That “tribal” word
I cringe whenever I see that word in a news article. And I see it so often in journalese. Stories about developing countries often feature phrases like tribal healer, tribal […]
Category Archives: Education
Why I Am A Pan-Africanist
Pan-Africanism is an enduring hope and appreciation for the continent, the people of it and what it can offer. With 54 countries, Africa is a vast land mass — 11.7 million square miles — that can contain the United States, China, India and the whole of Eastern Europe. Pan-Africanism is not glorifying blackness as a divine or magical race. It is not black supremacy.
Stunning new images celebrate Kenyan female icon who stood up to colonialists
Mnyazi wa Menza a.k.a Mekatilili was a strong woman known for her fierceness and resistance of colonial rule in Kenya. This photography project represents her life in the Giriama region of Kenya where she lived from the1840s to 1924, according to local sources. In this reimagination, a fearless Mekatilili is pictured readying for battle, defying the age-long patriarchal norms in Kenyan (and generally, African) societies. Women were not known to be headstrong during that time, but Mekatilili could not be silent about the colonial oppression in her community.
Why young Africans need to know their history
For the past two years, I have been engaged in a personal project to collect firsthand accounts of the Nigerian Civil War (AKA Nigerian Biafran War or the Biafran War). I started this project because I wanted to learn more about this crucial moment of history, which affected my family and millions of others. I also wanted to allow the people who lived through it to speak and to have their words documented. The war began in 1967 and the ones with solid memories of it are at least 57 years old or so.
Rwanda is more than a post-genocide nation
Rwanda is shaking off its violent past and young content creators- writers, bloggers, filmmakers, journalists- are trying to tell the world that Rwanda is more than a post-genocide nation. I took a trip to Rwanda a few months ago to meet some of the young people.
Rwanda is raising up female scientists
If the only thing you know about Rwanda is the 1994 genocide, you’ve got a long way to go. Rwanda has earned a gold star for encouraging women to occupy […]
Nigeria’s Out-of-School Children
In this season of high wire politicking, it probably means nothing to the Nigerian ruling elite. But the social consequences might sooner, rather than later, come to consume them. According […]
Desegregation And Crime: Resegregation Has Led To A Spike In Violent Crime
The Dismal Science Brown v. Board Reduced Crime And now resegregation is leading to a spike in violent crime among young black men. At the turn of the millennium, a […]
Recollections of Chinua Achebe, the African Lion Who Told Our Story
I was blessed to meet Professor Achebe on several occasions, twice at conferences where he was the keynote speaker. First at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, at the Conference Across […]
Raising Africa’s Future Leaders
I recently learned about the African Leadership Academy and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Here is a world class secondary boarding school in South Africa that admits […]
Afrocentric Confessions 