Inspiring African leaders in the diaspora today
One definition of leadership frames it as a process of social influence that harnesses the contributions of others towards the achievement of a vision, or more narrowly, a specific goal. These pan-African-selected individuals qualify as African leaders using their social influence for the greater good. Have a read and let us know what you think.
All are African leaders shining a light on lesser-known subjects, painting old ones in a new light, or helping us look anew at contentious topics within African history. As such, these influential Africans are all outstanding examples of African leadership.
Afua Hirsch
At once lucid and impassioned, Afua Hirsch is the author of Brit(ish) – a 2017 Times bestseller that grapples with questions of race, class and gender. Born in Norway to a British father and Ghanaian mother, Hirsch describes the book as a product of her life’s work and curiosity.
From growing up in Wimbledon to studying at Oxford, and in various fields of work (spanning both Europe and Africa) she eloquently describes episodes of both overt and covert racism.
But her real talent, both in print and on Sky New’s ‘The Pledge’, is in dissecting the notion of Britishness – a term that she believes many people of colour, including herself, have to earn.
Hirsch writes a regular column for The Guardian and is currently the Wallis Annenberg Chair of journalism at the University of Southern California. She is also a TV presenter, children’s author, public speaker and half of the African-inspired fashion brand Sika.
David Olusoga
Another in our ‘African leaders’ selection is British-Nigerian David Olusoga OBE. Olusoga is an author, historian and TV presenter – star of BBC Two’s widely popular ‘A House Through Time’. This might you give the impression he feels comfortable in establishment circles – or at least welcomed.
Yet if his recent MacTaggart lecture, on the state of the television industry, is anything to go by, this is very much not the case. And it suggests that his other broadcasting work – such as Black and British: A Forgotten History and Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners – should lead any meaningful introduction of this masterful storyteller.
Throughout his work, this African leader passionately argues for a more inclusive history. One that not only acknowledges the lives of people of colour (within any national framework) but also their myriad contributions too. He believes that this would help address Britain’s knowledge deficit, in regards to Empire, and help explain one simple sentence: “We are here because you were there”.
Olusoga is currently Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. You can watch his BBC documentaries here.
Yaa Gyasi
The next in our ‘African leaders’ selection is Yaa Gyasi. Born in Ghana and raised in the US, Yaa Gyasi has a profound talent for storytelling. She studied English at Stanford University and creative writing at the University of Iowa. But it wasn’t until she returned to Ghana, in 2009, that she gained inspiration for her debut novel.
At the age of 26, she released Homegoing – a bold and innovative work of historical fiction that follows seven generations of the Asante family, right up to the present day. From the Gold Coast to the Deep South, we witness the pain of slavery, colonialism and racial injustice, as it spans both centuries and continents. This African leader pulls no punches when detailing African complicity in the slave trade, nor in her discussion of inherited trauma.
Her latest book, Transcendent Kingdom, draws on her own experiences growing up in Huntsville, Alabama and focuses on a family torn apart by addiction. It also explores themes of depression, race and religion.
Toyin Ojih Odutola
Born in Nigeria and raised in the same southern town as Yaa Gyasi, Toyin Ojih Odutola is a leading contemporary visual artist.
She discovered her talent from an early age, when drawing provided an escape from the realities of Huntsville, Alabama. Portraiture, in particular, offered her a way to render the “otherness” that her classmates were so determined to ignore.
Working with pen, pastel and charcoal, her work has evolved to include fictional narratives, often involving multiple characters. Odutola says this was a way to counter audiences that would seek biographical content about her – before engaging with the work.
By creating topographies, she forces her audience to glean knowledge about blackness from within the frame itself. Odutola hopes this approach will give people a better understanding of the black experience. But she also hopes it challenges the black community to look at itself anew – by asking what stories it wants to tell.
Jeffrey Boake
Jeffrey Boake says he never planned to write a book about grime.
And yet, his 2018 debut, Hold tight: Black masculinity, Millennials & the meaning of Grime, not only received rave reviews from fans of the genre, but also spawned a whole host of similar titles. And perhaps for the first time, it saw grime given both nuance and context – from someone who understands the scene and its deep resonance in the UK.
This young African leader also offers a perspective on masculinity – something that he continued to explore in: What is Masculinity? Why Does it Matter? And Other Big Questions. In 2019 he also released Black, Listed: Black British Culture Explored – an exploration of twenty-first century Black identity, that further developed his witty and considered approach.
Originally hailing from Brixton, Boake now lives in Yorkshire. A seemingly prolific writer, he also teaches English in secondary schools and sixth forms. His next book I Heard What You Said looks at racism in British schools.
Which African leader in the diaspora today has inspired you?
