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.
Culture
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
The physical and psychic ruins of colonial mining practice in a small town in Liberia.
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.
Renovating the AfricaMuseum
An overview of some of the problems and opportunities that the reopening of Belgium's infamous AfricaMuseum brings.
Why I’ll keep talking to South Africans about race
While Nigeria's class divide is not between rich whites and poor blacks, it still has a lot in common with postapartheid South Africa.
The revolution in four-part harmony
A good time to bring back this piece—first written in 2002—on the power of song to fuel political struggle.
Why are South African children struggling to read properly?
Poor reading scores among South African children highlights the need for decolonization in book publishing, teaching and policy implementation.
Another rhino report
Media coverage of rhino poaching in Southern Africa not only fails to address white control over conservation, but also reinforces it.
The Nigerian electricity story
The erratic electricity supply in Nigeria is a metaphor for life there.
Who gets to speak for black French people?
There is a long history of white artists representing black people in France, reproducing stereotypes and failing to capture the people they claim to represent.
Zombie statistics and poverty porn
Two sides of the same e-waste documentary.
Voice of the Cape
Rapper YoungstaCPT's headspace is shaped by Cape Town’s history.
Bridging visual distance
The photo series Another Way Home captures how migration effects families, communities and individuals—those who travel and those who stay behind.
The politics of ethical deception
If in India there has been an investment in myth of Mohandas Gandhi as a non-racial icon, in South Africa Gandhi also has his defenders.
God don kam
Rapper Jovi has inducted himself into a club of Cameroonian artists who have embraced their own truths in the face of adversity.
The marginalization of African runners
The international body governing track and field announced that the longest distance race to be held will be the 3000 meters. We know who will benefit least from this change.
Back to class
The emphasis on identity and difference act to temper the radical potential of South Africa's youth. They need an education on class politics.
Why I’m no longer talking to Nigerians about race.
On writers, empathy and (black) solidarity politics.