The African Lion
Labour challenges in Ethiopia’s industrialization.
6384 Article(s) by:
Fatima B. Derby
Fatima B. Derby is a Ghanaian feminist writer and queer activist.
The energy that never dies
On the eve of Baaba Maal’s first New York City concert in 8 years, Oumar Ba interviews him, asking about protest movements, the music business and Senegal.
The margins of urban life in Angola
In Angola, the poor are not entitled to full citizenship rights. They also are the base of resistance to the regime.
Renovating the AfricaMuseum
An overview of some of the problems and opportunities that the reopening of Belgium’s infamous AfricaMuseum brings.
Why I’ll keep talking to South Africans about race
While Nigeria’s class divide is not between rich whites and poor blacks, it still has a lot in common with postapartheid South Africa.
The revolution in four-part harmony
A good time to bring back this piece—first written in 2002—on the power of song to fuel political struggle.
Rescuing Nelson Mandela from sainthood
There is a lively, angry, often chaotic debate about the role and place of the father of the South African nation.
Reclaiming the narrative of the Algerian revolt
The outcome of the Algerian revolution should not be pre-determined by a (neo)liberal Euro-American global order. Listen to the people.
Why are South African children struggling to read properly?
Poor reading scores among South African children highlights the need for decolonization in book publishing, teaching and policy implementation.
Another rhino report
Media coverage of rhino poaching in Southern Africa not only fails to address white control over conservation, but also reinforces it.
The African Union passport and dreams of democratic mobility
On mobility, democracy and making a decolonized future for Africa.
Gutting the public sector serves no one
Structural Adjustment Programs, implemented by the World Bank and IMF in developing countries, leave the administrative state especially unequipped to deal with climate change.
The Nigerian electricity story
The erratic electricity supply in Nigeria is a metaphor for life there.
Who gets to speak for black French people?
There is a long history of white artists representing black people in France, reproducing stereotypes and failing to capture the people they claim to represent.
Zombie statistics and poverty porn
Two sides of the same e-waste documentary.
The Joe Miller model
Remembering Joe Miller, a historian of eastern Angola and central Africa, who died at 79 on 12 March 2019.
The meaning of party politics in Ghana’s urban neighborhoods
Why do so many of the urban poor support John Mahama and Ghana’s opposition National Democratic Congress?
Voice of the Cape
Rapper YoungstaCPT’s headspace is shaped by Cape Town’s history.
Laboratories for violence
Why a military-only approach against Boko Haram in the countries bordering Lake Chad will always fail: it doesn’t address the root causes of political conflict there.
Bridging visual distance
The photo series Another Way Home captures how migration effects families, communities and individuals—those who travel and those who stay behind.