Afrocentric Confessions

capturing the souls of black folk. a blog by Chika Oduah

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Category Archives: History

Why The Most Important Person in Africa is the Storyteller

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Storyteller. At its basic level, the word conveys the role of someone who preserves the memories, beliefs, aspirations, experiences of a people, a society, a civilization. Storytelling is the convergence […]

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Activism, Culture, Development, History, Innovation, Journalism, Media, People, Society

Stunning new images celebrate Kenyan female icon who stood up to colonialists

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How do we immortalize people who have impacted the world and made it better in a significant way? Two photographers, Rich Allela and Kureng Dapel, show us how in a […]

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Activism, Education, History, People, Photography, Race, Society, Women

Why young Africans need to know their history

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  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 […]

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Activism, Education, History, Journalism, Society, Young People

Rwanda is more than a post-genocide nation

February 27, 2018by Admin Leave a comment

  Ask someone outside of Rwanda about Rwanda and they’re likely to mention the 1994 genocide. It was brutal. An estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed during the 100-day period. […]

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Activism, Development, Education, History, Human Rights, Journalism, Media, People, Society, Young People

Ever Heard Of Benin City?

May 11, 2017by Admin Leave a comment

With its mathematical layout and earthworks longer than the Great Wall of China, Benin City was one of the best planned cities in the world when London was a place […]

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Culture, History

To so many Africans, Fidel Castro is a hero

December 13, 2016by Admin Leave a comment

If Africa is a country, then Fidel Castro is one of our national heroes. This may come as a surprise to many oblivious of Africa’s postcolonial history and Castro’s role […]

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Activism, Diaspora, History, People, Society

Recognizing the Genocide in Namibia

October 28, 2016by Admin Leave a comment

More than a century since the German Empire carried out racial extermination in Namibia and in the wake of its recognition of the Armenian genocide, Germany is being urged to do […]

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History, Human Rights, Politics, Race, Society, Violence

Road trip in Senegal

October 28, 2016by Admin Leave a comment

On a road trip in Senegal, Dakar’s nightlife shines and Saint-Louis sings     DAKAR, Senegal — From dizzying Dakar to vibrant Saint-Louis, Senegal pulsates with rich culture, history and […]

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Culture, History, Travel

The Audacious Blackness of Muhammad Ali

June 10, 2016by Admin 1 Comment

As the world remembers “The Greatest” boxing champion who ever lived, Muhammad Ali, I remember his audacious black pride. With his gloves and his lyrical prowess, he showed the world […]

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History, People, Race, Society

The Afro-German Experience Under Hitler

February 3, 2016by Admin Leave a comment

January 27 is the UN’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Commemorated to remember the liberation of Auschwitz, largest of the German Nazi concentration camps and extermination centers But I am writing this […]

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Activism, History, Human Rights, People, Race, Society, Violence

First Genocide in the 20th Century

January 12, 2016by Admin Leave a comment

The Herero and Namaqua Genocide is considered to have been the first genocide of the 20th century. It took place between 1904 and 1907 in German South-West Africa(modern day Namibia), […]

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History, Human Rights, Violence

Portraits: Former slaves in America

March 15, 2015by Admin Leave a comment

January 31st marked the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. To commemorate the occasion, new photos have been released showing some of the men and women […]

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African-American, History, Photography, Poverty, Race, Society

Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi: Legacies, Memories, Histories

September 5, 2014by Admin Leave a comment

    August 20 marked the second anniversary of the death of Ethiopia’s long-time leader, Meles Zenawi. Two years on, the Zenawi phenomenon is still as divisive as it is […]

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History, People

The Gaze On Black Bodies

October 5, 2013by Admin 2 Comments

For her exhibition “Archival Impulse & Poverty Pornography”, Ayana V Jackson turns to the archives to touch on the representation of black bodies. The flyers pasted around the cobbled streets […]

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African-American, Art, Diaspora, Gender, History, Politics, Poverty, Race, Sexuality, Society

The Meaning of African Culture

September 15, 2013by Admin Leave a comment

Ignorance has always been a variable in interpreting contexts and concepts. We rely on flawed and often hypocritical analyses in defining “African culture” and dismissing any label we consider as […]

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History, Society

Mandela, From Frame To Heart

July 3, 2013by Admin 3 Comments

Nelson Mandela smiled at me everyday when I walked by him. Softly curled lips and softly curled hair, his face beckoned me and I came to him. I’d plop myself […]

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Activism, History, People

Nigeria’s Igbo Jews: ‘Lost tribe’ of Israel?

February 3, 2013by Admin 2 Comments

Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) — A Shabbat service is underway at the Ghihon Hebrew Research synagogue in the Jikwoyi suburb of Nigeria’s federal capital territory. Fourteen year-old Kadmiel Izungu Abor heads there […]

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History, Spirituality

Don’t Forget You’re Black

January 23, 2013by Admin 12 Comments

In America, if you forget that you’re black someone is always there to remind you. Sitting in the passenger seat next to my father as we drive into our new […]

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African-American, Diaspora, History
"Yemaya" by M. Curtiss

Mysticism In Traditional Yoruba Culture

December 11, 2012by Admin 3 Comments

“I’m training to be a Yoruba priestess,” she said with her face scrunched in utmost sincerity. The confession from the young African-American student disgusted the Nigerian students, at the Georgia […]

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African-American, History, Spirituality
Ring Shouting

Black Americans Free To Give Thanks, Even During Slavery

November 22, 2012by Admin Leave a comment

You’ll be hard pressed to find the face of an African-American in any artistic depiction of that all-too familiar feast of 1621-, like the one where a group of Plymouth […]

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African-American, Diaspora, History
An artistic rendition of Mansa Musa of Mali

African Emperor Is The Richest Man Ever

October 17, 2012by Admin 2 Comments

The first time I heard about Mansa Musa, I was an undergraduate student. At Georgia State University, I “double majored” in journalism and anthropology. In my anthropology classes, I learned […]

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History

Cemetery Of African Slaves Honored In Brazil

October 11, 2012by Admin Leave a comment

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Wearing full-skirted white dresses and turbans, the religious leaders chanted blessings and sprinkled water on the concrete floor of a modest house near this city’s […]

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Diaspora, History, Spirituality

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My Afrocentric Confessions

I'm a journalist, capturing the stories and experiences of Africans. Journalism, anthropology, Africa, these passions keep me alive. Afrocentric Confessions is a space for me to share some of what I find interesting: spirituality, governance, culture, art, activism, social trends and history. And, some of my observations and rantings on where I've been and where I am and where I'm going. I like receiving email. chika.oduah@gmail.com Peace. Chika Oduah

If black ain't beautiful, then I don't know what is. Brazilian model Mariana Calazans for Vogue

#ExpandYourVocab: peccadillo (noun) a very minor or slight sin or offense; a trifling fault.

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The Gaze on Black Bodies

Same Sex Relationships in Africa

Don't forget you're black

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If you've never heard highlife music...

This is where the vagina counts

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