ALA’s Decennial Celebration was marked by powerful talks, moving speeches and, of course, mesmerizing performances. Student Assembly and the day’s celebrations offered students the perfect platform to showcase their creativity.
We offer a taste of these sensational performances with a video by ALA alumna Titilayo Mabogunje, Nigeria’s first slam champion in the annual War of Words competition, who is now a pre-med undergraduate at Yale University and a prospective Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology major.
See her in action in the video below, and read between the lines of Katai Lutanda Mutale and Dumebi Gloria Akukwe’s potent spoken word poem on Africa, below. They were accompanied by drummer Chimfeka and dancers Won Sun, Shekinah, Naa Shome, all directed by Joy Shilluk.
#ALA10 Decennial Spoken Word – Titilayo Mabogunje
Looking for more talks and panels: See all the videos and coveragefrom our Decennial Symposium and Gala.
ALA IS CELEBRATING OUR 10TH YEAR!
HERE ARE WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR WORK.
Stay Connected: Subscribe to our monthly newsletter. It’s always a great read that will keep you inspired about Africa’s future.
Help find Africa’s future leaders: We need your help to identify remarkable young people from all backgrounds for the Academy. Nominate a young African of high potential today!
Donate to our scholarships fund: Help ensure ALA is financially secure in the coming decade. Donate today.
Spread the word about our Holiday Programs! Did you know we run some of the world’s best Summer programs for global teens aged 13-19? Find out more at ALASummer.org and share with your friends.
If Africa Had a Microphone
Can you hear it?
The drum
The one that brings her children dancing
Can you hear it?
Her voice
Beckoning you to come to listen to her.
In the midst of all her fears of the world, she stands strong.
Her skin is littered with precious wealth that shakes the world
Nature is her Throne room.
Her footsteps sound the beating drum of my heart
Her music announces a dawn of prosperity
Her arms embrace the warmth of the sun of hope
Making her dark, beautiful and mysterious
But it is in her darkness her stars are born
Oh how rich they are! Everyone proclaims but
It breaks her heart
When they sell that raw gem for something fake.
How it breaks her heart
When her children turn against each other
If only you could see, she weeps.
From the echoes across the Continent
Of pain-laced cries
And hands lifted with knives
As chains of my brother drag mine across the Sahara
I, we and I, stand accused of neglect and abuse
As we have turned a blind eye on mine.
Mine that are ripped of dignity
As they walk on water to search for milk and honey
Forsaking the land of green and gold liquid
With weights of corruption, betrayal and disdain dragging necks to the bottom of the deep
My children.
You are blessed beyond reproach
Dance in my arms, little ones
And shine like the nations you are meant to be.
She screams through nature
She screams through their education
But they cannot hear her voice
If only they knew, Mama weeps,
If only they knew.
As they fight,
They also tear me apart.
I stand before the assembly of the old
As they with questions probe
The disappearance of the 234
The calloused hands of pick axe kids in the DRC
The slave chains stained with black blood
They asking why?
Moses said let my people go or the Nile will turn crimson
And we let our people go and the Mediterranean is bloody with my siblings
I, we and I, stand accused of neglect and abuse
For, I and we have turned a blind eye on mine
Can you hear it?
The voice
Maybe if Africa was given a microphone
We would hear what she has to say
About how we are treating her today
But I won’t ask
If you hear her voice
You already have
The Question is:
Will you listen?
