CULTURE
AFRICA – The eminent African-American historian, Runoko Rashidi, is no longer
Beninese pan-Africanist Dieudonné Gnammankou, a famous history researcher, paid a vibrant tribute to him in a text published on his facebook page on Tuesday 3 August.
The world of history is in mourning. The famous African-American historian, Runoko Rashidi, died on Tuesday 3 August during a trip to Egypt. Renowned for his knowledge and research on the greatness of classical African civilizations, their presence in pre-Columbian America and ancient Asia, the author of “Millennial History of Africans in Asia” has worked for decades to restore the past of blacks. He made his mission on earth the unity of Africans and especially of Africans of the Americas. He was also known for his admiration for the African woman he wanted to see rise to the highest. Runoko Rashidi, the man who has visited many countries on the planet, died at the age of 67 during a trip with his students to Egypt. Beninese pan-Africanist Dieudonné Gnammankou, a famous history researcher, paid a vibrant tribute to him in a text published on his facebook page on Tuesday 3 August. Ze-africanews lets you discover this beautiful testimony of a passionate history of the African continent.
Dear friends and history buffs, the announcement of the departure to the Ancestors of the famous historian Runoko Rashidi shocked me this afternoon, August 3, 2021. I will paraphrase the fon tradition by saying that I am inconsolable and in shock since I learned that my fofo Runoko Rashidi went to the land of the Aïnou/Ayinou, the founding Ancestors of the land of Kemi (Kemet) came from Ta Nehesi (Nubia).
At the age of 67 and without warning, one of the last great Giants of writing and popularization of world African history became an Ancestor by leaving this world during his annual trip to Egypt with his students.
A terrible loss for his family and his last daughter, Assata-Garvey, but also for the world African historian community of which he was one of the brightest stars in the image of Sopedet (Sirius).
Trained at the school of the great historian Ivan van Seritima ( *They came before Columbus*, *Journal of African Civilizations*, etc.) and other great African historians in the United States, he was the greatest advocate and promoter of African influence in the world. Prolific author, no less than 22 books, I am the editor of five in London and two in Paris, Brother Runoko as he liked to call him, was an African par excellence, who loved his continent. We could even appoint him posthumously, the King of African soft power. He loved Africans and their great achievements in world history.
Then president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, was so impressed by the contents of his first book that I had published in France in 2005, *Histoire millénaire des Africains en Asie*, republished by DAGAN Éditions in 2012 under the title, *A hundred thousand years of African presence in Asia*, he invited him as guest star at the Fesman 2010, World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar. An excellent speaker straight out of the temples of Upper Egypt, Brother Runoko knew how to transmit his encyclopedic knowledge to the general public without the slightest elitism with his charisma and his devastating humour. President Wade was thrilled. He took the microphone to explain the importance of Runoko Rashidi’s work on major African contributions to Asian countries.
Brother Runoko was the tireless ambassador of the oppressed black peoples of Papua New Guinea, whose leader, Benny Wenda, had been invited to the Fesman. The Dalits, India’s oppressed black minority, have lost their best international ambassador!
On May 12, 2005, I had the honour of meeting Brother Runoko in person in Miami at Florida International University at a major symposium organized by Carole Boyce Davis.Preparatory Symposium of the African Diaspora Encyclopedia. I was very happy to see him in the flesh and he too because he had read my two books on General Hannibal and the Russian poet Pushkin. To me he was a giant of the global black world.
Runoko loved Pushkin. He also loved Dumas.
We sympathized and in December I was the editor of his first book translated into French by a young Rwandan translator Maurice Akingeneye. For this occasion, I had brought him to Toulouse for the colloquium of the MAT, Maison de l’Afrique à Toulouse, on *Les Africains et leurs descendants en Europe avant le XXe siècle*. Then in Paris where the big hall of the Ecole des Mines was packed to the brim. More than 300 books signed that day… It was my christening as a publisher.We’ve been together ever since.
Brother Runoko came to see me in Porto Novo in January 2019, making Benin a Runoko Tour destination in Africa. He wanted to see the Akanga Center. He loved me very much and loved my books. He did me the great honour of putting in his List of the 100 most important black books of the 20th century my book, *Pushkin and the Black World*, published in 1999 by Présence Africaine!
In 2012 I published his second book in French translated by Zawadi Sagna, *Réflexions et voyages sur les traces de l’Afrique dans le monde*. I also published five more of his books in my London-based publishing house, Books of Africa.
In 2014, he came to the History and Renaissance Day that the Dumas-Pushkin Center of which I am the president had organized in Achères in the Paris region.
Brother Runoko had promised to return to Benin. He was a great man who deserved to have a statue and a Center in an African city.
Alcali Dieudonné Gnammankou
CINEMA
BURKINA FASO – Culture and tourism: The 4th edition of Tunnel honors the builders of the shadow
Koudougou, May 31, 2025 (AIB) – The 4th edition of Tunnel, a ceremony for distinguishing cultural and tourist actors in the Central-West region, was held in Koudougou on Saturday, noted the AIB on site.
This annual event, initiated by Adama Badiel, aims to create, according to him, a platform of visibility and support for artists and tourism professionals to allow them to establish themselves on national and international scenes.
The promoter Adama Badiel stressed the importance of this edition, placed under the sign of collaboration, recognition and collective construction. He recalled the fundamental objective of the Tunnel: “to highlight the cultural and tourist talents of the Center-West, these women and men who, often without spotlight or support, nourish our region with their passion, creativity, and determination.”
This year, the event paid a special tribute to its partners, whose support is deemed indispensable. Among the officials present were Jean Noël Bonkoungou, representing the minister of culture, patron of the ceremony, El Hadj Inoussa Bagué, president of the Patronat du Centre-Ouest, Franck Alain Kaboré, CEO of Cinéma Neerwaya, and Ali Bonkoungou, CEO of Salsabil Bâtiment, testifying to the commitment of the private and public sectors.
Despite a slight reduction to five categories in competition this year, due to a limited number of album releases and works meeting the criteria, Adama Badiel ensured that the “Golden Tunnel” category will evolve from next year to expand opportunities while maintaining the quality requirement.
The promoter also launched a call for goodwill because, “we need you to build a true ecosystem where art, heritage, tourism and youth can express themselves, thrive and inspire.” This heartfelt plea highlights the major challenge of the lack of resources to fully support the laureates and optimize their visibility.
Several emblematic figures of Burkinabe cinema, such as Eugène Bayala (Oyou), Sawadogo Alidou (head of the Village of Kikideni), and Rasmané Ouédraogo (Razo), have already been honored in previous editions.
This year, the winners on the artistic side include Mr. Baraka, Tasha, Yololo Junior, and KSB 80.
In the cultural and tourist field, personalities like El Hadj Inoussa Bagué, Franck Alain Kaboré, Rasmané Ouédraogo, Boubacar Berewoudougou (Hôtel Pousga), Catherine Zoma (ISMK), and Salfo Dermé were distinguished, in addition to tributes paid to ancient glories of Burkinabe music such as Pasteur Moussa Josué.
Adama Badiel concluded by stating that “the Tunnel is not a one-time event. It is a movement, an ambition, a bridge between what we are and what we can become. A strong message for the future of culture and tourism in the Center-West.
The boss’s representative, Jean Noël Bonkoungou, reassured the promoter of Tunnel of the support of the ministry.
Source: Information Agency of Burkina
Photo credit: Information Agency of Burkina
See on the platforms the legendary Senegalese hip-hop group Daara J Family. On May 30, 2025, the band returns with “COSAAN”, a committed single that resonates, with its morning mbalax melodies and gentle flows, as an essential reminder: never forget where you come from. The single has over 80,000 views and 900 comments on YouTube.
“Fan nga cosaanoo?” – Where are your roots?
This question in wolof, almost a supplication, serves as the thread to the new title of Daara J Family. NAACP literally means “origin” or “heritage”. With this single, the iconic duo formed by Faada Freddy and Ndongo D delivers a work that is at once poetic, political and deeply rooted in history, especially that of Senegal. It is also a call to African youth not to forget their origins. And above all to enhance its cultural heritage by walking with pride in the footsteps of the ancients.
Cosaan, between mbalax and rap
Formed in 1994, while still in high school, the members of Daara J Family never gave up their musical identity. Indeed, they have always mixed sharp words, spirituality and pan-African consciousness. In “COSAAN”, they revisit this tradition that is dear to them. In this song, there are traditional sounds (mbalax) and contemporary hip-hop textures, echoing their long-standing belief: rap was born in Africa, traveled, then came back. The refrain, translated into French, is unequivocal: “Le monde et ce qu’il contient / Si tu vas là et que tu l’obtiens / N’oublie pas, n’oublie pas / This is where your origin lies!” A direct appeal to African youth not to give in to cultural amnesia and to keep the memory of ancestors and African identity alive.
When history inhabits the word
Faada Freddy, with his recognizable soul voice among a thousand, hums: “We know where we come from/ What worries us is where we are going…” This lucid concern can only be tempered by an unwavering faith in the values of the elders. Ndongo D, adds in a quick flow: “If you forget yesterday, tomorrow you will be lost (…) You were born here, you come from here, you live here.” It is an anchor cry, a response to uprooting, a warning against forgetting.
Daara J Family: Making sense of the flow
From their first eponymous album in 1998 to Boomerang in 2003 — hailed as one of the best hip-hop albums of the century by The Observer — to Yaamatele in 2020, Daara J Family have always been able to combine the art of flow with that of meaning. Their commitment goes beyond words. They shared the stage with icons such as Public Enemy or Mos Def, and travelled through festivals from Africa to Europe, from WOMAD to Live 8.
COSAAN: a single dedicated to transmission
More than a return, COSAAN is a transmission. It is a manifesto. That of a knowledge, a duty to remember, a pride. At a time when markers are shifting, when crops are being diluted. In an era marked by migration, globalization and multiple influences, Daara J Family reminds us that identity is a foundation, not a burden. That heritage is not nostalgia, but a compass. And they offer a musical compass and identity with this single: Cosaan!
The monumental works depicting the battle of Little Big Horn, exhibited on the Pont des Arts in Paris in 1999, made the Senegalese artist famous. The installation has just joined the fortress in the Hautes-Alpes for at least ten years.
Muscled warriors meld, horse bumping. Sounds of the fury of battle are heard. Under the impressive curvilinear wooden frame of the old Rochambeau barracks, at the fort of Mont-Dauphin (Hautes-Alpes), is played the battle of Little Big Horn, opposing, in 1876, a coalition of Cheyennes, Sioux and Arapaho to the soldiers of General Custer’s regiment.
In thirty-five monumental sculptures, visible from 6 July, the Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow (1935-2016) celebrates the resounding victory of the fragile over the powerful. Deposited in this fortified village for a period of ten years renewable by his widow, the director Béatrice Soulé, this epic installation is well known to the Parisians who discovered it amazed, one day in March 1999, on the Pont des Arts.
The exhibition has remained in the annals with its record attendance – at least 3 million visitors in three months. «An unexpected success», recalls art critic Emmanuel Daydé, then deputy mayor for cultural affairs. For the former physiotherapist born in 1935 in Dakar, who later became an artist, it is consecration. But also, surprisingly, a swan song.
At the moment when Ousmane Sow gains international fame, the art world turns its back on him. Although he was the first African artist recognized in France, none of his successors, to whom he had paved the way, claimed it.
Mayor’s daughter supports her cause
It had all started well. In 1993, the Senegalese sculptor, who two years earlier had been on the cover of Revue noire – a quarterly magazine that revealed a number of African talents – was invited to the major five-year exhibition at Documenta in Kassel, Germany. In 1995, here he is at the Venice Biennale, which is to contemporary art what the Cannes Film Festival is to cinema. The autodidact dreams of an event in Paris.
By chance, he met Hélène Tiberi, daughter of the mayor at the time, Jean Tiberi. Who supports his cause at the City Hall. The location is easy: it will be the Pont des Arts, between the Louvre and the Academy of Fine Arts. It will take diplomatic treasures to convince these two institutions, who have not seen with a good eye the proximity of massive silhouettes imagined by an African artist.Archives «World»: Ousmane Sow questions Bordeaux and politicians
The neighbouring National School of Fine Arts, where figurative art was then taboo, is also pinching its nose. Money is missing. The Havas group had initially promised to contribute to the addition of 5 million francs (the equivalent of 1 million euros today), but its new CEO, Jean-Marie Messier, is sneaking out. Béatrice Soulé moves heaven and earth, finds sponsors and is personally indebted to the tune of 1 million francs. More here
Source: Le Monde
