Revisiting Frantz Fanon: memories and moments of a militant philosopher
A new book by Leo Zeilig focuses on one of Africa and the modern era’s most celebrated revolutionaries, whose views remain influential long after his death. Many people spoke well that day. Delegates had come from across the African continent to independent Ghana for the All-African Peoples’ Conference in 1958. Most spoke of the continuing […]
On cultural appropriation, from American Spirit to Palmyra
While symbols and their deployment undoubtedly structure our experience, Charlie Jarsve argues that power relations have a materiality that an uncritical understanding of ‘cultural appropriation’ can obscure. I still remember the first time I came across American Spirit tobacco. I was in Berlin roughly two years ago and I saw a Swiss friend rolling a cigarette. Even […]
Oxford University’s liberal mask slips in Rhodes Must Fall campaign
The liberal face that Oxford University likes to present has been challenged in the campaign to remove the statue of racist Cecil Rhodes.
New radical website launched – Review of African Political Economy
A new website Review of African Political Economy has been launched and is a great resource for socialists says Leo Zeilig.
HM 2015: How the West Came to Rule
Marxist scholars have long debated the origins of capitalism. Bill Crane reports on a fruitful debate at this year’s Historical Materialism conference about the recent book ‘How the West Came to Rule’. The question of how capitalism emerged and became the basis of the international system has generated a number of incredibly fruitful debates among […]
A tree without roots
Zakir Gul argues that the axing of ‘community languages’ at A level reveals the government’s contempt for Britain’s ethnic minorities and their heritages. White just got whiter. Examination boards AQA and OCR have decided to axe several essential languages at A level. The list includes Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Polish, Turkish and Persian. The British government’s […]
On decolonizing education and the perils of speaking good english
Racism is both material and ideological, reaching even into the heart of language, thought and memory. Annie Teriba asks how education and minds can be decolonized. This piece was originally published on blackgirlspeak.wordpress.com When asked about the legacy of colonialism, I point out that we must still speak a colonial language in order to be […]
Climate catastrophe in the South Pacific
Cyclone Pam has caused devastation on the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Struggling with the legacies of British and French colonialism and current forms of neo-colonialism, the people of Vanuatu are now faced with the consequences of catastrophic climate change, writes Nick Evans. “We see the level of sea rise … The cyclone seasons, […]
The roots of Israeli apartheid
What does it mean to say that Israel is an apartheid state? Sølvi Goard unpacks a history of vicious segregation and ethnic cleansing
Isolate Israel to end this horror
We are seeing a huge wave of protest around the world, in many cases involving direct action to an extent we have not seen before.