Benin grants citizenship to descendants of enslaved people. US singer
Ciara is among the first
[July 29, 2025]
By MARK BANCHEREAU
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — U.S. singer Ciara is one of the first public
figures to become a citizen of Benin under a recent law by the small
West African country granting citizenship to descendants of enslaved
people.
The Grammy-winning performer's acquisition of citizenship at a ceremony
Saturday in the city of Cotonou is part of a broader initiative by Benin
to attract the Black diaspora, acknowledge the country’s role in the
transatlantic slave trade, and promote tourism focused on
slavery-related sites of remembrance.
“By legally recognizing these children of Africa, Benin is healing a
historical wound. It is an act of justice, but also one of belonging and
hope,” Justice Minister Yvon Détchénou said at the ceremony.
Here's what to know about Benin's efforts to welcome descendants of
enslaved people:
Benin's Afro-descendant citizenship law
In September, Benin passed a law granting citizenship to those who can
trace their lineage to the slave trade.
It is open to anyone above 18 who doesn't already hold other African
citizenship and can provide proof that an ancestor was deported via the
slave trade from anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. Beninese authorities
accept DNA tests, authenticated testimonies and family records.
Last week, the government launched My Afro Origins, the digital platform
that processes applications.
While Benin is not the first country to grant citizenship to descendants
of enslaved people, its citizenship law carries added significance, in
part because of the role it played in the transatlantic slave trade.
A national reckoning with its role in the slave trade
European merchants deported an estimated 1.5 million enslaved people
from the Bight of Benin — a region that includes present-day Benin, Togo
and parts of Nigeria — to the Americas.
Beninese kings actively participated in capturing and selling enslaved
people to Portuguese, French and British merchants. The former kingdoms
and the communities they raided still exist today as tribal networks.
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Ciara walks on stage at the ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los
Angeles, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
 Benin has long been working to
reconcile with its legacy of complicity. It has openly acknowledged
its role in the slave trade, a stance not shared by many other
African nations that participated.
In the 1990s, it hosted an international conference to examine how
and where enslaved people were sold. In 1999, then-President Mathieu
Kérékou apologized to African Americans during a visit to a church
in Baltimore.
‘Memorial tourism’
Alongside this national reckoning, “memorial tourism” around the
legacy of the slave trade has become a key approach of Benin’s
government to attract Afro-descendants.
Memorial sites are mostly in Ouidah, one of Africa’s most active
slave-trading ports in the 18th and 19th centuries. They include the
Slave Route, which was the path marking enslaved people’s final
journey to ships, and the Door of No Return, a haunting doorway that
opens to the Atlantic Ocean where they left Africa, and their
families, for the last time.
Sindé Chekete, the head of Benin’s state-run tourism agency, said
these sites give Afro-descendants the opportunity to learn about and
honor the struggles and resilience of their ancestors.
“It may inspire some people to say ‘I want to return to Africa and
choose Benin to understand this history’," Chekete said.
Following her citizenship ceremony, Ciara toured the historic city,
where she walked the Slave Route to the Door of No Return.
“Between emotion, reflection and heritage, I experienced a profound
return to what truly matters,” she said.
Ciara is best known for chart-topping hits like “Goodies” and “Level
Up,” her dynamic choreography, and her work in fashion and
philanthropy.
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