Kay Benjamin, Founder, IBB
Kay Benjamin, a renowned African-American actress and playwright, will in 2020 launch a directory ofbusinesses and non-profits (NGOs) for the African diaspora dubbed the ‘International Black Book (IBB) -Creating A Cyber Wakanda’.
The ‘International Black Book’ is aimed at supporting Africa’s efforts to meet its economic and cultural needs by connecting businesses, agencies and people throughout the African diaspora.
The concept is inspired by a US Jim Crow era remedy to racial segregation, ‘The Green Book’, which enabled blacks to navigate hostile highways and byways as they travelled.
The book also provided a guide to accommodations, food and entertainment devoid of racial animus.
“I find it necessary to be a part of bringing the African Diaspora into alignment with the needs of the African continent,” Ms. Benjamin stated.
She disclosed that together with her team, she will join The Adinkra Group, which has coordinated a trip to Ghana for ‘Jamestown To Jamestown’ – a powerful journey from the USA to Ghana, in August this year to further their mission.
Ms. Benjamin was inspired to start the ‘International Black Book’ after listening to what is described as a clarion call by Dr. Ankara Chihombori-Quao, the African Union Ambassador to the US, in which she told Africans to “wake up, organise, go home and take what’s rightfully yours.”
Not since the ambitions of Marcus Garvey to connect the continent to the African diaspora has there been an initiative as vast in scope to invigorate nations in Africa through economic and cultural exchange.
Africans in the diaspora are encouraged to sign up free of charge by downloading a business picture and their contact information to: InternationalBlackBook.com.
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio