Teaching Artist Institute Founder to Lead Diaspora Efforts in African
Language Revival as a Form of Reparatory Justice
Baltimore, MD – March 1, 2025 – In alignment with the African Union’s (AU) Year of Reparatory
Justice, the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) has extended a highly coveted
appointment to Kim Poole, Founder and Executive Director of the Teaching Artist Institute (TAI).
Poole will serve as a member of the African Languages Week Coordinating Committee
(ALWCC)—a distinguished body tasked with advancing African language preservation and
promotion across the continent and throughout the Diaspora.
This prestigious appointment comes as the AU intensifies its global call for reparatory justice,
recognizing that cultural restoration, linguistic sovereignty, and educational empowerment are
critical components of reparations for people of African descent. Poole, an internationally
respected artist, educator, and cultural strategist, is uniquely positioned to mobilize the Diaspora
in reclaiming African languages as a pathway to healing, self-determination, and global Africa
While Poole’s appointment begins in 2025, her official work on the ALWCC will take shape in
2026, coinciding with the next African Languages Week. This milestone event will serve as a
key moment to implement new strategies, expand language advocacy, and strengthen
cross-continental collaborations between Africa and the Diaspora.
ACALAN: Language as a Pillar of Reparatory Justice
As the African Union’s official institution for linguistic development, ACALAN leads the charge in
decolonizing African education, governance, and cultural expression by ensuring the protection
and active use of indigenous languages. Recognizing that linguistic erasure was a key tool of
colonial oppression, ACALAN is committed to restoring African languages to their rightful place
as instruments of knowledge, power, and identity.
A central initiative in this mission is African Languages Week, launched in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso, in 2021 to provide a dedicated platform for celebrating and institutionalizing
African languages. The newly appointed ALWCC, of which Poole is now a distinguished
member, plays a crucial role in shaping and executing these efforts both within Africa and
across the global African Diaspora.
Poole’s Vision: Language as Reparations
For Poole, a proud Baltimore native, the restoration of African languages is an urgent act of
reparatory justice, essential to the empowerment of people of African descent worldwide.
“Reparations isn’t just about financial restitution—it’s about restoring everything that was
stripped from us,” Poole asserts. “Language is a core part of our cultural identity. To reclaim our
languages is to reclaim our power, our history, and our right to define our future.”
She echoes the words of the legendary actor and activist Ossie Davis, who famously stated,
“The English language is my enemy.” Poole sees this sentiment as a powerful reminder that
decolonization must begin with how we speak, think, and educate our communities.
“We must actively create spaces where African languages are not just studied, but spoken,
lived, and passed down. Language is how we tell our stories, and if we are serious about
reparatory justice, we must ensure that our stories are told in our own tongues.”
Angela Martins, Head of the Culture and Sport Division at the African Union
Commission (AUC) and Kim Poole, Founder Teaching Artist Institute
Using Art to Reclaim Language and Identity
As a Soul-Fusion Performing Artist and cultural diplomat, Poole has long championed the arts
as a vehicle for social transformation, education, and historical reclamation. Through the
Teaching Artist Institute (TAI)—an organization she founded to empower artists as change
agents—she has cultivated a global network of creatives dedicated to bridging Africa and the
Diaspora through artistic expression.
In her role on the ALWCC, Poole is committed to using the arts as a evolutionary tool for language revival, with initiatives focused on:Embedding African languages into music, theater, film, and literature
● Developing educational programs that integrate indigenous languages into schools and
community learning spaces
● Using digital storytelling and media campaigns to amplify African linguistic diversity
● Engaging Diaspora communities in reintroducing African languages into everyday
practice
“Our ancestors fought to preserve our languages, and we must continue that fight—not just in
policy, but in practice,” Poole emphasizes. “This is the African Union’s Year of Reparatory
Justice, and what greater justice is there than reclaiming our own voices?”
A Defining Moment for African Language Advocacy
Poole’s historic appointment to the ALWCC is a defining moment for Diaspora leadership in
African linguistic advocacy. As the AU continues its global reparatory justice agenda, her work
will be instrumental in ensuring that African languages remembered and fully restored as tools
of education, governance, and cultural pride.
While 2025 marks the beginning of Poole’s journey with ACALAN, African Languages Week
2026 will be the stage upon which her initiatives take full form—introducing bold, artist-driven
strategies to ensure African languages are preserved and thrive within Global Africa.
For more updates on African Languages Week 2026 and Poole’s forthcoming initiatives, visit https://acalan-au.org/
Cultural Ambassador Dr Jamezany James(ECOWAS West African Youth Ambassador & Ex-roving Ambassador “State of the African Diaspora SOAD”) describes African-American Cultural Diplomat Kim Poole as a enigmatic personality ,whose deep love for Africa her Ancestral home is undeniable, as it resonates all around her incredible cultural diplomacy works she does on the Continent as she also impacts the youths of West Africa and generally Africa greatly via her Teaching Artist Institute TAI.
