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The DCM and the English club of Lycee Akanza (Photo: Koffi Guy Honore/US Embassy)

Ivoirian Women Pledge to Use American Rights Activists as Role Models

The U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section organized February 23, 2008 a conference to commemorate the African American History Month at the American Corner in Tiassalé, a city located about 130 km north of Abidjan.

The objective of this activity was to give American Corner patrons the opportunity to test their English speaking skills. But more importantly, the American Corner wanted its patrons to have the chance to talk about the United States with American diplomats in Côte d’Ivoire. More than 80 people including students, teachers, headmasters, civil servants, the local council members, the mayor, Yapi Lambert, and his town council attended the program, which allowed a direct contact between the diplomats and Ivorians in an informal setting.

The Deputy Chief of Mission, Cynthia Akuetteh spoke on the role of African Americans in the civil rights movement. She focused her presentation on seven prominent African American women including Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells, Mary Jane McLeod Bethune, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Barbara Jordan, and Shirley Chisholm.

The DCM enriched participants’ knowledge of the Civil Rights movement and the African American women struggle for equal rights in the U.S. Participants. At the end of the discussion, some Ivorian women promised to use those American women as role models and to get involved in any action concerning Cote d’Ivoire and Tiassalé social welfare.