I would like you to meet my grandfather, Dr. Elijah Emezie. He was a loved physician and Senator in Nigeria. He started a hospital and rural practice for his relatively poor community, and worked there as Chief Medical Director at St. Luke’s Hospital in Orlu, Imo State. In 1989, my grandfather gave a valedictory address to the graduating class of …

As long as racism exists in our society, racism will impact health. And as long as racism impacts health, race must be acknowledged within the healthcare setting.

The last day at my childhood church—after many years of youth camps, prayer groups and participation in outreach programmes—I meet with my pastor at the end of the service to tell her I am leaving.

I can imagine a world with no pilots, with no TV producers, with no presidents or prime ministers. But I can not imagine a world without doctors, without healers. Healing has to be one of those things that humans had to figure out very early in our evolution. So when I think about medicine, and being a doctor, I am in awe, that I am on the path to practicing a profession that is as old as humans. Am I even worthy to aspire to this vocation?

Although machine learning algorithms offer exciting possibilities for our health care systems, these advancements are raising valid concerns about how data scientists and physicians can ensure fairness in these algorithms.

The thing about the Negro solstice is that it was never about unlocking new superpowers. It was about cultivating the powers we always had.

You may have heard the phrase “turning blue”. In the case of a heroin overdose, some people’s skin and lips turn blue-purple due to a lack of oxygen in the blood. The medical term for this is called cyanosis. As I read an article on cyanosis recently, my hand fixed on my textbook, it dawned on me that my brown …

Whether in Mafikeng or in Hamilton, recovery is never easy. For South Africans it means facing national trauma, acknowledging the hurt, and forgiving others, including themselves. In order to build up the next generation and stop the cycle of trauma, the journey to recovery is one we must all take.

African scholars, such as Dr. Nwoye, have described grieving in African societies as a community process, where there is just as much emphasis placed on the deceased’s role within the community as there is on supporting their loved ones.

Because national trauma is hardly discussed in the context of its effects on diasporans, we often experience a dissonance between the distress we feel as we watch our motherland bleed, and the unspoken message that we should not be as affected because we are far away from home. The lack of validation and under recognition of the impact of national trauma on the wellbeing and mental health of members of the diaspora is a huge disservice and quite frankly harmful.”

Our heart beats an average of 2.5 billion times during our lifetime! It pumps blood up to our scalp and right down to our pinky toes. We should learn how to take care of it.

We talk to Kabaka about the ideas behind his music, and how he uncovered an alternate curriculum of consciousness

I smell something burning. At the same time, fresh new snow falls, replacing the rainfall promised by man. There is an ineffable relief that Time keeps going and seasons reign in their spotlight when they are due. You’ll know where you are in time. Time locates the self in a myriad of revolutions tugging back and forth between day and …

The concept of Orí, and its significance to human destiny, within the context of Yorùbá mythology and beliefs, has received attention from African Philosophers and Yorùbá Literary Scholars such as Chief Wande Abimbola, Kola Abimbola, Ebunoluwa O. Oduwole, Oladele Balogun and many others. As Yoruba has expanded past the shores of Ife, expanded into neighboring regions, traveled around the world, …

I try very hard not to think of deconstruction. Like my eyes see more than what is not white, what is not Western or what is not material. Though it is necessary to shed what is not useful because, despite what we might think, by the time we’re aware of the world we already have solid notions of it. Life …

I often wonder what it is that limits us from remembering who we were before this time; before we entered this realm and Babylon told us who to be. When we were just souls and consciousness waiting to choose the right vehicle to manifest. The elders say that all things will be revealed with time. And so we wait, and …

Yasin Dwyer is a Jamaican-Canadian imam who is known for his insightful and inspiring Islamic reminders and lessons at Muslim community events. As these events often begin later than advertised, I’ve often heard Imam Dwyer quoting a mood-lightening but very thought-provoking Jamaican saying (in his Jamaican accent): “White man have clock, but Black man have time.” It would take many …

“Two patties please.” I tell myself I’ll avoid grabbing any this time, but it is a tradition now. I get my haircut at the spot three stores down, then stop in here before getting the bus home. “2.50,” the clerk says. His face says he is in his fifties, but the hunched back makes him seem older. His movements are …

From little date seeds, great things are born. Everything’s gone as planned. As per custom. Away from baby’s father for all nine months. Stayed with parents. The whole room’s been polished with cow dung, right? Yeah. Been alone since just now because I started to feel it. It’s coming. Mother, grandmother, and little sister. I wish he was here but …

In all the units of time I have learnt to measure, time is never alive. A minute, second, year, is always a function of counting, a container to organize stuff, to organize life. Categories like millennia, era, ages, try to say something about culture, and the cultural machination of the time—the dark ages, the Muslim golden age, the age of …

There is a tendency in dominant discourses to make radical historical figures palatable to a larger public by showcasing only some of their views over others. This allows society to elevate these people to the status of a “hero” without internalizing the politics or issues they were advocating for. The way we see famous figures is an artifact of time. …

What does healing mean? On a physical level, whenever our bodies are hurt and our skin’s barrier is ruptured, red blood cells create collagen needed to rush to the scene and eventually patch up said area. A straightforward way of healing. There are many things the body can heal from; depending on the scale of the wound, either more or …

From the Maritime Silk road and the Nile, to naval warfare and exploration, boats have been built and used by African societies dating back nearly eight thousand years. Mali emperor Abu Bakr II is said to have set to sea to explore ‘the limits of the ocean’. Growing evidence suggests that the Malian explorer landed in the “New World” approximately …

When I am in water, I am at peace. I float there, giving my soul a chance to hold the moment, of being one with this vast unknown. When I was younger, I tried to replicate this feeling in swimming pools. I remember begging my mother for a house with a pool so I can just float for hours. I …

On June 14, 1325, Almost two centuries before Columbus, a 21-year-old Ibn Battuta rode out of Tangier on a donkey, the start of his journey to Mecca. He took many detours and returned home over three decades later as one of history’s great travelers. Here are seven travel tips from Ibn Battuta’s travels.  Pack light and brace your resolution to …

Humans are social creatures, we communicate through words that can transcend generations whether verbally or written. Our words connect the past to the future. An example of the beautiful connection of past and present is the verbal tradition of poetry.  Poetry can be used to express emotions, describe atmospheres and guide people on a journey of not only self-discovery but …

Home to one of the hottest capital cities in the world, water in Sudan is the most important resource in the country. Although it is characterized by the meeting of the White and Blue Nile, Sudan experiences flash floods in Central Darfur and growing desertification in the Northern regions with weathers starkly differing across the country. It is however, predominantly …

What I mean, when I say I am drowning Quran: the Light, 24:40 My favourite spot in Toronto rests in between Lakeshore and the horizon. There lies a pit of emptiness that always holds my gaze. I am enchanted by the way the seas kiss the sky. Its image washes my concerns over. The amble sounds of tides gently rising …

Whether you ask a tourist or an island local, the notion remains the same: the sun shines brighter in Tobago.  As you board the plane from Trinidad to Tobago, you see ahead of you the gorgeous views of crystal blue waters, this being the first of many indicative traits of the serene, and beautiful beachfront that awaits you. Framed by …

Mogadishu is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting with traders and travellers all around the Indian Ocean for millennia. Through the middle ages, there had been many visitors that had come to visit and trade in Mogadishu. The city of Blinding beauty left impressions on tourists and traders alike.   …

When I was 14, I wrote a poem detailing the Nile’s long history of turning sorrow into “blazing water.” I understood the fictitious nature of my claims then and even laughed when I read the poem again at 19. Yet now, as I sift through the Nile folklore I requested from my Ugandan and Sudanese friends, the similarities between my …

Throughout my graduate education, whenever there was some uproar over one of Trump’s foolish tweets, or another gruesome violation of human rights, my colleagues and I often joked about how Mother Earth will soon wipe us just like it did to our dinosaur predecessors. The sad thing is, as social scientists, we internally fear the possible truth behind such sarcasm. …

A celebration of the food we love. The food that reminds us of home and awakens our senses of nostalgia.

One of the earliest memories I have is playing “restaurant” in the plastic kitchen my parents bought for me. Brightly coloured plastic spoons would clang and clack against plastic pots as I whipped up the delicacy of the day. Of course, although no real ingredients were used, I took great care in pouring pretend broths, and chopping imaginary vegetables to …

I love ganja, herb, marijuana, cannabis, weed, trees… whatever name the plant goes by in your world. I love everything about it. The colour, the smell, the taste, the texture, what it represents, how useful it is in the world, how it makes me feel, the ceremonious way I encounter it within Rastafari, the space that it brings me to.  …

Close your eyes (figuratively I mean, you literally just started reading); transport yourself back to when you were a kid. What snack couldn’t you wait to eat after school? When your mother forced you into itchy formal wear and dragged you to a wedding, what snack made going even slightly more bearable? If you compare notes with friends, you’ll find …

I imagine Ethiopia tastes like minced raw beef, marinated in mitmita and niter kibbeh. I imagine it is hot and hospitable. Japan must taste like vinegared rice, with a serving of raw fish and vegetables. I’ve never been, but I have tasted them. Offered to me through the memory of their expatriates, at the bazar in my high school in …

Ital uplifts plant-based alternatives while continuing to highlight the culinary cultures of people of African descent

Prof. Maurice Iwu invites you to consider that our ideas of medicine are never fixed in time, and never complete. There have always existed multiple healing disciplines. He asks you to consider that the food you eat has great potential to heal you.  Prof Iwu is a professor and practitioner of pharmacognosy.  His expertise is in herbal medicine, and has …

I don’t know how I got there—on the street, with the protesters, and their songs and chants of “ENDSARS!”—but I feel like I was exactly where I was meant to be. When we were younger, we were taught to sing: “we are the leaders of tomorrow.” But what happens when the leaders of tomorrow emerge, and the leaders of today …

Last year, I visited my homeland, Ghana, for the first time in my life. I did not know how much I would need that trip, and how the lessons I learnt would free me from myself. Being born and raised in Canada, it’s very easy to feel detached. Yet when I had the opportunity to visit Ghana and learn about …

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 …

Usually, when people ask me where I am from or what my background is  and I mention Zimbabwe, they pause for a bit and either ask “where is that?” or “you’re the first person I’ve met from Zimbabwe.” The continuous response that always strikes me the most, however, is “MUGABE? that’s the country with Robert Mugabe right?”  After years of …

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 …