Long live Ruth First
The great South African writer and activist, Ruth First, was assassinated by a letter bomb sent by the South African Security Police in Maputo, Mozambique on this day, 17 August, in 1982.
Culture
Cake politics
The Rugby Championship, the World Cup, and Springbok politics in South Africa.
Architectural resistance
A collective of artists and architects are working to reimagine public space in abandoned property developments in Ghana's capital city.
There is no Africa in African studies
The experience of studying Africa in London makes the writers question the validity of "African Studies" as is currently taught in Britain.
Okocha, love you. Pass Maradona!
The midfielder Augustine "Jay Jay" Okocha is arguably one of Nigeria's best men's football players ever. It is his birthday today, August 14th.
Beyond game day
Ultras or extreme fans of football clubs in Morocco use their collective identity to push for social and political demands.
Fathers of the nation
Some of the mythologies about Nelson Mandela don't line up with actual histories.
The age of the influencer
One African feminist's view on how social media clout chasing has stalled progressive politics.
Kwame Nkrumah’s Cold War
The author on why she felt compelled to write another book on Nkrumah. This time on Western powers smearing Nkrumah as a Communist.
The role of diaspora in revolution
Sudanese living abroad are key to the uprising: raising awareness and support for political and social transformation back home.
On researching in and out of Africa
The writer critiques the legacy of Christian missionaries in Africa and making sure her own engagement with Ethiopia doesn't morph into white saviorism.
Can a hamburger free a people?
Duane Jethro goes to South African fast food chain, Chicken Licken, to eat a Big John Burger, and finds out the postcolonial feelings it inspires.
Fighting rape culture in Ghana
A movement of young feminists are fighting back against patriarchy and rape culture in Afropop music in Ghana.
Black authors, maids and madams
How black South African authors have written about domestic workers. There's a rich archive there.
Brown skin women
African women, both at home and in the diaspora, use beauty, fashion and other aesthetics to simultaneously celebrate, navigate and challenge social and cultural norms.
One way to resist capitalist food production
Agroecology draws on deep knowledge systems to counter the damage of capitalist agribusiness.
Like family
An excerpt from a new book published by Wits University Press that explores how domestic workers are depicted in South African historiography and literature.
Pirates and Chiefs
Why do football matches between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates matter more than any other sporting event in South Africa. Even more than when the rugby Springboks play.
Arabs and Africans
How the African Cup of Nations shows up Arab-African identity and cultural politics on the continent.
Is Rammstein racist?
The German metal band Rammstein's video for 'Auslander' wants it both ways: a critique of colonialism and sex tourism, but right-wing neo-nazis can also enjoy the fascist iconography.