Africa Day Celebration: Music, Food, and Conversation

Eric Agnero and Robin Lloyd introduce the first Burlington Africa Day in 2021

BURLINGTON, VT —On May 27-28, 2023, Burlington’s third annual Africa Day  featured discussion of Panafricanism, a talk about international justice, and an afternoon of music and good company.

PLAY AFRICA DAY 2021 VIDEO

Tasty eats at Africa Day 2021

On Saturday, from 3 to 8 PM, an outdoor gathering at 300 Maple St. in Burlington featured music, including a performance by folk singer Mikahely from Madagascar; a discussion of "the New Scramble for Africa” with Gnaka Lagoke; and delicious Afrocentric food. Sponsors included the Vermont Institute for Community and International Involvement, Toward Freedom, and the Caroline Fund.

Previously known as African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day, Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organization of African Unity on May 25, 1963. It is celebrated in various countries on the African continent, as well as around the world. According to Robin Lloyd from Toward Freedom, Vermont has become the home of Newcomers from all regions of Africa over the past ten years. "Africa Day Burlington is therefore a must," she said.

Gnaka Lagoke discusses the “new scramble for Africa” at the 2023 celebration.    

This was the third observation of Africa Day in Vermont. About 2.5 million African immigrants live in the US. According to the Migration Policy Institute, they account for 5 percent of the U.S. immigrant population and about 4 percent of Vermont. 

        

According to Eric Agnero, curator of Africa Day Burlington, the local celebration brings some pride to the Africans living in Vermont. “It is a good opportunity for them to show that they are not only refugees but proud sons and daughters of the cradle of Humanity,” he said. The 2022 celebration honored the memory of Thomas Sankara, revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso from 1984 to 1987, often referred to as the African Che Guevara.

        

On Sunday, May 28, at 3 PM, professor Gnaka Lagoke will discuss his new book — Laurent Gbagbo's Trial and the Indictment of the International Criminal Court, A Pan-African Victory — at the Fletcher Free Library.