Around 50 people of African ancestry have migrated to Benin from countries including the US under a citizenship program endorsed by Hollywood filmmaker Spike Lee.
The “My Afro Origins” project, launched to tackle historical displacement during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, aims to reconnect descendants of the country with their cultural roots. It also offers pathways to Beninese nationality.
The move is similar to steps taken by other African countries — such as Ghana’s 2019 “Year of Return” program, Guinea-Bissau’s ‘Decade of Return’ initiative, and Sierra Leone’s African Diaspora Accession Program — to help forge greater ties with the diaspora.
Last year Benin designated Lee and his producer-author wife Tonya Lewis Lee as its ambassadors for African Americans in the US.