Bowie, Maryland — The Lucas-Kennedy Foundation for African Development, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing African-led development, hosted a landmark conference and reunion today at Bowie State University, Maryland. The gathering brought together more than 100 former Africare staff, private sector leaders, and members of the diplomatic corps for a day of reflection, celebration, and forward-looking dialogue.
Among the distinguished guests was Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, who delivered powerful remarks urging a shift in global aid strategy. She emphasized the importance of promoting African leadership for African solutions to regional and global challenges. “Aid organizations must ultimately work themselves out of a job by building local capacity and fostering true self-reliance,” she stated.
Africare, the organization whose legacy was at the heart of the event, was founded in 1970 by Dr. Joseph Kennedy and C. Payne Lucas - two former Peace Corps members who served in eastern Niger. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Africare grew to become the oldest and largest African American-founded international NGO focused exclusively on Africa, operating until 2020.
The conference served not only as a celebration of Africare’s remarkable contributions to the continent but also as a forum to discuss a new paradigm for development assistance—one rooted in partnership, dignity, and sustainability.
Contact Dr. McDonald Homer, Lucas-Kennedy Foundation Chairperson, for more information about the foundation's objectives and programs at mhomer@lucaskennedyfoundation.org.
