Kenyan flag up in the skies of New York City

Kenyan flag up in the skies of New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently raised Kenya’s flag to celebrate Madaraka Day • He became the first Mayor in history to raise the first Kenyan flag in New York Being a Kenyan is now a big deal. Hailing from Kenya is definitely a big deal. Kenya is the capital of Africa. We all know that is not true, but hypothetically speaking, it is true. I do not know why, but almost every person who is not of an African race, ethnicity or nationality seems to love Kenya. My TikTok algorithm showed me three simultaneous videos where some white people, excuse my French, were asked to name at least three African countries. In all three videos, at least two or three people who were asked gave Kenya as an answer. Comoros, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe were also some popular countries mentioned. I don’t know if it is only me who does this but when I see such videos, at the very beginning, I pause to read the comments first before watching the video. Once I have read a couple of chats, I play the video in full. What I go looking for is comments by Kenyans about Kenya. A lot of positives and negatives put us on the map of some of the well-known African countries. Adventure and scenic landscapes, tourist attractions, wildlife, business and a vast market investment potential, culture, art, music, innovation, sports, food such as ugali and nyama choma, and even the people themselves are some of the positives that make Kenya, Kenya. Let’s not forget sherehe (partying) massive, and our very own lingua franca, Kenyanese. “Me I want two boxes for myself.” “Si I told you to chomoka mapema. Now see.” On the other hand, as a country, we are well known for dragging people on social media if something negative is said about us or our country. We are technically champions of online war. Regardless of the good and the bad, tunajivunia kuwa Wakenya. However, it’s crazy how things on the ground are different, but that is a story for another day. A few weeks ago, we had our proud moment as a country when New York City Mayor Eric Adams honoured the country by raising Kenya’s flag for the first time in New York to celebrate Madaraka Day. He became the first Mayor in history to raise the first Kenyan flag in New York. We normally mark the day on June 1, but the ceremony was held on June 29. You see why it is a big deal being Kenyan today? In his words, Mayor Adams said hoisting the Kenyan flag marked a momentous occasion symbolising the inclusivity and diversity of New York City. “Today, we are raising the flag of Kenya. The first time in the history of this city that this flag is going to be raised,” he said. “It is going to be raised because I believe that this city is representative of all the groups, the number of countries that have had their flag raised here for the first time.” I felt very proud when I watched that video, especially when the Kenyan national anthem was played. I know y’all can never forget when the 2016 Rio Olympics came to a close and our national anthem was played in honour of marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, who bagged a gold medal. Social media users took to the Internet to declare the Kenyan national anthem as the best of the best globally. The New York historical moment served as a reminder of why we should be proud as Kenyans. If other people can see the good and beauty of our country, we should at least feel privileged to be natives of our nation. “When we raise this flag, we raise the energy and spirit of the people of Kenya that you are part of the New York experience,” Mayor Adams said. “Your contribution, your commitment, your song, your dance, your food, your culture, your energy is united with the greatness of this great city.” We are in high demand in the global audience, and this is a flex for us. In good and tough times, let's never forget to embrace what makes us proud of our nation. We can be going through a lot as a nation, but being Kenyan should be a big deal for each one of us. On the global scene, we are a big deal, in a good way.