A tale of two reviews
In the 1960s, two African nationalist magazines shared a name—but declassified files reveal that they were on opposite sides of a literary Cold War.
Blog
False progress
From 2024, the Grammys will feature an award for Best African Music Performance. Is the category a positive step embracing the global popularity of African music, or another homogenizing exotification?
The myth of French republicanism
In France, Black and Arab minorities are excluded from the country’s liberal values—and then treated as threats to them.
Biko’s children
In their debut EP, the Johannesburg-based experimental jazz group iPhupho L’ka Biko offer a message of hope, resilience and solidarity while drawing from South Africa’s black jazz heritage.
Don’t consume what you sell
A new film by Ery Claver probes the fraught relationship between China and Angola, revealing their differences—and surprising similarities.
Não consuma o que você vende
Um novo filme de Ery Claver investiga a tensa relação entre China e Angola, revelando suas diferenças—e surpreendentes semelhanças.
A double standard
The pathologization of ‘migrants’ in Tunisia and France shows how race and poverty shape our understanding of belonging.
The inexpiable crime
The reaction to Nahel Merzouk’s murder by the French state showcases its tactic of depoliticizing the suburban uprising and diverting attention away from state violence.
Africa for Africans
After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States were not only locked in an ideological struggle with each other, but also competed with an anticolonial vision of modernity, an ideology which is still influential today.
The lost promise of childhood
The state-sanctioned violence committed against children such as Nahel M forces us to revisit the very question of childhood, its privileges, and its roots in the French imperialization of Africa.
Reading List: David Tonghou Ngong
Ahead of the publication of his new book on Leopold Senghor and African political theology, the author selects books that inspired his writing process
Transient literatures and maps
During apartheid, literary magazine 'Staffrider' flourished from its ability to represent multiple social visions. However, it struggled to achieve the same in democratic South Africa.