War and peace in Côte d’Ivoire
By the end of 2004, Côte d'Ivoire’s civil war had cooled to a simmer, but the
6442 Article(s) by:
Rita Nketiah
Rita Nketiah is a feminist researcher, writer and activist living in Accra, Ghana.
The loneliness of the Kenyan long distance runner
How the death of a very talented Kenyan marathon runner points to structural problems in the country’s national running industry.
The Aura of Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba is the master of the unruly and the absurd: when he is in form, none of what the other team does matters.
Egypt after Edward Said
Last December, when the Institut d’Egypte was burned down, I thought immediately of Edward Said. Napoleon’s expedition
Joyce Banda and Gay Rights
Is Banda serious about repealing Malawi’s anti-gay laws? Is she just cynical so as to secure donor cash? And, what about Malawian public opinion?
Mali: Soldiers Acting Like Children
It’s very hard to figure out what the soldiers who took power in a coup in Mali, have in store for the country. Or if they even have a plan.
Blackwater’s “Rwanda”
The fantasies of Blackwater, the Michigan firm of mercenaries and as contractor to imperial powers. Also, how it employs Africa as a rhetorical device to get more business.
Where is contemporary African art? Not at Bonhams
Bonhams must have employed some jokers to publicise their latest attempt to cash in on the
New public TV series from South Africa: “I am Woman”
Starting on April 1, South Africa's public TV channel SABC3 has been running a weekly series
Friday Music Break, N°10
http://youtu.be/2tig5g9jV5Y British based Nigerian rapper Modenine starts off our weekly Friday Music Break. Here's four more.
Afropolitan Divas
Numbi, a gathering space for the Somali diaspora artists in the UK, expands its focus to include poetry and music from elsewhere in East Africa and elsewhere at a showcase in East London.
The future of Françafrique
Is it France’s interests to reform its unequal, exploitative relationship with Africans?
Radio Freedom’s Afrikaans Service
Learning that Radio Freedom, the exiled ANC’s radio service, broadcast in Afrikaans, further undermines the idea of the language as belonging to the oppressor.
Achille Mbembe at the Tate Modern
The moderator received a text which said that the political philosopher was trying to find an internet café, then another saying Mbembe was trying to find an internet café with Skype, then another saying that he was trying to find an internet café with Skype in a part of the city where there wasn’t a power-cut.
Livetweet Recap: NYT (and Vogue Italia) “Rebrands Africa” (again)
From a series of tweets I did on the New York Times story "Rebranding Africa" which
The elephant in the room
The DJ’s, Venus X and Boima, talk about their approach to music, but also about their run-ins with tastemaker Diplo, who has shaped popular music tastes globally.
Coca-Cola can’t copyright colour: the art of Sokari Douglas Camp
"Coca-Cola Bird" stands facing the corner of the gallery, half-turned towards us in surprise or exhibition, oily red paint spun across the bucket cocked over her head, the same brash color on the feathered tutu winding around her waist. Her chest sprouts sparkling empty bottles bearing the famous label, and familiar labile curves.
Uptown Sahel
Thinking about ways that Africa is represented by NGO’s and other international organizations.
First as tragedy, then as farce
What is it with the conviction, held primarily in the West, that you can save yourself and the world (well, usually Africans) by shopping?
Congo Gold
Congolese-Belgian MC, Baloji: “In Congo, we had gold, but we turned it to something that had no value because we didn’t treat our country with the right respect.”