Music Break / Fatoumata Diawara
Easy listening. ‘Bassa’ is a song by the Côte d’Ivoire-born, Mali-raised and now France-based artist Fatoumate Diawara. We could use a translation — because maybe it’s no easy listening at all. Anyone?
Further Reading
The Nigerian people must own their resistance
When rising against ruling-class corruption, Nigerians must reject the hero culture that has historically undermined genuine activism.
Why are African artifacts everywhere but Africa?
The countless African artifacts that continue to be held in Western institutions after being obtained illegally send a violent message that makes efforts toward reconciliation inconsequential.
Liberation is not propaganda
At Africa Energy Week, the language of resource sovereignty disguised a new form of climate denial that appropriates progressive rhetoric in service of fossil fuel companies.
Not exactly at arm’s length
Despite South Africa’s ban on arms exports to Israel and its condemnation of Israel’s actions in Palestine, local arms companies continue to send weapons to Israel’s allies and its major arms suppliers.
Mozambique and the politics of popular uprising
Join us on November 21st as we discuss the politics underlying the popular uprising in Mozambique with António Bai, Anne Pitcher, and José Jaime Macuane.
Ruto’s Kenya
Since June’s anti-finance bill protests, dozens of people remain unaccounted for—a stark reminder of the Kenyan state’s long history of abductions and assassinations.
Hopium kills but hope seeds
Reflections on Trump’s 2024 US presidential victory.
No justice, no peace in Mozambique
A decade ago, the kind of protest movement gripping Mozambique over the last few weeks would have been difficult to fathom.
Sem justiça e sem paz em Moçambique
Há dez anos, seria difícil imaginar esse tipo de movimento que vem ocorrendo nas últimas semanas em Moçambique.
When you get under Antony Blinken’s skin
On the deplatforming of ‘African Stream.’
When you love something, you fight for it
A personal reflection on what it’s like to fight anti-homosexuality laws as one of the few openly LGBTIQ+ rights activists in Uganda.
More French than Algerian
This week, Kamel Daoud became the first Algerian to receive France’s most prestigious literary honor. Yet, in Algeria, no one seems to care.
Between Harlem and home
African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.
The aftertaste of the ocean
Mati Diop’s ‘Dahomey’ isn’t solely concerned with the subject of repatriating Beninese artifacts, but with returning the debate to the Beninese themselves.
Between blackout and embargo
In Cuba, new forms of marginalization and racism have surfaced, but the dream of a good society based on the core principles of “buen vivir” for its people has not died.
The real Rwanda
The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.
In the shadow of Mondlane
After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.
À sombra de Mondlane
Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.
Museum of memory
An eye-opening documentary on African literary titan Wole Soyinka wants us to laud his “politics” without ever having Soyinka himself talk about them.
Femicide is rising, but where’s the outrage?
While feminist movements have made significant strides in naming, recognizing, and advocating against femicide, the rest of the world appears disturbingly indifferent.