When Emperor Haile Selassie went to Jamaica on this day in 1966

Fifty years ago today, Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie visited Jamaica. Hysterical crowds of thousands of people greeted him the airport in the capital of Kingston. The Ethiopian resistance to Italian colonialism and later occupation, legendary in the Atlantic world, drew some of the attention, but it was the Jamaica’s Rastafari population who were particularly enthusiastic. Rastafari revered (and still revere) Haile Selassie as divine.

Read More

Cuba's Ongoing Resistance to US Ideological War

Before leaving Montreal for Havana in March 2016 to cover Obama's trip to Havana, I wrote an article on Cuba–US relations. Referring to the cultural war to include, in the broad sense of the term, ideological and political aggression, I asked: “The question is, will Obama’s visit to Cuba provide Cubans the opportunity to make headway against the cultural war, or will it allow the US to make inroads? Or are both these scenarios on the horizon?”

Read More

Slavery By Another Name

Slavery: . . . that slow Poison, which is daily contaminating the Minds & Morals of our People. Every Gentlemen here is born a petty Tyrant. Practiced in Acts of Despotism & Cruelty, we become callous to the Dictates of Humanity, & all the finer feelings of the Soul. Taught to regard a part of our own Species in the most abject & contemptible Degree below us, we lose that Idea of the dignity of Man which the Hand of Nature had implanted in us, for great & useful purposes.

Read More

America has locked up so many Black people

For as long as the government has kept track, the economic statistics have shown a troubling racial gap. Black people are twice as likely as white people to be out of work and looking for a job. This fact was as true in 1954 as it is today. The most recent report puts the white unemployment rate at around 4.5 percent. The black unemployment rate? About 8.8 percent. But the economic picture for black Americans is far worse than those statistics indicate. The unemployment rate only measures people who are both living at home and actively looking for a job. The hitch: A lot of black men aren't living at home and can’t look for jobs — because they’re behind bars.

Read More

Despite Tradition and Convention, Salsa Keeps Egyptians on the Dance Floor

Believe it or not, but Latin America and Egypt have more in common than ancient civilization and pyramid-building. After sampling food and music from South America, the Cairo cultural scene is now swaying with salsa dance fever. And the fever, it seems, is here to stay.
While the Cairo Opera House is considering hosting a Monthly Latin American Night as a part of its yearly program after this January's warmly-welcomed Jazz and Latin American Flair, dreams of dancing tango and salsa are becoming a reality, thanks professional dance schools like Latin Love Dance School and enthusiast groups like Latino Dance Community – Egypt on Facebook.

Read More

Black Lives in Germany: A Multigenerational Struggle for Acceptance

Who am I? It seems like a simple enough question, but it is one that thousands of Germans of African descent have to ask themselves every day. In a country that defines identity with a great deal of precision, those who fall outside the norm find themselves trapped in a kind of limbo, neither here nor there.
After World War II, tens of thousands of African-American GIs participated in the occupation of Germany. Many of these young men, barred from combat units by segregation, found homes in supply units. In a country where food was in short supply, not only were these soldiers “exotic,” but they held the keys, if not to the kingdom, then certainly to survival.

Read More

Afro-Colombian Issues Must Be Central to the Peace Process

Afro-Colombians have been disproportionately affected by the country’s decades-long internal conflict and the war on drugs. Fighting between the government, guerrilla groups, and paramilitary organizations has concentrated in the coastal regions, and has taken a major toll on Afro-Colombians, who largely reside in these regions. They have been subject to forced recruitment to armed forces and have suffered casualties, displacement, and land exploitation.

Read More