Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors join Ciara as dual citizens in Africa
My 2026 goal is to be able to easily find African countries on a map
January 31, 2026 update: A new Republican bill to eliminate dual citizenship could force millions of Americans to renounce their U.S. ties in favor of a second country — or lose American citizenship forever. Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno introduced the Exclusive Citizenship Act, which copies his personal decision as a teenager. Moreno immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia as a child and renounced his Colombian citizenship when he became a U.S. citizen at 18.
Last summer, when songstress Ciara became one of the first public figures to be granted citizenship of Benin under a newer law offering nationality to the descendants of enslaved people, my first thought was “Take me with you!” Actually, that was my fourth thought. My first thought was rapping, “automatic supersonic hypnotic funky fresh,” then doing that two-step she did with Missy Elliott, before wondering “Where’s Benin?”
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for each sale made with my referral links on this page.
Now married couple and actors Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors received Guinean citizenship after tracing their ancestry to the West African country through DNA testing. Additionally, legendary singer-songwriter-producer Stevie Wonder officially became Ghanaian on his 74th birthday. Under a Trump presidency, I wouldn’t blame all four if they threw up the peace sign, pulled a Rosie O’Donnell and left altogether.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I prioritize featuring intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and Black-owned businesses. All four of my Substack publications include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a VERIFIED Black-owned business.
Courtesy of My Afro Origins Law, Benin joined Ghana and Guinea-Bissau in offering citizenship to people with an African ancestor who was taken from their homeland as part of the transatlantic slave trade. And once again, I was scratching my head about where the places are. I pulled out a map and decided this would be the year that I’d be able to point out countries in Africa with as much confidence as I did two days ago when a Metra train rider asked me for nearby coffee shops. (I rattled off multiple locations without missing a beat.)
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for each sale made with my referral links on this page.
When Black people choose to unite instead of divide
Although I say I’m African-American as quickly as I self-identify as Black, there are definitely areas of geographical improvement on my end. And I damn sure don’t want the Ann Coulters of the world to assist in dividing Black Americans (as in Black people born in America) from African-born people who gained citizenship to the U.S. (the other “African”-American). This is one of many reasons I have no interest in identifying as a Foundational Black American.
Far too often, the latter group sounds annoyed about people who look like them but come from a different country. Miss me with that and the stereotype that African people don’t like Black American people. (This rumor often circulates from people who heard it from a friend but never actually interacted with African people one-on-one.)