News — Culture

Vanessa Nakate is a Ugandan climate activist who led Uganda’s First Fridays for Future climate strikes and founded Youth for Future Africa and Rise Up Climate Movement to address climate concerns in the African continent and world at large.

Nakate was born on November 15, 1996 and grew up in the Kitintale neighborhood of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. She graduated from Makerere University Business School with a degree in Business Administration in 2018. After finishing her schooling, she began researching the different issues impacting her country and found climate change to be the most gripping problem. Given that Africa produces 2-3% of global carbon emissions but is the continent most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Nakate believes this is more reason to act. From long drought spells in Northern Uganda to a high prevalence of landslides and floods in Eastern Uganda, Nakate realized how localized and devastating the issue of climate change is and decided to become a voice in the movement towards climate justice.

In 2018, she protested outside the parliament of Uganda for several months alone. She used social media to spread word on the urgency of climate problems facing her region, and other youth eventually joined her to raise awareness about Congo’s rainforest, which is facing vast deforestation. In rural schools, Nakate spearheaded a project that provides solar installation and eco-friendly stoves because those communities would otherwise be unable to afford those energy sustainability tools.

In 2019, she was chosen to speak at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Spain. Later in 2020, she joined forces with other climate activists from around the world to camp outside in the freezing cold of Switzerland at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. The group also published a letter calling on participants of the World Economic Forum to stop subsidizing fossil fuels. The Associated Press snapped a photo of the activists and wrote an article about the matter, but Nakate was cropped out of the image and not included in the article. She took to her frustration to her Twitter platform where she lambasted racism in the media, saying that the AP’s actions did not just erase her but that they erased an entire continent. The incident went viral on the internet and she received international outpouring support and solidarity from other activists. This put new eyes on the African climate movement and its activists so Nakate looks back on it favorably.

Nakate has continued to use her platform online for advocacy and has amassed over 200 thousand followers on Twitter and more than 100 thousand followers on Instagram. Nakate was chosen to be on the lists for BBC’s 100 Women in 2020 and Time100 Next published by Time Magazine in 2021.

Seasoned comedian Cedric The Entertainer is adamant Bill Cosby deserves to be honored for his contributions to the Black community both on and off the set despite being convicted for aggravated sexual assault.

The 56-year-old initially paid homage to Cosby in an Instagram post on February 26 where he said the disgraced comedian “did a lot for the culture and the community.”

“The controversy of his current situation is not what these [sic] post are about!,” he clarified before adding: “He was one of the first Black Men we saw on TV that was truly his own boss. He taught us to know our worth in this business, He showed us how to give back to our communities and institutions.”

Cedric continued: “He was/ is Prolific, Funny and Audacious! He ruled on damn near every platform. Thursday nights became must see TV because of him, Film, Stage, Books, Animation, Recordings, all were places he reigned supreme. So he had to be shouted out, for his contribution to the Black History of Comedy. Show the Legend some Recognition!!”

In a follow-up interview with TMZ on Wednesday, Cedric re-echoed his initial sentiments, saying Cosby’s transgressions shouldn’t overshadow his influence and the good he has done for the Black community.

“We all live a full life with a lot of good things and some bad things. You pay the cost for all of it. If you get convicted, people wanna wipe out the [good] things that you did,” he said.

He added: “What I wanted to say was that for so many years of our lives Bill Cosby was the litmus…. Everything he did, the way he contributed and showed love to black people, the way he taught us how to do that for ourselves, the way we all learned to take pride in our culture and our history.”

Cedric also lauded Cosby’s media acumen, saying he laid the groundwork and foundation for the likes of Jay-Z and Tyler Perry to thrive.

Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in 2018 on three counts of aggravated assault for drugging and sexually assaulting former basketball player Andrea Constand in his home in 2004. The comedian and actor’s case was the first high-profile celebrity conviction of the #MeToo era which was initiated to raise awareness of sexual harassment and sexual abuse in the workplace. Cosby also had several other women coming out to accuse him of sexual misconduct going back to almost 30 years.

The allegations against the actor and his eventual conviction were also followed by him losing several honors and business partnerships as well as people shelving his sitcom and anything that has to do with him.

Asked if Cosby could be forgiven for the crimes he committed, Cedric replied: “Redemption for certain crimes are going to be hard to come by. Abuse of the ladies, taking advantage of people that are unaware of their circumstance, I don’t know how much redemption you deserve for that.”

That notwithstanding, it appeared Cedric’s sentiments caught the ears of Cosby as he responded to his Instagram post in a tweet on Wednesday. “I plan to do more, too. Thank you very much for feeling, knowing & keeping the legacy alive through your great work,” Cosby’s Twitter account posted. “Thank You, Thank You & Thank You.”

There are tea cultures in many parts of the world and the English are known to have a staunch one. With the premiere of the Regency era drama Bridgerton, many people revived their love for sipping teas in fancy cups at the comfort of their homes. LaRue 1680, a Black-owned tea brand afforded many Americans that luxury with the company seeing a spike in sales since the show hit the screens.

Stephanie Synclair, the founder of LaRue 1680 and a business coach, did not always set out to curate exotic tea blends. She was a young woman who always wanted to see the world and experience different cultures. Getting pregnant did not even stop her from jet-setting around the world, contrary to what everyone around her thought.

In 2012, Synclair, whose son Caden is now 14 years old, began exploring Asia and Europe when he was just 7. “I knew when I had him, we were gonna experience it together. I decided I was never gonna look at my child like a hindrance, but the fuel for me to do this,” Synclair told.

This was when the Alabama native first connected with the tea drinking culture in Indonesia. She and her son were swooned by the intricate tea drinking ceremonies in Bali as well as the art of making them.

Caden loved the experience so much so that for his 8th birthday, he requested a Balinese sipping class that encompassed the whole tea-making ritual where they would grind and mix their herbs, fruits, and spices to create unique mixtures.

After a year of enjoying the great outdoors in Bali and learning to curate lovely and sensual tea mixtures, Synclair and her son returned to the states, but Bali and their tea-loving culture never left them.

She continued to make the teas at home and for her family and friends. As she saw herself evolve making these teas for people around her, Synclair decided to take it up as a business and the e-commerce brand, LaRue 1680, was born. It, however, did not go public till several years later.

The single mother, determined to put out the best product for consumers, spent 2019 mostly in France conducting extensive research on teas and planned to launch in January 2020, but 2020 had a mind of its own.

The world was hit with a pandemic that to date, many lives have been lost and many businesses have collapsed. She decided to see the silver lining in having to delay the launch of her loose-leaf teas and used that time to properly structure her business module and her wares.

Finally, in October 2020, Synclair put her handcrafted teas online available for nationwide delivery and the feedback was amazing, especially because many were still at home quarantining and a little to get them by was now within reach.

“Generally, the way you see tea marketed is flat, not sexy. When it’s done right: it’s so sexy. This is not your grandmother’s tea,” said Synclair. “Listen: Grab a beautiful cup and let’s put our pinkies up.”

With Bridgerton’s premiere on Christmas Day, Synclair, as a business coach, saw the opportunity to market her teas seeing as the characters oozed the English tea culture scene after scene.

The public’s response to Bridgerton and everything in it worked in Synclair’s favor. As fashion houses were making Regency era pieces in the collections, people fell in love with LaRue 1680’s timely loose-leaf tea brand and the whole relaxed ‘stay at home and let us enjoy the series with the tea vibe.’

She posted her teas on Instagram while playing around with the principal characters alluding to which of the blends the characters could be sipping on or which ones match the personality of the characters, and it worked.

LaRue 1680 saw a growth rate of around 500% comparing their revenue in October after the launch through to December when the series premiered.

The teas go for $10 to $19 per 3-ounce bag (about 40 to 50 cups) and many want her to get a tea shop they can come and relive all their own romantic era story but Synclair wants to give it time.

The tea-entrepreneur intends on celebrating the anniversary of her launch with lavish pop-ups and tailored garden experiences for her consumers to enjoy their teas.

Since 2011 that respected kora player, vocalist and instrumentalist Sona Jobarteh dropped the album Fasiya, the world-renowned musician has not released any other album. Instead, she has been placing all her finances and energies into the Gambia Academy of Music and Culture she opened in her home country, The Gambia, in 2015.

The school is the first of its kind in The Gambia that teaches music and academic studies as an integrated course of study. In other words, the Academy educates children in their cultural traditions and heritage alongside the mainstream curriculum.

“My ambition was to teach children an innate sense of pride in their own culture and history. It became my ambition to make sure I contributed to this change,” said Jobarteh, who is from a long West African tradition of Griots and kora players from Mali and The Gambia.

At just five years old, Jobarteh was already playing the kora, the 21-string instrument which is traditionally reserved for men. Today, she is known as the first professional female kora player in The Gambia, and throughout her performances, she has shown that one does not have to conform to outside influence to be successful in the music industry.

“You can actually represent your tradition, you can even sing in your own language without having to bend to pressure not to do so,” she said.

It is against this background that she founded the Academy dedicated to the social and economic development of the country. To Jobarteh, African children, when given the kind of education her Academy offers, will be motivated to take up roles in building and harnessing the resources of their own countries rather than thinking of leaving their country.

Jobarteh, a scholar in traditional West African Mande music, came to the above realization during her studies at SOAS University in London, CNN reported. “[SOAS] has one of Europe’s largest libraries containing African literature and resources — an absolutely amazing place,” she told CNN. “But why should Africans leave Africa to go and study their own culture? This is something that didn’t sit well with me.”

So with 21 students, Jobarteh started her Academy in a makeshift facility in Farato, a rural town in western Gambia. The number of students has increased to 40, with many being orphans from rural communities who lacked access to education. Jobarteh pays the fees of all the students, using the earnings from her international touring and album sales.

With more students hoping to join the Academy, it is now expanding to Kartong in southwestern Gambia. Jobarteh purchased 50 hectares of land in Kartong in 2017 toward the construction of a new campus that will support about 300 students as well as the Academy’s Senior department for those above 18 years old.

The Academy campus, which hopes to become a “centralized hub for African cultural and academic excellence”, will offer courses including general and specialist musical education to both national and international students, all of whom will benefit from on-site accommodation. The new campus comes with facilities such as a dance studio, a concert hall, recording studio, a library, screening room and a multi-media suite, according to its website.

Sustainable, locally sourced materials will be used for the project but what really excites Jobarteh is the location of the campus. The Academy campus is not only a ten-minute walk to the beach but also closely connected to the rural community, giving Jobarteh and her team “a bright, natural setting that blends African tradition, arts and culture with academia.”

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Jobarteh is currently seeking external funding in order to complete the pioneering institution.