Introduction
The story of African resettlement in United States and Indiana in particular is as diverse as the continent itself. While the African newcomer community can be associated with distinct regions of origin and major language groups, the individuals and their families that now call Indianapolis “home” can be furthered distinguished by their particular tribal or ethnic affiliations, their multiple languages, cultural traditions, religious beliefs, socio-economic status, education, skills, talents, as well as either their shared or distinct reasons for leaving Africa and resettling in the United States. An African newcomer could be an international student, a professional, a refugee, an asylum seeker, a family member, even a former child soldier or someone just seeking a better life than what they were experiencing in Africa.

Whether directly arriving at Indianapolis International Airport or following patterns of internal migration and arriving from larger cities like New York City, African newcomers often themselves negotiating and adjusting to a society that is culturally, technologically, and linguistically foreign to them. Beyond stereotypes and generalizations that are created by the “all too common” headlines of civil war, health epidemics, and governmental corruption, each individual that arrives from the continent or who is raised within an African household has a unique story to tell…her or his own “headline” that is full of intriguing details that depicts the challenges, the successes, the failures, and the hope of living as an African within the United States. These unique experiences are all About Us; they are justification for the existence of African Center and they continue to shape the Center’s services. These services are grouped into five categories:

Health/Human and Refugee Services

Education, Literacy, Training and Development

Arts and Culture

Youth Development

Community Integration, Advocacy and Special Services

Along with our community funders, partners, and supporters, the African Center is managed (by a board) and sustained by both Africans and Americans who are living and connected to the variety of these unique stories. The core of our day-to-day services and programs address critical needs and challenges that impede upon Africans’ abilities to actively participate and share in the full benefits of living within the United States. In combination with our integrated services, the African Center embraces a well-rounded story of what it means to be African in United States.

Thus, to speak of the story of African resettlement in United States is not to speak of just one story but as an “anthology” of voices from different generations and different origins. We invite you to share-in this anthology as it is created and told thousands of miles from where it began.

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