Black Global Leaders Converge on L.A. for 2nd Annual AFRICON
June 02, 2022
LAWT News Service
Leaders from the global Black diaspora gathered in Los Angeles for AFRICON, one of the country’s biggest celebrations of the African continent and the diaspora.
Presented by Amplify Africa, the second annual event was held May 25-28, and brought together music, innovation, business, activism, education and more, to uplift, acknowledge, and celebrate the diversity of the African continent through the lens of entertainment, business, media, technology and leadership.
In addition to panels and celebrations, this year’s AFRICON also raised funds for I Heart Africa, the philanthropic organization founded by Chaka Bars, that is working to resettle 100,000 people displaced by a volcanic eruption in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.
The four-day event featured a range of panels and performances including a rare DJ appearance by Jidenna as part of ChiefyChiefy. Elsa, Chaka, Kweku Mandela and more were honored at the AFRICON Afro Ball gala for their contributions to African excellence.
Panel topics included Black Media: Controlling Our Own Narrative, Creating Generational Wealth Through Innovation & Investments, Deconstructing the Standard of Beauty, Investing in Africa's Future, Civil Rights & Advocacy in the Black Diaspora, Political Engagement of the Diaspora: Home & Abroad, and more.
Attendees included Isaac Kigozi, who heads Trade and Investment in Uganda; Tunde Ogundipe, senior vice president at Sony, Caroline Wanga, CEO of Essence Magazine; Elon Johnson, senior creative executive at Tyler Perry Studios; Deniece Laurent-Mantey, foreign affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State; Ava Hall, former vice president at BET International; and Prince Joel Makonnen-Haile Selassie, entrepreneur and great-grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia.
Amplify Africa is a leading media and entertainment company whose mission is to amplify Africa and the African diaspora through global community and storytelling, for a diverse audience of the African diaspora inclusive of African Americans, Caribbeans, Afro-Latinx, Afro-European, Afro-Asian, indigenous Africans across the globe, Africans on the continent and African culture lovers around the world.
With more than half of the population in many African nations under the age of 25, the continent is currently undergoing a renaissance of vibrant new music, fashion, art and political expression.
Amplify Africa captures the spirit of this unprecedented boom in youth culture off of the continent, by focusing on emerging and progressing trends while blending traditional aesthetics with a futurist lifestyle.
Amplify Africa’s vision is to connect the continent to the Black global experience of African American, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, and Afro-European communities.
To learn more, visit africon.global.