When Sunday Goshit looked around her classroom more than 20 years ago, she didn’t see many students who looked like her.
Gossitt came to Iowa City from Nigeria about 24 years ago to attend graduate school. He said he has been involved with the local African community since he set foot on Iowa soil.
Gossitt said he has seen the community grow by leaps and bounds over the years, but some of Iowa City’s burgeoning African population feel like something important is missing. . It is an event that introduces the culture of the continent and brings together people from there.
This is how the idea for this year’s first Africa Fest was born. Gossitt, the festival’s planning committee chair, and other members and organizations involved in the festival spent months planning an event that would allow Iowa City residents to experience the rich culture of Africa.
The festival took place on Saturday, September 28th.
Iowa City’s Pedestrian Mall has transformed into an exhilarating atmosphere filled with upbeat music, laughter, and food from various African countries.
Artists and performers from all walks of life took to the stage in front of the Graduate Hotel. Poets, jugglers, dancers, singers, bicycle tricksters and more showed off their diverse talents.
Walking through Pedo Mall, rows of booths were set up with signs displaying the identities of the artists involved. Clothes racks, beaded handbags and dazzling jewelry caught the eye of attendees as they passed by.
Fatima Said, a Sudanese immigrant, has lived in Iowa City for more than 20 years and works as a painter. She donates 45 percent of her profits to various organizations, especially those that support underprivileged towns in Africa and fund disaster relief.
“I was on the board of the Johnson County chapter, so I helped[the United Nations]raise money to build a school for refugees in Kenya,” Said said. “Now Sudan is at war. I am supporting many families, orphaned children… medical care, shelter… I am selling this art to help these people and help them We’re sending a lot of money to help.”
In addition to helping people, Saeed is inspired to share his culture and learn more about other cultures.
“I like sharing ideas because there are so many different traditions between Iowans and Sudanese,” she said. “The festival was therefore a great opportunity to learn more about Sudanese culture along with other cultures across Africa.”
The festival spanned generational gaps, providing a platform for people of African descent to come together at the same time, embrace commonalities, and celebrate the diverse cultures that enrich the continent.
Iowa’s African community has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Iowa’s African-born population grew from less than 4,000 people in 2000 to more than 32,500 22 years later, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Iowa’s total population in 2022 will exceed 3.2 million people.
As the state’s African population grows, Iowa City has become an attractive place for immigrants thanks to the University of Iowa, especially its small size, slow pace and affordability, Gossitt said. . According to 2022 data, nearly 10 percent of Iowa City’s population, or more than 17,000 residents, were born outside the United States.
Mawena Morgan, a BFA in ceramics and education major at UI, described her experience as a first-generation Ghanaian born and raised in Iowa as a positive one.
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“This is a community event for me, and I hope there are more of them,” Morgan said.
Additionally, they emphasized the importance of the event and how its presence provides a place for African Americans and black Iowans.
“Culturally, I think Black culture and African American culture is surrounded by noise: music, poetry, conversation, laughter. There’s always something being said. I say that in a positive way,” Morgan said. “I’m so happy when I think about cookouts, birthday parties, graduation parties, and the raucousness of these Black spaces. These events give us the opportunity to laugh out loud for long periods of time and laugh our hearts out.” I like that it gives me space.”
Gossit said African culture is about community and helping each other in times of need. In Iowa City, many immigrants from African countries have formed informal neighborhood associations that meet regularly and support each other through hardships, he said.
Saturday’s festival was an opportunity to show Iowans this communal culture, Gossitt said.
“I think bringing that aspect of African culture here has made it easier for (African immigrants) to adapt,” he said. “And that’s something that I, as an organizer, hope they continue to encourage. In fact, teach Native Iowans that this is our culture. It will help you.”
The African community established itself in Iowa City not only by raising families here but also by starting businesses. Bukiwa Ansere came to Iowa from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1994 and has lived in Iowa City since 1995. Over the years, she said she has seen African grocery stores, churches and clothing stores pop up in the city.
African immigrants and refugees have lived and worked in Iowa City for quite some time, Ansele said, but AfricaFest finally gave them a chance to show the city who they are.
