Facebook and Apartheid
This piece on nostalgia for the old South Africa among some whites–including among young people born after legal Apartheid ended in 1994–on social network site, Facebook, is genius. It is in Afrikaans.
Further Reading
The falsification of history
The charge that Mohandas Gandhi was a racist is doing the rounds again. His stay in colonial South Africa fuels those claims.
Why South Africa needs Democratic Socialism
South African politics urgently needs an injection of electoral energy from the left, that speaks in a language that resonates with voters, rejects chauvinism and embraces democracy.
South African homophobia goes to parliament
Are postapartheid norms against open homophobia in party politics eroding in South Africa?
The resilience of culture
The film The Sound of Masks explores dance, memory and the meaning of life, ancestry, culture and political struggle in postcolonial Mozambique.
New histories for an uncharted future in Sudan
In post al-Bashir Sudan, new paradigms animate political action, while old ones have returned. Towards what sort of future might the protesters march?
The question of our time
Ending the capitalist war against nature begins with eco-socialist perspectives and actions.
Morning yet on another day of indaba
A response to Panashe Chigumadzi’s essay, “Why I’m No Longer Talking To Nigerians About Race.”
Nollywood Tackles #MeToo
Director Dare Olaitan’s Knock Out Blessing (2018), is nothing less than a meditation on rape culture.
The revolution in Darfur
Lasting peace in Sudan’s Darfur region – 300,000 people dead and millions displaced by regime violence – should be a priority for #SudanUprising.
Singing truth to power
When Ugandan police imprisoned Bobi Wine in his own home, the singer-turned-lawmaker used the internet, music and multiple languages to craft a call for solidarity between civilians and security forces.
Drawing the wrong lessons from Magufuli’s rule in Tanzania
The Tanzania government’s brand of heavy-handed state intervention risks fueling skepticism about the role of the state in development.
The Fighters
Are the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of Julius Malema primed for the greatest gains in South Africa’s May 8th national and provincial elections?
When Achieng met Ellen
Ellen DeGeneres wanted an African story. Achieng Agutu obliged. Don’t hate the player, though, hate the game.
Arabic literature and the African other
Racist, anti-black stereotypes persist in Arabic literature. It reveals a racial anxiety and othering of Africa among celebrated Arab authors.
The ruins of a mining economy
A short ‘archeological project’ excavating both the physical and psychic ruins of colonial mining practice in a small town in Liberia.
What are the alternatives to neoliberal trade?
The African Continental Free Trade Area and alternatives to neoliberalism.
Celebrating May Day: Trade unions as schools of democracy
At the heart of the protest movement in Sudan is a trade union. Proving again that democratic influence and change require collective participation and organization.
The African Lion
Labour challenges in Ethiopia’s industrialization.
The energy that never dies
On the eve of Baaba Maal’s first New York City concert in 8 years, Oumar Ba interviews him, asking about protest movements, the music business and Senegal.
Living at the margins of urban life in Angola
In Angola, the poor are not entitled to full citizenship rights. They also are the base of resistance to the regime.