New York-based nonprofit pairs free cancer screenings with culture, as Congress weighs National African Heritage Month
THE BRONX, N.Y. — A New York-based commission representing African immigrants will fold free cancer screenings into its seventh annual African Heritage Month celebration on Sept. 12, betting that music, fashion and food will draw a larger crowd than a stand-alone health fair could reach, according to the group’s chairman.
The event, held with the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center for the third consecutive year, runs from 3 to 8 p.m. at Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Robbins Auditorium, said Mory Kouyaté, chairman and founder of the African Immigrant Commission of New York and Connecticut. Attendees can register on-site for free screenings, with translators available in French and West African languages including Malinke and Fulani.
“If you just do a health fair, you might only get a few people,” Kouyaté said in an interview. “But since this is a cultural event with food, dance, music, poetry, and all of these exciting things, it is a smart thing to incorporate both.”
The strategy targets a population that has grown sharply in the borough. Africans made up 12% of the Bronx’s foreign-born population, more than double their 5% share citywide, according to The Newest New Yorkers, 2026, a report from the New York City Department of City Planning.
The Bronx event is also part of a longer campaign. Kouyaté said the commission has spent seven years pushing local officials to recognize September as African Heritage Month, with the goal of a congressional vote establishing it nationwide. That goal advanced last September, when Reps. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., introduced a House resolution designating September as National African Immigrant Heritage Month.
“The ultimate goal is for Congress to vote and recognize September as African Heritage Month nationwide,” Kouyaté said in an exclusive interview with Mutiu Olawuyi on Parrot TV’s Beyond The NewsBites. “If someone is able to accomplish that in the future, at least we will know that we started it locally, kept the name alive, and contributed to its success.”
According to the event flyer, Saturday’s program also includes Afrobeats by DJ Damas, a fashion show by Lady Black, poetry and an awards ceremony honoring community, business and youth leaders. Kouyaté described the commission as intentionally nonpartisan, working with officials across party lines while remaining independent of them. The group also runs voter registration drives and trains young volunteers to help organize its events.
Success, for Kouyaté, is a simple bar: executing the program and drawing several hundred attendees. “If we are able to showcase our awesome culture, showcase the fashion, recognize community, youth and business leaders, and promote cancer awareness, prevention and treatment, those are our expectations, and we’ll be happy knowing the event was successful,” he said. The event is free and open to the public.
