We are going to situate this Harry-Meghan tale in history because it’s irresponsible not to do so. Let us remember that Harry is the child of an unrepentant monarchy that has the blood of millions on its hands, from unimaginable evils of slavery through colonization’s plunder, massacres and subjugation. The British monarchy sanctioned it all,…
I was a young–ish, ambitious and as naive as a crisp green guava that doesn’t know the worms will get to it as soon as the wind shakes it to the ground. I had just directed my first play in New York, and I was high on post-show artist’s restlessness and anxiety. One of my…
That feeling again. We’re about to go on a scholarship fundraiser for high school kids struggling through poverty, and I get that same sick feeling I got when I came across Mariana’s story last month. I need to say this before it vanishes in the stream of thought and I can’t find it- Poverty is…
Growing up, I heard ogre stories in school, at home, and on VoK from a show called Land of Majitu (Land of Ogres). The show would start with ogres dancing around a homestead singing– Sisi majitu, sisi majitu / aah sisi majitu… Ogre stories are a common genre in African orature. They have a simple…
The cicadas are come and gone. It’s too quiet. It seems to me we missed something. Some ritual of sorts. We got visited by lifeforms that appear every 17 years. For a month they controlled us with their shrill non-stop chirping that sounded like deep space invasion. All sorts of incredulous stories were told about…
Part I: We saw South African small business owners weep bitterly over the vandalizing of their shops. It’s unfair, barbaric, foolish and just downright evil to steal from your own people who worked so hard for so many years to build a small business, feed their families and hold their hand out to those coming…
I made this confession during a symposium on Pan-Africanism this past Tuesday. What did religion teach you that you later came to know was a terrible lie? Me? That we as Africans are a cursed people. I hang my head low just saying it again. Give me a minute to lift it out of this…
I had a roommate in college. She had a boyfriend who loved books more than he loved her. I should not tell this story, it’s so wrong.. tihihihi.. Ok, I will tell.. but chase your kids out of the room first. So one day her boyfriend came to visit and she was not there. -Sema…
I think how black people wear their anger determines how far they go. I’ll speak of those I know. East Africans will tend to wear their anger six layers beneath the skin. They are afraid of its power and potential for radical change. They have also been taught to be ashamed of it, to see…
