Sag Harbor resident and former Ms. Black South Carolina, who recently became the Queen Consort of the oldest cocoa plantation in Nigeria, Queen Angelique-Monet, is scheduled to return home for a royal tour.
It is the first official United States engagement for the American born, arts and entertainment pioneer, and humanitarian now bearing the title Her Royal Majesty Queen Angelique-Monet of Eti-Oni, Her Majesty Yeyeluwa Olori of Eti-Oni, and short form Queen Angelique-Monet.
She is married to His Majesty the Oloni of Eti-Oni, Oba (King) Dokun Thompson Gureje IV. The Kingdom of Eti-Oni is a rural town located in the rainforest belt of Sub-Saharan West Africa in Osun State. Queen Angelique-Monet was dubbed the ”Ventriloquist Queen,” and ”Royal Puppet Performer,” by the BBC, having made world news performing ventriloquism acts for the children of Eti-Oni.
Queen Angelique-Monet’s first official US engagement will be on Saturday, October 15, with a “Soirée For Peace” hosted by the Honorary Board of New Generation in Action at Windows on the Lake in Lake Ronkonkoma.
New Generation In Action’s main initiative, A.F.I. World Peace Initiative, is an arts and cultural organization that was started in the Hamptons and now has gone on to host events for 10 Years at Cannes Film Festival, Monaco, London, New York, the United Nations Headquarters, Africa, and beyond — hosting programs for education, social justice, and world peace. The initiative recently launched a 10 year campaign to tackle issues that face the world. This includes educational resources for youth, arts programs, and the “Plant Trees and End War” campaign, a 1 million plant tree program to help the West African region with deforestation, the economy, and climate change, in partnership with International Cocoa Diplomacy.
At the event, Queen Angelique-Monet is set to discuss her passion for initiatives concerning children, the future of women and the girl child, climate change, gender equality, and the work her United Nations supported Non Government Organization has achieved as they celebrate 10 years of service. Other discussions include her husband, King Dokun Thompson’s mission to create resources for cocoa farmers and farmers world-wide through cultural and idea exchanges and tourism between Africa and America as a way to achieve better living conditions for the farmers. Queen Angelique-Monet also hopes her tour while in the United States will yield partnerships and that her story of being bullied and overcoming obstacles will inspire children.
Also at the event, members of the organization in the fashion world are scheduled to exhibit their latest works, including Tina Tandon and K Lookinghorse. Members in the show business community, including classical singer Tonya Canady and Punjabi hip-hop artist Jaguar, will perform. There will be an artisans exhibition alongside a fine arts exhibition. Special honors will include individuals who were honored during the Covid-19 pandemic virtually. Honorary Chair for the evening will be two time Emmy Award winning producer Lucia Kaiser, who will also be presented with her ”Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Cannes 2021 Program.
In an interview at The Oloni’s Palace at Eti-Oni, Queen Angelique-Monet stated she would come to the United States as “a concerned citizen, and someone who feels the need to ensure children have happiness, and equality, while also spreading the message of world peace, tolerance, and mother nature.”
She went on to add, ”The impact of Covid-19 has pushed over 100 million people into extreme poverty. This has caused more inequality in the progress made by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Leave No One Behind. Three years of the pandemic caused increased social injustice, unrest, conflicts, and additional wars throughout the world. We celebrate the organization’s 10 years of service and we as artists world-wide as a collective have the ability to impact positively for change. Our organization represents a new generation in action and our voice is needed now more than ever. More importantly, we must work towards making sure our children have the resources and support needed in these challenging times. I believe in bringing back family values and we must also go back to the Indigenous peoples’ ways of living in harmony with Mother Nature. I remember my first day at Eti-Oni, I asked to be taken into the cocoa plantation in the rainforest where I was introduced to the Iroko tree, known as the king of trees and sacred to the Yorubas and can live up to 500 years. It stood majestically in the middle and towered the forest and as I hugged her with love, nostalgic feelings and emotions of love for nature understood from my grandmother ran through me. The smells of the pure rainforest, and seeing species I’ve never seen that are at the brink of extinction and rare, made me thankful to Mother Nature and the real need for everyone to work to preserve nature.”
It was her passion for humanitarian work that brought her together with King Dokun in London, England during the Covid-19 pandemic and in 2021, the two married in a private civil ceremony. As the founder of the organization supported by the United Nations in Consultative Status through Economic and Social Council, Queen Angelique-Monet has worked extensively within the United Nations infrastructure.
Following her first event, Queen Angelique-Monet is scheduled to visit city schools in the boroughs of New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and South Carolina, where she was raised. She is the grand-daughter, and niece of American Civil Rights leaders and politicians.
She will also make appearances at Historical Black Colleges & Universities where she was made a HBCU Living Legend in 2019 for her “Contribution to the Arts & Entertainment.” During the visits she will also perform along with her puppet Milk the Cow and speak to youth about the impact their voices have on creating a new generation of leaders that can shape the future. She will be accompanied by her family and close friends.
While supporting her husband and efforts to help make Eti-Oni into a sustainable model smart town, she is also working on collective of film projects alongside her husband about the kingdom. All stories will be told from an African perspective to the global marketplace.
To learn more about the event, visit eventbrite.com.