Dr Wilks opened the seminar with a personal reflection on her own Afrikan identity—its formation, its expression, and how it has been characterised both by herself and by others. She then shifted focus to discuss the identity of Nubian Kenyans, using them as a case study to illustrate the nuanced, layered nature of belonging in urban African contexts.
The seminar was framed around four engaging questions: How do people define and express an Afrikan identity? How does the university perceive and represent this identity? Can we conceptualise Afrikan identity beyond paradigms of race, ethnicity, tribe, and clan—and is this sufficient for a decolonial agenda? And finally, what role has the university played, and should it play, in shaping Afrikan identity?
As Afrika Day approaches, the seminar offered a timely space for critical reflection and affirmed the importance of engaging with Afrikan identity as a dynamic, lived, and evolving conversation.
Compiled by Dr Vinasha Ramasamy