Embassy Celebrates African-American History Month through Song

Singer Anita Beamon-Freeman in Louga (Dpt of State)

Singer Anita Beamon-Freeman in Ziguinchor (Dpt of State)

To celebrate Black History Month in February, the U.S. Embassy in Dakar organized a series of concerts on the theme "African-American History Through Song.”

The concerts, which were held at the American Corners in Ziguinchor, Thiès, and Louga, were animated by Gospel and Jazz singer Anita Beamon-Freeman.  The concerts included presentations on the life and history of ten famous African-Americans.  In all three regions, the Senegalese public danced and sang along with Ms. Beamon-Freeman as they learned about our common history.  Ms. Beamon-Freeman began singing with her church youth choir in her hometown of Goldsboro, North Carolina when she was just five years old.  Her first album, Melodies from Africa, was released in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 2008.

In addition to Ms. Beamon-Freeman’s concerts, the Embassy sponsored several other activities.  On February 1, Dr. Andrew Diamond, a U.S. historian and researcher at Paris’ Political Science University’s (Science-Po) International Studies and Research Center, hosted a video-conference on "Obama and the Paradox of Race in the United States" at the Embassy auditorium.  Speaking from Paris, Dr. Diamond also hosted an online discussion with Senegalese students and academics.

Each Friday in February, in partnership with the Embassy, the West African Research Center has held Black History Month film screenings followed by discussions.  The Embassy has also organized an essay competition in English for high school and college students.  Prizes will be awarded to the winners at the end of February.

Black History Month was created by noted scholar and historian Carter G. Woodson.  In 1926 he instituted Negro History Week.  He chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.