The Contemporary Mark of Assata Shakur
The Black American activist's relevance for today's generation following the killing of Mike Brown by police, and the suppression of protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
Lit
What Binyavanga thinks of the Caine Prize
The inaugural winner of the Caine Prize for short fiction opines on the useless rivalry between Kenyans and Nigerians about who has won more Caine Prizes.
The Resurrection of Nat Nakasa
“This is Simply a Personal Statement from Me to You” On August 18th I attended the
The promise of revelation
James Matthews has the distinction of being one of the first Black Consciousness poets and publishers in South Africa. He is the subject of a documentary by director Shelley Barry.
Obituary: Nadine Gordimer
My first introduction to Comrade Nadine was through her writing during my student activist days in
Dreadlocked Rapunzel
The struggle to Africanize folktales that have been thought of as “owned” by rigid European narratives and European aesthetic expectations.
Searching for Brenda Fassie
Tseliso Monaheng and Kagiso Mnisi speak to the editor of an edited book about South African pop star, Brenda Fassie: "I'm Not Your Weekend Special."
Brenda Fassie’s revolution without harmony
Brenda Fassie was a woman who stepped out of line, talked out of turn, wore the pants, pulled up her skirt and loved women and men.
Elegy for Robo The Technician
Lesego Rampolokeng's tribute to an old school pioneer and one of the key builders of the South African hip hop scene.
Thinking About Genocide
An extract from Mahmood Mamdani's seminal study, 'When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda."
The Dangers of a Single Book Cover
The historian Simon Stephens discovers a meme in the book covers of novels set in or with African themes.
To discover Stuart Hall
Hall was a skilled storyteller, who placed his memory, his deep sense of alienation, and his autobiography at the heart of his theory and politics.
Latin America is a country
Gabriel Garcia Marquez wanted to counter the notion that everything in Latin America can be understood only through Euro-American lenses.
The FBI’s Hustle
The contradictions of U.S.'s domestic and international policies manifested by its wars on drugs, terror, and the country's Black communities.
When Chinua Achebe went to Scandinavia in 1988
It is striking that that the topics his hosts discussed with Achebe in those days are still animating us.
How To Kill The Nigerian Publishing Industry
Nigeria's Minister of Finance imposes a 62.5% tariff on imported printed books, where previously there has been none.
Was Sherlock Holmes a racist?
The real question is of course about the racism of Sherlock Holmes's creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
To revolutionize a culture
The writer on Frank’s Archive, based on her father's records, that explores the different functions of books, power and knowledge.
When Salazar met one of Lumumba’s murderers
António Oliveira Salazar founded Portugal’s New State dictatorship in 1933. Some Portuguese still remember him fondly.
Nigerians in Space
In Deji Olukotun’s novel, a Nigerian NASA scientist -- on behalf of all colonized people -- wants to return moon rocks that Neil Armstrong brought back to earth.