Spotted in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. * T.I.A. stands for This is Africa, our new meme.

Earlier this year, the Congolese government declared European development commissioner Karel De Gucht persona non grata because of comments he made to the European Parliament, stating that the weakness of the Congolese state meant that EU aid had limited impact. Kinshasa dubbed De Gucht’s comments as ‘racist, disrespectful and irresponsible,’ barring him from entering the […]

[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/16832669 w=500&h=281] In January 2010, the people behind Angola–Nos Trilhos da Independência have started collecting and recording personal memories and testimonies about Angola’s fight for independence. It’s a long-term project: they plan on digging for stories for the next five years. But it sure looks promising already as you can see above. They’re also keeping […]

Illustration: Brent Godfrey “Newsweek” journalist Jeremy Kahn stops pretending he’s a journalist and just channels the Walmart spin: Save money, live better—in Africa? The news that Walmart was buying a $2 billion controlling stake in South African retailer Massmart sparked the usual round of threats and protests. South Africa’s powerful unions threatened to strike, a […]

Bangs, the Australian rapper of Sudanese descent, who has made mediocrity into an art form, makes a mess of Christmas. (By the way, if you blink, you might not notice that’s him riffing off Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”). Of course, the video will go viral. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_jm-_E_Bx4

Poster for student-run event at The New School in Manhattan.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeIeE_sfFrw&w=500&h=307&rel=0] 2010 was supposed to be the year the European Union would come up with a ‘uniform migration policy’. For now, it didn’t happen. Hailing from Sierra Leone, Bai Kamara Jr. has been living and playing in Brussels for some twenty years.–Tom Devriendt

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5s-FUbcE9o&w=500&h=307&rel=0] This is not really a music video I know, but it’s worth your time. Trust me. Artist Hanifah Walidah interviews New York City-based director Patricia McGregor and musician, Greg Tate about their creative process in making “Burnt Sugar presents The JB Songbook,” happen. “The JB Songbook” is a performance centered around the life and music […]

Today’s New York Times Magazine carries a fawning profile of John Prendergast, the force behind the Enough Project (reference: Congo, Darfur and now southern Sudan). Prendergast is described by reporter Daniel Bergner as “America’s most influential activist in Africa’s most troubled regions.” A former Clinton White House official, Prendergast probably wrote the book on how to utilize […]