AfricanStream

On many levels, Sierra Leone has one of the worst gender gaps in the world. As of 2021, women held only 12.3% of seats in parliament, while less than 10 per cent aged over 25 have secondary education. That’s not acceptable, according to the country’s First Lady Fatima Maada Bio. And in this interview she says ‘pushing women into the kitchen’ is strangling her country’s development. She compares it to telling Muhammad Ali to box with one hand. Rwanda leads the way in African politics, in terms of female representation. Just over half its cabinet positions are held by women. Other countries with similar numbers include South Africa and Ethiopia. The question is, when will other African nations catch up?

Many Africans are celebrating Mother’s Day today. But African countries are also celebrating the women they’ve come to revere as ‘mothers of the nation.’ Today, we look at some of the great African mothers and their different contributions to championing the liberation, development and growth of our motherland. What other African mothers are you celebrating today?

On 10th May, 1740, South Carolina enacted the Negro Act, which banned the use of the drum among enslaved Africans. African Stream journalist Salifu Mack explores how enslaved Africans, stripped of their right to drum, ingeniously preserved their heritage. Fast-forward to today, the legacy echoes through the halls of Kingstree High School in South Carolina. Students reclaim the drum as a symbol of pride, defiance and cultural identity. Hear from these young voices as they share what the drum means to them, weaving a narrative of resilience, heritage and the relentless pursuit of freedom.

South Africa’s white-dominated opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has ignited a storm with an advertisement that shows a burning South African flag. President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the video as ‘treasonous’ and the ‘most despicable political act that anyone can embark upon.’ He added the act was not illegal, but it was in bad taste as the flag symbolises national unity and triumph against the oppressive apartheid system that ruled until the early 1990s. The DA has, however, defended the move, saying the advertisement is designed to show South Africans what would happen if the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is re-elected on 29 May, or enter an alliance with the Julius Malema-led Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) or the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, led by long-time ANC president (2007-17) and former South African President Jacob Zuma (2009-18). Some sections of the white population have publicly expressed their preference for the old apartheid flag. Reports have indicated the flag’s display at mostly white events and functions. In 2019, the country’s Equality Court ruled that ‘gratuitous displays’ of the apartheid-era flag amounted to hate speech and discrimination, adding that it is a ‘vivid symbol of white supremacy and Black disenfranchisement and suppression.’ The Supreme Court of Appeals upheld that decision last month.

Three decades ago today, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa's first democratically elected president. His party, the African National Congress, had emerged victorious in the country's first truly democratic elections, officially ending decades of settler oppression of Black people. It was a watershed moment in the history of the country and in the life of a man who had spent 27 years in prison after being jailed by the racist regime in the early 1960s for his anti-apartheid activities. The mainstream media, when reflecting on Mandela's legacy, always omits the fact that he remained loyal to those who supported the anti-apartheid struggle. As he famously told his Western detractors: ‘Your enemies are not our enemies!‘ Watch him deliver that line here in this iconic clip - in which he demolishes a critic who tried to get him to disown leaders despised by Western nations. Do you cheer his remarks as loudly as the audience does here?

How much cultural, social and political force do Africans positively exert on other communities? Listen as UK-based Pakistani social media influencer Sa'ad Mustafā (@saadmustafauk) describes boxer and activist Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) and Pan-Africanist Malcolm X's (1925-65) influence. Mustafā said these African elders helped him develop confidence and encouraged him to learn about his own people's history to understand himself. It is a testament to Africans' power to inspire the world to embrace higher ideals.

Now that Niger has announced its expulsion of US troops and Sahelian states have kicked out French military forces, could the two Western powers be eyeing its southern neighbour, Nigeria? The leaders of research institutes and civil society organisations delivered a letter on 3 May to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly, rejecting any proposal to allow Western military bases into Nigeria. The letter points out that terrorism worsened in the Sahel, an arid zone south of the Sahara Desert, during the period of US military occupation. According to a study by the US Department of Defense’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies, terrorism has increased by more than 100,000 per cent since US launched its ‘War on Terror’ in 2001. Additionally, according to the Global Terrorism Index, 43 per cent of all terrorism-related deaths in 2022 occurred in the Sahel. That year, more people died from terrorism there than in West Asia, South Asia and North Africa combined.

In this 30 April video, a person identified in the original X post as a Columbia University student and as a Palestinian tried to lodge a complaint with New York police officers about a white man spitting in his ear outside of campus. That's where an encampment demanding the university divest from Israeli investments has taken place since 17 April, drawing pro-Israel protesters to the perimeter of the urban campus. However, this video showed the offender walked scot-free. It isn’t an isolated incident as US police forces have stood idly by as pro-Palestine supporters have reported pro-Israel 'mobs' have wreaked havoc across encampments that began popping up on university campuses. US police have had a history of doing nothing or protecting right-wingers, as seen during the 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, among other instances. So far, police have arrested more than 2,800 protesters on more than 50 US campuses, according to an Associated Press tally. Meanwhile, new congressional legislation has enshrined a broader definition of anti-Semitism into the US Civil Rights Act of 1964, an anti-discrimination law. While complaints of anti-Semitism on campuses have risen, Jewish students have played a significant role in these encampments and have denied these encampments are anti-Semitic. Credit: @itslaylas

Senegal’s decision to begin reviewing fishing licences and deals that authorise European Union vessels to fish in its Atlantic Ocean waters has prompted the EU’s ambassador to say the EU has ‘nothing to hide.’ However, evidence points to the EU being one of the players in the illegal fishing industry that drains over $3 billion from West Africa annually. Have a watch, and let us know what you think.

When it rains, it pours. Slum dwellers in Nairobi face having no roof over their heads, as the authorities are demolishing their makeshift homes, citing concerns over safety after recent floods swelled nearby rivers. At least 26 activists were arrested on May 8th, following protests over the pulling-down of houses in Mathare, one of the biggest slums in the Kenyan capital. Police raided the offices of the Mathare Social Justice Centre, a group that documents human-rights violations in poor urban areas. The latest reports suggest those detained have now been released on bail. The authorities insist they’re simply trying to prevent the further loss of life. Over 250 Kenyans have already died in floods across the country. Weather forecasters have been warning about extreme conditions since late 2023, but President William Ruto refused to listen, saying the country would have average rainfall. His administration is accused of failing to be ready with a plan. Those most affected by the floods and demolitions, of course, are poor people. Residents whose homes were flattened by bulldozers have nowhere to go and have asked the government to provide them with alternative housing. Many of them are sheltering in tents provided by humanitarian organisations. Ruto has pushed through the enactment of a housing levy to provide affordable housing to Kenyans. Many are petitioning him to ensure slum dwellers are prioritised in the affordable-housing project, but it appears his administration would rather silence activists seeking justice for the poor. Our man Kenneth Kaigua spoke to locals and activists in Nairobi’s Mathare slum. Your insights and reactions in the comments are always appreciated.

US imperialists have gone all out to ensure no synergy between Africans from the continent and Africans in the diaspora. It is a testament to the fear of what a united Africa, joined by its sons and daughters in the Americas, is capable of achieving. Watch as two African brothers reveal what goes on behind the scenes—from government agencies to classrooms—to dissuade Africans from joining forces.

Brutal armed conflict has ravaged the eastern region of the Democratic of Congo since the late 1990s. Millions have been killed and displaced, with some blaming the West’s desire to get its hands on the country’s resources. It’s argued they work with neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda, to support rebels in DRC who extract minerals then sold on international markets. However, Pan-African scholar PLO Lumumba, says despite the new dynamics, the seeds of war in Congo were planted during the colonial era. A deliberate policy of divide and rule that not only created tension between different ethnic groups but also weakened the capacity of central government to enforce its authority across the country. That created fertile ground for the emergence and growth of rebel groups like M23 that have recently ramped up attacks against the Congolese military and civilians. Do you agree with him or this just an excuse to let perpetrators of the hook? Leave your comments below.

If you want a concise summary of how Israel influences US politics, look no further than high school student Guy Christensen. He’s racked up over three million followers since deciding to challenge Western narratives with his social media posts. In this one, he nails how new laws and law enforcement are strangling pro-Palestine sentiment and how Joe Biden’s received millions of dollars from pro-Israel lobby group APAIC. Founded in 1951, it advocates pro-Israel policies to the US government, while Tel Aviv continues its illegal settlement expansion and inhumane treatment of Palestinians. As of September 2023, AIPAC had given at least $3.6-million to members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Those who refuse AIPAC's political priorities, invitations to speaking engagements, and trips to Israel have historically faced smear campaigns and AIPAC-backed opponents in elections.

Many have praised the late Glen Ford (1949-2021) as an exemplary journalist on the Black left in the United States. He co-founded Black Agenda Report (@blkagendareport), a leading media outlet covering radical perspectives across the Pan-African world. However, he admitted to making a mistake in his career when he labelled Barack Hussein Obama a 'progressive' years before Obama became the first Black president. In this video clip, @glenfordBAR explained Obama did not take an honest position on some of the most critical issues of the time: Healthcare, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Iraq War. As early as 2003, Obama skirted around US imperialism, preferring to obfuscate his allegiances to the empire. Revolutionary Indigenous Mexican Zapatista rebels denounced NAFTA as a 'death sentence' for Indigenous peoples and rural farmers. Many have seen the pact as a continuation of the US expansionist foreign policy known as the 'Monroe Doctrine.' And, while Barack Obama ended the Iraq War, he proliferated a new warfare strategy in the form of drone operations used to attack seven countries. Ford is remembered for his sharp political analysis and pioneering journalism, co-launching, producing and hosting the first nationally syndicated Black news interview programme on US commercial television, 'America's Black Forum,' in 1977. May he rest in power.

A depressingly familiar scene, this video shows two White men hurling abuse at Muslim women in the US. What makes this more shocking, is that one of the abusers is a faculty member at Arizona State University. Jonathan Yudelman, who’s wearing a blue T-shirt, is now being investigated by the college. You can see him screaming at a woman with a head scarf near the campus on April 5th at a pro-Israel demonstration. We can’t confirm the identity of the second guy in the video, although he’s been named on social media as Sammy Ben. It’s claimed he’s a US citizen who fought alongside Israeli forces as a reserve during the assault on Gaza. It’s a sickening clip, but it’s not isolated. Since October 2023, there have been similar attacks where Israeli-supporting mobs target ethnic minorities for their real or perceived support of Palestinians. In this clip, you’ll also hear the thugs tell the Muslim women to ‘go back to Jihad’. It reflects a mentality among right-wingers that non-White individuals do not belong in the US or the West. It’s not uncommon to hear Black people being told to 'go back to Africa' whenever they stand up to racism. As for Yudelman, the post-doctorate research scholar has been placed on leave pending the university’s probe. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is demanding he’s sacked and arrested.

Longtime imperialist countries like the United States and the United Kingdom are at a loss as Sahelian countries like Burkina Faso turn away from the Western camp. Recently, the two powers, the US and the UK, denounced Burkina Faso’s government in light of a Human Rights Watch report accusing the Burkinabe army of massacring 223 civilians. But the people of Burkina Faso are not buying it. On Friday, May 3rd, they rushed to the embassy of the United States, where they rallied in support of Ibrahim Traoré and the Burkinabe government. “We have come to deliver a message to the Americans to put an end to these accusations against our armed forces, who are defending the country at the cost of their lives,” stated Mahamadou Ouedraogo of the Burkind Faangf Meenga (Liberation) Federation of Pan-Africanists, which organised the protest. The people of Burkina Faso and neighbouring Sahel states Mali and Niger are increasingly fed up with media attacks on their countries and the governments that they work tirelessly to defend.

African people’s contributions to the fight for a more just and humane world have shaped and added dimensions to the global class struggle. In this 1996 clip, the late revolutionary Pan-Africanist and founding member of @aaprp (or @aaprpinternational), Kwame Ture (1941-98), highlighted a unique feature of the African fight for liberation: Mass-based parties. While fighting for a unified and socialist Africa, we have formed organisations that have set aside the vanguardism of revolutionary movements in other parts of the world in favour of mass-based political structures. Vanguard parties require a small group of well-trained people providing leadership to build a mass movement. These parties tend to have a small membership, as a result. Mass parties, on the other hand, allow members of any rank to have an equal say, but can move slower. In search of concrete examples of what Ture speaks of, one may look to the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde (PAIGC), which liberated Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde through a mass-led armed struggle. One could also look to the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the National Liberation Front (FLN) of Algeria or the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). And, today, we see our people pouring out into the streets of Ouagadougou, Bamako, Niamey and other Sahelian cities to defend the anti-imperialist revolutionary process. We see thousands of Haitian people protesting, organising and fighting, year after year for their liberation. Rarely do we see a minority of our people leading successful liberation movements. Perhaps this speaks to a democratic worldview and approach to our fight. As Ture points out, we must join organisations and come together worldwide to defend our collective interests as African peoples everywhere. What are your thoughts?

Europe should be Africa’s best trading partner due to its geographic proximity, according to DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi. However, it’s the arrogance of Western leaders that’s destroying any hope of meaningful relations. During this interview with French TV station LCI, Tshisekedi says the West likes to preach on human rights (which it obliterated during 400-years of colonialism). And it’s why many African nations now choose to do business with Beijing and Moscow. It sums up the continent’s international relations, and we’re seeing it play out in the Sahel. Russia has signed security and economic deals with Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali after the French were kicked out. Do you agree with the DR Congo leader?

On 22 April, African Stream hosted two experts to discuss the crisis in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In this clip from the whole conversation, Rwandan gen*cide survivor Claude Gatebuke (@shinani1), co-author of 'Survivors Uncensored,' unpacked Rwanda's role in inflaming the conflict for three decades. Kigali invaded the eastern region of DRC twice in the late 1990s to allegedly flush out what it claimed were Hutu militia accused of perpetrating the 1994 Rwanda Gen*cide. And, now, the presence of between 120 to 140 externally-funded militia groups in the DRC's east complicates the long-running conflict. According to a December 2023 UN report, Rwanda supports the M23 militia group with cash and arms. Unfortunately, about 6 million Congolese have lost their lives since the mid-1990s, and more than 6 million are internally displaced. For example, on 3 May, alleged M23 and Rwandan army bombs k*lled 12 people—including children—in displacement camps near Goma. Watch the entire episode on our YouTube channel.

In this 2 May video, a group of hecklers from a fraternity at the University of Mississippi, known by the byname, ‘Ole Miss,’ jeered and made monkey noises at a Black woman in a group of about 30 students demonstrating in solidarity with Palestine. The mostly white counter-protesters, some donning outfits featuring the US flag’s red, white and blue stars and stripes, also reportedly chanted ‘Lizzo,’ the name of a rapper and singer, and chanted, ‘F*ck you, fat *ss.’ The student who made monkey noises has been removed from his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, according to its 5 May statement. Republican Congressperson Mike Collins of Mississippi made headlines after he endorsed the counter-protesters on social media platform X, posting the video with the comment, ‘Ole Miss taking care of business.’ The Associated Press has tallied more than 2,400 arrests on 46 US university or college campuses since 17 April. However, nobody was arrested during the 2 May counter-demonstration at the University of Mississippi, where hecklers outnumbered Palestine supporters who were calling for an end to Israel’s 6-month bombardment and escalated siege of Gaza. Video Credit: Stacey J. Spiehler

South Africans have just marked three decades since apartheid officially ended. But while the collapse of that oppressive system no doubt improved the lives of the country’s indigenous Black population, there are concerns that the racist regime’s economic structures remain mostly intact - and continue to deny Black people opportunities to fully participate in the country’s economy. In this clip from 2016, Pan-African politician and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party Julius Malema explains how this was no accident, but rather a result of the terms of the agreements that leaders of the-then liberation movement and now-ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) reached with White capitalists in the run-up to the end of apartheid. Is this how you see it?

A secret language of enslaved Africans in the United States has survived since the 18th century. Tutnese, also known as Tut, was developed in order to teach literacy during the era of chattel slavery. In linguistic genealogy, it is referred to as ‘cant,’ a family of languages designed intentionally to exclude or mislead observers, in this case, White-settler colonialists, enslavers and their acolytes. It was for this reason that the Tut language remained clandestine. Throughout the United States, harshly enforced anti-literacy laws targeting enslaved, and sometimes free, African-descendants remained on the books for well over a century (between 1740 and 1867). Why? Effective, widespread and cohesive communication and literacy skills among African people meant increased chances of organised rebellion against the status quo - precisely what White society feared. In effect, Tutnese was developed as a means of communication and education to ensure the safety of Black people from their enemies (and, hopefully, successful rebellions against tyranny). Even up until the 1970s, many Black families were encouraged to keep the language a secret. Teaching Tutnese publicly is heavily discouraged due to its historical development. It is unknown how many people actually speak the language today. However, researchers have found Tutnese spoken among African-descendant people in Canada, Mexico and even West Asia. When it comes to the traditions of African people, do you believe that more gatekeeping is necessary? Or do you believe in a culture of mass organisation with closed-door secrecy among ourselves to move forward?

The facts are as follows: On 28 September 1958, France held a constitutional referendum in the country and its colonies. The question was as follows: 'Do you approve of the Constitution offered by the Government of the Republic?' Countries that voted 'yes' joined the 'French community,' a status that would come with continued French military and economic domination. Countries that voted no were issued immediate sovereignty from formal French rule. While many African leaders at the time waged national campaigns to join the French community, only Guinea's Ahmed Sékou Touré voted no. He famously declared, 'We prefer liberty in poverty to slavery in riches.' However, it was not his decision alone. Guinean people turned out 85.5 per cent to vote 95 per cent against the constitution. Then France launched Operation Persil to destabilise the country and try to turn citizens against Sékou Touré. Before the campaign, French nationals destroyed much of Guinea's infrastructure on their way out. During the campaign, France deployed spies to counterfeit the new Guinean currency and encourage revolt. At the time, Pan-African leader of Mali, Modibo Keïta, voted to remain a part of the French community. France said those who voted against the constitution would achieve independence separately from the other African states. Keïta identified this as a Balkanisation tactic and attempted to instead form a Pan-African entity with Senegal known as the Mali Federation. Within two years of independence, Keïta would withdraw from the 'French community,' expelling French troops, closing the French military base in 1961, and creating a sovereign currency in 1962. Today, 12 former French colonies in Africa use the CFA franc currency, as does former Portuguese colony Guinea Bissau and former Spanish colony Equatorial Guinea. After a coup overthrew Keïta, Mali re-adopted the CFA franc. Guinea is the only former French colony in West Africa with a sovereign currency. Let us know what you think of Arikana Chihombori-Quao, the African Union's former permanent representative to the United States, breaking it down in this clip.

Dream Betrayed? South Africa's 30 Years of 'Democracy' | Our Doc From S.A On April 27th 1994, there was excitement across South Africa as millions of South Africans queued up outside polling stations to participate in the country’s first democratic election, in which citizens of all races were allowed to participate. It was more than just an election. Many saw it as the final nail into the coffin of a system that had oppressed Black South Africans since 1652 when Dutch colonialist Jan Van Riebeck arrived at the shores of modern-day South Africa. As widely expected, the African National Congress (ANC), the country’s most prominent liberation movement, convincingly won the election. After decades of bloody struggle, the ANC finally transitioned from a liberation movement to the country’s new rulers. Hopefulness was in the air, free at last, or so they thought! Three decades later, many are asking if that transition delivered and met the hopes and aspirations of the masses who stood in the long queues outside voting booths in 1994. African Stream has been on the ground in South Africa, examining the country’s painful past and the long road to freedom and how its indigenous population feel three decades after the end of apartheid. Please watch and give us your thoughts in the comments.

In this video, African Stream’s editor-in-chief Ahmed Kaballo tries to make sense of the indifference shown to the suffering of the Congolese people. He argues that history shapes current perceptions and responses to atrocities. King Leopold's atrocities in Congo in the late 19th century, which k*lled an estimated 10-million people, set a precedent that allowed subsequent mass k*llings in Africa to receive less attention and condemnation. Because Leopold got away with the Congo atrocities, it made it easier for the world to ignore the around 6-million Congolese people k*lled in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Colonial figures responsible for mass African deaths are not properly recognised or condemned - even within Africa - thanks to Western biases regarding how history is framed and taught. Compare, for example, the legacy of brutal figures like H*tler, whom many Africans unhesitatingly recognise as the embodiment of evil, even though he did not commit violence against Africans on the scale seen in the Congo. Do you agree that history has desensitised the former colonial powers to African suffering today?