Ruud Gullit and the Struggle for South African Freedom
When Gullit won the Ballon d’Or in 1987, he dedicated the award to the imprisoned Nelson Mandela; then made a reggae song about Apartheid.
6393 Article(s) by:
Fatima B. Derby
Fatima B. Derby is a Ghanaian feminist writer and queer activist.
Slavery: A view from the Other South
Slavery governed the Cape Colony, the origin of colonialism in South Africa, for nearly 200 years and left a lasting legacy.
Instagramming Africa
An interview with Peter DiCampo and Austin Merrill, founders of the Instagram project, Everyday Africa.
Steve McQueen and the Dutch
The Dutch are quick to celebrate “12 Years a Slave,” but what if Steve McQueen had decided to make the film about Dutch slavery and colonial history?
#WhiteHistoryMonth
Every February here schools, McDonald's, television, corporations, the advertising industry, celebrate Black History Month. The whole thing is a charade. That black people don't get a break from police brutality, red lining, profiling or plain neglect, doesn't matter. In 20o7, Gary Younge (he is an ally) suggested that what we needed was a White History Month. So, dear readers--in the service of good sense, this year March is the inaugural White History Month on Africa is a Country. Yes, we're a few days late, we know, but good things take time sometime. Stay tuned.
Finding the Afro- in Brazil
Last week I wrote a post about my excitement around the African musical permutations I was
Elizabeth Barrett’s house on Harrington Street
Nicholas Eppel’s photographs of a working class woman’s home life in central Cape Town doubles as a chronicle of the city’s gentrification.
Cape Town Pride’s Race Card
What happens when a corporate model of Pride is used to homogenize and silence those without privilege and power?
Cape Town’s Pretend Partnership
Cape Town’s goals: designing a more tourist-friendly European City, while keeping the unwanted and unsightly on the other side of the mountain.
The passport that does not pass ports
The story of African migrants entering the Eurozone by sea is basically indecipherable as it is told in global and national media reports, because they are described only as helpless victims.
Africa is more queerer than you think
Both in and outside of Africa, there is an argumentative frenzy around the instability of gender and sex and non-conforming performances of gender.
The Tragedy of Justin Fashanu
An insight into the openly racist and homophobic atmosphere that passed for public life in Margaret Thatcher’s England.
Cinema of disquiet
Alain Resnais and Chris Marker’s 1953 film “Statues also die” should be appreciated more for how it challenged European, especially French, approaches to African art.
Meet Bittereinder
I discovered the three piece Afrikaans outfit Bittereinder through the internet and fell in love with them because of their live performance. Their music, a bass-heavy flurry of high-energy drops and subdued melodies, develops a different personality on stage, often in stark contrast to the studio recordings. Bleeps become filtered echoes; drum patterns change, or disappear completely. Bittereinder is Afrikaans for 'bitter ender'.
Issa Rae: Internet Celebrity
Whether there will be an “Awkward Black Girl” movie or not, Issa Rae has impacted black television without ever being on television.
Toronto’s Afrofuture
Toronto lends itself to sci-fi imaginings, so it’s not surprising that for some it could be a capital of Afrofuturism.
Azonto soca in your area
It's Carnival time again! Besides being one of my favorite annual excuses to party (although I
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.
The other news from Uganda this week
Here’s the `other’ news from Uganda this week. Dateline: Kampala: “Police have warned the public against undressing women whom they perceive to be indecently dressed, saying the Anti-Pornography law is not operational yet.” Yet.
Bloomberg’s welfare addiction
Bloomberg Africa evokes Ronald Reagan’s “welfare queen” stereotype for poor South Africans.