Creator
Sean Jacobs
Sean Jacobs, founder and editor of Africa is a Country, is on the faculty of The New School and a Shuttleworth Fellow
As-Shams was where jazz was happening in South Africa
Record label owner and producer Rashid Vally was so unobtrusive in his dealings with artists that only music nerds recognise his name
Shame often leads to silence
Despite strong legislation, South Africa is failing to address its unacceptable rates of woman abuse
Chris Hani’s political legacy
Chris Hani should not be made into an ideal type or used to settle political scores in the present
February 11 1990: Mandela’s media conquest
Nelson Mandela’s release from prison was also South Africa’s first ‘media event’. And, despite the NP’s, and the SABC’s, attempt to control the narrative, the force of Madiba’s…
What comes after nationalism in Africa? A luta continua
There are a number of cases in the past decade where Africans have managed to push the conversation beyond liberal reforms as a political goal or did not spent all their energies…
Broadcast takes on social media in the world of politics
Live TV broadcasts of political rallies, funerals and press conferences, may be more decisive than social media in shaping mass debate in South Africa
Why South Africa needs Democratic Socialism
South African politics urgently needs an injection of electoral energy from the left, that speaks in a language that resonates with voters
Online site a new model for journalism
The Africa Is a Country website offers a rich mix of news, comment and analysis about the continent
Battle of ideas in the newsroom
Journalist Sibonelo Radebe’s death has robbed the industry of the kind of thinker it sorely needs
The limits of coloured nationalism
Gatvol Capetonian is a coloured ultra-nationalist organisation but here’s the kicker: their racist culprit is the post-apartheid government
How do we write about Winnie’s life sympathetically?
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s legacy should not be reduced to the uncomplicated heroism that exemplifies today’s personality politics
Why Corbyn’s meteoric rise is good for Africa
Britain’s Labour leader represents ‘a new kind of politics’ of the left that holds electoral appeal
Afropunk’s growing gains and pains
Like any indie movement facing commercial success, the festival needs to hold on to its soul
It’s Malema’s world
Any casual observer would conclude that the country politics mostly revolves around Julius Malema.
A Zulu in New York
In 1990, a few months after his release from jail, Nelson Mandela toured the United States and helped cement Americans’ popular associations with SA.