Adam
Just before the year’s end, I was on the phone with my father wishing him…
Adam
Just before the year’s end, I was on the phone with my father wishing him a happy 85th birthday. Somewhere between how-are-you and have-the-rains-come, he went into story mode- A tale is told of the man Adam- dad said. He was given land as a gift by his maker. It was fertile land, capable of…
mkawasi@mkawasi.com | FB, Li, X – @mkawasi
One of Baltimore’s best art is its street murals. Surprising and meaningful and inspiring. This one rises above streets when you’re not looking, right off the promenade by the Fells Point. Something about it comes home to me… Alright then, if you want to find me, use the email on the header– isn’t it a…
The London Milkman
Back in the mid 90s, we had some in our rika who had graduated college and soon after started employment as Nairobi’s young professionals. As was habit, one evening a group of us sat around in a friend’s living room examining life as the aroma of masala tea wafted from the kitchen. Then one of…
Redeemed
Listening to Kasmwel McOure’s talk on Engage left me raw. I’m so sorry kid. I’m so sorry for the assault and soul mutilation a generation goes through– our generation choosing silence, the present youngest generation choosing revolt. I do not wish to diminish this charismatic young man’s personal trauma by applying it to an entire…
Emerging- /Nairobi to Atlanta
Seeing Mark Smith’s “Emerging” in person was an absolute treat. Inspiring is an understatement. Two things set my mind on fire as I stood there transfixed: 1- the revolution underway in the land of my birth as the sounds and images stream in; 2- the fresh reminder of the shocking scourge of homelessness in cities…
You are Free-
A Juneteenth Memoir It’s not enough to be free. It’s more important to know you are free. Something happens in captivity situations. Could be any place where your wings feel clipped, where your spirit hangs dark and low like a rain cloud that just can’t shed its load. It took me years to see the…
Pearls
In that other parallel life I have mentioned before, I get to talk to men and women whose business is war and peace. Especially about the wars that are fought in the birthing of nations. In the unwind time when we sit and compete over who has the funniest story to tell, war still lingers…
Wanjiru’s Son
A friend’s post took me to this raging debate about Kikuyu men with women’s names for a surname, and how one non-Kikuyu man has created a stink from it. Short story: I went to Primary school with a boy called Peter Wanjiru. Standard 7. I knew nothing. Our teacher used to make fun of poor…
Crime-Free Power
It takes a lot to say some things when the hand that feeds you is the same one that slaps you. You weigh it against your moral true north, you realize you have fewer years ahead of you than behind you, and you no longer have the luxury of accommodating strategic fear. For a crutch,…
