Benin History & Research Centre in Diaspora

Raising Young Black Males in Toronto The task of raising Black male children in urban communities, especially in public housing complexes, is becoming very challenging. Parents of Black male children face great fear due to the threats faced by young Black men. Some Black parents in the GTA, for example, choose to relocate from Toronto to more rural communities with lower crime rates. They view this as necessary to protect their boys from the influence of the criminal underground. It’s true that the type of environment in which people live can influence their behavior especially, in the case of vulnerable young males who may be tempted by peers to become involved in crime. They can also be prone to false stereotypes and prejudice. Should Black parents relocate from urban cities such as Toronto to more rural areas specifically because of their male children? Why are male children more prone to criminality? Have any effective strategies been implemented to address the issue of youth ...

Modern humans have many distinct cultures, such as language, tradition, food, fashion, religion, music and more! What will it mean to us if globalization turns us into one gigantic homogeneous culture? We can see the impacts of globalization or westernization in the lives among world's population.  Many people have lost or cannot speak their cultural languages. And this trend is affecting world's cultures in an alarming rate. Many cultural are gradually fading away, as people continue to embrace globalization and its reality!  By Nekpen Obasogie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70E-0kiBirw&t=12s       A Fashion Icon from Nigeria         African women are beautiful and fashionable, especially on African attires. The beautiful and elegant looking lady in pink and burgundy attires is one of the most influential fashionistas in our Nigerian community. She always incorporate African costumes to her attires. Like I said before, costumes are very special in many African cultural celebrations. It makes people visible in their various events. Although, you still have to be careful with the type of outfits that require heavy costumes. Her pink dress, for instance, is not too  busy on the neck area. Therefore, you can always wear more necklaces and other costumes with such outfit. Sometimes color of your outfits matters, you should always avoid wearing black African attires to night parties or make sure you combine brighter colors with the black outfit to illuminate the beauty...

          MJ and Didi: Fashionable Nigerian Ladies    Fashion is not just about the beauty of outfits but, also how fashion are being presented by individuals! As a Nigerian woman myself, I love wearing my African attires, especially to my African parties. Being fashionable and visible in parties is very important to self-satisfaction. These two sophisticated African ladies, "MJ" and "Didi" are among the most influential Nigerian fashionistas in North America. Their fashion styles have become the core of modern African fashion, specifically among modern Nigerian women throughout the world.  MJ and Didi's fashion styles and beauty shows that women can be fashionable, and continue to age inevitably, regardless of their nationalities and racial backgrounds.            That being said, it's very important to learn from people who are more knowledgeable about African-Nigerian fashion--like MJ and Didi. You can als...

Modern people seem to remain youthful and live longer than people in pre-modern societies. Many people seem to adopt the ideals of life extension and youthfulness and thus conform to society’s expectations. As a result, anti-aging products have become imperative in order to combat the physical signs of aging on the body.  Youthfulness is defined in terms of body maintenance and related products and activities form a vital feature of consumer societies. But consumer society is linked to science and medicine.  This has created new markets because human bodies can be reconstructed through plastic surgery and science can interfere with genetic structures and move internal organs from one body to another. Indeed, the more we know about bodies, the more we are able to control, intervene, and restructure them . However, not everybody will be able to afford life extension. I argues that public policy, the cultural and social contexts of aging, and the unequal power relationships betwe...

(This article was featured by Bronzepage Magazine in the US in 2016).  Written by Nekpen Obasogie  False Stereotypes of Africans: My Lived Experience in Canada When many African immigrants are migrating out of their various countries they have little knowledge of what they will encounter or how they will be perceived outside their homelands. Most often, they are confronted with different types of unexpected stereotypes and misconceptions about Africans in their host countries. Being an African can expose black people to labels that exclude and marginalize African immigrants once they step on the shores of new lands. As an immigrant woman from Nigeria, I have been a victim of stereotypes in Canada. It’s clear that some people are still carrying with them some outdated information about Africa and its people. In 2009, for instance, when I was still a very new immigrant in Canada, there was a man who usually drove my friend and me around the city of Montr...

African Women's Cultural Fashion and Styles.   Modern West African women, both in the diaspora and Africa continue to affirm their cultural fashion styles. Being a West African, Nigerian woman is not about wearing the African style of clothing or the braiding of the hair. Having had an opportunity to observe the lived experiences of many African women, I recognized the strong sense of cultural traditions, beauty, talents and resilience among these women. Despite the hash conditions in many West African countries and the exclusion African women are facing in different parts of the world they continue to strive for economic and social wellbeing. Modern Nigerian women, for instance, have become the pace of fashion, beauty and style . These women are utilizing their unique talents to reinvent new cultural fashion to serve and transcend the beauty of African women. Factually, new generation of women are more beautiful than the previous ones.          The ad...