Darcus Howe: His wordplay was swordplay

This weekend we lost journalist, activist and thinker Darcus Howe. In Darcus’ long career, he meant many different things to many different people. To pay homage to an undeniable trailblazer in the fight against racism and colonialism, here are seven different views on the man. Kiri Kankhwende It’s hard to sum up Howe’s immense contribution… Read More

In The Words of Malcolm X

by Iman Amrani The Autobiography of Malcolm X is one of those books that leaves a lasting imprint on the reader. The circumstances around its publication, the journey of the book itself, is fascinating, and makes Alex Haley’s foreword the most interesting introduction to a book that I have ever read. The fact that Haley… Read More

The ‘N’ word, and the demise of conscious rap

by Lee Pinkerton The first rap concert I ever went to was L.L. Cool J, Eric B & Rakim and Public Enemy at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in 1987.  LL didn’t leave much of an impression, Rakim disappointed, but my young 18 year old mind was so blown away by Public Enemy’s righteous anger and they… Read More

Black Consciousness: an intersection of theory and praxis.

by Youlendree Appasamy In a South Africa where political machinations are the modus operandi and the political actors are simplified to greedy, corrupt individuals (often for good reason), it is difficult not to think of George Orwell’s political fairy tale: Animal Farm. In response to South Africa’s ambiguous, yet ominous political landscape and the 36th… Read More