Category: Uncategorized

We spoke about Bim  recently (https://african-century.org/bim-afolami-a-great-disappointment/ ) but overlooked a small matter. We were desperately trying to be as charitable as possible. We attributed some foolish comments to Club table talk. But there were some statements in that interview which cannot be excused so easily. In defence of Cecil Rhodes’ statue he said that it should be remembered that  several Black Africans have become recipients of the Rhodes scholarship! Cecil Rhodes, a staunch believer in white supremacy and that…

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I had such high hopes of Bim. He is bright , personable and engaging. Quite an ambassador. Today, 23 June 2020, on the BBC he revealed a rather shallow side of his nature. Asked about  the tearing down of statues he commented that  if we tore down statues of  all racist imperialist politicians there would be none left in UK. He smiled and thought he had made a witty point, not a huge gaff. Let me show where this…

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This series by BBC based on novellas by Malorie Backman is an interesting challenge. There are those who may feel that  heavy analysis of this work is more than it deserves, that it is in fact light entertainment. I seriously disagree.  One must address the issue of production, context and reception for artistic creation as Stuart hall so well educated us. A fundamental issue is that the perspective on life presented here turns the political into the personal. To…

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exhibition title:  “when a stone cracks we don’t stitch.” -5 Oct 19 artist: larry amponsah gallery: 50 Goldbourne Went to Larry Amponsah’s latest exhibition at 50 Goldbourne on Saturday 5 Oct 2019. This exhibition covered works done in the past year which show considerable development in his  artistic trajectory or his practice as he prefers to call it. His command of visual language has increased remarkably. What we have now is  beautiful, layered images suffused with a quality of…

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We have received, dated 12 July, a warm reply from  the director of Boston MFA, Matthew Teitelbaum. A clear and concise explanation of the appropriate steps being taken to remedy matters and a clear statement that the  audio track was unacceptable. It is not always we can say an effort was worthwhile but also a great thank you to Matthew for taking these matters seriously.

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Attended the unveiling of a blue plaque to Phyllis Wheatley. This famous African poet had to come to London from the US in 1773 to find a publisher for her poetry. She was born in The Gambia  and by the age of 15 was fluent in Latin, Greek and English and was publishing her poetry in her teens. No publishing house in US would touch her work. She met Granville Sharp among many British dignitaries and also Benjamin Franklin….

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