It started in January, with the untimely death of my friend, the entrepreneur Simone Bresi-Ando. She went to the hospital one day and never made it back home. She had come to America from London a few years ago to pursue her dream. Her passing triggered an immense sense of sadness in me and reiteratedContinue reading “What Is the Urgent Task At Hand For Us Africans?”
Category Archives: Travel
Remembering a victim of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
As details start trickling in, TRUE Africa continues to mourn the loss of those 157 passengers who were on board Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed on Sunday shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa airport. Investigators from all over the world have arrived at the crash site, near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, but no discovery in the so-called black boxes that were recoveredContinue reading “Remembering a victim of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302”
Moving back to Sierra Leone: the other side of privilege
The decision to move to Freetown, Sierra Leone, was an easy one. A country filled with beautiful views, amazing weather and beaches, who wouldn’t want to call this place home? My first time moving abroad, the chance to reside in my parents’ old stomping grounds was too enticing to pass up. My parents made sureContinue reading “Moving back to Sierra Leone: the other side of privilege”
Bikinis and holiday memories: The Foxy Five cinematographer on her summer style
For some of us, it’s summer time! We talked all things holiday with Thandi Gula-Ndebele, the visual storyteller and cinematographer at The Foxy Five, the amazing feminist film collective we can’t stop raving about (our last piece on them here). https://www.instagram.com/p/BNI-satAKvV/ She’s also a talented photographer – see these photos she took of rapper andContinue reading “Bikinis and holiday memories: The Foxy Five cinematographer on her summer style”
Documentary maker Ayo Akinwolere on travelling while black in the American South
America is strange. Particularly the south. Documentary maker Ayo Akinwolere has just finished filming a TV programme about American vampires. But he explains that it was one of his first trips to the US that was truly weird. I’ve been a broadcaster now for over twelve years and my career has taken me from the worldContinue reading “Documentary maker Ayo Akinwolere on travelling while black in the American South”
Blackness and resilience: how black Brazilians are making Afropunk their own
Stepping off the plane in Rio de Janeiro I’d have never imagined I’d feel any sense of displacement. On landing, I immediately had a feeling of warmth. For the first time in my life, I felt and looked like the majority. Over 50 per cent of the population identify as black or mixed-race. In the thickContinue reading “Blackness and resilience: how black Brazilians are making Afropunk their own”
Furry bikinis, Amber Rose and a mango: Pantyhoe$ founder Sophie Burge talks summer holidays
For some of us, it’s summer holiday time! We asked Sophie Burge, founder of bikini and underwear label Pantyhoe$, about what she gets up to at home in London and abroad when the sun is shining and the weather is sweet. What are your holiday essentials and why? I’m not great at planning for holidaysContinue reading “Furry bikinis, Amber Rose and a mango: Pantyhoe$ founder Sophie Burge talks summer holidays”
‘How is it that you do not speak Yoruba?’
It took a stolen wallet and the loss of my consular ID card to initiate one of my rare trips to the Nigerian embassy in Dakar. In these days of heightened security being caught without ID is not a particularly good idea. I needed to replace it immediately. But in the end, that trip made meContinue reading “‘How is it that you do not speak Yoruba?’”
The pitfalls of travelling while black, unfit and a woman in the Namibian desert
‘There is no use complaining about the heat in Namibia. You’re in a desert for crying out loud. And no one invited you to spend December there, so just get on with it.’ – my internal dialogue as I made my way up Dune 45. One of my best friends and I had decided againstContinue reading “The pitfalls of travelling while black, unfit and a woman in the Namibian desert”