Masai Mara in Brightwood is in Business Indeed

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Accra mall, Brightwood, East African Food DC, Georgia Ave African retailers

I had thought that Masai Mara, the Kenyan/Tanzanian restaurant on Georgia Avenue, was no longer around.  However, on my walk to Safari Lounge this Friday, I noticed that it was open and I popped in.

There was a small band playing and I had a nice brief chat with the owner and the restaurant’s manager (pictured above and below).  Grilled goat meat is a specialty and they also sell Tusker beer from Kenya.  The bar selection seems relatively expansive.  There was a small band set up as well.  When I returned from Safari a little before 2am, it looked like things were still kicking inside.

I hope to return and write a proper review shortly.

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Writing for the Ones Who Suffer History, Not Those Who Make It: An Aggressively Afrocentric Ishmael Beah at Politics and Prose

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child soldier Africa, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ishmael Beah, Kony 2012, Long Way Gone, Mende, Oberlin, Paul Theroux, Radiance of Tomorrow, Sierra Leone, Taiye Selasi, UNICEF

I’ve heard prominent authors such as Paul Theroux, Taiye Selasi, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speak at Politics and Prose since launching this blog.  The independent bookseller continues to impress me with the number of African or Afrocentric writers it hosts.  This Friday, Ishmael Beah, a former Sierra Leonean child soldier, who shot to prominence with his autobiography Long Way Gone, spoke at P&P to promote his just released novel, Radiance of Tomorrow.

Optimism – Eugenie Kabiwa of the Agatha Foundation, Part II: USA

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Agatha Foundation, Cameroon, China, DMV African beauty products, Eugenie Kab, Koreans, Maryland, orphans, PG Mall

I previously blogged about Eugenie Kabiwa, who is the Executive Director and founder of the Agatha Foundation, an organization bearing her mother’s name that seeks to ‘uplift the culture and the quality of life in both the US and Africa.’ In this post, I recount Ms. Kabiwa’s initial challenges in the US and her work with the Agatha Foundation.

Inspiration – Eugenie Kabiwa of the Agatha Foundation, Part I: Cameroon

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African immigration to US, Cameroon, Cameroon Agriculture, Chris Cleave, Eugenie Kabiwa, Guinness Beer Africa, Inspirng stories from Africa, Limbe, Little Bee, the Agatha Foundation

Eugenie Kabiwa of the Agatha Foundation

On a recent rainy day, I had an embarrassingly difficult time locating the offices of the Agatha Foundation, which turned out to be only blocks from my home in NE DC.  I had a very interesting chat with the amazing Eugenie Kabiwa, who is the Executive Director and foundation of the organization bearing her mother’s name that seeks to ‘uplift the culture and the quality of life in both the US and Africa.’ In addition to speaking about her current work, Ms. Kabiwa related an incredibly transparent and open account of her youth in Cameroon and early struggles in the US as an unauthorized immigrant.

A brief glimpse of Ms. Kabiwa’s time in Cameroon follows and I will discuss her experience in the US and the path that led her to found the Agatha Foundation in a second post to follow.

Good Things at the ASA

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African studies, African Studies Association, FRELIMO, impostors in Africa, Kwara State University, Marcus Garvey, Mozambique, RENAMO, UNIA

I ventured up from DC for the Friday sessions of the 56th annual meeting of the African Studies Association.  I missed the first session and I was presenting at another, so I only got to attend two sessions (which collectively constitute hundreds of panels).  Fortunately they were both outstanding.

The Lost Vision of a Democratic Socialist South Africa

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Alan Weider, ANC, Busboys and Poets, Jewish South Africans, Joe Slovo, Ruth First, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, Umkhonto we Sizwe

As I promised yesterday, I got to Busboys and Poets to hear the Portland, Oregon based Alan Weider (not really sure what his background is beyond that) speak on his new book, Ruth First and Joe Slovo in the War Against Apartheid.  First and Slovo were prominent Jewish white South African communists (First was born in Johannesburg, Slovo immigrated from Lithuania as a youth).  Weider’s remarks wandered widely, so I won’t recount the event in too much detail, but he did make a bombshell allegation that may be worth reading on for.