In the context of changing climates and increased stresses on the natural environment, women farmers need consistent, relevant and intelligent support, in a timely manner, to secure their critically important roles in food security, health and biodiversity conservation. There are important lessons from the Caribbean in this regard

Repossession of land was at the heart of the African struggle for freedom from European colonialism. It is sad that to this day many Africans in ‘independent’ nations still have no access to the most essential resource for human survival

In response to a crackdown on “illegal” immigrants by Saudi Arabia in which many Ethiopians were repatriated, Addis Ababa has imposed an unconstitutional ban on foreign travel for work. The ban is illogical. Better ways of handling the matter abound

Despite government and ruling party hype, South Africa remains a country in which the capitalist class and their small minority of middle class and political hangers-on ride the ‘world class’ gravy train while telling the rest of the people to cram into the ‘third class’ carriages

For the past two decades, Russian language studies has drastically fallen among the African population primarily due to lack of general interest, financial constraints in support for study programs and a lack of consistent interactive cultural activities by the Russian authorities, both Russian and African experts say

Can Pretoria’s delegation to the Conference of the Parties COP19 in Warsaw – the annual UN Framework Convention on Climate Change summit which opened on Monday and closes on November 22 – make a convincing statement that one of the world’s highest per-capita greenhouse-gas polluters is reforming?

The Constitutional Court ruling which deprives thousands of individuals of foreign descent of their Dominican nationality is being implemented. This has created an increasing nationalist and hostile atmosphere where individuals of Haitian descent are particularly discriminated against and at risk of violence and further violations.

Evelyn Mkite is a Fahamu Fellow 2013 based in Cheptais location in the Mt Elgon region in Bungoma County, western Kenya. Her activism work revolves around fighting against child labour in Cheptais with the intent of keeping them in school.

Victor Nee and Sonja Opper’s (2012) book on Capitalism From Below: Markets and Institutional Change in China is an ambitious attempt at explaining, theoretically and empirically, the country’s economic miracle. It is also a bold attempt at prescribing a model for replicating such a success in other reforming countries.

(Nairobi, November 12, 2013) – Kenya’s leaders and lawmakers should reject proposed laws regulating the media and nongovernmental activity that would severely undermine fundamental rights and freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today.

Underneath widespread state-sponsored violence in Sudan is an imploding economy, thanks to 24 years of gross mismanagement of a nation rich in natural resources by the al Bashir regime. When will the desperate realities re-ignite the recently repressed uprising?

Halloween brings out the worst, in the worst white folks. What was an enjoyable time to dress up in costume has become the white racist moment to act out sick fantasy

The brutality of the repressive Eritrean government coupled with deep seated economic problems in the tiny country provide deep-seated reasons why Eritreans are a people under siege seeking escape and fundamental change in their country

Fourteen Caribbean countries are suing to compel Britain, France and The Netherlands to pay reparations for centuries of slavery. However, the plaintiffs may have more modest goals in mind

The definition of black today is from what the founder of Black Consciousness, Steve Bantu Biko, said it was: ‘a reflection of a mental attitude.’ It is different, diversified, multiple and more complicated than what was the case in the 1960s

NGOs need urgent soul-searching. They have hogged public space that they have deprived ordinary citizens of the right to speak for themselves. The Ugandan NGOs have stifled the citizens’ voices.

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To Celestine Edwards

and to Tower Hamlets Council, for their Black History Walks.

PART I

I

He looked like dignity,
The day I saw him speak in Victoria Park.
I was sinking in drink,
Approaching the brink;
The day I stepped out of the dark.

Spoke against human trafficking,
And enslavement by booze.
Made me think again,
Regenerating my brain;
Like a prophet bringing good news.

II

Woke up that day in a Methodist Mission,
Just another impatient sailor.
Heard he'd been a seaman too,
Sailing out from Dominica.

I'd been drinking excessively again,
While waiting for another ship out.
Fighting with the feared killer -
A yellow fever bout.

Walking down Whitechapel Road,
Memories of Ira Aldridge.
He performed at the Pavilion,
Black butterfly on thespian ridge.

From whatever part of the Black world,
We all had crosses to bear.
Ira bore his on the world stage,
In Othello, Macbeth and King Lear.

III

So I wandered around,
What else is there to do?
When not destination-bound.

Past Wiltons the old music hall,
Where the actors blacked up;
I never sat in a Wilton stall.

I meandered amongst the drifters,
Africans, Jews, Russians;
Chinese, Irish and Lascars.

Tramped the many alleys,
By West India Docks;
Trodding with the ghosts of slavery.

Through the streets of migrants and refugees,
Choked with frustration;
Constructed by poverty.

I had too much time to spare,
Lashed by loneliness;
Trapped in alcohols' snare.

IV

Waking that day,
Seemed like any other.
A day to wait,
To dissipate,
Twenty fours of slow replay.
Between the horse and the ass,
No one hears the mule bray.

We woke, ate and left.
Exodus of the ex-men.
En route to vomit,
Some to pickpocket,
Hands swift and deft.
Those sagas of survival;
Who will talk of the men bereft?

Passed by St. Botolphs, Aldgate.
Popular amongst us blacks.
I should have gone in,
Joined in the singing -
But I was in a state.
Head down I plodded on,
Hoping that God would wait.

Must have gone east of there -
Outside the Ragged School.
First schooling for many of us.
Children given care,
Who'd known wear and tear.
God bless you Dr Barnado;
Wish I had a penny to spare.

Then I found myself before him,
Overcome with awe.
Never sobered up so quick!
Life lost it's whim,
Potential slim.
I stepped out of the park,
A new stride in my limb.

PART II

I

I researched the man,
Eager to know of him.
Of how he retained dignity,
Went onward with his plan.

So I asked the temperance people,
The abolitionists too.
Asked a priest from Cheltenham,
A sailor from Newcastle.

Spoke with anti-lynching activists,
Bought papers he edited.
Heard him speak when I could;
I knew his itinerary lists.

So what follows is what I learnt,
Snapshots of a savant.
It's good to have a saviour,
When you're about to get burnt.

II

One of nine children
Born in Dominica
School days in Antigua

After Methodist School
Stowed away at twelve
Time to search and delve

As well as Europe
To North America
Onto it's Southern neighbour

And he read and read
Role model par excellence
For a life not making sense

Spoke in Edinburgh
In Sunderland as well
Chimes of Celestine's bell

Then south to London
To reside in Bethnal Green
Speaking in Glasgow and Aberdeen

He continued to lecture
Survived as a labourer
And a penny pamphleteer

III

Co-wrote a life story -
From Slavery to Bishopric;
Life of Walter Hawkins.
Evidence of his brilliance,
His talents polymathic.

Edited two newspapers -
Lux and Fraternity.
Fought lynching,
Alcohol abuse,
And state brutality.

Preached in Plymouth and Bristol,
The 'Negro Lecturer'.
One summer in Liverpool,
Spoke about the lives,
Of Black and White America.

In his early thirties,
He studied for a degree.
Went to Kings College,
Of London University;
Majoring in Theology.

In his mid-thirties,
He dreamed of being a doctor:
But his body said no.
Conquered by exhaustion,
Returned home to his brother.

Constant lecturing,
Teaching of the Bible.
The body can only take so much.
His dream collapsed;
The hope of London Hospital.

He passed away in Dominica,
Cared for by his brother.
As far as I know,
He left no child;
Neither wife, partner or lover.

I remember him as strong in body -
That legendary laugh.
I eulogise Celestine.
Seems everyone wanted him,
As a member of their staff.

Self-educated man,
Who loved to read and read.
Man on a mission,
Spreading knowledge,
The scattering of seed.

I put away the bottle,
And took up books.
I observed the great eagle,
Helping others;
The starlings and the rooks.

Never meant to go there that day,
Into Victoria Park.
He held his head high,
Gently reasoning;
Devoid of rant and bark.

Celestine, Celestine,
I say your name with pride.
My great conductor,
Who took me on a journey;
Who gave me a ticket to ride.

© Natty Mark Samuels, 2013. African School.

The case of Amarildo, an Afro-Brazilian teenager tortured to death by the Brazilian police represents the dispossession of blacks and institutionalized racism of Brazilian society as black people of the favelas continue to confront racial stereotypes that dehumanize and ultimately take their lives

What is to be done, in the wake of the Warsaw climate summit’s conclusive failure to cap emissions two weeks ago? The answer:

How does a person become racist and what effect does being a childhood victim of discrimination have on adult life? Some very real heart breaking case studies of the effects of racism are explored, demonstrating the scars of racism on Afro-Brazilians

The African Union has resolved to create a memorial to the victims of human rights violations in Africa at its headquarters in Addis Ababa. This promises both a deeper engagement with human rights and a more holistic approach to conflict transformation by the continental body

Nigeria is preparing for another census in 2016. Head counts in the West African nation are, like elections, controversial do-or-die affairs. Powerful vested interests always tussle to have the numbers in their favour

Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians have voted with their feet to escape one of the most ruthless and brutal dictatorships in Africa. But Saudi Arabia where many of them have ended up is no better than their own motherland

The proposed draft legal framework undermines the sovereign of governments to regulate matters concerning plant varieties as all authority to grant and administer plant varieties granted at the regional level vests with the ARIPO office

The Upinde Awards (formerly gay and lesbian awards) is an annual event organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. The Awards aims to appreciate the contributions made towards making Kenya an open democratic society by equality actors and allies as well as LGBTIQ individuals and groups The awards are also to honor politicians, journalists, employers, business leaders, journalists and other allies who are committed to advancing equality and social acceptance for LGBTIQ individuals in Kenya.

Sobukwe Shukura of Revolutionary African Perspectives radio interviews Brother Mukussaon, formerly known as Willie Ricks. Brother Mukussaon recalls his organising work with Kwame Ture in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council (SNCC) in the late 1960s; the significance of the term 'Black Power' that became the militant demand of African Americans at a particular conjuncture in history; the work of SNCC and the many influences and individuals that shaped the ideological thinking and positions of Kwame Ture.

Listen to the interview

Kwame Turé spent his lifetime fighting for the right of Africans to express dignity and self-determination by challenging the systems that perpetuate our political, cultural and economic subjugation

Critical lessons can be learnt from the life of Kwame Ture. He earnestly studied revolution in order to learn from it and organised ordinary African people for it. His passion, consistency and principled commitment to politically educating African people are part of his rich legacy

Kwame Ture embodied the revolutionary African personality in his thought, actions and physical attire. He was passionately committed to overturning the systems of imperialism, capitalism, neocolonialism and Zionism that continue to subjugate African people around the world

The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) is developing a Directory of individuals, organizations and law firms offering or ready to offer pro bono legal representation, or any other form of legal aid, to indigent clients appearing before African continental and (sub) regional Courts and tribunals. This Directory will also include any established funds or facilities offering pro bono legal aid.

If there is another breakdown in trust between the ruling Ennahda party, its allies and the secularists, and if the Islamists insist on completing the proposed new constitution prior to the creation of a new government, escalating tensions could prompt more mass demonstrations, general strikes and civil unrest

The African Union is moving towards a break with the International Criminal Court, a tribunal that only indicts Africans who get on the wrong side of the United States. Desmond Tutu and others claim the ICC needs to be there, to defend “the victims.” But its brand of justice is highly selective

Too much forgiveness is an unhealthy thing. It allows the excessively forgiven parties to believe that they can do no wrong. Of course, there have been times when Negroes had little choice but to forgive white people – or pretend to forgive – or die