Women’s political consciousness in Senegal
A British literature scholar on literary activism in French. This post is part of our series, African Feminisms, edited by Rama Salla Dieng.
Culture
Music is the weapon
During Christmas 1980, Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba performed at a concert in Lesotho that deeply challenged and disturbed South Africa’s apartheid regime. The record of that concert is being reissued.
Difference and belonging
No child should choose between having food, love, and a roof over their head or being their full self.
An injury to one is an injury to all
Historian Peter Cole’s book on dockworkers in apartheid South Africa and San Francisco gets beyond slogans to vital historical truths.
Greening the Sahel isn’t enough
A UN film pushes an ambitious plan to mitigate the impact of climate change on the Sahel by planting trees across it. But, averting disaster requires even bigger thinking.
Our women on the ground
A new book of essays offers a nuanced glimpse into the complexities of reporting on the Arab world, including North Africa.
Fanon’s mission
The works of Frantz Fanon can be read as architectural renderings of rights, futures, and generations toward a “very different Afro-futurism.”
The politics of Thanksgiving in Ethiopia
Irreecha, an annual ritual celebrated at the end of Ethiopia’s rainy season, offers a window into contemporary socio-political issues.
History time
The historical novel is in vogue across the continent, challenging how we conceive of the nation, and how we write its histories.
Out of the pigeonholes
A Nigerian play and its leading man confront western misrepresentations.
What is home?
For immigrants—especially African and black immigrants to Western countries—the question of home is complex.
A cinema for (some of) the people
South African film production house kykNET's dominance skews storytelling on the country's screens.
The virtual reality of Walter Sisulu
While Sisulu's political career was less celebrated than Nelson Mandela, his wasn’t much less remarkable.
Decolonization can’t just be a metaphor
Decolonizing museums requires more than knowledge exchange and lending back stolen artifacts.
A worthy ancestor
The world is out of joint and Immanuel Wallerstein, one of its great public intellectuals, has left us—albeit with tools to battle the dying kicks of capitalism.
The identity politics of wax print
A new film by Aiwan Obinyan explores the origins and "ownership" of a now-famous cloth.
James Barnor, ever young
Riason Naidoo talks to the curator and editor of a book and traveling exhibition about the work of the legendary, 90 year-old Ghanaian photographer.
Can an American TV sitcom get anything ‘right’ about Nigerians?
After having a heart attack, a white American falls in love with his Nigerian nurse in the CBS TV sitcom, Bob Hearts Abishola. It is also about Nigerian-Americans’ visibility on mainstream US television.
Cold sweats and furtive listening in Angola
Historian Marissa Moorman wrote an important book about radio and modern state power.
Try being a woman playing soccer in Sudan
The guardians of women's femininity and virtue and their use of public space come up against a women's football team in the Sudanese capital.