In defense of precolonial Africa
How are we to discuss and deal with colonization in Africa without using language that acknowledges that we were something before colonization?
language
One of the last remaining pieces of history
Against Mahikeng’s failure to honor and preserve his legacy, a new Setswana biography examines Plaatje’s years in this South African town, once a regional capital.
A fundamental reimagining of who we are
The future of Stellenbosch University does not depend on whether white people there can transcend individual stereotypes and prejudice. It depends on whether they can articulate anti-racism as a genuine political position.
Divided by the word
Why languages, particularly black African languages, have become a battleground in postapartheid power and identity politics in South Africa.
A big African literature prize in an African language
The Kiswahili Prize works to undermine the marginalization of African languages in literary culture. An interview with one of its founders.
Gikuyu in Catalonia
The loss of African languages, their link with identity, and their role in forging decolonial futures.
The Xhosa literary revival
The writer Mphuthumi Ntabeni's new novel explores the deep history of colonialism and resistance in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
Décoloniser la littérature africaine
Les études littéraires africaines devraient donner plus d'espace aux nombreux écrivains vivant sur le continent, dans les langues africaines.
Decolonizing African literature begins with language
Senegalese writer, Boubacar Boris Diop, on the problematic circuits of teaching African literature first legitimized in Europe in African universities
The linguistic famine
The burial of African languages by Africans themselves has ensured our total immersion into colonial culture.
Precolonial Africa had written traditions
Ajami is the centuries-old practice in West Africa of writing other languages using the modified Arabic script. It is also more widely dispersed than we give it credit for.
What is the Dangbe word for chameleon?
When it comes to language preferences in Ghana, indigenous languages suffer. It is a continental problem.
Young, Latin & Black
Chief Boima and Francesca Harding on race and cultural difference in Latin America through the lens of trap music.
Anti-racism without race
Italy also lacks a fully developed movement against racism led by people of color. It doesn't help that white activists prefers to racism as xenophobia.
Story of a South African Farm School
The Elsenburg Agricultural College lies 50 km east of Cape Town, tucked among the quiet valleys
Obroni, a History
Most Ghanaians think "obroni" means "white person" or "foreigner", but it stems from the Akan phrase "abro nipa" meaning "wicked person."
The Fate of la Francophonie
Do we still need an organization of France's former colonies? Whose interests does it actually serve?
So, language originated in Africa
I suppose we should be proud or something.
Sleeping Dogs
The poetry of Ronelda Kamfer sheds light on the still marginalized lives of South Africa’s “brown communities.”