By: Nneka Onyilofor
Over the past 4 years AGR has promoted numerous events and has profiled 13 artists. The major annual event is the AGR Arts Festival & Business Fair. This year it will take place on 6/30/12 and the theme is “A Pan African Hub for Networking & Entertainment.”
I sat down with Petros over coffee to find out what AGR is about. He spoke of the commonality of people who share African American, African and Carribean heritage and their ways of being, interest in culture, business, and the entertainment that they love and seek. All three cultures understand colonization and the devastation it brought. Haile doesn’t want to linger on the negativity of what happened but wants to provide opportunities for growth and showcase the talents and business interests of Africans in the Diaspora. He believes this is “the era of opportunities.” AGR wants to speed up the recovery and help level the playing field, and be a vehicle to improve African American and African relations. Through opportunities, education, networking, and interaction, relations will improve. AGR can be a unifying force and help individuals realize their potential. Promoting professionals and businesses will help them to gain access to what is available to mainstream businesses. The annual festival creates a place to network and showcase artists and businesses.
Helping individuals to understand their rights and the U.S. political process is also important to the growth of the African American/African community in the Twin Cities. Promoting well-being are the roots of AGR!
“AGR embodies the essence of who we are as descendants of strong, beautiful African ancestors. Through music, dance, fashion and cultural education, AGR encourages all people to understand the history of a people who are at the center of mainstream American and world culture. As the program director of this amazing group, it is my goal to encourage all Africans and non-Africans to stay connected through networking and socializing. People of African descent have strong communities in the Twin Cities and AGR is here to nurture these communities and allow those who are interested to explore their culture.”
AFRICAN GLOBAL ROOTS 