The flags were everywhere. Haiti. Uganda. Nigeria. Jamaica. South Africa. Bahamas. Ghana. “Get your flags up,” the Nigeria-born Wizkid shouted during the closing set of Afro Nation. “We here for the culture right now.” Billed as “the world’s biggest Afrobeats festival,” Afro Nation represented a unification of the African Diaspora. Over Afrobeats. Over Amapiano. Over dancehall.
“When I listen to Afrobeats music, it makes me feel alive,” said Crissy Tookes, a South Florida resident who attended the festival. “Living in American is already hard enough as a Black woman. It just makes me feel whole again.” Below is a collection of photos taken over the two-day festival. They range from revelers enjoying the festivities to Grammy Award-winning Burna Boy donning a Haitian flag during his performance.
Written by: C. Isaiah Smalls II
Photos by: Christian Wong and Thaddaeus McAdams