‘A Classical People Deserve a Classical Art’: Hugh Masekela and Howard University Honor Nelson Mandela

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Akua Allrich, Apartheid, Ebrahim Rasool, Howard Dodson, Howard University, Hugh Masekala, jazz, Keorapetse Kgositsile, Larry Willis, Nelson Mandela, South Africa, South Africa poet laureate

Masekala performing with Mandela slide in background. Several of the slides had Mandela in rugby garb.

Like coffee, jazz is not particularly my thing, but I’m quite pleased that the same friend who took me to Harrar Roastery convinced  me to go just a bit further down the street yesterday to Howard University and hear Hugh Masekela, South African jazz musician and activist perform ‘A Musical Tribute to Mandela.’  Masekala and a variety of performers capped off Howard University’s Mandela Day, which celebrated the 24th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990.

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In Observance of Black History Month: A Comment on De Facto Segregation

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de facto segregation, George Washington University, Howard University Africa, Jim Crow in DC, Mali, South Africa

I previously blogged about the segregation of Africana entertainment events in DC, with whites tending to go to more mainstream venues in northern Virginia and downtown DC to hear ‘traditional’ African music, while those of African origins go to venues in NE and Maryland to hear a different set of tunes.  With the increasing lip service to globalization and emphasis that many non-Africans in DC place on exploring African cultural products, I find this lingering division to be disturbing.

Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere: Howard University Examines the Free South Africa Movement in DC

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anti-Apartheid legislation, black Hindus, Free South Africa Movement, Howard Dobson, Howard University, Moorland-Springarn Research Center, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Dellums, Ronald Reagan, South Africa, Sylvia Hill, TransAfrica Forum, Washington Office on Africa

Yesterday I attended an event at Howard University on ‘Washington, DC and the Free South Africa Movement: A Retrospective.’  The event was moderated by Dr. Howard Dobson, Director of Howard’s Moorland-Springarn Research Center, which is celebrating its centennial this year.  Panelists included former Congressman and Mayor of Oakland, Ron Dellums, as well as TransAfrica Forum board member and Professor of the University of the District of Columbia, Sylvia Hill.  A black ordained Hindu minister, Gregory McCay also spoke on discrimination in India.

Considering the Treatment of Justine, ‘Just Kidding I’m White!’, Sacco Via Personal Reflections

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Joshua Sacco, Just Kidding I'm White, Justine Sacco, Peace Corps Africa, South Africa, study abroad Africa, Twitter, white hypocrisy

About a month ago, just before Christmas, Justine Sacco, a New York-based PR executive tweeted the following before departing for South Africa.  Her not very articulate Tweet went viral, got her fired, and agitated quite a few folks.  Her remarks were certainly insensitive and reflect an unhealthy race-based appraisal of HIV/AIDS, yet I can’t help but feel the reaction was way overblown in light of previous racial discourse that I’ve frequently heard from whites on HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The Smithsonian Honors Nelson Mandela and Examines Punk in Southern Africa

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Evicted, Harare, Ivan Kadey, Kalahari Surfers, Maputo, Mozambique, My Africa Is, National Wake, Nelson Mandela, Nosa Garrick, Punk in Africa, Smithsonian Museum of African Art, South Africa, Zimbabwe

Lead singer of former interracial South African Punk band performing with guitar at far right (Nelson Mandela on wall)

Earlier today, I dropped by the Smithsonian Museum of African Art to check out a documentary on Punk music in southern Africa.  In early 2012, I saw one of my favorite African films courtesy of the museum, so I was optimistic about this film, despite lacking interest in the genre of music it explored.  The Museum, like so much of the world right now, is paying tribute to Mandela, and I was greeted by his image as I entered the building.  Meanwhile, the film, Punk in Africa, looks at the development of that genre in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe from the 1970s to the present.  The producer of the film, Jeffrey Brown was on hand to engage in Q&A and one of the protagonists gave a brief live performance.

Wole Soyinka at Howard University: In Praise of Rwanda’s Kagame and in Defiance of Gambia’s Jammeh, Or Tearing a New one for African Leaders

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Abdoulaye Wade, Boko Haram, Congo, Gambia, Howard University, Laurent Gbagbo, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, Wole Soyinka, Yahya jammeh

At Howard University last evening (only my second time there for an event), Wole Soyinka ostensibly spoke on the theme of ‘Rwanda: Paradigm for a Continent.’  The scene was set by a call and response between the Howard administrator presiding over the event and the predominantly student audience, something that was a far cry from the staid environment at events at the New England liberal arts school I attended.

The Nigerian Wole Soyinka, one of the continent’s undisputed intellectual giants gave an extremely hard hitting talk, which was as much about Gambia being a blight on Africa’s image than Rwanda being its savior.  Keep reading for Soyinka’s thoughts and why his handling of a Q&A made me lose all respect for him, after a pretty good set of prepared remarks.