Everything you plant in Kinshasa grows. A seed towers into a mountain, a molecule of salt into a diamond, a quarrel between brothers boils into civil war.  Maybe this is why Congo is the most resource-rich nation on earth. Maybe this is why the plunder still rages. The Beauty of the Congo is not just in its earth, but also …

Words are powerful instruments that some are expertly trained to play. In West Africa, the talent of wordplay belongs to the Griots. These prolific wordsmiths form a caste of skilled storytellers, but the tales they regale are not fictional, they are rich oral accounts of West African history and philosophical thought.  In Medieval Mali, Griots of the Malian Empire served …

My grandmother likes to begin a story by looking into herself. She sips from her tea which is sometimes chai, other times orange pekoe, decaf – seeing as she drinks multiple cups a day and we realized how much caffeine that was – laced with honey, just a touch of it to sweeten her words. She closes her eyes. She …

If there were founding fathers, then surely, there must have been founding mothers. The birth of a nation, I am certain, is not without the influence of those most vital to its continued lineage. Those who were critical in shaping the destiny of our nations, birthing constitutions, and willing governance to existence are, at worse, erased from its history and, …

It was the summer of 2017 and I had just graduated from my MA in Globalization. It had been 6 years since the Arab Revolutions, and 7 years since my last visit to Egypt. By then I had developed a hobby out of documentary photography and was yearning for a good adventure. I was torn between capturing the aesthetics of …

Winston Churchill is quoted as saying “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried.” It’s hard to disagree. When I compare democracy to other forms of government that I understand, this sentiment rings true to me. Worldwide, non-democratic governments are revered as illegitimate and primordial, while Democratic pursuits are funded by …

The Caribbean is littered with rich experiences and adaptations of life on the islands. The stories and culture often transcend borders and are reflected in the experiences of Caribbean immigrants all over the globe. Dive in with us into these narratives as we explore 7 titles written by Caribbean writers.  ‘Til the Well Runs Dry – Lauren Francis-Sharma Francis-Sharma takes …

The point of mythology or myth is to point to the horizon and to point to ourselves: this is who we are; this is where we came from; and this is where we’re going.

“Eh Kwik!” “Eh Kwak!”  In her book, “Tales From the Caribbean,” author Trish Cooke recounts the call and expected response that raconteurs would give in her parents’ native Dominica before launching into traditional folk stories. With roots in African tradition oral tradition, this type of storytelling has allowed the passage of monsters and mischief-making characters across the Atlantic. Cooke notes …

In Bridgetown, the world has changed in many ways; a tiny rat with goat horns, bat wings and an eye is breaking into people’s homes and feeding on their terror. A large bird is sighted in the sky, causing the authorities to shut down all travel, and a herd of albino cows flock to the ocean. The Caribbean Ocean rages, …

“Bue pono no.” Open the door. Sunset, and our Chief Priestess stands on a grassy mountaintop amid water yams thick with the thatch of an unharvested season and calls on Nyame. She is trying to cast out a wicked future and invoke one where invaders do not capture our Helpers. Weeks ago, in the nebulous confines of tomorrow, she saw …

In my dreams, there is a little girl standing in front of a door. Waiting.  And I am waiting too. For her, or for this dream to be over, and to be free from these tremors that haunt me at night. Whichever one comes first. I try to see what is on the other side, of her face, of My …

Yoruba is a language that exists entirely in the realm of my grandmother’s house, and here, in this church, where it is mine and ours, where I finally feel like a part of something.

The rich aunt touched by Marzel: Elegant and beautiful. Foreshadowing a season of drought in my life – she makes it rain ! Bless her heart !

Steel pan was a defiant instrument. At the time it was invented, the people of Trinidad were exposed to and under the rule of the powers of be at that time. And because when the slaves originally came to Trinidad against their will, they took away their native instruments including the drums. But they found another way to flourish.

Love Letter to Sudan is an ongoing series of digital collages using dated and modern photographs of my families in Sudan during the 1960s – 1990s.

To the 20-somethings out there, I understand that the hustle is real, the grind is real. The deck is stacked against you until we can reshuffle the cards.