Three Myths about Mandela Worth Busting

I sometimes feel Nelson Mandela is in need of rescuing, trapped in some pretty bizarre narratives that have nothing to do with his own story or politics. Full disclosure: I…..

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3 mins read

October 31, 2013

Who will make the great Thomas Sankara biopic?

Twenty-six years ago this month, Thomas Sankara was brutally murdered. His biopic is still waiting to be made. A revolutionary leader possessed of a towering intellect and extraordinary magnetism, Sankara…..

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19 mins read

March 7, 2013

Marcus Garvey’s Africa

Late last year I had the opportunity to review College of William and Mary History Professor Robert Vinson’s remarkable new book, The Americans Are Coming! Dreams of African American Liberation…..

1 min read

October 1, 2011

"Before you six feet under the ground"

R&B sounds and look very different in the video and song for “Body Down” by singer Novel. (It is actually fitting that the video references Malcolm X and Martin Luther…..

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3 mins read

June 27, 2011

When Malcolm X went to Africa

I am dipping in and out of Manning Marable’s 600 plus-page biography of Malcolm X. As Tariq Ali, correctly writes in The New Left Review (in a review of the…..

1 min read

June 20, 2011

The Life and Times of Harry Belafonte

Apart from his role in American racial and class struggles from the 1950s onwards, Harry Belafonte (now 83) played a central role in popularizing struggles for justice on the African…..