Reflecting on 2024: Transformation and Gratitude at The Africa Center

Dear Friends,

As the year and my tenure at The Africa Center draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable journey The Center has undertaken in 2024 and over the past seven years. It has been a path of profound change, for us as an institution, while witnessing significant shifts globally and on the African continent. A new world order is emerging, and though its final shape remains uncertain, one thing is clear: Africa and its people will be central to whatever the future holds.

Across the continent, a new generation of political leaders and collective voices are demanding a different path forward—one that allows Africa to thrive from the inside out – and that demands a recognition that the world has been dependent on Africa for centuries rather than Africa being solely dependent on the world. These voices are calling for opportunity, equity, and systems that prioritize the well-being and potential of Africa’s people above all else. And these same voices are also calling for resolution to conflicts and crises that must arise from rapid transformation in Ethiopia and Sudan, reminding us of the work for sustained peace that must still be done.

If it is a truism to state that change is a constant in our world, it is also true that people will always seek stability, safety and opportunity amidst the change. So long as it can be done without harming others, this is a right enshrined in the governing principles of many communities, organizations and nations. Millions of African immigrants, including those in the United States and right here in New York City, will exercise these rights in an uncertain world. And as politics evolves into policy here in the United States, I urge our community to prepare itself as a source of support and solidarity for those seeking refuge and opportunity. At the same time, as we prepare to speak loudly in an environment that may not be as receptive to our messages, we must also engage shrewdly with the change happening in America as those who transformed our nation have done since its founding.

Arts and culture are central to these ongoing conversations. African and Diaspora narratives will continue to lead, inspire, and influence these conversations on the continent and here in the United States. From music and literature to film and visual arts, the stories emanating from Africa and our Diaspora have been foundational, forward-looking, and undeniably powerful. These narratives challenge assumptions, foster understanding, and highlight the vibrancy of an African creativity that the world will most surely call upon as it contemplates both the worst of what humanity conjures and the best we are able to deliver.

At The Africa Center, we’ve been privileged to play a part in advancing these conversations. This year alone, we hosted several programs and exhibitions that highlighted and explored connections between African policy, business, economic development, and culture. From the announcement of the Global Africa Gateway in partnership with Afreximbank to the launch of the Global Media Index with Africa No Filter and the publication of our State of Democracy report examining the challenges and opportunities across Africa’s regions, we have been at the forefront of driving thought, leadership, and action.

Our exhibitions—A New Multiculturalism, I Hope This Helps, Except this time nothing returns from the ashes, and Points of Resonance—and programs showcased the depth and breadth of our mission to create a platform for ideas that matter. They reflected our commitment to being a space where partners can reach new audiences with depth, meaning, and care.

So as this year and my tenure as CEO of The Africa Center come to a close, I am filled with gratitude for this journey of seven incredible years, this opportunity to grow, learn and lead this institution, and for your unwavering support. The Africa Center is more than an organization—it is a movement, and I am honored to remain part of this community as it evolves and shapes the future.

Thank you to our community, our partners and supporters for your trust, and belief in our mission. Thank you most of all for showing me that the path to a brighter future in which Africa and its people continue to lead, innovate, and thrive runs through all of our hearts.

With gratitude,

Uzodinma Iweala, M.D.

CEO, The Africa Center

What I’m Reading: Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It is not easy to speak when there is so much at stake, but speak we must. This speech delivered at the Riverside Church in New York City by Dr. Martin Luther King tackles the Vietnam war. It’s about so much more than Viet Nam or war. It’s about the meaning of courage, strength and hope in the moments when the forces arrayed against community feel ascendent.

What I’m Listening To: Mantra Mode by Abdullah Ibrahim

This song (indeed the eponymous album) is perhaps one of the most beautiful compositions I have heard in my life, and I have been listening to it for nearly my whole life--ever since 1991 when my father popped the tape into the deck of his old, silver-grey, 1983 Mercedes Benz 200. Composed and performed by Abdullah Ibrahim, a man from Cape Town, South Africa, exiled to New York because of a hideous white nationalist regime, its mood speaks to the work it takes to construct the kind of beauty in times of turmoil that inspires hope.