Black Looks

• Criminalising homosexuality: a threat to human rights

  Posted: March 31, 2010, 9:25 pm by Sokari

  My review of “Urgency Required: Gay and Lesbian Rights are Human Rights” published by HIVOS. Originally posted on Pambazuka News – 4th March 2010 Urgency is required at this very moment as the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 is pending before the Ugandan parliament. Same-sex relationships are already illegal in the country under sections [...]

• A few dollars and you can adopt an African woman’s clitoris by Save Africa Missionaries

  Posted: March 30, 2010, 1:54 pm by Sokari

  Africa is full of these predatory religious movements preying on poverty, lack of access to education and health. The Save Africa Missionaries behind this outrageous misguided approach to what otherwise, if carried out without the religious imperialism, racist language, sanctimonious music and tone, is a worthwhile practice are the Rael [...]

• Ai – On Being 1/2 Japanese, 1/8 Choctaw, 1/4 Black, and 1/16 Irish

  Posted: March 29, 2010, 5:57 pm by Sokari

  I feel sad and that I never heard of Ai until I read about her death in the New York Times. Like so many of our heroes – Fannie Lou Hammer, Lorraine Hansberry, Audrey Lorde, June Jordan, Minnie Ripperton, Ruby Dee to name just a few, Ai died as a result of [...]

• Homophobic epithets

  Posted: March 29, 2010, 2:13 pm by Sokari

  Last week the new Archbishop of Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh who replaces Peter Akinola, restated the church’s disapproval of “homosexual lifestyle and same sex marriages” – first lesson homosexuality is not a lifestyle. This article by Nigerian, Paul I. Adujie, asks why the focus on sexuality and same sex desire when the continent is [...]

• Lagos: 1970s Rare Funk

  Posted: March 28, 2010, 5:23 pm by Sokari

  This is a gem from the past – a compilation of rare 1970s disco music from Nigeria put together by Frank Gossner of Voodoofunk “It was the era of sheer ecstasy. The music not only represents the vibrancy of youthful expressionism of the time but is also deeply rooted in African rhythm though not traditional [...]

• Shell “Sorry” to the people of the Niger Delta

  Posted: March 27, 2010, 6:53 pm by Sokari

  This was a spoof by the Yes Men to try and get Shell to retract an apology they never made. Unfortunately it didn’t work – they tried, we tried but it fell flat as a bloody pancake on a wet rainy day in London! Finally a multinational corporation which has systematically abused and [...]

• Report on U.S. Christian Right & Attack on LGBTI people in Africa

  Posted: March 26, 2010, 5:46 pm by Sokari

  Political Research Associates have published an in depth report on the role played by right wing US religious organisations in encouraging homophobia in Uganda. The report “Globalizing the Culture Wars: US Conservatives, African Churches, and Homophobia.” was written by pastor Kapya Kaoma of Zambia. The story starts with a meeting [...]

• The beginning of trees

  Posted: March 25, 2010, 8:33 pm by Rethabile

  (for Geoffrey Philp) Love is the butterfly’s last stand. Made of sand from heaven, they wait for a saviour, before sleep gives them the poet, wish after wish of them snowing over Baghdad when love is least, as men make war the world, doing it to remember me, child of exile along the banks of the Nile. Poets think children are planned such that no [...]

• Racing from Africa to Europe

  Posted: March 24, 2010, 4:37 pm by Sokari

  Sierra Leone / British journalist, Sorious Samura becomes an illegal immigrant traveling from Morocco to Europe with a group of African migrants. Three of the men decide to make the crossing by swimming to the European enclave of Ceuta in Morocco – one makes it three are caught. The journey is [...]

• Tribute to Fatima Meer by Pumla Gqola

  Posted: March 23, 2010, 2:56 am by Sokari

  Feminist and Anti-Apartheid activist Fatima Meer passed away on the 12th March. Although I posted on Twitter, Fatima Meer deserved more than a fleeting 140 characters as an obituary. Others were not so careless with someone who stands out in South African history and the Anti-Apartheid movement. There is much [...]

• To go away

  Posted: March 22, 2010, 5:50 pm by Johanna Rothe

  One Santa Cruz, California. February 2008. When I get off the bus at the Metro Center and wait to cross the street, I notice two people. A woman is telling a man to leave her alone— but telling him to leave her alone does not make him leave her alone. My light turns green. I keep standing there until it turns red [...]

• sharpeville

  Posted: March 21, 2010, 10:27 am by Rethabile

  the day king walked from selma to montgomery, the tops of trees shook as in a forest, and shivered for this man who had crossed a line of centuries in the south, but even more south, we worried for our lot, resolved as we were to break you, but you to put us with our ancestors. of course there have never been questions: why shoot [...]

• African writers: Wole Soyinka & Zukiswa Wanner

  Posted: March 20, 2010, 4:09 pm by Sokari

  Nigerian writer and political activist Professors Wole Soyinka has been at the forefront of Nigeria’s pro-democracy movement over the past 10 years. He lost his way during the Babangida regime in the 1980s when he agreed to Chair the Federal Road Safety Commission [1988-1991] and in doing so compromised the principles he presented [...]

• South African soccer fields

  Posted: March 19, 2010, 9:19 pm by Sokari

  Via Books SA

• F-Word interview with Senzeni Marasela

  Posted: March 19, 2010, 2:03 pm by Sokari

  South African political artist Senzeni Marasela uses art to examine her personal and collective memory. In this interview with the director of Deveron Arts, Claudia Zeiske, Marasela discusses her work on women’s self-perception and insecurities about their bodies and how these differ between women of colour and white women. Women have insecurities about their [...]

• “They would not help me before the quake. Why would I bother to ask them now?

  Posted: March 18, 2010, 4:31 pm by Sokari

  Haitian community activist Rea Dol talks about SOPUDEP the school she started in 2000, the struggles to keep it going and surviving the earthquake… without the help of the “Republic of NGO’s”. This is what happened to Rea and thousands of other Haitians who acted to help themselves. They knew that from [...]

• Religion and Sexuality

  Posted: March 18, 2010, 3:57 am by Rethabile

  Bishop Tutu was born on 7 October 1931. “Jesus did not say, ‘If I be lifted up I will draw some’.” Jesus said, ‘If I be lifted up I will draw all, all, all, all, all. Black, white, yellow, rich, poor, clever, not so clever, beautiful, not so beautiful. It’s one of the most radical [...]

• A Deep River Song

  Posted: March 17, 2010, 11:17 am by Annie Quarcoopome

  Deep river my home is over Jordan But on which bank pray tell? Feet straddling slippery wet spaces Stretched out so wide my loins burn with The desire for home Firmly planted on either side Alien Nation Like sickness spreads from my feet through my blood Flowing up to my head River so deep dangerous drowns my reflection My home is over Jordan Across the river [...]

• #Nigeria: Abuja – the world: Enough is Enough. Where is Yar’Adua?

  Posted: March 16, 2010, 2:10 pm by Sokari

  At 11am TODAY young Nigerians will march to the National Assembly in Abuja to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and DEMAND: 1) President Yar’Adua should resume, resign or be removed 2) The promise of 6000megawatts must be fulfilled 3) The 5-month fuel crisis needs to end now. Nigerians: March, Blog, Tweet, Talk, Print the leaflet and put in [...]

• Happy Birthday, Geoffrey!

  Posted: March 14, 2010, 3:24 pm by Rethabile

  Geoffrey Philp has written a children’s book, Grandpa Sydney’s Anancy Stories, a novel, called Benjamin, My Son, books of short stories, Uncle Obadiah and the Alien as well as the more recent Who’s Your Daddy, and five poetry collections, among them Exodus and Other Poems, Florida Bound, hurricane center, xango music, and Twelve Poems and [...]

• A doctor in Nigeria: 1948

  Posted: March 13, 2010, 5:58 pm by Sokari

  Via Heal Nigeria

• Senegalese film director, Mahaman Johnson Traore: – RIP

  Posted: March 13, 2010, 3:46 pm by Sokari

  Senegalese film director and one of the founders of the Pan-African Film festival [FESPACO], Mahaman Johnson Traore, died last Monday. Mark Coles talks to Keith Shire on the work of Johnson Traore, particularly his films which addressed “the politics of women’s position in their societies”. Listen to the interview below. Via Bombastic Element

• Women of Jos protest in Abuja

  Posted: March 12, 2010, 12:46 pm by Sokari

  Nigerian women dressed in Black marched in Abuja to protest the massacres taking place in Plateau State. The women demanded the removal of the military commander in charge of security, Maj-Gen. Saleh Maina. Once again the Nigerian military, who were supposed to be protecting the women and the villages, [...]

• Confronting censorship in the face of “hyper-visibility”

  Posted: March 10, 2010, 5:41 pm by Sokari

  Last week South African Arts & Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana walked out of the Innovative Women exhibition claiming photographs by gender activist Zanele Muholi and Nandipha Mntambo were pornographic. Whilst the Minister is entitled to her own opinion she must be mindful of her status as a minister of government and the [...]

• Whiteness as an act of cultural dominance

  Posted: March 10, 2010, 4:27 pm by Sokari

  “White people embarrass me” – A personal reflection on racism and white privilege in Britain amongst the LGBTIQ community by Del LaGrace Volcano. The problem is not just white privilege – its refusing to acknowledge it when challenged. White people embarrass me. Probably not quite as much as I embarrass myself but [...]

• Dogo Nahawa resident’s testimony on Jos violence

  Posted: March 9, 2010, 7:32 pm by Sokari

  A resident of Dogo Nahawa described to Human Rights Watch what happened: Dogo is a farming village several kilometers from Jos. They came at around 3 a.m. to attack our village. When they arrived, they immediately started shooting, so many of us ran outside to see what happened. Then others attacked us with machetes, killing so [...]

• African woman found in York dating back to 400AD

  Posted: March 9, 2010, 6:17 pm by Sokari

  Africans living in Britain since at least 4th Century AD Remains of a “high status woman” of African origin found in York in 1901.  Question is why are we only learning about this now? Her grave dates back to the second half of the 4th Century. She was buried with items including jet and elephant ivory bracelets, [...]

• Of Autumn and Winter

  Posted: March 9, 2010, 2:31 am by Rethabile

  Ask why it is that everyone hopes they’re gonna go one day into the sky of heaven, ignoring the stars above them, why many of us end up in gaol. Ask van Gogh why he cut his ear and painted potato-eaters without light, and sunflowers with sunlight. Ask and the answer will be given to you; knock, and the shit will be knocked [...]

• One paragraph on the IWD & the celebration of heteronormativity.

  Posted: March 8, 2010, 9:40 pm by Sokari

  Last Monday was International Women of Colour Day. Today is International Women’s Day. A month and a day ago was African Feminist Homophobia Day. Friday will mark Beijing +15 Day where hundreds of women will manage to spend 10 days talking about women but render Lesbians, [...]

• International womens day

  Posted: March 7, 2010, 12:09 pm by Sokari

  Ife Franklin is an African American artist and sculptor, who designs and dyes her own fabrics using the Nigerian Adire method. Below is a collage created for Black Pride New England in 2007 to reflect the beauty of a community that is “lovely, healthy and strong”. The second photo is [...]

• Gender Supremacy

  Posted: March 7, 2010, 12:04 pm by Mia Nikasimo

  While a lot of consciousness raising activism for the well being of the LGB community exist in the West similar actions for transsexuals and intersex people is sorely lacking. Personally, I have observed the lack of activism in these groups first hand. The fact that certain activists literally thrive on ignoring transsexual or intersex issues [...]

• Uganda: Religious leaders & HIV activists petition parliament

  Posted: March 6, 2010, 10:02 pm by Sokari

  On Monday 01 March 2010 a delegation of activists AIDS service providers, Spiritual mentors and counsellors took centre stage in Kampala when they met the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda Rt. Hon. Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and later held a press conference at the National Theatre. The group [...]

• Nigeria: Secrets and lies

  Posted: March 5, 2010, 8:57 pm by Sokari

  Last weeks return to Nigeria of President Yar’Adua in the dead of night has created even more intrigue and political back stabbing than when he was away in Saudi Arabia.   He is back but no one has seen him or at least if they have they are not telling the nation what they saw.   I [...]

• Dear Mr. President, I Thought You Should Know

  Posted: March 5, 2010, 8:49 pm by Rethabile

  It’s February and the wind’s so bitter my toddler, in the front pack, slides his hands under my armpits and buries his face in my scarf. I’m sorry to report that some people are still nasty on the number 1 subway and my son’s teacher has acute leukemia. I don’t expect you to change everything or for everything to change. But [...]

• Happy Birthday, Miriam Makeba!

  Posted: March 4, 2010, 9:44 am by Rethabile

  Miriam Zenzi Makeba was born in Johannesburg in 1932. Her mother was a Swazi sangoma and her father, who died when she was six, was a Xhosa. Her professional career began in the 1950s with the Manhattan Brothers, before she formed her own group, The Skylarks, singing a blend of jazz and traditional melodies of [...]

• Dance Analysis and Mis/Rules of Beauty…A pitch for the African and Indian Ocean choreographic encounters.

  Posted: March 3, 2010, 5:46 pm by Q'dance

  Qudus Onikeku “Q’dance” was born in Lagos and is a graduate of National Higher School of Circus arts, France. As a dancer, acrobat and writer, he is part of a new generation of critical thinkers and creators springing up from the African continent. I spent 10 days with Qudus in Lagos in [...]

• Interview with Geoffrey Philp

  Posted: March 3, 2010, 5:15 pm by Rethabile

  CLS: Mr. Philp, you have been blogging enthusiastically since 2005. What made you start doing it and how has it rewarded you? Geoffrey Philp: I began blogging at the suggestion of my daughter and the rewards have been tremendous. I am not only doing something that I love, but it has served as a viable platform [...]

• “Let us all be one family that Stands for Justice, Equality and Peace”

  Posted: March 2, 2010, 8:28 pm by Sokari

  On Monday, 1st March,  a group of activists and civil society organisations in Uganda presented a petition signed by 450,000 people from across the world opposing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The Petition was presented to Edward Sekandi, the Ugandan Speaker of Parliament and called for Parliament to “enact laws that will protect people and not [...]

• Proudly African & Transgender: Self-Portraits in Writing

  Posted: March 2, 2010, 2:36 pm by Sokari

  As part of the Proudly African & Transgender exhibition by Gabrielle Le Roux, each person has written a short self-portrait on being transgender and on the exhibition itself. Below are their stories of their lives to go with the portraits drawn by artist and activist for social justice Gabrielle Le Roux. The importance [...]

• International Women of Colour Day: Celebrating Réa Dol

  Posted: March 1, 2010, 5:00 pm by Sokari

  On International Women of Colour Day I celebrate all the women of colour who consistently work towards social justice across the world. In particular I would like to honour the work of Haitian community activist and founder of SOPUDEP School, Réa Dol and ALL the Haitian women and girls who have self-organised in [...]

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes