SEVERUS: THE AFRICAN CAESAR

Did you know that Britain was once ruled by an African? Meet Lucius Septimius Severus - the man from what is now Libya who rose to become a Roman emperor. He possessed military skill and introduced progressive policies, as well as commissioned some of the empire’s finest architectural delights. And, like many an emperor, he had his decadent streak! African Stream’s very own empress Brenda Mwai brings us his story.

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‘ALIENS DID IT!’ A RACIST CONSPIRACY

Ancient, pre-colonial African civilisation is stunning - too stunning for some racists to handle. They’d rather believe wonders of the world like the pyramids were created by aliens than by Africans. Clinton Nzala breaks it down.

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HAITIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

The Haitian revolution was the most successful revolt led by enslaved Africans against a colonial power. Haitians celebrate this victory every year on January 1st - Haitian Independence Day.

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FATHER OF AFRICAN FILM

One hundred and one years ago, the “father of African film”, Ousmane Sembène, was born in Ziguinchor, Senegal. Sembène’s career began modestly, working a number of manual jobs. In 1944, he was drafted into a corps of the French Army where he was forced to fight in World War II.

After returning to Senegal, he participated in the 1947 Dakar–Niger Railway strike. Later that year he made a break for France where he actively engaged with the French trade union movement by joining the General Confederation of Labour and the communist party. While in France he helped to lead yet another strike to halt a shipment of weapons destined for use in the war against Vietnam. These acts of class consciousness and international solidarity would become reoccurring themes in his future creative work.

After teaching himself to read and write in French, Sembène began writing fiction. His first novel, Le Docker Noir (The Black Docker), released in 1956, highlights the life of an African dock worker.

Continued…..In 1960, Sembène released Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu (God's Bits of Wood), a fictional account of the Dakar–Niger Railway strike. While he found great satisfaction in tackling social issues in his writing, he began to consider that film might be a “more effective tool” for his activism. “To summarize history using our oral tradition,” he said, “cinema is an important tool for us.”

As a filmmaker, Sembène sought to challenge colonial modes of film production and expression. He directed films in various African languages including Wolof, Fulfulde, and Mandinka. Sembène's choice to incorporate indigenous languages into his films was a deliberate effort to represent the rich cultural and linguistic tapestry of Africa. It aligned with his broader mission of decolonizing African cinema and promoting authentic narratives rooted in local experiences. This viral clip from the film Caméra d'Afrique speaks to an idea that African artists today should remember: Europe (the West) should not be the center of our world.

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PLO‘S 2023 AFRICA POSITIVES!

2023 has been a memorable year for Africa. Although we have gone through a lot, there is also a lot of positive news to take into the new year. Unfortunately, a lot of it may not end up in your newsfeeds.

Ahmed Kaballo, our CEO at African Stream, asked Pan-African scholar PLO Lumumba about what he saw as the biggest positives this year in Africa. He had much to say, from Tanzania to Nigeria - there is much to be hopeful about!

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SAVING THE ATLAS LIONS

European colonialism is one of the reasons the strongest, most magnificent lions in the world almost disappeared. Here's the story of what happened to North Africa’s great Atlas lions and how Morocco is trying to save them.

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BRAZILIAN DANCE AFRICAN ROOTS

Did you know that the traditions that formed the foundation for capoeira were created in Western and Central Africa?

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THE UPC: CAMEROON’S TRAGIC INDEPENDENCE HEROES

The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) fought and died for both the independence and unity of Cameroon, as well as that of Africa, but they paid a terrible price as a result.

While the Cameroonian War of Independence is often referred to as the ‘Forgotten War’ due to the fact that it was overshadowed by the more successful Algerian Revolution at the time, the history of this struggle continues to shape Cameroon in the present.

It was the elimination of the UPC leaders that allowed France to install Ahmadou Ahidjo and later Paul Biya, who have ruled over the country since independence.

The UPC worked hard to build relationships with other Pan-African organisations and leaders, from Kwame Nkrumah to Patrice Lumumba and Ahmed Ben Bella. And while we may have lost that round, the struggle is not over. The UPC’s objective of a unified and liberated Africa lives on.

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MOTHER AFRICA BUILT EUROPE AND AMERICA

Would the West as we know it be possible without Africa? When you think about the extent to which European and American societies depend on African resources, it becomes clear that our continent is the foundation stone for much of the world. As Pan-African scholar PLO Lumumba puts it in this clip, Mother Africa ‘built’ the world - and keeps on building it! Problem is, Mother Africa has been enslaved, robbed and exploited. She is more than ready to help people and societies beyond our continent to realise their potential, but on her own terms - from a position of respect, equality and dignity.

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‘AMERICA IS THE BIGGEST GANG IN THE WORLD’

“America is the biggest gang in the world.”

Legendary rapper Tupac explains how US foreign policy is no different to the gang mentality seen on America’s streets. If it doesn’t like something, it steams in to show who’s boss – whether it’s Cuba or Yugoslavia where war had raged around the time Tupac gave this interview. Since then, of course, the US has carried out a string of interventions which included the destruction of Libya in 2011.

Tupac was more than a hip-hop hero, he was an activist dedicated to African liberation in America. And he had a way of speaking that resonated with millions.

Does his view of US foreign policy ring true with you? Have a listen and tell us.

WHATSAPP FRANCE? AU CHAT ROASTS EX-COLONISERS

Group chats on WhatsApp can get awkward when the wrong people have accidentally been invited. As France and Britain find out when they get roasted by African Union countries in this satirical (not!) sketch.

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'CAPITALISM LOOTED THE WORLD'

What would the world look like if everyone in Africa, Latin America and China got cars? Former Cuba leader Fidel Castro lamented this question thirty years ago. And he feared our hyper-consumerist lifestyle would end up destroying the planet.

Well, if he was worried then, he’d be more than alarmed if alive today. There are now 1.4-billion cars driving around our Earth, all using up vital resources and spewing pollution.

In this clip Castro blames capitalism and the consequent rat race. He says we’ve got our priorities wrong. Is he bang on?

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LAWN OF THE BEAST

A nice, well-kept garden looks innocuous enough, but the reasons it became popular aren’t so beautiful. We look at the thorny colonial history of the British lawn, which left its mark on the African landscape

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KWAME TURE: 'UNDERSTAND YOURSELF, WHITE MAN'

In this 1966 CBS News interview, Kwame Ture claimed white people—not Africans—are uncivilized. The white man's actions in Africa—disruption, breaking down indigenous systems and enslaving Africans—demonstrate uncivilized behavior, said Ture, who was in the US-based Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee at the time of the interview. Ture, who later joined the All-African People's Revolutionary Party, went on to say Africans are still suffering from the consequences of Europeans' uncivilized actions.

Let us know your thoughts on Ture's remarks.

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Continued….Al-Umari, a 14th-century North African geographer and explorer, writes that he was told about the voyage by Mansa Musa during his visit to Cairo. Abu Bakari‘s exploits are also mentioned by Ibn Khaldun, an Arab historian and sociologist during the Middle Ages.

According to Leo Weiner in his book ‘Africa and the Discovery of America,’ Columbus logged in his journal that the Native Americans had mentioned that “black-skinned people had come from the south-east in boats, trading in gold-tipped spears.” The explorer also reported seeing mosque-like buildings when he arrived in America. This would tally with the arrival of Abu Bakari from the Muslim Kingdom of Mali.

What do you think? Did Abu Bakari reach America? Why did he never return?

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HOW WORLD BANK & IMF FUEL WATER PRIVATIZATION

Water is a basic human need. But to the World Bank and IMF, it’s just another commodity. They’ve been among the main cheerleaders of water privatisation in Africa - arguing that only an economic incentive can make clean, safe water more widely available. The essentially dictated terms of loans given to African nations by these two institutions have included demands on water privatisation.

The IMF instructed Benin, Tanzania, Senegal and São Tomé and Príncipe to privatise their water and electricity distribution companies, and directed price hikes for these essentials in Angola. And in Kenya, water rates in 2021 reportedly jumped 1,000% on the back of a World Bank deal.

What do you think? Should we surrender our water sovereignty to these sharks?

ISRAEL’S JIM CROW?

Does Israel do ‘Jim Crow,’ too?

Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef thinks so. He explained to Piers Morgan during their second widely-circulated interview, which aired in November, that racist laws in Israel prevent Palestinians from buying land in Israeli towns built on top of demolished Palestinian towns. He drew a powerful parallel to the Jim Crow laws that discriminated against Africans in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. In both instances, perpetrators were presented as law-abiding citizens, even though the laws violated human rights.

Plus, Youssef pointed out Christians also live in Palestine. That fact tends to be ignored amid the anti-Muslim rhetoric about Palestinians.

What are your thoughts on this comparison? Jot them below.

BLACK AFRICANS: THE ONLY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE!

Black Africans are the only indigenous people on earth, period - that’s according to science educator and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. In this clip, he explains why to US podcaster Joe Rogan.

Africa is of course the cradle of humanity and civilisation. Being indigenous anywhere else, Tyson points out, is simply a matter of having got there first.

It’s a fact that might upset people - especially those who see themselves as indigenous to an area. And does it mean that everyone on the planet is actually (diaspora) African - and not merely descended from someone in Africa?