Continental

Man walking in the streets of Stone Town, Zanzibar.

Who killed the Shoga?

Long before modern sexual identities reached the East African coast, the Swahili shoga occupied a recognized place in women’s society, until colonialism and later Western frameworks remade them.

Olympic medallists Tommie Smith, Peter Norman, and John Carlos stand on the podium after the 200 metres at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Smith and Carlos bow their heads and raise black-gloved fists in protest against racial discrimination.

Continuities in exclusion

The refusal of the US government to admit Somali referee Omar Artan is a reminder that the United States has a long history of using sports as a tool of exclusion, especially when it comes to African and African-descended athletes.