Africa Is a Country

Ingerland, Ingerland, Ingerland

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Ingerland, Ingerland, Ingerland

By
Sean Jacobs

Late last month the English goalkeeper David James wrote in The Observer that he was surprised at the accusations of racism against his national teammate John Terry. The latter was accused of racially abusing an opponent, QPR player Anton Ferdinand. James also claimed racism has been rooted out of the game a long time ago.  James suggested that racism was now limited to a small number of fans.

 However, since James wrote that, fans tweeting have abused Newcastle striker Sammy Ameobi (“your hand is nearly the same colour. #nigger” as the black soccer cleats favored by Ameobi), Anton Ferdinand again (“RT this you fucking BLACK CUNT, 1 England captain” with reference to Terry) and Frazier Campbell of Sunderland (“big fucking nigger“). Police are investigating. Only in the Ameobi case has there been arrests. UPDATE: Sepp Blatter has also now weighed in.

Bulgarian fans are racist.

Further Reading

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.