The South African government and representatives of indigenous people and farming groups have signed a benefit-sharing agreement to ensure that members of the indigenous Khoisan community receive a percentage of the value for the growth and processing of rooibos as traditional knowledge holders.
Black History
Politics and Society University of Bristol appoints history of slavery professor to interrogate its past
The United Kingdom’s first black female history professor, Olivette Otele, is set to take on the role of interrogating the University of Bristol’s part in the transatlantic slave trade. She will help the university better understand its past as it struggles to keep up with its counterparts.
Arts and Culture Ethiopia’s Imperial Palace opened to the public after more than a century
Ethiopia’s 40-acre Imperial Palace compound that has housed the country’s leaders and the troops for over a century has remained shrouded from the public since its establishment in 1887 by Emperor Menelik II. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has however finally opened a portion of the compound to the public as a symbol of coming together and boost tourism.
Arts and Culture Self-appointed custodian in Netherlands returns priceless Ethiopian crown
After more than two decades of keeping it hidden in his Netherlands home, Dutch-Ethiopian national Sirak Asfaw has revealed an 18th century Ethiopian crown. He came forward in an effort to have it repatriated to his home country now that it is under a progressive regime.
Lifestyle Fawn Weaver starts American whiskey brand to honour the contribution of a slave master distiller
A 270-acre distillery is the first in U.S. history to honour Nathan “Nearest” Green an African American slave known as the Godfather of Tennessee whiskey and one of the few operated and owned by a black woman. It is reported that Jack Daniels of the popular whiskey brand learnt everything on the art of distillation and the operation of a whiskey still from this man.
Politics and Society What Mandela and Fanon learned from Algeria’s revolution in the 1950s
The Algerian revolution had a profound effect on both Mandela and Fanon’s thinking about colonisation, oppression and freedom.
Arts and Culture Slavers in the family: what a castle in Accra reveals about Ghana’s history
Archaeological research at Christiansborg Castle in Ghana has provided an in-depth understanding of Danish, Ga and Danish-Ga lived experiences during the eighteenth century transatlantic slave trade.
African identities Senegalese photographer Omar Victor Diop challenges monolithic black history
In an exhibition titled “Liberty”, Omar Victor Diop reinterprets defining moments of historical revolt and black struggle in Africa and the diaspora. His images challenge monolithic history-telling of roles such as African railway workers, French migrants, Second World War soldiers, Jamaican maroons and members of the Black Panther Party.
Africans rising Meet Olivette Otele, the United Kingdom’s first black female history professor
Cameroon-born academic Dr Olivette Otele became the first black woman professor of history in the UK, at Bath Spa University. She specialises in collective memory and geopolitics, particularly as related to the colonial histories of Britain and France.