Tribes of New York: Afropolitans

by Isabela Raygoza and Sean Pressley

December 27, 2016

Sean Pressley

12.16.16 9:45 P.M. Copacabana Rooftop 760, Times Square.

Friday night marked the year’s final edition of AfropolitanNYC, a Manhattan networking event and dance party that celebrates the African diaspora. The bash began in 2013 when, observing the fast growth of young African professionals in American cities, D.C.-based DJ Kweks quit his corporate job and became a pro- moter. Afropolitan is a place for African and Caribbean folks to embrace their vibrant roots (and their unmistakable big-city swag), and it now runs in six major U.S. cities. By 2018, DJ Kweks plans to start parties in Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. “I strongly believe in the potential of the diaspora and what it has to offer the rest of the world,” he told the Voice. “We’re hoping to get to the point where the movement has a big impact on the African brand. This is the beginning.”

Text by Isabela Raygoza; Photography by Sean Pressley for the Village Voice

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1/5

"I identify with this event because I'm Black and Puerto Rican," said Cierra Pacheco, who studied video editing at NYU. "I haven't networked much yet, but I'm really feeling the crowd."

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Sean Pressley

2/5

Shana McClammy (left), of New Jersey, studied at Dartmouth's business school and now works in environmental conservation.

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Sean Pressley

3/5

Cassandre Theano, an international human rights lawyer, usually only comes for the party, but this time she arrived early to network. "Initially, I wasn't sure if it was just a party or a networking event, but it's both," she said. "The music here is like a tour of Africa and the Caribbean, and being from Haiti, it speaks to me on a different level."

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Sean Pressley

4/5

Femi Gbede usually goes to the Copacabana every other Friday because, he said, "it's always electric." The dapper lawyer from Nigeria continued: "I love any song that I can dance to, which is always the case here."

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Sean Pressley

5/5

As a first-timer to the event, paralegal Jason Ricketts was thrilled to be at this year's final party. "If it is this good every time, then I am definitely looking forward to making it next year."

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