Takassa: rescuing our truths through cleansing & consciousness – Photo, Kenya
“Takassa: rescuing our truths through cleansing & consciousness” is a visual and textual collaboration between myself and Kenyan QLGBTI activist, Layla Wangari Two of twelve portraits in this series – June 2017. …
Altars: Black Queer Spirit Work
I encountered Vodou as a queer Nigerian living and working in Haiti between 2010 and 2016, in the midst of rampant evangelicalism and associated homophobia and anti-Vodoun violence. In Vodoun I discovered a black queer space of beauty; both historical…
Saida : “Dance the Secret”
Coming through the door We feel with and through our bodies But cannot see with our eyes Transitions Herbs, insense A healer needed to cross the water Slaughter a chicken for the Gods Silver coins and a clay pot Sweet…
Takassa: rescuing our truths through cleansing & consciousness – Photo, Kenya
“Takassa: rescuing our truths through cleansing & consciousness” is a visual and textual collaboration between myself and Kenyan QLGBTI activist, Layla Wangari Two of twelve portraits in this series – June 2017. [envira-gallery id=”3558″] Images © Sokari Ekine In…
Tana Delta Erosion: The Future in Real Time
I recently spent 26 days in Kenya traveling the coastal towns and villages north of Mombasa with Kenyan Queer activist Layla Laura Wangari where we spent time engaging with LGBTIQGNC identified communities. Our intention was to create a textual and…
Queer like the fearlessness to imagine
The importance of speech is not the age of the words but the truth they speak so here I choose the timeless words of Audre Lorde. In becoming forcibly and essentially aware of my own mortality, and of what I wished…
What is this protest about?
Pambazuka – Why we must stop this gay witch-hunt now 02 Mar 14 President Yoweri Museveni has done it. Against widespread expectation raised by his earlier pledge, the Ugandan leader turned around this week and signed into law the contentious…
Angelique Kidjo’s critique of homophobia
Speaking out against homophobia across the African region, award-wining Beninoise singer and activist Angelique Kidjo – watch it here: As she says, speaking to the ab(use) of religion – “”its not about God its about power”.
“I am a homosexual, Mum”
From Chimurenga Chronic Blog, Binyavanga Wainaina “I am a homosexual, Mum (A lost chapter from One Day I Will Write About This Place) 11 July, 2000. This is not the right version of events. Hey mum. I was putting my…
Westgate: Dying in Violence
On Sunday morning I scrolled my Twitter timeline for comments from Kenyans such as Keguro Macharia, Shailja Patel and Kenne Mwika, like many trying to understand, to once again process mass death. That weekend the killing spree crossed 4 countries,…
Feminists exploring Africa’s future
INVITATION TO ATTEND AN EVENT EXPLORING AFRICA’S FUTURE As foreign countries increasingly become involved in Africa both commercially and militarily, young academics from across the continent debate fundamental questions about the dividend or…
The Resurrection
Anthony Adero granted me the privilege and the honor of discussing with him his redemptive experience following the trauma of being gang raped. We delved into his “afterlife,” his journey through fear, denial and social resistance, and the overwhelming difficulty of…
A Gay Kenyan’s Gang Rape (Part 1): The Blessing
On the morning of Dec. 11, 2007, Anthony Adero decided to leave his hometown forever and head to the capital, because he wanted to kiss a man for the first time in his life. He packed the few essentials needed…
The Outsider – rich beyond their dreams
The Outsider by Caroline Adhiambo Jakob, is published by Authors House In the film “Living With Illegals”, Sierra Leone / British journalist, Sorious Samura becomes an illegal immigrant traveling from Morocco to Europe with a group of African migrants. Three…
My Zimbabwean Sheroes: Amy Tsanga
Radical, somewhat rebellious, robust-those were my first impressions of this woman when I first met her. Then I was a naïve-mousey thing, studying for my undergraduate degree in law. I observed how she had embraced her feminine self and African-ness…
Why African LGBTI communities should say NO! to US imperialism.
The US Embassy in Nairobi recently announced that it would be holding “the first ever annual celebration of LGBT Pride at their embassy on June 26” . Gay pride or LGBT pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward LGBT people to promote their self-affirmation,…
Visionary and extraordinary woman: RIP Wangari Maathai
In her honour let us continue to plant trees, plant seeds of life, plant good governance, plant love of each other Gukira has an excellent post honouring Wangari Maathai “Wangari’s Daughters” Over the past few years, it has been…
Helsinki African Film Festival
Wanjiku wa Ngugi is the founder of the Helsinki African Film Festival. Here she talks about Africa in Finland and this year’s theme “Women’s Voices and Visions”. Wanjiku, please talk a bit about yourself and the creation of the Helsinki…
Migritude: Teardrops from Babylon
Migritude by Shailja Patel We have traveled half the world with hearts open, we’ve seen everything. Always remember who we are, where we came from, and you’ll never do evil [From What we keep ©] Migritude is a gift of…
Shailja Patel on her poetry and new book, Migritude.
Migritude is published by Kaya Press. I have only read the introduction and listened to Shailja’s interview but from that I am convinced that this is a very important and exceptional piece of work. Shailja is interviewed on the Women’s…