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Oklahoma
State Senate
Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
For Immediate Release: November 22, 2010
Sen. Brian Bingman
Sen. Constance Johnson Asked to Attend World Festival of
Black Arts and Cultures
After receiving an invitation from President Abdoulaye
Wade of the Republic of Senegal, Sen. Constance Johnson will be
attending the opening week of the World Festival of Black Arts and
Cultures in Dakar next month, December 10-17. The Oklahoma City
senator will be joining an official U.S, delegation which includes
members of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.
“I am greatly honored that President Wade has invited our
caucus to attend this spectacular international event,” said
Johnson, D-Oklahoma County. “Events like this one are so important
to building relationships among the nations. Through the arts we
can grasp a better understanding of our different cultures.”
The theme of the 2010 festival is African Renaissance and will honor
a nation exemplary of this central theme: Brazil, an epicenter of
the African diaspora. It will also host artists from across Africa
as well as North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe, among
other places. The programming will span numerous disciplines: music;
art, photography and design exhibitions; fashion shows; a literature
event; a retrospective of films by African and diaspora directors;
theater; dance; urban culture (rap, graffiti, etc.); science &
technology exhibition; a food & wine festival; and traditional
architecture, among other activities.
The U.S. delegation will participate in a major symposium on “Africa’s
Place in Current Global Affairs” which will take place during
the Forum on African Renaissance at the Festival. The Forum will
also highlight Africa’s development progress, including efforts
to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and achieve the other Millennium
Development Goals by 2015.
The World Festival of Black Arts and Cultures has been held only
twice before, in 1966 and 1977. Culminating a monumental year in
African history—including the first FIFA World Cup on the
continent and the 50th Anniversary of Francophone Africa’s
independence—the third edition of the festival will be held
in Senegal’s capital city this year, as it was in the festival’s
first incarnation 45 years ago. The African Union has appointed
the Senegalese President, Abdoulaye Wade, to mount the largest global
gathering to date of black artists, writers, journalists, filmmakers,
intellectuals, scientists, civil rights leaders, elected officials
and youth leaders including a delegation of prominent African-American
personalities from the U.S. as well as and other luminaries, and
anticipates that people will travel from all over the world for
the occasion.
For more information contact:
Sen. Johnson: (405) 521-5531
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