Politics
Should the Left celebrate Nelson Mandela?
The Mandela who needs celebrating is the Mandela who, if he was not Lenin, never pretended to be something else.
The triumphant end of Africa’s liberation struggle
The one individual the African continent was unanimously proud and infinitely grateful of, was Nelson Mandela.
Nelson Mandela’s Humanity was a Political Education
The author, remembering Mandela, writes how South Africa galvanized progressive energies in the US in the 1980s.
When Nelson Mandela had an Ethiopian Passport
In April 1962, Mandela traveled on an Ethiopian passport in the name of David Motsomayi. He visited Morocco, Algeria, and Mali.
Three Myths about Mandela Worth Busting
The Nelson Mandela encountered by former antiapartheid activist Tony Karon in American media is so unrecognizable.
Tata Mandela
The Mandela Capture Memorial in Howick, Kwazulu Natal speaks eloquently to the essential truth: that in South Africa, some families mattered more than other.
Madiba: I Remember
The writer, originally from Cape Town, remembers Nelson Mandela's impact on his life.
10 excuses Dutch people make for blackface
The Dutch can't hide how racist the "tradition" of the blackface character, Zwarte Piet, is. Here we parody their rationalizations.
How much is an African body worth?
An African refugee in Britain seeks assistance. He is thrown behind bars, often shackled. He fasts in protest. He is shackled and shipped out on the next charter flight.
Antiblack racism in Korea
Racist representations of Africans are common in South Korea. Where does it come from? Why do South Koreans behave this way?
The loser mentality of white South Africans
On the rather extraordinary claim that white South Africans have been politically and economically marginalized since the inception of majority rule in 1994.
Lilian Thuram’s burden
Why should black players have the burden of calling out racism, while white players don't feel compelled to do the same?
Revisiting Sweden’s colonial past
The image of a benevolent, preternaturally anti-racist “good old Sweden,” spreading its perfect democracy around the world, is fiction.
My New York Times column about Cape Town
The author wrote a column about racial and class inequalities in the city where he lived. The usual backlash by those in power followed.
File under: Dutch Liberalism
No, there's is not a vigorous debate on blackface and racism in the Netherlands. Instead it's the usual duplicity of Dutch liberals.
Canada’s “Somali Problem”
Racism against Somali Canadians is a real problem. It is present not only on the right, but the left as well.
Africa and the Future
An interview with Achille Mbembe, including on the consequences of global capitalism on the continent.
The Big Boss
Stephen Keshi’s success as Nigeria's national men's soccer team coach, will perhaps encourage more African countries to look closer to home for coaching salvation.