Flawed lenses
How much work do we need to do to see our history and that of the African continent in all its complexity?
Search Result(s) for: “apartheid”
Rebuilding a destroyed garden
South African photographer Lindokuhle Sobekwa returns to places of pain and beauty to reinterpret the landscape and, in turn, discover something new about himself.
Drawing the line
How Sudanese political satirist Khalid Albaih uses his art and writing to confront injustice, challenge authority, and highlight the struggles of marginalized communities worldwide.
Tyla and the politics of ambiguity
Tyla’s rise as a global pop star highlights the complexities of race, identity, and cultural representation, challenging how Blackness is perceived across the diaspora.
The gods of liberation
The imperative to tell the untold stories of Zimbabwean freedom fighters during that country’s liberation war, especially their engagement with spirituality.
Aid, dependence, and ideological warfare
Foreign aid has never been just about assistance — it enforces political, economic, and social control, keeping recipient countries in a cycle of dependency.
Trump’s fake refugees
The US president’s executive order on South Africa isn’t about fairness — it’s a cynical ploy to stoke racial paranoia and shore up his right-wing base.
Jacob Zuma’s enduring relevance
The former president’s abiding presence in South African politics reveals the undercurrent of cultural populism and what can happen when local beliefs cut against the grain of liberal democracy.
Making films against amnesia
The director of the Oscar-nominated film 'Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat' reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record — and help us remember differently.
What comes after liberation?
In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.
A fundamental reimagining of who we are
The future of Stellenbosch University does not depend on whether white people there can transcend individual stereotypes and prejudice. It depends on whether they can articulate anti-racism as a genuine political position.
Hope and optimism howled at full volume
A people’s history of Zimbabwe’s first mbira punk band, Chikwata 263, who wanted a soundtrack for the country’s post-post colonial blues.
Making meaning in Johannesburg
Documenting an urban housing crisis and how tens of thousands of informal workers and unemployed people struggle to reshape Johannesburg.
Zambia’s quiet diplomacy
Long seen as a neutral player in global affairs, Zambia’s foreign policy is shifting under new pressures — from Western donors, Chinese investment, and its own strategic ambitions.
The limits of the cop drama
A bleak new television drama, ‘Donkerbos,’ explores secrets in small town South Africa, but fails to offer alternatives to the tropes of good vs evil.
Beyond national liberation
A new book issues both an indictment of South Africa’s failed transition and a call to rebuild the left through climate justice, solidarity economies, and radical humanism.
South Africa’s American refugees
Cape Town’s digital nomads chase cheap luxury and scenic backdrops — but behind the matcha lattes and “social impact days” lies a deeper story of economic power, displacement, and global inequality.
After the digging, who remembers?
In the aftermath of the Stilfontein mining tragedy, South Africa must confront not just policy failure but a deeper amnesia: the erasure of women, memory, and indigenous ethics from its extractive economy.
Where is black feminism?
The first book collection dedicated to contemporary Black South African feminist perspectives has seen the light. One of the editors breaks down the content.
From Cornell to conscience
Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.