The picture is a beginning
There’s a certain humanity in the work of late South African photographer Santu Mofokeng in how he approached his subjects and the politics of representation.
6428 Article(s) by:
Paul Milchick
Paul Milchik is a pseudonym for the author of this piece. His name has been changed due to his status as an international student in the US during the second Trump administration, in a context where foreign students have been targeted for detention and deportation as a result of expressing pro-Palestinian views.
Masks off
The revival of an elite technocratic rationality is starting to undo South Africa’s lockdown, now in its second month.
This is my country
The Liberian academic and writer talks about citizenship, belonging, and what unites her fragmented nation.
The most powerful man in Nigeria
The legacy of Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, who died from COVID-19, helps us understand how powerful and yet constrained Nigeria’s Presidency is.
How to steal a country
Rehad Desai’s film celebrates the investigative journalists who expose the corruption of Zuma’s regime in South Africa, comes with a depressing note: To date, no one has gone to jail.
China and Africa: A trial by pandemic?
Recent racist incidents in China are just a manifestation of deeply rooted attitudes vis-à-vis “blackness” in China that predate and will outlive COVID-19.
Mandela and the Others
What can we learn from the 256 hours of audio recordings of the 1964 Rivonia Trial’s proceedings?
The tools for defeating quackery
Why we need randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to find the best ways to treat COVID-19.
‘Planet of the Humans’ is a mess
The new documentary on the future of our planet, executive produced by Michael Moore, fails on a number of fronts. But believers in green growth could still learn from it.
Being a feminist is a journey
Afro-feminism does not make enough of an effort to connect with the African feminist movement, argues the founder of Eyala.
Announcing the Progressive International
Today is the global launch of a new exciting political alliance. We have joined their wire service, the Wire, which brings grassroots perspectives to a global audience.
Kenya’s prison industrial complex
The fundamental flaws in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s plan to make jails profitable.
‘Queen Sono’ and Netflix’s future in Africa
Queen Sono may be Netflix’s most popular series, but it may not be the right home for the new wave of African film and television.
The irrelevance of NGOs in Tanzania
NGOs have been notably absent in the fight against COVID-19, despite claims they exist solely to ensure accountability and transparency by government.
Wole Soyinka’s little known musical endeavors
Among other notable achievements, Wole Soyinka made political music. In 1983, he even released an album.
Paying the ultimate price
COVID-19 is teaching us lessons we should have learned from the HIV epidemic.
Reclaiming digital platforms for African feminists
The Hub of Loving Action in Africa (HOLAA), promotes conversations about African experiences with sex and sexuality.
The real pandemic
The South African government’s COVID-19 “rescue plan” is an opportunity to rethink its economic model, if it can break with market orthodoxy.
Women’s political consciousness in Senegal
Rama Salla Dieng talks with a British literature scholar on literary activism in French.
Decolonizing the Lens
Because of the 1994 genocide, Rwanda occupies a complicated place in the world’s imagination. A new film, about the preceding 1973 pogrom, wants to demystify that view. Does it succeed?