside dia cars or on top motorbikes - dem increase police and soldiers for hotspot areas for di region - di security go do random stop-and-search for checkpoints Q: Wetin govment do to beef up security for Bawku, Nalerigu Govment step up peace enforcement for Bawku and oda affected areas due to di "escalation of violence wey bin dey affect peace-building efforts by di govment." Inside di statement govment say "di armed forces don deploy soldiers to maintain law and order as we intensify curfews to ensure public safety." "We bin dey assure di public say di Ghana armed forces go take all necessary strips to protect lives and property," di govment tok tok pesin add. Dis no be di first time govment bin dey deploy soldiers to Bawku for dis chieftaincy conflict. But dem dey hope say dis latest deployment go help di situation. Q: Wetin be di status of mediation to bring peace dia Di latest kasala bin dey affect mediation efforts. Di govment don select di Ashanti king say make im lead mediation efforts for di conflict. For 2 July 2025 di King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II resume mediation wia im hold close-door meeting wit leaders of di factions. Dis bin follow meetings im do separately wit representatives of di two factions for 29 April 2025. Govment bin dey commend di Ashanti king Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and di stakeholders wey bin dey involved for dis mediation. "Di Otumfuo mediation wit di help if Nayiri (overlord of Mamprugu kingdom) and Zugraana (paramount chief of di Kusaug traditional area for Bawku), don almost solve di conflict bifor di latest killings wey don call for ogbonge action to protect everybody." Di conflict for Bawku don affect many tins - education, health, business and odas. Di inspector general of police Christian Tetteh Yohuno don visit di area recently afta dem appoint am as new IGP. Im appeal to di youth for dia to "lay down dia arms", but tension still dey di communities. Q: Wetin President Mahama tok about di kasala President John Mahama say govment dey committed to "restore lasting peace and stability for Bawku." "We believe say peace for Bawku na national matter wey bin dey require everybody so say justice go prevail make we solve dis issue wit dialogue." Di president tok dis on 20 July 2025 when delegation of pipo from di Mamprugu chief bin pay courtesy call for di presidency. Im tok say di Bawku conflict bin dey affect everybody for di area including all di ethic groups dia. Public sector workers like teachers, nurses, among odas don run comot di area sake of di tension wey odas neva dey want posting to di area sake of di tension. "Nobody dey happy about dis situation for Bawku but we go do our best to address di matter."
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time review – a gripping, epic look at the New Orleans tragedy 20 years on
What makes a disaster into a tragedy? It's a question that looms large over the five episodes of this gripping and frequently upsetting series exploring the events that overwhelmed New Orleans in late August 2005. According to the community organiser and survivor Malik Rahim, the answer is simple: 'A tragedy is when we fail to do what we should be doing.' Hurricane Katrina's size and ferocity meant that it was probably always going to be a disaster. Traci A Curry's documentary explores the man-made element of the catastrophe. This isn't the first epic series to tackle this subject and it isn't quite the best. Made in Katrina's immediate aftermath, Spike Lee's 2006 masterpiece When the Levees Broke was a polemic wrenched from the soul, mining furious energy from the proximity of the event. Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time is more reflective and less visceral as those at the heart of the story now bear witness at two decades' remove. The dominant tone has shifted from anger to resigned sadness. All the same, it still packs a powerful punch. Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time tells its story in linear fashion, as if laying out a legal prosecution case. First, it shows that there was no excuse for the city to be as unprepared as it was. New Orleans actually got lucky with Katrina. The eye of the storm just missed the city. However, as the documentary explains, the area had, over decades, reduced its natural hurricane defences as the surrounding wetlands (which had mitigated storm surges) were diminished by the activities of oil and gas companies. An enormous storm had been war-gamed a year earlier and for weeks before Katrina hit, the imminent arrival of 'the big one' had been recognised as inevitable. Lucrece Phillips, a survivor who is lucidly eloquent throughout, remembers 'a quiet calmness that was deafening'. The authorities apparently shared that calmness; we watch preparations that seem to involve telling everyone to leave, making plans to open up the Superdome stadium to stragglers and winging it from there. So began the process of turning disaster into tragedy. The scenes in and around the Superdome are shocking in their itemisation of American racial polarisation. Shelton Alexander wound up there with his brother. 'It's just a sea of Black folks,' he observed. Whatever the intentions behind the opening of the Superdome, as we witness conditions worsen and the authorities' response become increasingly heavy-handed, it's impossible to see the situation as anything other than poor Black Americans being neglected, disregarded and pushed around by white Americans. Gen Russel Honoré, who was commander of the relief taskforce, recalls having to tell soldiers to stop waving their guns, reminding them that they were there to help, not intimidate. Eventually, what emerges is a perfect storm; the series is a devastatingly precise illustration of systemic failure, political impotence and media distortion. Irresponsible reporting started to negatively affect the quality of the response – drivers of emergency vehicles became reluctant to venture into the Superdome due to repeated suggestions that the building was essentially a deadly riot zone rather than simply a holding pen full of desperate people. Black people who 'escaped' from their designated areas risked being shot by white vigilantes – at least five people lost their lives that way. At the time, Katrina was widely regarded as a decisive moment; a disaster that held up a mirror to a society that didn't like what it saw. It tainted the final term of George W Bush (who incidentally gets off very lightly in this documentary, really only seen as he impotently flies over the area). It helped to usher in the presidency of Barack Obama. But viewed from the perspective of 2025, it looks like a series of early warnings that weren't heeded. Subsequently, the horror has been parlayed into an opportunity for some – in the final episode, we're shown a gentrified and sanitised city, with Katrina survivors scattered to all corners of the country. Like Netflix's recent Grenfell: Uncovered, Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time is ultimately a story of betrayal. People largely responded to impossible situations with courage, kindness and forbearance. Stories of heroism rooted in community spirit abound. And yet, like Grenfell, there's an inevitability to it all, in the relative fates of the people who let a disaster become a tragedy and the victims of that tragedy. The ignominies kept coming. Freedom of movement within the country was curtailed. The survivors were, to their fury, called 'refugees'. Even the insurance settlements favoured rich over poor. Rightly, Rahim is given the last word: 'We are the canaries in this coalmine called America.' Eventually, Hurricane Katrina went beyond disaster and even tragedy and entered the realm of scandal. This documentary feels timely and resonant because, 20 years on, it still seems like unfinished business. Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time is on Disney+ and National Geographic
