Simba Wanyika was a Kenyan based band created in 1971 by Tanzanian brothers Wilson Kinyonga and George Kinyonga, and disbanded in 1994. Simba Wanyika and its two offshoots, Les Wanyika and Super Wanyika Stars, became some of the most popular bands in Kenya. Their guitar-driven sound, inspired by the Soukous guitarist Dr. Nico, combined highly melodic rumba with lyrics sung in Swahili. Simba wa nyika means "Lions of the Savannah" in Swahili.
Cheikh Anta Diop was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. Diop's work is considered foundational to the theory of Afrocentricity, though he himself never described himself as an Afrocentrist. The questions he posed about cultural bias in scientific research contributed greatly to the postcolonial turn in the study of African civilizations.
Festac Town is a federal housing estate located along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway in Lagos State, Nigeria. Its name is derived from the acronym FESTAC, which stands for Second World African Festival of Arts and Culture that was held there in 1977. It is also important to know that Festac is under Amuwo-Odofin local government area in Lagos.
Lamine Diakhate was an author, poet and literary critic of the négritude school and has served his country as a politician and diplomat.
The Cinema of Niger began in the 1940s with the ethnographical documentary of French director Jean Rouch, before growing to become one of the most active national film cultures in Francophone Africa in the 1960s-70s with the work of filmmakers such as Oumarou Ganda, Moustapha Alassane and Gatta Abdourahamne. The industry has slowed somewhat since the 1980s, though films continue to be made in the country, with notable directors of recent decades including Mahamane Bakabe, Inoussa Ousseini, Mariama Hima, Moustapha Diop and Rahmatou Keïta. Unlike neighbouring Nigeria, with its thriving Hausa and English-language film industries, most Nigerien films are made in French with Francophone countries as their major market, whilst action and light entertainment films from Nigeria or dubbed western films fill most Nigerien theatres.
Established the day after the Independence of Mali in 1961, l’Ensemble instrumental national is an orchestra of traditional Malian music and song.
Biscuiterie is a commune d'arrondissement of the city of Dakar, Senegal, part of the arrondissement of Grand Dakar. It is located in the centre-southern area of the city. As of 2007, it had a population of 56,932.
Alioune Badara Bèye is a Senegalese civil servant, novelist, playwright, poet, and publisher.
Mathilda Marie Berthilde Paruta, better known as Darling Légitimus, was a French actress. In 1983, she received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the film Sugar Cane Alley.
Alioune Diop was a Senegalese writer and editor, founder of the intellectual journal Présence africaine, and a central figure in the Négritude movement.
Festac '77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, was a major international festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 15 January 1977 to 12 February 1977. The month-long event celebrated African culture and showcased to the world African music, fine art, literature, drama, dance and religion. About 16,000 participants, representing 56 African nations and countries of the African Diaspora, performed at the event. Artists who performed at the festival included Stevie Wonder from United States, Gilberto Gil from Brazil, Bembeya Jazz National from Guinea, Mighty Sparrow from Trinidad and Tobago, Les Ballets Africains, South African Miriam Makeba, and Franco Luambo Makiadi. At the time it was held, it was the largest pan-African gathering to ever take place.
Sergio Borelli was an Italian journalist. He started his career in post-WWII Milan, at the socialist newspaper L'Avanti. In 1949 he was awarded a UNESCO Fellowship that sent him to London to learn at the local newspapers and then to the BBC Foreign Dept. From London he wrote for a number of newspapers, among them Paese Sera, L'Avanti, Milano Sera. In 1952 he returned to Milan and - after collaborating with the weeklies L'Illustrazione Italiana and Tempo Illustrato - in 1956 joined the newly founded daily Il Giorno. There he was a foreign correspondent.
Alain Gomis is a French-Senegalese film director and screenwriter. His 2017 film Félicité was selected as the Senegalese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist.
Papa Ibra Tall (1935–2015) was a tapestry weaver, painter, and illustrator known for his role in the École de Dakar.
Norma Morgan (1928–2017) was an American printmaker and painter. Her work is found in major collections worldwide and she has been highly recognized for her etchings and engravings, many of which were inspired by time spent in Great Britain.
Younousse Sèye is a Senegalese artist and actress. Considered Senegal's first woman painter, she is best known for her mixed-media works incorporating cowrie shells. Having no formal training in either visual art or acting, she achieved success in the post-independence Dakar art scene and appeared in several major films by the Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène.
Jean-Pierre Makouta-Mboukou was a Congolese politician, academic, novelist and playwright. For his abundant and eclectic work his biographers have called him the “Congolese Victor Hugo” and the “baobab of Congolese literature”.
Engelbert Mveng, SJ, was a Cameroonian Jesuit priest, artist, historian, theologian, and anthropologist.
Joseph Gaï Ramaka is a Senegalese film director, screen writer and film producer.
Moussa Bathily is a Senegalese history teacher, journalist, film director and producer, screen writer, and novelist.
