A couple of weeks ago, I visited Victoria Falls for the first time since I was a child. The largest waterfall in the world, at a width of 1, 708 meters, this popular tourist site has remained largely natural. On the Zimbabwean side, the national park entrance allows visitors to explore on their own, with a … Continue reading
As the French government announced this week a redeployment of troops back to northern Mali, citing the failure of the UN mission there (MINUSMA) to materialize and control the influx of Libyan arms into the region, I went to see the film “Timbuktu” at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Written and directed by Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, … Continue reading
Having been born and grown up in Zimbabwe my entire life, moving to Philadelphia for college was quite an adjustment. While I made friends easily and settled into life in the United States, even becoming an American citizen last year, a huge part of me always wished I were back home in Harare, the African … Continue reading
Ethiopian popular singer Teddy Afro released his fourth and most recent studio album Tikur Sew (Black Man) in 2012. The title track was a tribute to the late nineteenth-century Emperor Menilik II and the victory of a united Ethiopian front against an aggressive Italian invasion at the world-famous Battle of Adwa in 1896. This was an event of global historical significance, which continues to feature prominently in the historical memory of many Ethiopians and Africans throughout the world. However, my sanguine interpretation of the song as an effort to remind Ethiopia of the importance of unity was not how it was received in Ethiopia. In many ways, the controversy over Tikur Sew has more to do with contemporary ethnic politics—and the role that ethnicity plays in present-day Ethiopian society—than it does with the actual content of Teddy Afro’s song or the historical event it commemorates. Continue reading
In one of his most popular songs, Baloji borrows from the classic 1960 hit “Independence Cha Cha,” written to commemorate Congo’s independence. Unlike the celebratory original, however, Baloji’s version is edgy and critical of his nation’s progress. Continue reading
The Africa Collective 