Spike Lee and wife Tonya, called Benin’s ambassadors for African Americans to the United States

Benin has appointed a well-known American director Spike Lee and his wife Tonya Lewis Lee, an experienced producer and author, as his ambassadors to African Americans to the United States.

The couple is expected to serve as “thematic” ambassadors, raising awareness and supporting initiatives to promote Benin’s relationships with people of African descent.

The agreement was finalized during their visit to Cotonou, the capital of Benin last week, French public operator RFI reports.

The government says it will help to connect “people of African origin around the world with their historical, cultural and spiritual roots.”

The West African country also hopes that this move will encourage cultural tourism. He has come up with several initiatives to encourage African people to restore their inheritance and continue citizenship when they are eligible.

Last year, the government passed a law offering nationality to people with African ancestor who was taken from their homeland as part of the transatlantic slave trade.

Follows the appointment of ambassadors The recently launched website Where the descendants of enslaved Africans can apply for citizenship.

RFI reports that Tonya Lewis Lee is among hundreds of people who have applied and received a favorable answer. She was in Benin last year.

In 2019, Ghana started what he called the “Year of Return” to encourage people from the African heritage to return to the continent.

Earlier, Spike Lee said DNA analysis had traced his father’s pedigree to Cameroon while his mother’s roots were from Sierra Leone. The specific side of his wife’s clot is not publicly announced.

Both have long been defenders of civil rights and social justice in the United States in their works. Spike Lee’s films are often based on African-American experiences and explore the topics of race, identity and justice.

The Benin government said “through its long -standing commitment to justice, their exceptional creativity and their global scope,” both “deeply formed the modern story of the African Diaspora.”

They have not commented publicly on their appointment.

On the streets of Kotono, this move is generally well received.

27 -year -old Student Architect Prosper Jehome told the BBC that it is a “strong cultural message that can be a good publicity for Benin.”

Carlos Biogbé, who works in marketing, saw a huge opportunity, saying that this could encourage actors and directors to make movies in the country.

The high school student Basil Hinvi agreed that this was a good move, but asked why the famous US-Bennois actor Jimon Honsu was not baptized.

Benin’s coastline is part of what was once known as the slave shore – the main point of departure for enslaved Africans sent through the Atlantic to America.

Between 1580 and 1727, the Kingdom of Sauda, a major slave trade center located on the present coast of Benin, is thought to have exported more than a million Africans to the United States, the Caribbean and Brazil.