Latest news with #SpikeLee
Express Tribune
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Ciara granted Benin citizenship under new law for descendants of enslaved Africans
Grammy-winning US artist Ciara has officially become a citizen of Benin under a new law offering nationality to descendants of enslaved Africans. The singer received her documents during a ceremony in Cotonou, and the government confirmed she accepted citizenship with 'pride.' Ciara, known for chart-topping hits like Goodies and 1,2 Step, shared on Instagram: 'I am honoured. Thank you Benin for opening your arms and your heart to me.' The citizenship was granted through Benin's recently enacted My Afro Origins Law, which allows individuals with ancestral ties to the transatlantic slave trade to claim Beninese nationality. The government described the moment as 'symbolic, humane and historic,' calling it 'a gesture of the soul' and 'a return to one's roots.' Benin, once a hub of the West African slave trade, hopes the law will reconnect with the African diaspora and encourage cultural tourism. The coastline, historically known as the Slave Coast, was a major departure point for enslaved Africans transported to the Americas. Between 1580 and 1727, the Kingdom of Whydah—located in present-day Benin—is estimated to have exported over one million people to the United States, the Caribbean, and Brazil. Ciara is among the first public figures to take part in the initiative, joining recent cultural efforts such as the appointment of American filmmaker Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee as Benin's diaspora ambassadors.
LeMonde
a day ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Spike Lee, Benin's star ambassador to attract the Afro-descendant diaspora
Since taking office in 2016, Benin's president, Patrice Talon, has made memorial policy a key driver for cultural and economic development. As part of this strategy, the Council of Ministers announced on Wednesday, July 23, the appointment of American filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee – a producer and attorney – as "thematic ambassadors [of the Republic of Benin], raising awareness and supporting initiatives to promote Benin's ties with people of African descent." The Beninese government stated that, through their actions, the couple has "profoundly shaped the contemporary narrative of the African diaspora." As part of their mission, the Lees will "raise awareness, foster dialogue, and support initiatives promoting cultural reconnection and the duty of remembrance," the government added. Influential within the African-American community, the couple, married since 1993, is known for their advocacy for social justice and civil rights. From Malcolm X (1992) to BlacKkKlansman (2018), Spike Lee has directed and produced several films addressing Black identity and inequality. He has also traced his family origins to Cameroon and Sierra Leone. Tonya Lewis Lee, for her part, produced the documentary She Runs the World (2025), about athlete Allyson Felix's fight for the protection of mothers in sports. The producer, who visited Benin in 2024, also applied for Beninese citizenship, according to Radio France Internationale (RFI).
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
US Grammy winner Ciara becomes citizen of Benin under new slavery-descendants law
US singer Ciara has become one of the first public figures to be granted citizenship of Benin, under a new law offering nationality to the descendants of slaves. In an Instagram post the Grammy award-winner said she was "honoured", adding "thank you Benin for opening your arms and your heart to me". The citizenship scheme is part of an initiative by the small West African country to build ties with the African diaspora and boost cultural tourism. Ciara, known for R&B and pop hits such as Goodies and 1,2 Step, officially became a citizen at a ceremony in the city of Cotonou. "This act, which is symbolic, humane and historic, is not merely an administrative gesture. It is a gesture of the soul, a return to one's roots, a hand extended to those whom history, in its brutality, had torn from this land," the government said in a statement on Monday, following the ceremony. By enacting the My Afro Origins Law last year, Benin joined countries like Ghana and Guinea-Bissau in offering citizenship to people with an African ancestor who was taken from their homeland as part of the transatlantic slave trade. Descendants can apply to become a citizen via a recently launched website. Just last week, Benin appointed renowned American filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, a seasoned producer and author, as its ambassadors for African-Americans in the US. 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. You may also be interested in: Stevie on the Wonder of becoming a Ghanaian citizen The African American who moved to Ghana 'to escape US racism' Idris Elba given Sierra Leone citizenship on first visit Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Africa Daily Focus on Africa Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
US Grammy winner Ciara becomes citizen of Benin under new origins law
US singer Ciara has become one of the first public figures to be granted citizenship of Benin, under a new law offering nationality to the descendants of an Instagram post the Grammy award-winner said she was "honoured", adding "thank you Benin for opening your arms and your heart to me".The citizenship scheme is part of an initiative by the small West African country to build ties with the African diaspora and boost cultural known for R&B and pop hits such as Goodies and 1,2 Step, officially became a citizen at a ceremony in the city of Cotonou. "This act, which is symbolic, humane and historic, is not merely an administrative gesture. It is a gesture of the soul, a return to one's roots, a hand extended to those whom history, in its brutality, had torn from this land," the government said in a statement on Monday, following the enacting the My Afro Origins Law last year, Benin joined countries like Ghana and Guinea-Bissau in offering citizenship to people with an African ancestor who was taken from their homeland as part of the transatlantic slave can apply to become a citizen via a recently launched last week, Benin appointed renowned American filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, a seasoned producer and author, as its ambassadors for African-Americans in the 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 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. You may also be interested in: Stevie on the Wonder of becoming a Ghanaian citizenThe African American who moved to Ghana 'to escape US racism'Idris Elba given Sierra Leone citizenship on first visit Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- 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
