Pop superstar Ciara is now officially a citizen of Benin. On July 26, 2025, during a powerful ceremony marking the United Nations Day for Women and Girls of African Descent, she received her certificate of citizenship, cementing her legal ties to the West African nation.
Ciara just made history and her ancestors proud.
On July 26, 2025, the Grammy-winning singer and proud mother of four received her certificate of citizenship from the Republic of Benin. The moment was captured during a public ceremony that didn’t just honor Ciara, it honored centuries of Black resilience, survival, and return.
Held on the United Nations Day for Women and Girls of African Descent, the event felt like a homecoming.
“This is truly one of the most special moments of my life,” Ciara shared, visibly moved as she stood before Benin officials, local dignitaries, and a crowd of supporters. “I feel incredibly proud.”
This marked Ciara’s first trip to a Francophone African country, and she made the most of it. Ahead of the citizenship ceremony, she traveled across the country, including to Ouidah, a city steeped in history and spirit. It’s there that she walked the haunting Slave Route and stood before the Gate of No Return. This site represents the millions of African people forced into the transatlantic slave trade.
In a clip shared on social media, Ciara can be seen embracing the local culture, chanting in a Beninese language, and wearing traditional fabrics, which deeply resonates with fans across the diaspora.
The program that granted her citizenship is part of a broader effort by Benin to reconnect with the global African diaspora. Supported by Benin’s tourism board and Rolling Stone Africa, where Ciara recently graced the June–July cover, the initiative recognizes descendants of enslaved Africans. It offers them a legal, cultural, and spiritual link to the continent.
But Ciara isn’t alone on this journey.
In recent years, countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Liberia have extended invitations, heritage programs, and even citizenship opportunities to Black Americans and other members of the diaspora. Ghana’s “Year of Return” in 2019 set the tone. By the end of 2024, the country had granted citizenship to 524 African-descendant individuals, many of whom were Black Americans. Stevie Wonder was among those who accepted.
Even Meghan Markle revealed in 2022 that she’s 43% Nigerian after taking a genealogy test. By 2024, she was in Nigeria with Prince Harry, dancing, laughing, and reconnecting with cultural roots in ways many across the diaspora have dreamed of.
