Disciplines
African American Studies | African History | American Material Culture | Art Practice | Black History | Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts | Fine Arts | Public History | United States History
Abstract
At the end of the interview, Boakye explains what he wants for Kwasi Paul in the future, both in the Bronx and in the fashion industry. For the Bronx, he wants it to represent Ghanaian fashion, something Ghanaians in the Bronx can be proud of. He wants the Bronx to be seen as something better, not a “dirty” borough, as stereotypes would have it. For fashion, he wants to be another lens of living with in-between identities, for everyone who falls into these categories of multiple identities, especially for people in New York City.
He encapsulates the Bronx as “The birth of hip-hop, an amazing borough, an authentic one, and if you’re authentic and you know it, you’re good” [(33:21)]. Boakye is a creative director who prioritizes his culture. He shares it with others and offers his story as a source of comfort and solidarity for those like him.
LINK TO VIDEO RECORDING: http://cdm17265.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/baahp/id/126
Recommended Citation
Naison, Mark and Rosado, Anthony Abd-al Shafi, "Sam Boakye" (2026). Oral Histories. 433.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/baahp_oralhist/433
Included in
African American Studies Commons, African History Commons, American Material Culture Commons, Art Practice Commons, Black History Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Public History Commons, United States History Commons
Comments
Interviewee: Samuel Boakye
Interviewer: Anthony Abd-al Shafi Rosado
Summary by Gabriel Capellan
November 21, 2025
Born in Queens and raised in the Bronx, Samuel Boakye is the founder and creative director of Kwasi Paul. His fashion designs are expressions of his culture as a Ghanaian, an African-American, and a Black man. His piece, Ensemble, was featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) Exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which ran from May 10 to October 26, 2025. Ensemble, to Boakye, is his way to demonstrate his culture and what it means to be Ghanaian in the Western world.
Boakye is a second-generation Ghanaian. His parents came from Ghana seeking economic growth and worked odd jobs, yet still managed to provide for Boakye. His upbringing was a blend of Ghanaian culture at home and exposure to diverse communities of people when he stepped outside. He uses the word “diaspora” to describe this mesh of cultures and identities.
Through interacting with people of multiple ancestries in New York City, such as Hispanic, African-American, and other African cultures, Boakye would come to adopt some of these identities as his own. He owns his Ghanaian ancestral lineage, African-American manners, Black culture, and rhetoric. These parts of his identity would materialize in the works of his label, Kwasi Paul.
Boakye founded “Kwasi Paul” to share his Ghanaian culture and identity with the world. His label is his form of self-expression and self-discovery. Kwasi Paul is his personal diary, where he experiments with his feelings and thoughts. He ties Africa’s history in his pieces, notably in his Lady Makola sweaters. Lady Makola is a combination of the mothers who were vendors at the competitive, fast-paced Makola Market in the center of Accra. The mothers selling were vital in stimulating Accra’s economy, and Boakye gives homage to them here. how it was prior to colonization, when it wasn’t divided by countries, but by empires.