Former Gambian Journalist, dreaming to become the first black Congressman from Rhode Island in the United States of America
(Photo: The Standard newspaper)
By Landing Ceesay
Former Gambian Journalist and news editor, Dr. Omar Bah is hoping to become the first black Congressman from Rhode Island in the United States of America (USA).
“This is the best time to bring in a voice of diversity, a voice of the immigrant community,” said Bah, who would be the first Black US congressional representative from Rhode Island.
Bah, a Democrat who lives in Providence, on Saturday told the Globe he is “definitely” running.
“I would bring an alternative voice, from outside the political world, as an immigrant, a Black male, a Muslim, and a refugee. I think there are a lot of thoughts that the mainstream may not know about. I could make a difference in Congress,” he said.
Bah never ran for public office, but had worked as a journalist, a community organiser, and a psychologist focused on trauma survivors. If elected, he would be the first Black Congressman from Rhode Island.
“I brought nothing to America except my body. I got everything from America, so participating in the civic world is a duty. That is why I am running,” he told Globe, a news agency in the US.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the University of Rhode Island, a master’s degree in public administration from Roger Williams University, a master’s degree in counselling psychology and a doctorate in leadership psychology from Williams James College in Boston.
“Our nation is divided and needs a lot of healing. My background in psychology and trauma can help in bringing a sound voice of unity and healing,” Bah said.
After arriving in the United States in 2007, he became a US citizen in 2012, and in 2015, he founded the Refugee Dream Centre, a non-profit post-resettlement refugee organisation based on Broad Street in Providence. Recently, the centre has been helping to welcome Afghan evacuees to Rhode Island following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Before moving to the U.S, Bah served as news editor at the Daily Observer Newspaper from 2004 to 2006.