Africa Is a Country

1 week ago | africasacountry.com | Christopher J. Lee |Nathan Yardy |Vanessa Burger |Sean Jacobs

South Africa’s swerve from liberation to bungling kleptocracy is not unique—the United States is in the throes of an analogous meltdown—but the speed and extent of that unraveling continue to both perplex and prefigure thinking about the prospects for recovery. The latest book by Vishwas Satgar, one of South Africa’s leading figures on the left, is a trove for anyone seeking a clearer understanding of the country’s hobbled efforts to step free of its past and a beacon for seeing past the gloom.

1 week ago | africasacountry.com | Luis Castellví Laukamp |Michael Ugarte |Joseph Mangarella |Sean Jacobs

Prácticamente analfabeto y afectado por la lepra, Eyí Moan Ndong (1928-2000) aprendió a tocar el nvet, un instrumento ancestral de tubo de caña de un metro o poco más de largo, que solía llevar hasta tres calabazas como cajas de resonancia. Ingresado doce años en la leprosería de Micomeseng, sus sesiones de nvet para enfermos y cuidadores fueron célebres. Las autoridades coloniales españolas nunca lo vieron con malos ojos, pero tampoco lo tomaron en serio, pues les parecía un payaso folclórico.

1 week ago | africasacountry.com | Karen Chalamilla |Sean Jacobs |Jesse Weaver Shipley |Tom Devriendt

When I was little, I had a very clear image of what it meant to be a grown woman. I imagined owning my own apartment, driving my own car, the ability to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and an unlimited supply of midriff blouses. This was the epitome of what being a grown, free woman meant to me. So, when I saw Lady Jaydee on the CD cover of her sophomore album, Binti, clad in a black two-piece that showed off her belly button, it immediately resonated with me.

2 weeks ago | africasacountry.com | Rose Miyonga |Wangui Kimari |Lauren Brown

The legacies of the past are always our present, and the histories that we are not able to confront continue to play out. This is certainly true in Kenya, where the unfinished business of the Mau Mau war and the injustices of British colonial rule endure.

2 weeks ago | africasacountry.com | Riason Naidoo |Sean Jacobs |Emily Bridger

Born on January 30, 1935, in Johannesburg to Solomon Sachs and Rachel Ginsberg, Albert “Albie” Sachs turned 90 in January. Albie moved to Cape Town with his mother and his younger brother when he was three years old. Advanced for his age at school, he skipped two grades and as a result enrolled for his first year of university when he was only 15.