How to manage post-colonial economies
Why the general confidence in capacity of technocrats to drive policy in and manage African economies, despite all the evidence to the contrary?
Magical realism in Accra
“The Burial of Kojo,” the debut film of director Samuel Bazawule – also known as Blitz the Ambassador – is also curious visuals and electric feels.
Walter Rodney was way ahead of his time
Rediscovered lectures Walter Rodney gave in 1978 in Hamburg shows a reflective intellectual, thinking critically about postcolonial African governance.
Who’s reporting Africa now?
NGOs and freelance journalists are increasingly filling the vacuum being left by a declining Western media presence. It’s not all good.
Entry-level misogyny
In a heteronormative society like Nigeria, men—regardless of their age, class, marital or other status—are entitled to sex with any and all women.
Africa No Filter
The secretary of a Tanzanian bus drivers' union explains why the system of privately owned commercial buses is breaking down. He proposes collective ownership.
In Somalia young people are the majority, yet have to act and perform “age"—appear older—to succeed or get anywhere in life.
Culture
Will Kenya’s government let gay people live?
On February 22, 2019, Kenya’s Constitutional Court will rule on whether to repeal colonial-era laws that criminalize homosexuality in Kenya.
I have rarely seen a people pray as much as Haitians do
The legacies of colonialism and the African slave trade on religious practices in the African diaspora.
The burden of being Nigerian in Ghana
On xenophobia against Nigerians in Ghana.
The disidentification of Mahamat Saleh Haroun
2019 marks the twentieth anniversary of Chad’s first feature film, ‘Bye Bye Africa.’
The house of exile
Edward Said once said of the usefulness of exile for intellectual work: it involves adopting “a spirit of opposition, rather than accommodation.” James Baldwin and Sisonke Msimang took it to heart.
Africa is a Radio
INTL BLK radio is back with a border crossing mix of Afrobeats and Zouk, as well as an interview with Sierra Leonean electronic music producer Lamin Fofana.
Politics
The Zambian farmers who are suing a mining company in a British court
In January 2019, a group of Zambian farmers brought their fight for justice to the UK Supreme Court, in a case with far-reaching implications for multinational companies.
Donald Trump’s Africa policy
The involvement of far right and conservative think tanks in developing Trump’s Africa agenda.
We know from political crises in Africa that foreign intervention is a bad idea
Foreign support for governments that benefit privileged elites and their external backers perpetuate violence and instability. It won’t be any different for Latin American countries like Venezuela.
American tribalism
Political ‘tribalism’ has for far too long been seen as an African problem. It is also an American problem, reflecting parallel legacies of colonialism.
As teacher strikes sweep the US, educators in Africa organize against privatization
The Africa we want should include guaranteed and well-funded public education provided by its states.
Football is a Country
Who gets to host future editions of the men’s soccer World Cup is not just big business, but also a bargaining chip in international relations.