Category archives for: Commentary

New Grammy category for African music ignores almost all of Africa

IAN BRENNAN The 2024 Grammy awards will see the introduction of a new category: “best African music performance.” When the category was announced last year, Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. stated that it would be “able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists” than the two existing global Grammy categories, where African artists […]

‘They’re targeting us’: Sudan’s army cracks down on democracy activists

In the midst of war, Sudan’s army is retaliating against activists for their role in bringing down the former regime. When the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces captured Sudan’s second-largest city, Wad Madani, tens of thousands of people fled and sought safety in regions still under the army’s control. Mohamad Osman* was among them, but military […]

With ECOWAS, not all dictators are equal

LASISI OLAGUNJU The Jerusalem Post is arguably Israel’s most-read English news website and best-selling English newspaper. On Wednesday, August 9 it published an interesting report of what it described as a “nature drama” involving a large black snake in the town of Shoham, halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The huge snake was “found motionless […]

Niger Needs Deeper Mediation Diplomacy, Not Military Intervention

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, a victim of a callous history and geography. After toppling the democratically elected Nigerien President, Mohamed Bazoum, on 26 July, the new military junta in Niamey, riding on a dizzying wave of orchestrated populist urgings, has suspended the constitution, detained the president (and his family […]

Black people presiding over the downfall of Donald Trump is poetic justice

ERIKA D. SMITH On Tuesday, August 1, a few hours before the latest indictment of former President Trump became public, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Florida, addressing a room full of mostly Black women. “Through your faith, you have helped to make real the promise of our founding principles, not just for some, but […]

A force for unity or simply toothless? The African Union at 60

The African Union is celebrating 60 years of unity in 2023. The organization has achieved much since its creation, but ongoing conflicts have exposed the difficulties it faces in bringing peace and prosperity to the continent. MELISSA CHEMAM The African Union is often criticized as an institution without real power, but for political analysts, the […]

The Food and Drink Items Airline Employees Avoid on Planes

When it comes to in-flight meals, no one knows better than the flight attendants who work on the aircrafts day in and day out. ANNA RAHMANAN Every type of traveler — from occasional to frequent flyers — has an opinion about food served on planes, whether they’re appreciative of the fare or starkly opposed to […]

The truth about booze: how alcohol really affects your body, from first flush of happiness to hangover hell

JOEL SNAPE Is red wine good for you? Is it healthier to drink a little than not at all? Is there such a thing as hangxiety? It’s time to sort fact from fiction Birds do it, when they eat berries that have fermented in the first frost. Bees do it, when they suck on tree […]

The Tooth-Fairy Economics of Slavery Reparations

PHILLIP W. MAGNESS & DAVID R. HENDERSON The reparations movement has gained tremendous ground in recent years by offering promises of compensation to the descendants of slavery’s victims in the United States. The proposal forms the centerpiece of the New York Times 1619 Project, which is now a multi-million-dollar docuseries on the Hulu streaming service. […]

Yes to Restitution, No to Reparations

California is determined to lead the way in reparations for Black Americans. JONATHAN J. BEAN Late last year, for example, the California Reparations Task Force, created by Gov. Gavin Newsom after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, suggested that California should pay descendants of former slaves and free Blacks “living […]

Amandlanews.com