New Jersey, USA / Cali, Colombia – [June 15, 2025]

The Pan-African Council is proud to welcome celebrity music executives Jamal “Mally” Brandon and Steven “Steve-O” Carless as strategic Board Members, bringing their unparalleled expertise and vision to launch a transformative community initiative in Colombia and beyond. This groundbreaking program aims to uplift the music and creative industries, nurture local talent, and bolster the entertainment business by establishing an artist development program, a state-of-the-art music studio in the heart of Cali’s most marginalized communities, and a distribution strategy to connect local artists with international markets and fans.

Jamal “Mally” Brandon, a seasoned Music Executive and Serial Entrepreneur, brings over a decade of experience in executive production, record production, deal negotiation, music video curation, artist management, and A&R. Known for his mantra of “connecting Creatives as a Creative,” Brandon’s career spans producing records like Fabolous’ “Lituation” to amassing over 1 billion YouTube views as a partner in Shot Selection Media, a venture specializing in targeted digital marketing and social media viewership. His journey from a former artist and record producer to a media mogul reflects his deep understanding of artistry and business. Through his work with MSLM DONS, Brandon promotes peace, discipline, and purpose among Black youth, using Islam as a guiding force to foster brotherhood and empowerment. His commitment to bridging the African American diaspora with Africa through tourism, citizenship, and investment aligns seamlessly with the Council’s mission to foster collaboration and advance Black communities globally in finance, education, and quality of life.

Joining Brandon is Steven “Steve-O” Carless, a renowned record executive, talent manager, tech advisor, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. Carless is celebrated for his work with global icons like Beyoncé, Polo G, and Nipsey Hussle, earning two Grammy Awards in 2020 for “Racks in the Middle” featuring Roddy Ricch and “Higher” with DJ Khaled. As a co-founder of The Defiant Foundation, Carless champions mentorship, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship to address wealth disparities in underserved communities. His leadership roles, including President of A&R at Warner Records and co-founder of the Republic Records Action Committee, underscore his dedication to systemic change in the music industry.

Through his company The Dream Company, Brandon is spearheading the Pan-African Council’s initiative in Cali, Colombia, creating a vibrant ecosystem for local artists. The artist development program will provide mentorship and training, the music studio will offer a professional space for creation, and the distribution strategy will amplify Colombian talent on the global stage. This initiative reflects the Council’s commitment to empowering marginalized communities and expanding our global footprint through cultural and economic collaboration.

We are thrilled to have Jamal “Mally” Brandon and Steve-O Carless on board, leveraging their expertise to drive impact and opportunity for Colombia’s creative communities. Join us in celebrating this milestone as we work to uplift local talent and connect the African diaspora through the universal language of music.

SANTIAGO DE CALI, COLOMBIA  —

Building on the inaugural edition of the Afro-Colombian Executive Business Forum this past January 13-14, 2023, the Pan-African Council alongside Empresario Afro, Universidad de Santiago, and the Howard University School of Business have organized the second edition of the forum.

This edition features two special tracks on Technology & Business Ventures as well as the Creative Economy.

Event location and venue:

Cali, Colombia / Universidad Santiago de Cali

Event date and time:

June 16, 2023 from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm; June 17, 2023 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm

BRAZZAVILLE, THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO  —

The Council provided support for Colombia’s cultural mission to Brazzaville to strengthen diplomatic and cultural ties with the Republic of Congo. Personnel from the Embassy of Colombia in Kenya traveled to Brazzaville with the aim of positioning Colombia’s foreign policy work in Africa.

Pan-African Council representatives Mr Godfre Bayalama and Mr Rudy Massamba, two Congolese natives resident in the USA, prepared a strategic proposal to facilitate the Colombian delegation’s visit to the Republic of Congo from April 27 to May 7, 2023.

The proposed itinerary aimed to help Colombian dignitaries from the Embassy of Colombia in Kenya build and foster relationships with essential Congolese cultural, political, and environmental actors. Historically, Congo has been one of Africa’s most prominent cultural and creative hubs. Its capital Brazzaville witnessed the birth of Congolese Rumba – a soulful African sound heavily influenced by Cuban Son that took over the continent and later influenced Colombian Champeta music.

The visit to Brazzaville was in the context of the Maloba Theater, Dance and Circus Festival; an international cultural exchange event where storytellers from all over the world, equipped with their words (theatre), their bodies (dance) and their imagination (circus) speak about the current world.

The festival aims to establish cultural links and propose dialogues between the artistic traditions of the Congolese and foreigners within dynamic structures of exchange and creativity. The Afro-Colombian artistic dance group Sankofa Danzafro, which has become a catalyst for relations between Colombia in Africa, participated in the festival as part of Colombia’s broad cultural agenda for engagement with the African continent. Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the meeting and agenda set forth by PAC Representative Rudy Oba Apounou Massamba.

Abbreviated Biographies

Rudy Oba Apounou Massamba is a democracy assistance expert with an extensive track record in empowering grassroots civil society organizations and movements. He worked for close to a decade at the National Endowment for Democracy, where he spearheaded grant-making strategy and managed grants programs for nine countries spread across West, Central, and Southern Africa. Rudy launched his international development career at the National Democratic Institute (NDI). He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Binghamton University, and a M.S. in International Affairs from
Florida State University. A proponent of South-South cooperation, Rudy is fluent in French and possesses advanced Portuguese language skills.

Godfre Bayalama is a New York-based public servant and political operative. He serves as Chief of Staff for New York State Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie, a democrat, and fierce advocate for strengthening democracy, improving New York’s criminal legal systems, and holding gun manufacturers accountable for the scourge of gun violence. As a senior advisor to the Senator, Godfre oversaw the passage of the landmark John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, the strongest voting rights law in the United States. Godfre worked in senior roles as a political operative for several campaigns for local, state, and federal offices. Most notably, in 2021, as Campaign manager, he helped elect Crystal Hudson as one of the first out-gay Black women to the New York City Council. Godfre is a native of the Republic of Congo who has lived in Africa, Europe, and the Americas. He is fluent in Kikongo, French, English, Italian, and Lingala. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy from New York University. Godfre is passionate about soccer, Congolese Rumba, and video games outside of work.

The Forum aims to supercharge Afro-Colombian businesses and create a community of Black business professionals from Colombia and beyond.

SANTIAGO DE CALI, COLOMBIA  —

This coming Friday and Saturday January 13-14, 2023, the Pan-African Council will be co-hosting the Afro-Colombian Executive Forum in collaboration with Howard University School of Business and the Universidad Santiago de Cali in Colombia. ⁣

The Forum is an intensive program designed to develop the participants’ core business skills and provide them with the tools to succeed. This will be achieved through modules focused on the following topics:

• Historical and present context of building community wealth
• Business preparedness
• Discussion tables
• Leadership, human talent and branding
• Financial forecasting
• Networking and on-going engagement

In addition to job creation and new economic opportunities, entrepreneurship and enterprise development are essential drivers of community transformation that encourage innovation and a culture of success. We look forward to empowering the Afro-Colombian business community by creating new partnerships across the Council’s global network.⁣

After a historic election, the Republic of Colombia seeks to build deeper political, social and commercial ties with Africa and the Caribbean region. The Council was honoured to be invited to join this effort and recognise Colombia’s new PAC Representative in Congress this past August 8th, 2022.

Colombia’s historic election and transition to a popular government led by President Gustavo Petro and Vice President Francia Marquez not only marks an unprecedented window of opportunity for improved diplomatic and economic relations within the region, but also the possibility of seeking further rapprochement with African countries on the other side of the Atlantic. This prompted the need to establish a new specialised presidential working group on Africa-Colombia affairs and a strategic summit in 2023 to embark on these objectives. The Pan-African Council has committed itself to join Colombia on this journey after being invited to Congress for the launch of the Africa and the Americas Summit Executive Committee.

The Africa & The Americas Summit 2023 (AFAS), slated for the city of Cali, Colombia, from August 10–12, 2023 (tentative date), is designed to build new cultural, trade and investment relationships between Africa and the Americas with a special focus on the African Diaspora and Indigenous communities. The inextricable link between the two regions is well documented; a shared history, identity and philosophy bind them. These are the threads that African and American nations must draw on to write a new, positive chapter in the regions’ history.

AFAS 2023 will be held under the theme “A New Path to Cooperation”. The Summit aims to foster the development of strategic partnerships between the communities in Africa and throughout the Americas, to bolster bilateral cooperation and increase engagement in trade, investment, technology transfer, innovation, tourism, culture, social engagement, and other sectors.
Additionally, AFAS 2023 is expected to contribute to the implementation of Colombia’s South-South objectives, namely the Strategy for Cooperation with the Caribbean Basin, Regional Cooperation Program with Mesoamerica, and the International Cooperation Strategy on Integral Security.

In addition, the Council designed a new Council Representative for the Republic of Colombia, Ms Cha Dorina Hernández, Congresswoman and Educator, who will lead the Summit Executive Committee and have shown exceptional leadership in building relations with Africa and Diaspora.

How can we transform intentions into action?

QUIBDO, COLOMBIA — On August 11th the Pan-African Council in collaboration with Juntos Por el Chocó – JUPECH (Together for Choco), Manos Visibles, and Educatalento (Pan-African Youth Leadership Network), co-hosted a live discussion with young Afro-Colombian leaders on the topic of developing community leadership skills.

The event, entitled “How to transform intention into action?”, engaged young leaders from across the region that are passionate about transforming their communities and mobilising actions that drive greater economic, educational and skills training access. Participants shared experiences, knowledge and strategies  that not only help achieve these goals, but also inspire and create new leaders in their respective communities.

Over the last week, I had the privilege of traveling to the South American nation of Colombia to represent Howard University’s Cathy Hughes School of Communication at the annual Caribbean Studies Association conference in Santa Marta, a resort town situated on the Caribbean coast of that country.

PAC Ambassador Kellon Bubb recounts his experience in Colombia’s “Chocolate City”, city of Santiago de Cali.

On my last two days in Colombia, I gladly accepted an invitation by my friend James of who is of Caribbean descent to ‘buss a lime” (hangout) in the city of Cali, Colombia which is one of that country’s Blackest cities. I was excited to take up the invitation as I wanted to satisfy my curiosity about the side of Colombia seldom seen by foreigners, who tend to traverse the touristy cocoons of its major cities and resort towns on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. The two-hour journey to Cali by plane highlighted the vast geographical contrasts of Colombia. The tropical and very humid Caribbean coast of Santa Marta gave way to a very mountainous and temperate Andean Bogota, and a sub-tropical, Pacific region of Cali — replete with expansive valleys, and broad rivers which meandered through this densely populated city. After checking into my hotel and exchanging a few pleasantries with my friend, we ventured into the neighborhood of Agua Blanca on the Northeast edge of the city. Cali is 70 percent Black, but one would never know that to be the case because as a gringo visiting the town, you tend to stay in the Central district where the minority White population live in their luxurious high-rises with other trappings of wealth synonymous with any Western city. Dog walkers, joggers, five-star hotels, fancy nightclubs — the full complement.

As we headed North of the central district in my friend’s car, we whisked past several other “nice” neighborhoods: an endless parade of brown and black scaffolding encased new high-rise construction en route; political campaign billboards superimposed the backdrop of the oddly placed traffic lights at every major intersection. The city is currently experiencing a period of rapid economic growth and is on track to become one of the fastest growing cities in Colombia and perhaps in all of Latin America. We suddenly made a right turn and came upon Distrito Agua Blanca, the location that I really wanted to experience on my trip. In this chocolate side of town, elegant high-rises and heavy construction were conspicuously absent. Well- paved roads degenerated into a veritable sea of potholes with crater-like formations at every turn. The region has also been experiencing unusually heavy rains over the last month. The rainy season usually ends in April, and for many locals, this might be attributable to climate change. The red-bricked houses that lines the unpaved streets and dingy alleyways were covered with hastily constructed galvanized roofs, and others with sheets of ply board and the occasional blue- colored tarpaulin. As we dodged potholes, my friend explained that each section of Agua Blanca has its nicknames, Haiti and Africa. If you lived in either of these areas, you stayed put and would never interact with persons from the other sections. As an outsider, daring to venture beyond the main street onto the unpaved alleyways would be doing so at your own risk.

These neighborhoods in Agua Blanca has the dubious reputation having some of the highest murder rates in Cali. The-intrepid reporter and scholar in me was all too eager to take photos of the Cali “hood” but was quickly cautioned to keep my phone out of sight, as drive-by robberies by gunpoint on scooters were a common occurrence. Our almost 40-minute journey ended when we came upon a Black-owned hair salon run by one of the only natural hair stylists in this part of town. The owner is also a friend of James, and she specializes in doing Black hairstyles. The stylist, Mariela, greeted me euphuistically with a tight hug and immediately began to inquire about my dreads. As the conversation continued, I quickly learned that there is a growing interest by Black Colombians to fully embrace their Black identity by sporting natural hair and dreadlocks, and listening to Soca, Afrobeats and Dancehall music. This new stream of consciousness is happening against the backdrop of a Colombian media landscape where the only Black faces emblazoned on television are those of Black football players and the modern day minstrel character Soldado Micolta whose role was only removed after a recent protest by Afro-Colombian civil society. The figures on the popular telenovelas and news broadcasts are all lighter-skinned Colombians who reflect the country’s Eurocentric past more than its current racially diverse makeup.

Unlike the wealthier district where I was greeted with bemused looks for occupying spaces seldom frequented by local Blacks, the people at the salon and the nearby barber shop were all too happy to interact with a brother who proudly sported dreadlocks. The stylist was also curious about the types of oils, scalp treatments, and styling patterns that are in vogue in Black salons in the United States. I was all too happy to share my knowledge. The hair conversation for me represented a moment of pride and solidarity between two displaced Africans in the diaspora, whose ancestors were violently shepherded to different geographical regions to work as slaves for a racist, patriarchal enterprise whose legacy continues to haunt people of color across the African diaspora in 2019.

As with other Black communities the African diaspora, systematic neglect gave way to the presence of “ghettoes” and “shanty’s” in this part of Cali. Cali’s status as a majority Black city is also not reflected in its political and economic structure. In spite of these challenges, Mariela and others on her block have inculcated a spirit of entrepreneurship by starting small businesses. They have also gotten involved in the growing Afro-Colombian nonprofit group AfroEstilo which allows this marginalized population to tell their own stories, share experiences and celebrate their culture in a way that was not done in the past through traditional Colombian media. This new Black renaissance in Colombia mirrors similar movements in Bahia Brazil, Panama, and Honduras where African descendants are becoming more aware of their culture.

As we left Agua Blanca, I reflected on the shared history of Africans in the diaspora. Income inequality, structural racism, colorism, police and gang violence, and a plethora of other socioeconomic issues continue to define the collective trauma that may not go away in my lifetime. In spite of these realities, I still hold fast to Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream for post-colonial Western societies to truly reflect their democratic ideals. Black Colombia still has a long way to go, but they’re slowly but surely getting there. The new Black awakening currently taking place in Colombia presents opportunities for greater and more meaningful collaboration between all people of color in the Western hemisphere. It is important that we see ourselves as our brother and sisters keepers, as our struggles are all identical.

The Pan-African Council and its Colombian media chapter AfroEstilo assisted and facilitated interviews for @symeonbrown of @channel4news in the filming of this very important piece of African history in South America on #afrocolombians.

In his own words:

Filming this was emotional as a descendent of slavery. Today there are more black people of African heritage in Latin America than there is in 51/54 countries in Africa. This means if the black Latinx community repatriated to Africa they’d make the 4th most populated black African country.

Despite more enslaved Africans being taken to South America than anywhere else, the conversation on racial equality has been dominated by north American and to a lesser extent Western European voices.

This piece engages with black face, the complexities of African identity amongst Colombia’s 5M African descendants, the legacy of the slave trade and the new activists risking their lives in a country where indigenous and African activists have been readily murdered.

– Symeon Brown

The Pan-African Council is a proud partner of the 3rd Pan-African Global Meeting: “Diplomacy, Commitment and Solidarity” presided by the Honorable African Union Ambassador to United States, Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao and organized by COINDAH @coindah (International Congress of Spanish-Speaking African Diaspora) to be held December 3rd and 4th, 2018 in Colombia — South America.