African

Wherever you are right now, stop and take a look behind you. Go ahead, turn all the way around. Do you see yesterday? No? Well, that’s not surprising since it’s long gone. Take a deep breath and let it all slip your mind. Inhale deeply again and release whatever remains…

It is a fantastical delineation of a lion and a resting gypsy on a twilight night. — Henri Rousseau produced The Sleeping Gypsy in 1897. A traveling African gypsy is shown in the picture dozing off under a starry moonlight sky. A mandolin and a water container are placed by her side. She is quietly being watched over by a lion while she sleeps. The woman’s rainbow-hued…

At least not in the parts they controlled — I recently stumbled across a film produced by the late great Ousmane Sembene who is often solely credited as creator of the African film industry. Being that motion pictures were created in the late 1800s, you’d think I’m talking about a filmmaker who lived a hundred years ago or more…

Yes, you read that right. Well-intentioned White people often get it wrong when talking about African-Americans being enslaved. Every now and then, I’ll even hear a Black person — CHOSSA or Continental African — also discuss African-Americans in the context of slavery. …

This recommendation is for everyone, but especially for CHOSSA and Continental Africans. It’s been a few years since I read it, but Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is one of those books that just sticks with you for life. It’s really so much more than a novel. For CHOSSA, it’s a…

Seeing street children is the worst part of it but the boldness of corruption is the infuriating — Everyone wants money, it's an everyday concern here, home to some of the most extreme wealth is also home to some of the most extreme poverty too. Mainly because many governments have no set-up support systems, except for the one I’ve heard about in South Africa. Recently I was given…