I went into this project with one question in mind: How and why has West African culture spread throughout NYC? Well, due to the influx of West African immigrants, we can infer it’s due to the fact of them trying to maintain their culture whilst living in another country. They find ways to represent and practice their culture even though they are far away from home (Schmidt). The culture is usually spread through food, dance, and music, and that culture is resonating with the western world, especially NYC; they are cultural exports. As a first gen, I’m amazed by the way West African culture has spread through the boroughs.
The spread of West African culture throughout NYC has always interested me because its prominence is growing everyday; through the radio, dance, music, food, etc, According to Sandra J. Schmidt PhD in her journal “We Don’t Live In Jungles:” Mediating Africa as a Transnational Socio-Spatial Field, there are over 200,000 West African immigrants living in New York City right now. As CJ Nelson and Mankaprr Conteh write, in “Afrobeats Is Everywhere,” “Large swaths of West African immigrants and their first-generation American offspring are concentrated in places like New York.” They argue that the rise of Afrobeats is due to the ties that are between the African diaspora and the continent. The beauty of it is that it isn’t only African children who are in the diaspora playing these tunes, it is also African-Americans, Black Britons, etc all trying to reconnect to their roots through the most universal language: music.
When I went to Teranga Restaurant inside of the Africa Center in Harlem, I was granted the opportunity to speak to the owner, Amadou, a Senegalese man. “It was very important for me to find an African, Senegalese community. In America, there is no life. In Sénégal, there is life; you can always sit down and be with your family,” he said. As a first generation Cameroonian in America, I could relate because I know it was extremely important for my family to find a community that they were familiar with.
I also interviewed his wife, Fatou, and she said: “The most important thing for us was to find a place where we could maintain our culture and practice Islam.”
A couple blocks down from the Africa Center sits Le Petit Sénégal (Little Senegal), located on West 116th Street between Lenox Ave and Malcolm X Blvd in Harlem. It is home to mostly Senegalese immigrants, as well as people from Francophone Islamic countries, like Gambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Guinea, or Burkina Faso (mostly the francophone islamic countries). On this block, you can find many African boutiques, restaurants, mosques, etc. You can see people wearing traditional wear such as bazin riches, senators, and agbadas. When I walked around Little Senegal, I saw plenty of mosques, people selling African food and clothing on the road, which reminded me of Cameroon. Most people there spoke very little English; the common languages spoken were French and Wolof.
Even in diasporas outside of NYC, it is common for these communities to speak their native and traditional languages amongst themselves. The word diaspora comes from the Greek word that means to scatter about. The term diaspora means “the exile or emigration of a group of people from their homeland” according to the New York Times. Like the Teranga Restaurant owner, many West Africans, or immigrants in general feel it's important to reside in communities where they can find their own. One of the main problems, according to Amadou, was finding ways to express the culture.
“I never want to lose my culture,” he said. In these areas where there are clumps of West African immigrants, there is a certain freedom and a sense of not being judged when living in those areas where there are dense populations of West Africans.
As I continued to walk aimlessly around the city, I came across Lagos TSQ, a fine-dining, West-African fusion restaurant that is now regarded as one of the most popular restaurants/lounges in NYC. I was able to catch a customer leaving the restaurant, and I asked him about the restaurant.
“What is ‘Lagos’ restaurant like?” I asked.
“It’s sort of a West-African fusion restaurant. It’s a popping restaurant in New York right now; I think even Davido has been here before,” said Matthew.
As I entered the restaurant, the ambiance was very lively with Afrobeats playing in the background and customers dancing to the music. This is reflective of African culture because it is very big on dancing and music; with those two aspects being major reasons African culture is becoming widely mainstream.
One of the most popular ways they are still able to practice their traditions is through transnationalism, which refers to flows and exchanges that take place across national borders. Many import items from their countries for their personal use here in the states, especially New York City. It reminds them of home because many can’t afford to travel back home to their countries. “Others find that unactualized economic opportunities have limited the growth of African economic centers in the United States and the return of money to the continent. One consequence of limited economics is that African immigrants cannot afford to travel home, producing long periods of physical dislocation,” (Schmidt). Schmidt conducted research on children who lived in predominately African communities, and she came to the conclusion that African immigrant children in NYC adopted black and African attributes, but they also have the advantage of U.S. and home connections. Schmidt calls these “global flows.” She also states, “African youth are increasingly recognized in literature on belonging and transnationalism, although there are still gaps in our understanding of these youth and how they mediate belonging.”
In the past decade, there have been a plethora of festivals that highlight West African culture in their own ways. In 2014, a large amount of the African diaspora in NYC came out to celebrate the “African Diaspora Parade.” The parade displayed “traditional drums, the vivid multicolored native dress, the many tribal dialects and the sheer merriment and pride.” Bourema Niambele, a Malian, stated “We are coming here today to celebrate the African diaspora. As Africans in the diaspora, it doesn’t matter where you are born. We all can come together to celebrate our culture." The importance of community in African culture was highlighted in this event because many civilians, regardless of country, came together for the same reason: to celebrate African culture (Phillips). Another festival that took place in New York was the One Africa Music Festival in July of 2016 at the Barclays Center. Some of the biggest African artists performed there, such as Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Davido, etc. Its sole purpose was to promote African music in a way that was modern at the time, due to the growth of social media spreading across the world, especially to the African continent. Events such as these are typically catered to those in the diaspora (Arik Air).
As a result of having many West African immigrants in NYC comes a lot of first generation and immigrant children. Especially with the expansion of mass media, African culture is now being portrayed all over, especially with Afrobeats. In areas where there are large populations of West Africans, the culture is being embraced, with NYC being a prime example. Some of the biggest Afrobeats artists, such as Wizkid and Burna Boy, performed at some of NYC’s most popular venues. Wizkid and Burna Boy both sold out Madison Square Garden in 2022, and most recently in 2023, Burna Boy sold out Citi Field Stadium, making him the first African artist to sell out a stadium in America. The crowds in these venues are mostly younger, first generation Africans who are proud of their culture. (Kidjo).
While exploring New York City, even outside of this project, I’ve always been struck by the immense expansion of West African culture. In every borough you go to, in most neighborhoods, there is always something African, whether it’s a store, restaurant, boutique, or even just seeing African people. A couple of years back when I went to Times Square, I saw a multitude of people dancing to Afrobeats, and they were pulling large crowds due to energy being synchronized with the melodic beats. These videos are posted all over social media and have pulled in millions of views.
With the information that has been conducted through this research, it can be inferred that through the evidence given, West African culture has spread through NYC due to immigrants and their children in the diaspora trying to maintain their culture. Like the Teranga restaurant owner, many African immigrants feel the need to go to areas where they have their people. From what I infer, these people want to maintain their culture because it is a part of them. Although they are living in a different part of the world, they recognize the importance of keeping their culture alive and not letting it “die” because they are living in the western world.
Works Cited
Air, Arik. “Arik Air Sponsors Landmark One Africa Music Fest at the Barclays Center
in New York.” PR Newswire: Press Release Distribution, Targeting, Monitoring and Marketing, 28 July 2016, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arik-air-sponsors-landmark-one-africa-music-fest-at-the-barclays-center-in-new-york-300305389.html. Accessed 11 November 2023.
Conteh, Mankaprr. “How Afrobeats Is Making the World Listen.” Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2022, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/afrobeats-global-rise-1282575/. Accessed 5 November 2023.
Kidjo, Angelique. “Finding New Meaning in Timeless Music.” The New York Times,
The New York Times, 1 Dec. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/12/01/special-series/burna-boy-afrobeats-global-hits.html?searchResultPosition=1. Accessed 11 November 2023.
Phillips, Adam. “Diverse NYC African Diaspora Expresses Unity, Pride and Maybe
Clout.” Voice of America, Voice of America (VOA News), 27 Aug. 2014, www.voanews.com/a/diverse-nyc-african-diaspora-expresses-unity-pride-maybe-clout/2428173.html#:~:text=Diverse%20NYC%20African%20Diaspora%20Expresses%20Unity%2C%20Pride%20and%20Maybe%20Clout,-August%2026%2C%202014&text=Over%20the%20last%20two%20decades,kept%20to%20their%20own%20communities. Accessed 8 November 2023.
Schmidt, Sandra J. Shibboleth Authentication Request, 12 July 2022,
journals-sagepub-com.jerome.stjohns.edu/doi/10.1177/01614681221111060. Accessed 9 November 2023.
Questions
Teranga Owner:
What was the adjustment moving from your country to one of the most populated cities in the world?
When moving, was it important to find an area where there was a prominent African community?
Have you ever felt like you lost your culture?
How have you seen African culture spread through NYC?
Teranga Owner’s Wife:
What was the most important cultural aspect that you tried to maintain?
Do you feel represented while living in NYC as a West African?
Response
“It was hard; people are not nice.”
“It was very important for me to find an African, Senegalese community. In America, there is no life. In Senegal, there is life; you can always sit down and be with your family.”
“I never want to lose my culture, I practice Islam”
“I see african culture through NYC because of the restaurants, store, and music”
“Maintaining Islam was the most important. There are many mosques around Little Senegal.”
“At times I do, since there are many of us here?”
Matthew Lagos TSQ:
What is ‘Lagos’ restaurant like?
What is the vibe of the restaurant and how does that resonate with the rest of NYC?
Response
It’s sort of a West-African fusion restaurant. It’s a popping restaurant in New York right now; I think even Davido has been here before.”
“There are Afrobeats playing in the background, people dancing to the music of the live Dj, people getting drinks; it’s just an overall lively place to experience West African culture with a fusion of the western world
This is the inside of Teranga Restaurant. The ambiance expresses its Africanness with the trees and the art portrayed all around. It has a minimalist vibe to it, but it’s still so vibrant in its expression through nature and art. 
This is a street view of Le Petit Sénégal. The store on the left side of the picture was called “Mousa.” Further down the block, you can see clumps of Senegalese people interacting with each other. 
This was a marketplace in Le Petit Sénégal that sold a plethora of African items such as bazin riches, talking drums, raw shea butter, African juju, etc. The marketplace reminded me so much of Cameroon because of the way the stores were set up. While I was there, I realized most of the people only spoke French and little to no English, so there was a language barrier and it was a bit difficult to communicate. 
This was a meal I ate at the Teranga Restaurant located in the Africa Center. It is Senegalese jollof rice with suya chicken and fried plantains. The restaurant is owned by Senegalese, but you can find Nigerian dishes there such as efo riro. 
These pictures hanging on the wall are located in the Africa Center, and they portray African women in their countries fetching water; whether it’s for drinking, bathing, or for cooking.
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