In the summer of 2021, as the Taliban took over Afghanistan, many Afghans fled the country. Some landed in Akron, which has one of the largest refugee resettlement programs in Ohio. A network of volunteers and government, nonprofit and educational organizations were waiting. They help new arrivals fleeing war or persecution find not just a haven, but a home in Akron. The refugee resettlement process can take years. Those who aren’t in the community themselves may have no idea a refugee is working the register at their gas station, handling their orders at the Amazon fulfillment center or pa...

Talk about wearing many hats! When Felix Kumah-Abiwu, Ph.D., associate professor of Africana Studies at Kent State University, is not making final preparations for taking students to South Africa (later this month), teaching courses and advising students, he’s writing books and co-authoring an opinion piece on Vice President Kamala Harris' recent visit to Africa in late March of this year. Kumah-Abiwu recently co-authored the article with York College History Professor Nicholas Githuku. Their article was mentioned in Foreign Policy Magazine, one of the leading policy journals in the Uni...