Connecting the Dots
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Connecting the Dots ...
Amb. Dr. Erieka Bennett (in white) and Dr. Toni Luck, (in pink) Diaspora African Forum
“Given the situation in the U.S., we want our brothers and sisters to have options,” said Ambassador Dr. Erieka Bennett, Convening Founder and Head of Missions for the Diaspora African Forum. “What is happening with the laws, such as removing black history from schools, issues with treatment of black males, lack of access to funding and resources, it is important that they have options and see Africa as their home. You are not African because you are born in Africa, you are African because Africa is born in you.”
Iva Carruthers representing the diaspora delegation at a wreath laying ceremony in Ghana.
Iva Carruthers and Japheth Aryiku, director at WEB DuBois Memorial Center
Présence Africaine, founded by Senegalese philosopher Alioune Diop in 1949, stands as a landmark institution in the history of pan-African thought and literature. Located in the Latin Quarter of Paris on rue des Écoles, this bookstore and publishing house became the world's oldest Black-owned independent publishing company and a vital hub for African intellectual life.
The space serves as more than a bookstore—it’s a gathering place where African diaspora intellectuals, writers, and activists converge to shape cultural resistance, reclaim African identity, and advance the cause of decolonization through literature and public discourse.