Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey "Only the best is good enough for Africa."
Kwame Nkrumah "The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa."
PRESS RELEASE Contact: Dan Armstrong (847) 749-9675 darmstrong@njhumanities.org October 8, 2025 NJCH Awards 2025 Stanley N. Katz Prize for Excellence in Public Humanities to “Honoring Cudjo Banquante!” Project The weeklong project brought to life the little-known story of Cudjo Banquante, an enslaved man who fought in Washington’s Army, gained freedom and became Newark’s first documented […]
LAUREN LEE From Lagos to the Grammys, Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems has conquered the global stage without compromising who she is. “Authenticity is everything to me,” she says. “That’s the one thing I cannot compromise on because that’s all I have — who I really am.” When Tems stepped on stage at New York’s MetLife Stadium […]
Former President Peter Mutharika’s return to power through democratic elections is a model for peaceful transitions elsewhere. CHRISTOPHER VANDOME The changing of governments via democratic elections is not the norm in Southern Africa, a region characterized by dominant parties and national liberation movements. Peaceful transitions deserve notice. The democratic change of government in Malawi shows […]
In northern Ghana, the unchecked felling of shea trees is placing the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of women at serious risk. Shea nut collection, a centuries-old tradition and a vital economic activity, is under threat as illegal logging intensifies across the region. MICHAEL SARPONG MFUM For more than 900,000 women in the Northern, Upper […]
Hundreds of women carry cross-border trade on their heads and backs every day at Kasumbalesa, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s second-busiest border crossing into Zambia. Their work keeps supply chains moving, but they endure extortion and harassment for work that gives little return. DENISE MAHEHO They call themselves “wowo” after the Chinese goods trucks that […]
MARCO SIMONCELLI| DAVIDE LEMMI | KHALIFA SAID Tanzanian authorities have pushed Maasai relocations since 2022, sparking condemnation from rights groups. With elections nearing, will pressure shift or deepen? The Maasai, an ethnic group indigenous to southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, have grazed livestock around Tanzania’s Lake Natron for generations. Park rangers from the Tanzania Wildlife […]
King Mohammed VI on Friday, October 10, urged elected officials to stop wasting time and fix social injustices, framing anger voiced by Morocco’s youth-led protesters as a question of governance rather than of the country’s broader vision. The king’s short but charged address mirrored some of the grievances raised by Gen Z 212 protesters about […]
MARTINA SCHWIKOWSKI The South African anti-immigration movement Operation Dudula has opened a new front in its crackdown on foreigners. Experts believe that socio-economic disparities and ensuing problems fuel the group’s popularity. The South African populist, nationalist and anti-immigration group “Operation Dudula” is once more making headlines, having recently launched a campaign targeting migrant children. By […]
Anti-government protests reflect profound frustration about poverty and corruption To see why thousands have taken to the streets of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, in recent days, look up from the demonstrations to the cable car that dangles above the city. The line, which was finished this year thanks to financing from France, is meant […]