The lives and times of Africans in Guangzhou
The film 'Guangzhou Dream Factory" is a rich account of the complexities of living in China as an African migrant.
Culture
Africa makes us look better
For the author, the "us" are the thousands of Euro-American expatriates in Kenya, including herself.
Our (very subjective) list of the best books of 2016
We’re a bookish bunch at AIAC, and once a year we like to share some of our favorite reads from the year just gone. It always feels like there’s too much to read, because there is. But one can always read more! So here’s some more to add to your reading pile for 2017. Wangui […]
Weekend Music Break No.101
It’s the last music break of the year, and we leave 2016 with the 101st edition. It’s been a pleasure for me to do these playlist. If you’ve been enjoying them as well, make sure to donate to our end of the year funds drive, so we can continue to expand our coverage of the […]
Inheritances of our fathers
History reminds us that the past is not something that can or should be left behind. Rather, we are morally obliged to keep reflecting on them.
Memory of the Present
Dominant culture in South Africa benignly recall slavery as part of a vaguely picturesque past that left us with beautiful colonial houses, award-winning wines and tourism.
If Africa is a country, then Fidel Castro is one of our national heroes
On 25 November 2016, Fidel Castro passed away. To many Africans Fidel was a hero, playing a central role in their liberation from colonialism.
The Nigerians are coming
Nigerian cinema is finally being embraced outside Nollywood for its diversity and capacity to adapt to dramatic technological and infrastructural shifts.
Don’t call me Toubab
"White person!," people passing by shout, smiling and waving at me. I am black. I am African. I am Rwandan."
Crisis and the meaning of money in Zimbabwe
All sorts of countercultural, even radical signifiers have been ransacked of their meaning in Zimbabwe.
Modern Muslims in Sudan
In his memoir, the sociologist Steve Howard writes about experiencing Ramadan in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
Trump’s America
What does it say about a country that could elect such an unsavory character?
Feet & Cars
Growing up in 1980s Congo-Brazzaville there wasn’t a lot of technology going around. Computer games, cellphones and tablets were alien concepts and we spent our days in the streets playing, when we weren’t at school or doing homework. The streets of Pointe Noire were safe; we turned them into soccer fields, racing tracks, a place […]
Weekend Music Break No.100
Music Break number 100 is here!!! Let’s celebrate the occasion with a playlist of classic African music from our younger years. I know that for me, many of these songs soundtracked long car rides and late night parties at home. Sean Jacobs also puts in some of his own favorites to reminisce on. No description this […]
Congo as Poverty Porn
What can we do for 'the worst place in the world'? Surely this play in London, is not the thing.
Not standing on the sidelines anymore
A number of recently made, small budget films are doing the festival rounds. They give great insight into African women as actors, characters and filmmakers.
‘This is Lara Pawson reporting for the BBC …’
The first cigarette I smoked was a Marlboro. I was twenty-one. I didn’t feel sick and I didn’t feel dizzy and I was on ten or fifteen a day for the rest of my twenties. Living in Luanda, quite a stressy place, I could smoke two packs a day. My preferred brand was YES. They […]
Colonial Sahara
The constant struggle of the Sahrawi to assert their identity in the face of a permanent occupation by Morocco.
Uptown griots
Malians started arriving in New York City in the 1980s, numbering about 8,000 now. They also brought their music.
No Victims and No Culprits
Congo needs fewer metanarratives from the West and more of Radio Tele Manika.