Gold Weights and Wind Scales in the Asante Empire
The ornamented tools used to ensure fair market transactions also conveyed the stories and values of the Akan peoples.
How Two Kansans Invented the Safari Documentary
Martin and Osa Johnson were celebrities in their day, but their vision of Africa was way out of touch with reality.
George Washington Williams and the Origins of Anti-Imperialism
Initially supportive of Belgian King Leopold II’s claim to have created a “free state” of Congo, Williams changed his mind when he saw the horrors of empire.
The Benin Bronzes and the Cultural History of Museums
What an 1897 exhibition at the British Museum can tell us about how African artworks were perceived in an era of imperialism.
How Ghanaian Artists Infused Hollywood with Spirituality
The cinema in 1980s Ghana was DIY. So were the movie posters, now the subject of an exhibition at the Poster House in New York City.
Is the “Resource Curse” a Myth?
Countries like Liberia and Chad have a lot of oil, and yet little of their wealth has translated into public welfare. Some blame the "resource curse."
Did Kongolese Catholicism Lead to Slave Revolutions?
The legacy of Kimpa Vita, a Kongolese Catholic mystic, was felt from the U.S. to Haiti.
The Mixed Environmental Legacy of Missionaries
The recent murder of Christian missionary John Chau has drawn attention to the effects outsiders have on native tribes and ecology.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I Became Black in America
Adichie speaks on the meaning of blackness, sexism in Nigeria, and whether the current feminist movement leaves out black women.
Africa’s Mighty Baobabs
Sub-Saharan Africa's iconic baobab trees are experiencing die-offs at an alarming rate. What makes these distinctive trees so unique?