Fatou Ba Ndiour reflects on her experience as a Mandela Washington fellow in the 2015 cohort of the Obama administration's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and discusses the letter she wrote to President Obama during her time in Washington, D.C. Ba Ndiour recounts her upbringing in Dakar and education in Senegal and France, and describes the process by which she learned about the YALI progr am and was selected as a fellow. She speaks widely about her experience of inequality, race, and racism in the United States, and shares details about the letter she wrote to Obama about the program, including her call for the administration to send young American leaders to Africa in a spirit of humility and reciprocity. Ba Ndiour also considers the significance of the YALI network, its impact on her career trajectory, and the significance of Obama's direct acknowledgment of her letter and support of its recommendations in his town hall meeting with the Mandela fellows in August 2015. Ba Ndiour also discusses gun violence and her fear for her safety in the United States, Obama's connection to the African continent, and her memories of Obama's election in 2008
Presidents--Correspondence.--United States; Gun control--United States; Violent crimes--United States; Racism--United States; Minorities--United States; United States Foreign relations Africa; Africa Foreign relations United States; Ba Ndiour, Fatou; Obama, Barack; Young African Leaders Initiative
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
38 pages
Note (Biographical)
Fatou Ba Ndiour is a Senegalese development professional. In 2015, Ba Ndiour was a Mandela Washington fellow in the Obama administration's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). Toward the end of the fellowship, she wrote a letter to President Obama about her experience in Washington, D.C., and advising him to create a symmetrical program that would send young Americans to African countries. At his town hall meeting with the Mandela fellows in August 2015, President Obama discussed Ba Ndiour's letter, and endorsed her recommendations
Note
Interviewed by Karida L. Brown on June 10, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Fatou Ba Ndiour, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023