Conversations Across the Diaspora hosted by Sarah Ladipo Manyika
Introducing a new monthly series with guests from all over the globe — some you may recognize and some you may not, but all will bring a new perspective to the African Diaspora.
Conversations across the Diaspora
A new interactive series brings you eclectic conversations from across the African diaspora. Join author and host Sarah Ladipo Manyika for talks with some of the most exciting voices from Berlin to Harare, from Tamale to London and New York and everywhere in between. We’ll introduce you to all sorts of folks—some you will know, others you may never have heard of, but never the usual suspects talking about the usual topics. We’ll be speaking with everyone from actors to poets, scholars, athletes, entrepreneurs, architects, artists and many more. Come join us!
We started by learning about the incredibly talented and thoughtful Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama and followed with a delightful conversation with British writer & model Jess Cole. Next we discovered just how many projects have been launched and people engaged by Zimbabwean global entrepreneur and philanthropist Strive Masiyiwa. We were charmed and inspired by actor and singer Tatyana Ali. In September, Anna Deavere Smith proved she is theater royalty and we brought in special guests to celebrate and honor her. We learned of his impressive work on global diversity and corporate responsibility from UK parliament’s Lord Michael Hastings. Poet, essayist and playwright Claudia Rankine brought us her lyrical prose and sharp analysis of whiteness and privilege in the United Stares through her latest book JUST US: AN AMERICAN CONVERSATION, and politician and legislator U.S. Senator Cory Booker inspired us with his commitment to public service and his compassionate and humble nature. Xoliswa Sithole impressed us with her intensely beautiful filmmaking in South Africa and Zimbabwe. We conclude this season with historian, filmmaker and public intellectual Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
We begin a new season with author, playwright, poet, and political activist Wole Soyinka. Professor Soyinka is publishing his first work of fiction in nearly 50 years, Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth. Join us on September 30, 2021, as Sarah inquires about his new novel and much more! Register here.
View Conversations Across the Diaspora
Ibrahim Mahama | April 28, 2020
Strive Masiyiwa | July 10, 2020
Anna Deavere Smith | September 11, 2020
Lord Michael Hastings | October 9, 2020
Claudia Rankine | November 13, 2020
Senator Cory Booker | December 11, 2020
Xoliswa Sithole | February 12, 2021
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. | April 9, 2021
Sarah Ladipo Manyika was raised in Nigeria and has lived in Kenya, France, Zimbabwe, and England. Sarah is a novelist, short story writer, essayist and founding books editor for Ozy.com. Her debut novel, In Dependence, is an international bestseller while her second novel, Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, has been translated into a number of languages. Her nonfiction includes personal essays and intimate profiles of people she meets from Mrs. Harris and Pastor Evan Mawarire to Toni Morrison, Margaret Busby and Michelle Obama. Sarah previously served on MoAD’s board and currently serves as Board President for the women’s writing residency, Hedgebrook. Sarah is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a San Francisco Public Library Laureate, and a member of the National Books Critics Circle.
This series is supported in part by a generous donation from Peggy Woodford Forbes
Categories: Public Programs
