The Scene
Almost exactly a year since the creation of the White House’s first-ever President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement, long-time US-Africa policy watchers said they are still uncertain of its exact role or impact. And yet there is still plenty of goodwill to almost guarantee it would get extended beyond 2025 — but that’s only more likely if Vice President Kamala Harris wins her bid for the presidency.
Harris announced the establishment of the council at the US Leaders Africa Summit in December 2022. It was finally established under executive order by President Joe Biden in September 2023. He appointed Deniece Laurent-Mantey, a US State Department official and Ghanaian-American, as the council’s executive director along with 12 members with two-year terms from the African diaspora, including African American communities and African immigrant communities across the continent and the Caribbean.
Supporters like Rosa Whitaker, CEO of The Whitaker Group and a former career diplomat, told Semafor Africa she had faith in the group and that given it’s the first time it is being done, “we need to give it time to work.” Others take a similar view.
“I think the fact that the President has put together a framework and a policy for this is commendable,” said Nii Simmonds, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development, who has worked on diaspora engagement programs for the World Bank and the African Development Bank. “I know there were some hiccups when it first got going, but give them credit. You haven’t seen much work by the council because of the election year.”
In this article:
Know More
Biden mandated the council to, among other things, improve cultural, social, political and economic connections among African communities, the global African diaspora and the United States.
The council is made up of 12 members with two-year terms. Patrick Hubert Gaspard, the former US Ambassador to South Africa, actress Viola Davis, Nigerian-American WNBA player Chinenye Joy Ogwumike, and Uganda-born Ham Serunjogi, co-founder of fintech unicorn Chipper Cash, are among those who serve on the council.
Laurent-Mantey said the council is focused on harnessing “the strength of the African diaspora to make foreign policy recommendations.” She and members of the council visited Nigeria in July and helped coordinate parts of the Kenya state visit in May, including President William Ruto’s visit to Spelman College, a historically Black college in Atlanta, forging a new educational exchange partnership called Ed Tech Africa.
Eden’s view
The United Nations sees Africa’s young population as the key to a sustainable future, with 70% of the population being under the age of 30. Its analysis argues that this means this is “an opportunity for the continent’s growth — but only if these new generations are fully empowered to [realize] their best potential.”
Semhar Araia of the Washington-based The Diaspora Academy says the world must partner with them to tap into their workforce, and that Biden’s council can help propel US-African engagement.
Laurent-Mantey acknowledged the economic and environmental challenges across Africa and wants assistance from the diaspora as the continent’s population grows. “Statistics have shown that although there are challenges on the continent, there are also several opportunities,” she said. “That’s the youth bulge, there’s lots of opportunities in investing on the continent, and we want the diaspora to also play a critical role.”
The next iteration of the council will no doubt have to take into account better continental diversity beyond sub-Saharan Africa. Araia said North Africans have complained to her that it’s not inclusive because they’re not represented.
Ultimately, all eyes are on the 2024 election and whether Harris will win because its existence depends on whoever is in the White House. And it is unclear if a second Trump administration would prioritize maintaining the council. Assuming she wins, Gaspard, president of the Center for American Progress, believes Harris would continue Biden’s work. “I think she has made it consistently clear that American isolationism, as expressed by Trump and his cohort, is problematic all over the world, particularly problematic in the Global South, specifically in Africa.”