November at The Africa Center

Dear Friends,

Congratulations to Zohran Mamdani for his history-making electoral victory. He is the first African-born New Yorker to hold the office and the first Muslim mayor. Born in Uganda, and raised in New York City, his background reflects a city shaped by generations of immigrants.

Our work at The Africa Center spans African and diasporic life in the city, but this moment carries particular meaning for New Yorkers who are African born or raised in families that arrived in the last generation. Over recent months, we have spoken with residents, community leaders, and service providers to understand the pressures these communities face and their expectations of a new administration. In those conversations, many described the Mayor-Elect as a candidate who spoke to their priorities. Their concerns converge with those of other New Yorkers, but the way they experience these issues is often distinct.

These communities form a growing share of the city and are among its most diverse. They include recent arrivals from Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and Angola, alongside longstanding families from across the African continent. They bring a wide range of languages, literacy levels, and cultural expectations. This diversity enriches New York, but it also means that a single policy approach rarely captures the realities of communities with very different levels of access to information, services, and civic institutions. These varied backgrounds lead to distinct challenges. Housing instability, language and service access gaps, the scarcity of financial resources for much needed community based organizations, and the need for young people to navigate school and secure decent early career employment all shape daily life. There is hope that as mayor, Mr. Mamdani will address the diverse and localized impacts of larger structural issues.

At The Africa Center, we will use the lens of the arts, culture, policy, and economic opportunity to ensure that these diverse voices are part of the city’s civic conversation. Our space will support community based organizations as they convene events that build understanding and collaboration across the city’s cultures, particularly in their engagement with African identities and interests. As New York steps into this new civic chapter, we have every hope that it will widen horizons for all peoples descended from Africa.

In unity and hope,
Ambassador Martin Kimani