The Fulani Project

The beauty of the Fulani culture and people, who have moved throughout the world but maintain their families’ heritage and roots, is evident in Tariq Tarey‘s photos in “The Fulani Project.” He says:

I came about the idea of the project through meeting my friend, Mariama Ba, who as a first generation American has the appreciation of a culture that she came from but did not experience firsthand. Through her I was able to see the nuances of that culture and the significance of maintaining it within a country that forces assimilation. America can be a graveyard of languages and cultures, so it is essential to preserve the Fulani culture for future generations.

Fulani languages and culture have a powerful influence in Ohio. Fatima Barro is another Ohio leader working to make sure Fulani languages and culture are prioritized and protected. She writes:

A couple of months ago, I struggled to find online resources that educated me on my Fulani heritage and language. This challenge inspired me to create Demgalam—“My Language” in Fulani—a website dedicated to preserving and sharing Fulani language and culture.

Personally, my favorite feature is a word-recall tool for native speakers to rediscover Fulani words and keep the language alive. I’m hoping to expand Demgalam into a learning platform, as Fulani is not a language offered in your typical language learning application.

Read more about Fulani people in Ohio here and learn about the broader contributions of Ohio’s Black immigrants here.