hosted its 40th Annual Awards Gala in New York City this week, celebrating African excellence and the transformative power of the Held during the momentous week of the United Nations General Assembly, this highly anticipated event brought together a powerful gathering of African and other global leaders, dignitaries, philanthropists and cultural icons on a crisp September evening. The dynamic ESPN Host, NBA Analyst, and two-time WNBA All-Star, hosted the gala. Her energy could be felt no matter where one stood in the ballroom.
“Do you recognize the power in this room?” she asked the audience of over 500 people. The evening welcomed prominent figures such as , President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, President Nangolo Mbumba of Namibia, Former First Lady of Namibia, Mrs.Monica Geingos and Liberian President Joseph Boakai.
First established in 1984, the AAI Annual Awards Gala was conceived as a way for the institute to celebrate the achievements of Africans and the global African diaspora while building new narratives about the continent. Over the past four decades, the gala has become the preeminent NYC-based celebration of Africa’s most impactful voices and a showcase for the contributions of the African diaspora worldwide. The AAI itself was , with visionary leaders like Dr.
Horace Mann Bond, the first Black president of Lincoln University, William Leo Hansberry, a pioneering professor at Howard University, and Henrietta Van Noy of A.
