Healing in the Homeland – Haitian Vodou Tradition
‘As a child in Haiti laying in my bed, I heard the Tams Tams of the Vodou drums beating all nights. These beats were telling the stories of my African ancestors, of their struggles, and their survival, their self determination…
Interview with Haitian historian Bayyinah Bello
Bayyinah Bello first traveled to Africa at the age of 12 to join her father in Liberia. She later returned as an adult first to Nigeria where she lived for four years and later to Benin, Togo and other countries…
“Throughout history people everywhere have explored and experimented with their sexuality.
From the Guardian Africa Network, Nigerian / British writer, Bernadine Evaristo dismisses the mantra that homosexuality in Africa is a ‘western import’ and provides examples of same sex relationships and multiple gender relations. “Throughout history people everywhere have explored and…
DEDAN: A One-Man Play.
How do we remember history’s heroes? How do we also forget them? Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (1920-1957) was leader of the Mau Mau freedom fighters. He dedicated and gave his life to fighting against British colonial rule in Kenya. How do…
‘Too Black, Too Strong’: Imagining Haiti in Caribbean Popular Culture’.
A so Mutabaruka seh inna fi im poem bout Haiti pon im ‘Melanin Man’ album weh come out inna 1994. Mi tek Muta lyrics fi di title a one talk mi gi inna Haiti dis ya month. Mi call it, ”Too Black, Too Strong’: Imagining Haiti in Caribbean Popular Culture’.
Black History month in unGrand Britannia :
Some excerpts from Black History month in unGrand Britannia : Many people are aware of the Black Panther movement in the US but how many know of the British Black Panthers which had a brief 10 year life in the…
After the bees and the frogs we are not far behind
In an August 2013 report, Haiti Grassroots Watch wrote that Haiti’s mineral wealth could be worth as much as $US 20 billion and for this already land has already been given to US and Canadian businesses fronted by Haitian firms. …
John Akomfrah on his film “The Stuart Hall Project”
For many of my generation in the seventies, Stuart Hall was just such a figure. In those heady, mono – cultural days, he was one of the few people of colour we saw on television who wasn’t crooning, dancing or running. I loved all the athletes and singers and dancers too but when you are a black teenage bookworm in seventies West London, let’s just say a public intellectual of colour disseminating ideas on television offered other more immediate compensations.
Haiti: Occassional Musings 21, A brief encounter with King Henry!
A week ago, 17 of traveled to Okap [Cap Haitian] for a few days vacation. Apart from reunion with family, the center piece of our visit would be a trip to the Citadelle and Sans Souci, palaces built by Henri…
Venus Noire – A film about Saartjie Baartman
Via Shadow and Act – The story of Saartjie Baartman [Parts 1 & 2]The film is in French with subtitles but unfortunately I havent had much success in watching it. I would love to hear from anyone who has seen…
A History of Haiti and the Legacy of Violence in Jamaica
From Left of Black: A History of Haiti and the Legacy of Violence in Jamaica with Laurent Dubois and Deborah Thomas Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined in-studio by Laurent Dubois, the Marcello Lotti Professor of…
Mandela’s Queer Legacy
From the Mail & Guardian, Phumi Mtetwa discusses Nelson Mandela’s role in facilitating LGBTI rights in South Africa through encouraging dialogue. However his contribution fell short as failed upset the social and economic structures at the core of inequality. “Oliver…
Haiti: April 26th 1963, Testimonies of Duvalier Massacre
Testimonies The April 26, 1986 commemmorative march on Fort Dimanche [also known as Fort Death] was a huge march by the people of Haiti marking the overthrow of Duvalier on February 7th 1986. One of the organisers of that march…
Haiti: April 26th, Memories of a Duvalier Massacre
From [The Progressive](http://www.progressive.org/). Memories of a Duvalier Massacre, 50 Years Later” by Edwidge Danticat “Recently, Francois Duvalier’s grandson, Jean Claude’s son, François-Nicolas Duvalier, an adviser to Haiti’s current president Michel Martelly, wrote an opinion piece praising his grandfather’s “republican values”…
THE LIONESS OF LISABI – Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
THE LIONESS OF LISABI – Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti – “Nigerian feminist and activist who fought for suffrage and equal rights for her countrywomen” Reblogged [unedited] from July 2004, one of my first blog posts. The photos are from a 2010 post by…
Women’s History Month – Olive Morris and Black Women of London
I first came to London in the mid 1980s so no, I don’t remember Olive Morris and the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD) took place in the early 80s just before I arrived. Olive Morris was a founding…
Sheroes on the Edges of Consciousness (1)
Free. Nina Simone wears an enchanting and endearing detachment on her face. The kind worn by people who have seen a land flowing with milk and honey. Then she smiles, raises her hands. The video closes in on her face…
Freedom – a new way of seeing!
The interviewer asks Nina Simone the meaning of Freedom – she begins by saying its like being in love – you know it when you feel it but you cant describe it. Then in a moment of revelation she declares…
Nigerian folk stories in minority languages
From Saraba Magazine – The Ways of Nigerian Folk… Sometimes we forget we have 300 plus languages each with their own folklore, creation stores, myths and just wonderful evening stories. Too often, Nigeria is presented as a union of three…
Black history in Britain through the courts.
The central criminal court in London, the Old Bailey has published court records from 1674-1913 online. The database includes records on the lives of Africans and their descendent’s in London.
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