Hello friends, I am back again, finally, after more than 5 months of a forced absence. Thank you to those who have taken news! don't worry, my prolonged absence is not due to a lack of inspiration, of topics to share with you, or a breakdown of our Sankofa, it was really a much more prosaic reason, simply professional. One must pay the bills, right…

This woman, Mary Thomas, a courageous 19th-century slave from St. Croix (now part of the U.S. Virgin Islands), rebelled against indignity, along with two other women leaders, Agnes and Mathilda, "the three queens," to spark the largest labour revolt in Danish colonial history, an uprising known as the "Fireburn," in which fifty plantations and most…

Join us in Part 2 to learn how the reign of the Nana Benz ended and the efforts of their daughters, ( the Nanettes) who actually went to business schools in the US and Europe to try and keep the sun shining! Enjoy!By My African Cliches podcast

The Nana Benz is first and foremost a collective adventure that refers to the economic mutations of an entire continent, from the early days of the colonial age to the arrival in force of China. To understand their story, we have to go back a long way, to the middle of the 19th century, and take the road to Indonesia, then under the domination of t…

Who are you? What are you the name of? Where are you going? and what are you looking for?By My African Cliches

To close this third season, whose frequency of episodes has been somewhat disturbed by the writing of the book on African pioneers, I would like to tell you about an article, that was published in the New York Times in August 1923, which dealt with the movie “ The Birth of a Nation ” by D. W Griffiths released in 1915. A technically groundbreaking …

Yes, it is an African guy who was the first to perform a lap of honor in the history of the Olympics! And so logically, every time an athlete does a lap of honor, we should say they did an Akii Bua! it's not that complicated, and yet none of the Tokyo TV consultants will say it, it doesn’t matter which country you are in! bets are open!…

As you know, we have been working hard on compiling in a nicely illustrated book, the lives and stories of 25 women and 25 men, who were the first to achieve feats hitherto unattainable in the African continent. Read more about this book at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/821165653/50-pionnieres-africaines-50-african-pioneers…

If you too are SL, then tell me about the cotton tree, Bunce island, Dublin in Banana island, York, St John’s Maroon Church, Old Fourah Bay College, the Martello tower, the 3 old city boundaries guns, the Wharf steps, and old guardhouse, yes do justice to your amazing country, probably the most pan-African in Africa, if we judge by the origins of a…

It’s a country whose recent history was overshadowed by a brutal civil war, but with a rich history, with one of the largest natural deep-water harbor in the world; it’s the first country to appoint a woman as a cabinet minister within Sub-Saharan Africa, in 1962, the first country in the world to invent a self-adhesive stamp, , and even more impor…

My African cliché of the day is a date. November 30, 2016. On that day that, UNESCO acknowledged Cuban rumba to the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. And that same day, on the same list, the same honor was given to another historical monument called hahaha, Belgian beers! Don’t laugh, both of them can make you dizzy so why not! …

My African cliché of the day is that of certain Ethiopian friends, who do not hesitate to brag to other Africans, that they have never been colonized. This is obviously not true, since Mussolini's Italy well settled in Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941, avenging in the humiliating defeat40 years earlier. Of course, it was a very short colonization period …

My African cliche of the day is a book! the first bilingual book that lists African pioneers. I didn't say heroes, and I didn't say black, I said pioneers and Africans. The combination of these 2 words suffers to appear in Google and other search engines. Why ? for many reasons, but mostly because we are failing to document our own pioneers, and ex…

Ahmed Baba is not known to the general public. In reality, only a small number of people (mostly researchers) know of its existence. Most of them are researchers interested in the scholarly works of the so-called medieval African era that we were talking about earlier, in particular Timbuktu. But in general, this ignorance of Baba is the reflection…

We are discussing today with Dr Luc NGOWET, a researcher, a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Paris Sorbonne. He was Program Director at the International College of Philosophy where he led, from 2013 to 2019, seminars on what he names "The theoretical foundations of African political modernity". He is a published author and is currently …

Some say Africa never had philosophers. They say and preach it loud but they haven't listened yet to Dr. Luc Ngowet, an expert of the matter who speaks in this series of 3 episodes about Ahmed Baba Soudani, a great philosopher from Timbuktu, Mali in medieval African times.By my African Clichés Podcast

If you take a close look at history books, you will certainly find examples of decisive moments where music and power crossed paths. And by now, there must be some of those examples of moments already jostling in your head? Perhaps you are thinking of the encounter between the genius of Mozart conquered by the Freemasons? Or maybe between the compo…

On 12 January 2016, a woman died, described by the youth as “that pretty face on our MK 200 banknote”, the third powerful banknote after the MK1000 (Kamuzu Banda) and the MK500 (John Chilembwe). Three male faces come after her including, ironically, her Inkosi ya Makosi (Chief of chiefs) the late M’Mbelwa 2. In one of the last interviews she gave, …

August 11, 1965, in the city of Watts, a suburb of Los Angeles. Community members witnessed the police hurting a pregnant woman, which started 6-long days of civil unrest. It was the city's worst unrest until the Rodney King riots of 1992 The total toll of the crisis? 34 deaths, over $40 million in property damage and then more unexpected, a celebr…

Dr Quinta is an African traveller and adventurer. Hailing from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Zambia, she has travelled to all 7 continents and 60 countries, with 21 of them in Africa. Her favourite experiences include climbing to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, bungee jumping in South Africa, and hang-gliding in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to travelling, s…

Dr Quinta is an African traveller and adventurer. Hailing from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Zambia, she has travelled to all 7 continents and 60 countries, with 21 of them in Africa. Her favourite experiences include climbing to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, bungee jumping in South Africa, and hang-gliding in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to travelling, s…

My African cliché of the day is a question “How many? ". How many generations of tourists from all over the world had seen “El Negro”? How many have left this museum with the simplistic association at the head of "Black or African = barbaric?" ". did I just say Barbaric? Who is really is the barbaric here? Is it the Bechuana? or rather those who st…

In contemporary African history, most narratives revolve around the year 1960. But what if I say, 1957? what do you say? Independence of the first sub Saharan African country, Ghana? Yes, that’s right. Anything else? Let’s listen to the answers by Prof. Elisa Prosperetti, History professor, specializing in modern African and world history, and curr…

In contemporary African history, most narratives revolve around the year 1960. But what if I say, 1957? what do you say? Independence of the first sub-Saharan African country, Ghana? Yes, that’s right. Anything else? Let’s listen to the answers by Prof. Elisa Prosperetti, History professor, specializing in modern African and world history, and curr…

Hello, you, yes you, hello to you. You, who are still listening to me after 2 seasons of this podcast. This is a special episode to start this new season. An episode to ask you my listener; How are you doing? Did you have a good summer? Is everything around you fine despite the current pandemic? A special episode for you my dearest listener; You wh…

My African Cliché of the day is a British man, called Lawrence. No no, not Lwrence of Arabia, but Lawrence Westgaph, a young British political activist, from Nigerian and Jamaican descents, who has set up a fundraising campaign to finally erect a statue in Liverpool to honor African slaves’s role in building the UK economy. He also produced the BBC…

Malcolm X's words sound even better in 2020: "Their problem is our problem”. Ask Mrs. Kadiatou Diallo, the mother of the young Guinean Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old boy, who had just announced to his mother who stayed in Guinea, that he had now worked enough to finally pay for his expensive university studies in America. Outside his home, unarmed, h…

EPISODE 30: Great Britain abolished slavery: Autopsy of a British delusion On the list of people who ended slavery, the British government does not appear high up on the list, if at all it appears. The people who ended slavery, the real heroes of abolition, were first and foremost, the slaves themselves who revolted countless times everywhere in mu…

My African cliché of the day is a tribute to Repats, these African men and women of the diaspora who, like these valiant captives of the Amistad, sometimes give up a very a comfortable life, to return to Africa. According to a study by Inspir Afrika Magazine, their 3 main reasons are: the desire to have an impact on the continent - interesting prof…

In the short list of Africans who have significantly impacted the United Nations, today I am featuring an Egyptian giant, giant way before Mohammed Salah, but largely unknown to the African public, despite having influenced the creation and transformation of several UN agencies such as UNECA, IFAD, UNTAD, all of which still exist today. The creatio…

From Amadou Mbow ( UNESCO) to Tedros Gebreyesus ( WHO): Same battle? My African cliché of the day is a vision, M’Bow’s vision of UNESCO. He saw UNESCO as a means to create a world order based on justice, dignity for all, equity, respect for diversity and the preservation of culture heritage. How many African leaders today still have a vision and st…

What is your definition of beauty? “Is it a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight” as defined the oxford dictionary? Obviously, definitions of beauty vary across countries, cultures, religions and language. Some are more introspective, others based on physical aesthetics an…

“The United States government did something that was wrong — deeply, profoundly, morally wrong, it was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens. To the survivors, to the wives and family members, the children and the grandchildren, I say what you know: No power on Earth can give you back the lives lost, the pain s…

FOR AFRICAN FEMALE WRITERS.. ” You need to read to open up your world” is a phrase I often heard when I was a child. But in the era of so-called social networks, the supremacy of WhatsApp, fake news and Facebook pages, it seems that fewer and fewer adults are reading books. And this observation is even more striking for the younger generation. Do y…

FOR AFRICAN FEMALE WRITERS My African cliche of the day is a Bantu saying which says I quote: "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu",which means in French: "A human is human because of other humans".It essentially means that Our humanity depends on the humanity of our fellow humans. No individual, no group can be human all alone. We rise together above the ani…

After having explored the history of this African accessory, the turban, here we are now ready to experience a concrete use of it, thanks to our captain, she, who made it a way of life for the last 10 years, and who shares her experience through her brand and her fabulous headwraps on Instagram. Hello everyone and welcome to this headwrap workshop…

YOUR WRAP, YOUR STYLE, YOUR IDENTITY My African cliché of the day is question to you: do you think that if a White American white lady chooses to wear a headwrap, it is cultural appropriation? Is it paying tribute? Is it respect? Is it free advert for that culture? Cultural appropriation refers to when a dominant culture appropriates the codes of a…

My African cliche of the day is a quote from our captain, about her favorite black heroine, Harriet Tubman. What can I say after the powerful words of a woman as impressive as Harriet Tubman? NOTHING. And nothing is already much like Jacques Brel said. See you next Monday on Sankofa for our third heroine of the month of March.…

My African cliche of the day is a duty, what I could call "the duty of curiosity", a kind of minimum service that each African and Afro-descendant must perform, to help himself, and help to to make known a counter history of Africa. Being curious about Africa, for example, is going to visit a pretty beach in Mozambique, rather than Ireland; it is t…

If I had to choose a quote to summarize our heroine of this day, I would choose like French resistant Lucie Aubrac, to say that The verb "To Resist" must always conjugate in the present tense" because, Odiri, this UK-born daughter of Africa, of Nigerian origin, does not spare no effort to connect ethically, Africa and its diaspora, for the benefit …

If I had to choose a quote to summarize our heroine of this day, I would choose like French resistant Lucie Aubrac, to say that The verb "To Resist" must always conjugate in the present tense" because, Odiri, this UK-born daughter of Africa, of Nigerian origin, does not spare no effort to connect ethically, Africa and its diaspora, for the benefit …

My African cliché of the day is a symbolic reparation, of the amount of $ 1 that each American citizen and each French citizen could pay into a fund for Haiti. Some will respond promptly, that the West is already providing development assistance. Is this aid really benefiting the children of the Haiti Heroes? True reparation is what the Australian …

My African cliche of the day is a word, a myth, which is called “The West”. If hearing this word did not make you blink during this episode, it is because you consider this word as the name of a precise geographical space, which represents a more progressive part of the world. And the evil is so deep, that it would take a kind of collective purging…

Hello everyone, and welcome aboard the Sankofa for the last flight of 2019. A somewhat special flight which will reflect on the past 10 months of flying the Sankofa, going through your messages, your reflections and suggestions, your plans, in short, in this flight you are in the spotlight! To all of you, May the new year bring you peace and confid…

01 December 1944. We are a few kilometers away from Dakar. The surrounding villages are encircled. It is 5.30 in the morning in a French military camp. Tanks are put in place. Horses too. And finally, a group of armed soldiers is getting ready. Looks like a firing squad. A first burst leaves. Then another one... totally disarmed soldiers fall by te…

"Africa has cost us heaps of gold, thousands of soldiers and streams of blood; gold we do not think to ask them. But the men and the blood, it must pay us back "these are words from Adolphe Messimy in the daily newspaper Le Matin, September 3, 1910. This French parliament member was expressing his support to the project of French army General Charl…

My African cliché of the day is an incredible book, titled White Negroes of America, a classic Canadian literature that draws an astonishing parallel between the situation of African Americans in the 1960s and that of French Canadians at the same time. When Pierres Vallières wrote this book in 1960 while in prison in New York, had he imagined that …

Welcome to the second part of this fascinating conversation about the mothers of independence in Guinea, a story telling by a heroine, witness and expert of African history, Mrs. Nantenin Camara Barry, who speaks in this episode of the situation of Guinean women after independence, the need to connect African younger generations to their history, a…

Expressions such as "the fathers of independence" and "One man, one vote" have become commonly used in African history. These expressions imply that only men liberated Africa from its settlers, and they relegated in anonymity, the thousands of women who fought nobly. To talk about this role of women, Sankofa is honored today to have a pioneer, a Gu…

Taytu Betul, Dulcie September, Dedan Kemathi, Djibo Bakary, Moussa Traore, Robert Mugabe, Franz Fanon, Toussaint Louverture. The common thing between these women and men is that they are figures considered, rightly or wrongly, as occupants of the book of African Heroes. But how did they become a heroine or hero of African history? How do you get en…