African beauty pageant owner, Oumie Garba Fox, hopes to attract more persons of Caribbean descent to her contest which has been held annually since 2016.

The Gambia-born Garba Fox’s Miss Africa America pageant, held last September, won Best African Pageant at the African Achievement Awards on December 15 in Seattle, Washington.

“We would certainly welcome it (more contestants of Caribbean heritage) because everybody is from the Motherland. We absolutely embrace that,” said the Los Angeles-based impresario.

There were six contestants in this year’s pageant which was won by Nancy Apoko from Uganda. Winning an African Achievement Award is a big deal for Garba Fox.

“It feels out of this world because there are so many African pageants. So, to be selected as the best it means we are doing something right in the community,” she said.

Garba Fox spent most of her formative years in Stockholm, Sweden before moving with her family to the United States where she launched a music career that has produced a handful of reggae songs.

First held in 2019, the African Achievement Awards is the brainchild of Davies Chirwa, a Nigerian businessman who is also founder and head of Channel A TV and DC Media Productions Group.

The event recognises “African success and excellence in all forms of leadership, community service, education, entertainment, fashion and sports.”

Ardie “Cuban” Wallace, a Jamaican who has promoted reggae-dancehall shows in Connecticut for over 45 years, received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

– Howard Campbell