The Lost Vision of a Democratic Socialist South Africa

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Alan Weider, ANC, Busboys and Poets, Jewish South Africans, Joe Slovo, Ruth First, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, Umkhonto we Sizwe

As I promised yesterday, I got to Busboys and Poets to hear the Portland, Oregon based Alan Weider (not really sure what his background is beyond that) speak on his new book, Ruth First and Joe Slovo in the War Against Apartheid.  First and Slovo were prominent Jewish white South African communists (First was born in Johannesburg, Slovo immigrated from Lithuania as a youth).  Weider’s remarks wandered widely, so I won’t recount the event in too much detail, but he did make a bombshell allegation that may be worth reading on for.

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Upcoming Africa in DC Literary Events

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Alan Weider, Aminatta Forna, anti-apartheid activists, Berlin Conference, Busboys and Poets, Joe Slovo, Politics and Prose, Ruth First, South Africa

For those of you who often ask me to give advance notice of events, there are two book events I’m hoping to attend this week.

Later today, Alan Weider, the author of a book on Joe Slovo and Ruth First, white anti-apartheid activists (and communists) speaks at Busboys and Poets (the 14th and V location).

Next week, on the 21st, the same venue of Busboys and Poets hosts a film viewing and discussion on the Berlin Conference (from 6 – 8pm).

Tomorrow, the Sierra Leonean/British author Aminatta Forna speaks at Politics and Prose about her latest book – which is apparently set in Croatia and has nothing to do with Africa.  Forna seems particularly cool, she even responded to a Tweet I sent her recently.

Che in the Congo: Justice Denied

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Busboys and Poets, Cafe Arte, Che Guevara Congo, Congo - Rwanda relations, Freddy Ilunga, Friends of the Congo, Institute for Policy Studies, Kambale Musavuli, Ofunshi Oba Koso, Orisha, Patrice Lumumba, Victor Dreke

Yesterday evening, the Friends of the Congo, with support from the Institute for Policy Studies, hosted a fantastic event (From Cuba to Kuba) which explored Cuban solidarity with African anti-imperialism movements.  Che Guevara’s 7 month mission in the Congo in 1965 was the background for most of the dicussion.  I had previously been to a Friends of the Congo event (held in the exact same venue no less – the DC  municipal center on 14th and U) and I felt at odds with the organization’s ideological approach.  I no longer have such qualms.

An American African in Tanzania, Bob Moses at Busboys & Poets Tonight

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Bob Moses, Busboys and Poets, Pan-African Skills Project, Tanzania

He’s not as sexy as Taiye Selasi, but Bob Moses will be reading from a recent book at Busboys and Poets tonight (7pm).

A MacArthur genius who became actively involved in mathematics, Moses first made his name as a Civil Rights activist in Mississippi in the 1960s.  He settled in Tanzania for several years in the 1970’s (where he also taught math).  I’ve read that he’s not a keen public speaker, but Bob Moses has lived a fascinating (and seemingly selfless) life and I imagine his remarks will be compelling.  If anyone attends, please comment on the reading.

http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/event/a-conversation-with-bob-moses-and-junot-diaz

For anyone interested in post-independence black American settlers in Africa, I highly recommend this book by Kevin Gaines (Ghana).  Hopefully someone will soon write the history of the Pan-African Skills Project and similar movement to Tanzania.