Bio
Ama is a sophomore at Gallatin studying politics, immigration, and media. Her studies explore the psychological impacts of politics and law on formerly colonized people, with a special emphasis on the African region. Germane to her concentration is the analysis of how immigrants navigate their subjectivity on lands that continually commodify their very existence. As a first-generation immigrant herself, she has seen first-hand the mental toll immigration and identity politics can have on a person’s psyche. During the pandemic, she co-managed an experimental community, The Garlic Project, with the goal of increasing public interaction on the website and social media platforms. This summer, she is excited to work with African Communities Together, and hopes to aid in the organization’s plight to enrich the lives of Africans both in the U.S and abroad.
Project Summary
Ama conducted interviews of African Communities Together (ACT) members for the podcast Forward Ever. This podcast raises the visibility and celebrates, through personal stories and sometimes profound reflections, the experiences and contributions of New York’s diverse African immigrant diaspora: women and men from different regions of the Continent creating positive change in every borough.
Mission Statement
This summer, I seek to explore the stories and narratives that inform the experience of African immigrants in the United States. I hope to unpack how the yearn for social and political belonging affects these very diverse experiences. As a Gallatin Global Fellow in Urban Practice at African Communities Together, my goal is to produce work that highlights the complexity of the African immigrant experience, and gives members the opportunity to shape and pen their own narratives.
The Gallatin Global Fellowship in Urban Practice provides funding of up to $5,000 and support for 6-10 advanced BA and MA students to pursue extended, community-engaged, practice-based research projects in partnership with urban social justice organizations.
