Ousmane Sembene invented a new cinema for Africa
An interview with Samba Gadjigo, the late Ousmane Sembene’s longtime friend and official biographer about the resurgence of Sembene’s work.
Culture
Apparently, I love Africa. I’ve been told this by people who hardly know me.
In 2003, I was among the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, who marched through London to demonstrate against the war in Iraq. I thought a lot about Angola that day. I felt very sad that there had never been a big march against the war there – even though, by then, it had already ended. […]
Shutdown — on the death of compromise in South Africa
We are in a new phase, one that is characterised by a rejection of compromise as a tactic for managing democratic intercourse.
Black African immigrants, race and police brutality in America
Most poor African immigrants to the US can't pull the “get out of black”-card when confronted with racism, something middle class Africans can pull.
Transnational eugenics
Few works sufficiently recognize the truly transnational character of the eugenics movement, and how colonial Africa served as the launching pad for it.
Weekend Music Break No.99
After a bit of a vacation, our end of the week round up of 10 videos from or attached to the continent of Africa are back! Enjoy this catch up edition of the Weekend Music Break, curated by your resident praise DJ on our Youtube Channel. Weekend Music Break No.99 1) First up we have a major global […]
Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Africa
In late August and early September, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Nigeria’s Silicon Lagoon and Kenya’s Silicon Savannah. Both visits were “surprises” for the locals and were also Zuckerberg’s first official trips to any African country. As noted in a recent survey, Kenya and Nigeria are two of the five countries that host 50 percent of […]
Policing black women’s hair
The policing of black hair often begins at a very young age, in the most subtle and intimate spaces, long before you get to school.
What’s a national anthem got to do with anything?
Next time 'Die Stem' part of the South African anthem plays, the appropriate reaction is to sit down or take a knee.
Africa is a Radio: Episode #18
Today, is the last official day of summer in our Northern Hemisphere headquarters of New York. So, let’s mark the passing of the earthly seasons by revisiting our Africa is a Radio live broadcast from The Lot Radio in Brooklyn this past June. Africa is a Country contributor, New York city resident, social media guru, and Zimbabwe […]
Beyond the usual South African reporting on “Africa”
Journalism on and about the continent tends to veer between the extremes of neglect or stereotype on the one end, and touristic exoticism on the other.
Recession No Kill Celebration
An inescapable part of Nigerian social life is our lavish celebrations of important occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, housewarmings and funerals. Costly and ostentatious, these flamboyant events usually take place inside large banquet halls and hotel ballrooms crammed with guests. Party revelers spray handfuls of cash on people, while dancing to heady tunes about money […]
The African Summer Olympics
The highlights of the 2016 Rio Olympics, including why Kenyan athletes were not wearing matching outfits at the opening ceremony.
Still doing the right thing
It is eerie (and tragic) how relevant the themes of racial tension and structural violence of Spike Lee's 'Do the right thing' still is--both in America and South Africa.
The Freetown Sound Edition
Blood Orange and Sampha are two London-raised artists with Sierra Leonean roots, currently making waves on both sides of the Atlantic.
Story of a South African Farm School
The Elsenburg Agricultural College lies 50 km east of Cape Town, tucked among the quiet valleys of the Cape Winelands. This is one of South Africa’s most fertile regions, and for the past three centuries its surface has been dominated by thousand-acre plantations, its wealth extracted in the form of olives, fruit, and wine. Originally […]
Poetry as design
Collapsing the binaries hard-wired into the logic and narrative of “uber-gentrification;” the latter representing the conquest of science over art, technology over soul and innovation over old.
Africa In The New Century
This planetary turn of the African predicament will constitute the main cultural and philosophical event of the 21st century, argues Achille Mbembe.
Pornography and Photography
The ultimate goal of Michele Siblioni's work is to achieve the satisfaction of the white male ego, via the camera lens and exotic depictions of black women.
The Edge of Wrong
The Edge of Wrong Music Festival in Cape Town adds value, especially in places where radio airtime has until very recently been monopolized by the American pop genre.