Oppression is a word that gets thrown around everywhere these days – sometimes reasonably, sometimes not. People with a basic sense of decency all over the world agree that oppression is wrong and inhumane. Further, they would agree that oppression should be eliminated from human societies. Yet, if we do not have a clear standard definition, upon which we can measure the existence and non-existence of oppression, how can we eliminate it?… More
Gussai H. Sheikheldin
What is Racism?
There are good reasons to define racism. Some people may already know the common definition, and assume it is obvious, and some others are clearly guilty of it but simultaneously claim they are not racist. Generally speaking, people in our age do not want to be labeled as racist, or having racist perceptions, so you will find many who will define racism within comfortable parameters and boundaries that exclude them. … More
Azania, Mandela, and the non-Hollywood Story
Last week, I posted this status on my facebook wall:
- What does Nelson Mandela represent to you?
- In a few words, can you summarize Mandela’s role in the anti-apartheid struggle, and post-apartheid conditions, in Azania* (South Africa)?
- What are your sources of information about this story?
Everyone is invited to provide their answers to the questions above.”
The reason that made me think of asking these questions is the disparity I was seeing, on my facebook live feed, in opinions about the ailing Mandela.… More
Garang: The Pan-Africanist
For a long time, we heard much about John Garang de Mabior the politician and the armed rebellion leader. Little have we heard, however, in the conventional Sudanese media sources, about Garang the scholar of Economic Development and the national visionary, or Garang the pan-Africanist. This article attempts to give some glances of the pan-Africanist side of the man (as last week’s article highlighted his vision of economic development and national building).… More
Nafeer: Leadership Demystified
… More“Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity.”
—Frantz Fanon (1961, The Wretched of the Earth)
“Any individual or group that would aspire to lead society must be ready to pay the costs of leadership: to accept the responsibility, to suffer calumny, to surrender security, to risk both reputation and fortune. If this price, or some important part of it, is not being paid, then the chances are that the claim to leadership is fraudulent.
Something about Sobukwe
A few months ago, my wife and I visited Robben Island in South Africa. The island is less than 7 kilometers away from the coast of Cape Town, and is only about 5 square kilometer in area. Its fame comes from being the notorious prison island where the racist apartheid system used to hold political prisoners. The most famous person who has been held in that prison island for over a decade is Nelson Mandela, who later became the first president of a democratic South Africa.… More
Saving the Planet
“In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace.”
—Wangari Maathai, 1940-2011(the first Eastern African woman to receive a Ph.D, and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.”)
… More“The human brain now holds the key to our future.
Wealthy, Literate, Religious Fanatics: More than you hoped
A common, empathetic argument that claims to make sense of why a good number of seemingly benign, literate young minds from middle and upper-middle class households, from different parts of the world, end up sympathizing with fanatic violent Islamic groups, such as ‘the Islamic Khalifate State’ (also called Daesh) and Al-Qaeda, and sometimes becoming recruits for them. The argument can be summarized like this: look to the causes of socioeconomic dispossession and political oppression that these young minds were exposed to, first-hand or second-hand (i.e.… More