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Vernon Jordan, Jr.
"I'm just saying that terrorism for black people is no stranger; that slavery was a form of terrorism; that Jim Crow was a form of terrorism; and then there were the lynchings, there were the four little girls in Sunday school in Birmingham, and there was Martin and Medgar and Vernon Dahmar and Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner. So it is not a stranger to us, but what we have done with it was to keep on walking and keep on talking, and that's what America has to do. We have to be instructed by it, and we have to understand what it is, and we have to still make this country a real democracy and a place for free markets to operate freely." Details: LINKS
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bell hooks
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'We've seen a great welling up of literary criticism about African-American texts. To me, an interesting question is to what extent does literary criticism help create a critical readership? Part of what has made me distance myself from writing literary criticism as much as I write other things is that literary criticism doesn't participate as much as I would like it to in creating a critical readership, in educating people for critical consciousness.' Details:Links
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FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI
'You know, like after the government bought my house in '77. I delivered out 8 albums for Decca. And the government wanted Decca to reject 5 of the albums. I had to write new tunes for the studio. And the studio second-delivered, because there were some big fans waiting for me, you know I needed a break, so I had to do 5 new albums.' Details: http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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AMINA MAMA
'The complicated phenomena currently being grouped under the rubric of 'identity politics', for example, have not been adequately theorised, and ignores all the feminist theory on the gendered nature of identity. Yet it has been clear since the days of Freud that all identities are gendered, whether one is talking about identity at the level of individuality, sociality or politics.' http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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WINNIE MANDELA
'I believe the rich boys of the G-8 nations owe Africa a hell of a lot. Africa was looted by the so-called first world. Take gold, for example: even today, in the year 2003, gold is taken out of South Africa and comes back to us as finished products that we buy for ten times as much. The first world owes the so-called third world. They should return our wealth in the form of injecting the continent with capital to improve the lives of the people.' Details: http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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CORNEL WEST
His work has been described as a "polemical weapon that attempts to transform linguistic, social, cultural, and political tradition to increase the scope of individual development and democratic actions". Details: Links: http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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ANGELA DAVIS
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"In a sense the quest for the emancipation of black people in the US has always been a quest for economic liberation which means to a certain extent that the rise of black middle class would be inevitable"
Details: Links: http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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WOLE SOYINKA
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986. 'Truth for me is freedom, is self-destination. Power is domination, control, and therefore a very selective form of truth which is a lie. And the polarity between these two, in fact, forms for me the axis of human striving in the creation of an ethical society, an ethical community'.
http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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NAGUIB MAHFOUZ
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"Yes, how did the man coming from the Third World find the peace of mind to write stories? Fortunately, art is generous and sympathetic. In the same way that it dwells with the happy ones it does not desert the wretched. It offers both alike the convenient means for expressing what swells up in their bosom."
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NADINE GORDIMER
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1991
"who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity". Born in Springs, South Africa. Details: Links
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J.M. COETZEE
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"J.M. Coetzee’s novels are characterised by their well-crafted composition, pregnant dialogue and analytical brilliance. But at the same time he is a scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of western civilisation". Press Release: 2003
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BEN OKRI
Ben Okri launched his career as a writer with Flowers and Shadows (1979), about an innocent young boy caught up in the deceit and lies of his father. Details: Links
http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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KWASHIE AKONAI
Q: what exactly is the CSL all about?
Prof: The 21st century will undoubtedly be anchored by advancement in Science and Technology, the so-called new technologies embracing Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Information and Communication Technologies, and New Materials to mention a few. Details: Linkshttp://www.cafeafricana.com/Exclusive%20Interview.html
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NELSON MANDELA
Interview with Richard Stengel:
This is a most revealing and astute analysis of Mandela, offering fresh insights on many aspects of his life, character and leadership. Details: Links http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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OLUSEGUN FAYEMI
'In my first book "Balancing Acts: photographs from West Africa", I wrote about this phenomenon of trying to balance our old an ancient culture with the fast paced new western values. It is obvious that globalization through western media is having strong impact (sometimes deleterious) on native African culture'. Details: Exclusive Interview.
http://www.cafeafricana.com/Exclusive%20Interview.html
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YO-YO MA
FJ: Are you comfortable with the term "crossover," which has been almost overused in reference to your more recent projects?
YO-YO MA: I have a very simple way of working and the simple way of working is this, every time I do something in music, I make sure that the thing that I am doing is not the end, but the beginning. http://www.cafeafricana.com/links1.html
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CHINUA ACHEBE
'There are different forms of dispossession, many, many ways in which people are deprived or subjected to all kinds of victimization -- it doesn't have to be colonization'.
Details: Links
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TOYIN ADEWALE
Toyin Adewale began writing poetry while still in her teens. In 1995 she published her first collection, Naked Testimonies. Details: Links
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HELON HABILA
As a boy in Nigeria during the 1970s, Helon Habila started reading to shelter himself from the world around him. 'The situation back home is very dire, very difficult. Writers need any break they can get now. Nobody is giving us any chances'. Details: Links
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FUNMILAYO RANSOME-KUTI
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Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a Nigerian activist who fought for Suffrage and Equal Rights for Women long before the second wave of the Women's Movement in the United States. Details: Links
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NIYI OSUNDARE
African poets have no choice but to be political in their work, claims renowned Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare. Details: Links
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MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional career. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation's strongest voice for children and families. Details: Links
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KATHLEEN BATTLE
Kathleen Battle's lyric soprano voice and unique artistry have captivated audiences around the world, making her one of the most acclaimed singers of her time. Details: Links: Classical Music
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TONI MORRISON
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1993. "There is nothing of any consequence in education, in the economy, in city planning, in social policy that does not concern black people. Details: Links
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OYERONKE OYEWUMI
Oyewumi traces the misapplication of Western, body-oriented concepts of gender through the history of gender discourses in Yoruba studies. Details: Links
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DESMOND TUTU
Tutu is a Nobel peace laureate.
As the Archbishop of Johannesburg, Desmond Tutu was one of the key leaders in the fight to rid South Africa of apartheid. More recently he chaired the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which sought to heal the scars of apartheid. Details: News
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HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.
