Amandla’s editor, others honored by Essex County College
AKOSUA OFORIWAA-AYIM
The Africana Institute of Essex County College, Newark, New Jersey, honored some community influencers at its 25th Anniversary Royal Celebrations held at The Brookside Banquets, Bloomfield, New Jersey, on May 14, 2026.
The community-prone and conspicuous Kofi Ayim, the editor of Amandla, a New Jersey–based Africa community newspaper, was honored with the Umoja (Unity) Communications Award for his services as a conduit of information through journalism and authorship through the power of the pen.
He is the author of three books, Jack Cudjo, Newark’s Revolutionary Soldier & First Black Businessman being the most acclaimed.
The Rev. Dr. DeForest B. Soaries, Jr. received the Alaafia (Peace) Community Connector Award for his works in bridging the gap and fostering unity between African Americans and other communities across the Africa diaspora. The Man of God was at one time Secretary of State of New Jersey.
He also holds the title of Nkosuohene (Chief of Development) in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area in Ghana.
Chief Oluwole Ifakunle Adetutu Alagbede was honored with the Pan African Spiritual Leadership Award. With over thirty-five years of spiritual leadership and training, the “Babalawo of Harlem” has lectured at tertiary institutions that included Harvard University, Florida A & M University, among others.
Chief Ifakunle is the founding minister of the IIe Omo Shrine in Harlem, New York, established in 1989.
Craig Drinkard, whose philanthropic and community advocacy leadership work is highlighted through the Victoria Foundation of New Jersey, was honored with the Ubuntu (“we are, therefore, I am; I am, therefore we are”) Institutional Leadership Award for the foundation’s dedication to public service and community transformation.
When the Africana Institute was inaugurated in 2001, the Victoria Foundation was one of its major sponsors.
The Nia (purpose) Community Servant Award was bestowed upon Kim Renee Gregory. An alumna of Essex County College, Kim Renee Gregory is an embodiment of community service, volunteerism, and civic involvement and participation to uplift others. A staunch supporter of the Africana Institute, she has for the past several decades dedicated herself to the educational and cultural empowerment of the African Diaspora.
Dr. Akil Khalfani and Dr. Zachary Yamba were the surprised honorees.
Newark Council Member-at-Large Louise Scott-Rountree presented Proclamations & Official Recognitions from the Newark Municipal Council, Office of the Mayor, Newark, and the Senate of the State of New Jersey to each of the honorees. She also presented a personal proclamation to the honorees.
In his welcome address, the President of the College, Dr. Augustine A. Boakye, made a clarion call for awareness of the global impact of African culture. He pointed out the richness of African culture and the influence of its (African) music in contemporary jazz, reggae, calypso, rhythm and blues, among others.
Kente stoles, a symbol of Ghanaian costume, are now prominently featured in academic gowns (known in Ghanaian academic parlance as Acapompo, (i.e., Academic Pomposity), in college graduations, legal and religious invocations, and other celebrations the world over.
He suggested that African culture has been the fulcrum upon which various cultures of the world are anchored and cautioned that the past cannot be ignored as we move up the ladder of progress.
Speaking under the theme Sankofa, the keynote speaker Dr. Greg Kimathi Carr of Howard University delivered a powerful speech that reflected on the challenges of Black people from the Atlantic Slave Trade to existential threats that the community has no other option than to confront.
Dr. Carr highlighted the work of the Africana Institute of ECC and how that work is bridging the gap among Black people across the globe. He noted that the term “Africana” transcends borders and languages and amplifies our shared history and strengths.
He also spoke passionately about the current state of the world and how the combined power of “Africana” is what will ensure as “we make it out the other side.” “We should be hopeful because we already have people doing the work, but we all need to be active in the work, and the best way to do that is by voting every single chance we get,” he added.
The coordinator-general of the colorful event was the Director of the Africana Institute, Dr. Akil Kokayi Khalfani, who has been at the helm of the Institute for the past twenty years.
In his introductory remarks, he posited that the theme of the 25th anniversary celebrations – Sankofa – honors the past to build a more sustained and empowered future. The African/Black Student Alliance presented a fashion show while the Jazz House Kids and soloist Yashmin Charnet-Abler provided musical interludes. Dr. Janice Johnson Dias was the Mistress of Ceremony.
Present at the event were scholars, religious and civic leaders, as well as community activists and others.