The African Diaspora Community in Chicago express support for Mayor Brandon Johnson

African Diaspora Community in Chicago"
African Diaspora Community in Chicago"

The African Diaspora Community in Chicago express support for Mayor Brandon Johnson

"In a moment meant for celebration, Chicago has once again been dragged into the center of a disinformation campaign fueled by racism, bad faith, and willful ignorance.

Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson came under attack for acknowledging and celebrating Africa Day, a globally recognized commemoration observed every May 25. Videos and photos from the joyful City Hall celebration were quickly twisted by online trolls and amplified by far-right influencers who falsely claimed the Mayor ignored Memorial Day in favor of Africa Day. The accusations are not only false—they are dangerous.


Let’s set the record straight: Mayor Johnson participated in five separate Memorial Day events over three days, including celebrating the designation of Chicago as a Purple Heart City, honoring the lives of fallen service members with the dignity and respect they deserve. To suggest otherwise is to spread lies with the explicit goal of inflaming racial and political divisions.


Africa Day is not some fringe “made-up holiday.” It commemorates the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of today’s African Union. Across the world—including in over 40 U.S. cities this year—Africa Day is a moment of unity, pride, and reflection for African and African-descended communities. It reminds us of shared struggles against colonization and slavery, and the ongoing work toward self-determination, peace, and global cooperation.


Here in Chicago, a city that is home to nearly 50,000 African immigrants and more than 750,000 African Americans, honoring Africa Day is not just symbolic—it’s deeply personal. It’s a recognition of the cultures, languages, and lineages that have helped shape our schools, hospitals, small businesses, places of worship, and neighborhoods. It is a day of belonging.


The attacks on Mayor Johnson are not just critiques of policy or scheduling—they are a dog whistle, meant to cast suspicion on Black leadership and to question the patriotism of anyone who dares to center Black history and African heritage in public life. When someone says, “If he loves Africa so much, maybe he should move there,” they’re not criticizing a calendar. They’re revealing their fear of a multicultural democracy.


Let’s be clear: honoring Africa Day does not dishonor Memorial Day. Our communities are large enough, complex enough, and human enough to hold more than one truth at a time. Black people in this country have fought in every U.S. war—from Crispus Attucks in the Revolutionary War to the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the countless Black veterans who live quietly among us today. Their sacrifices are not diminished by also celebrating our roots.


This attempt to pit Black people against each other—African immigrants vs. African Americans—is part of a tired, old playbook designed to divide and conquer. But we are not falling for it.


We are not African or African American. We are one people across oceans, bound by memory, struggle, and vision. Our unity is not a threat to American values—it is an embodiment of them.


Those who attack Africa Day are not just attacking a mayor or a moment. They are attempting to erase a people’s history and dignity. But the truth is this: our stories, our contributions, and our pride will not be erased.


Africa Day is here to stay. So is the African Diaspora. And so is the movement for a stronger, more united Chicago—where every child, no matter where their ancestors came from, can grow up celebrated, not scapegoated.

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