News — africa

Rüschlikon is a village in Switzerland with a very low tax rate and very wealthy residents. But it receives more tax revenue than it can use. This is largely thanks to one resident - Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, whose copper mines in Zambia are not generating a large bounty tax revenue for the Zambians. Zambia has the 3rd largest copper reserves in the world, but 60% of the population live on less than $1 a day and 80% are unemployed. Based on original research into public documents, STEALING AFRICA is an investigative story of global trade and political corruption where money and natural resources only flow one way, and in the meantime poverty becomes harder to escape.

Joseph has spent 15 years in primary 1. Teachers say it is impossible for him to graduate because he always comes last. His teachers claim he forgets everything immediately he's taught.  Joseph states that when he is in class, he gets dream-like hallucinations which make him forget everything. His classmates from previous years have graduated, and others even become his teachers, yet he is still in the same class. Due to his dwarfism, you might not realize he's 21 years old. Joseph is still optimistic about graduating one day and becoming a president. The sad part is the bullies call him "Old Man" so much that he can literally remember it. He deserves more respect. What do you think?

Joshua Maponga is at a cross roads. After 33 years in Christian ministry, he has found himself in a place where he can't find satisfying answers to his questions. His questions stem from a life of dedication to his calling but some things remain a history. He says God gave us brains to think and questions are a sign of a functioning brain. On this interview, he tries to explain where he stands with the Bible. Maponga feels strongly about Africa and says in his understanding, Africa plays a significant role in the Bible and prophecy, but because of how the gospel was presented by the Europeans, these African related truths are neglected. He is calling on Africa to embrace its humanity and the knowledge available to emancipate itself from the spiritual poverty it is facing. What do you think about his point of view?

Kamiyah Mobley, a 19-year-old who was kidnapped at birth and raised by her kidnapper, Alexis. She was taken from her biological parents 8 hours after birth. It is so sad that a woman Kamiyah saw as a hero was the villain who destroyed Kamiyah's biological parents' lives. Kamiyah is very protective of Alexis, despite finding out the truth. The biggest pain that no one is really talking about is that Kamaya has to bury Alexis to exist. Today, with her abductor in jail, Kamiyah is left without a true identity or a mother to call her own. What do you think of Kamiyah's situation?

Sudan is one of the world's last frontiers. Once thought of as a vast desert l and was, the land was home to an advanced and mysterious civilization, an ancient kingdom of Africa known as Kush. The kingdom dealt with Pharaohs from Egypt and the emperor's from Rome. Their Nubian leaders known as Black Pharaohs left behind an array of archeological sites dotted along the Nile and the count of Egypt. The Black Pharaohs controlled the trade routes connecting central Africa with ancient Egypt; this accumulated them with immense wealth and power. Do you think Egypt's culture and influence are credited to the Black Pharaohs of Kush?

Keon Wiggins was raised by his step-father, Donzell Powell. In an emotional speech, Keon asked Donzell to adopt him as a Father's Day gift. The video was recorded by his little sister in his home on Father's Day while his mother, Keona Powell, was present along with some other family members. As both get quite emotional, Donzell says yes! These are the kind of stories that we need to see more often on media of strong, loving black families. This is what the black community needs, positivity, and parental figures who step up. What do you think?

Vernon African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is located at 311 North Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Vernon is the only remaining edifice from the worst race massacre in American history in 1921 and the only black-owned structure from the Historic Black Wall Street era. It is also the oldest continuously-operating church in Oklahoma.

Vernon AME started in a one-room house located at 549 North Detroit Street in 1905 when African Methodism first arrived in Tulsa, which was then part of Indian Territory. Reverend J. E. Roy was the first pastor, followed by Reverend R. A. Devers in 1906. By that point worshippers met at Gurley Hall at 114 North Greenwood Avenue. The congregation grew from 8 to 16 members soon after and they moved to Barksdale Hall on East Archer. The congregation began its first building project at Hartford and Archer streets during Rev. Devers one-year tenure. The building project resulted in the construction of a small frame house which was completed under Reverend G. H. Burton and renamed Burton Chapel by the 71-member congregation in 1907.

The present site of Vernon was purchased in 1908 for the sum of $290.00, with a down payment of $100.00 made by the trustees. Voting to change the church’s name from Burton Chapel to Vernon AME Church in honor of Registrar of the Treasury, W. T. Vernon, who was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Additional land was purchased and by 1914 the old church structure was torn down and a new brick basement for a new church was constructed. However, the Tulsa Race Massacre on June 1, 1921 left black-owned homes, schools, and businesses destroyed and the new Vernon brick basement in ruins.

Vernon AME rapidly rebuilt after the Massacre. Immediately after the destruction of Greenwood Avenue and Black Wall Street, the Vernon congregation began growing a building fund of $1,100.00 to rebuild the structure. During that time, its membership doubled from 200 congregants to 400 congregants.

The rapid rebirth of Vernon became an iconic monument to the devastated community and gave a sense of normalcy after the tragic event. The church opened its doors to Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington high school students while their facility was being rebuilt. Vernon also became the site of various community events.

The main church building was finally completed in 1928. By 1940, the membership had grown to over 800 and a neon welcome sign was erected as a beacon of hope. One of the most notable pastors of Vernon was Reverend Ben H. Hill, who had an extensive experience in church and educational work. Hill took a group of youth from the church to the famous March on Washington in 1963 and under his leadership the Church took on many other notable projects.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 2018, Vernon remains a visual reminder of the reconstruction process after the Tulsa Massacre, a landmark and symbol of persistence.

On February 16, 1827, The Church Missionary Society (CMS) founded Fourah Bay College, the first college in West Africa.  The first principal of the college was Rev. Edward Jones, an African American minister.  It was located atop Mount Aureol in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

Originally intended as an Anglican missionary school to train teachers in the promotion of education and Christianity, it became a degree granting institution in 1876, when it became affiliated with Durham University in England. As a result of the affiliation, students at Fourah Bay studied the same curriculum and took examinations identical to those administered to Durham University students.  The curriculum of both institutions reflected the popular subjects of liberal arts institutions of the era: Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, History, Natural Science, French, and German. Its most prominent 19th and early 20th Century graduates included Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African Bishop of the Anglican Church, J. E. Casely Hayford, an early advocate of education and self-rule for West Africans, and Henry Rawlingson Carr, a prominent Nigerian educator and administrator. As one of the few places in pre-Independence Africa to offer post-secondary education, Fourah Bay College attracted sons (and daughters) of elite Africans from across the continent.  Its presence in Freetown allowed the city to tout itself as the Athens of West Africa.

During World War II, the British — the colonial government in Sierra Leone — took over Fourah Bay College because of its strategic location in Freetown and used the buildings as part of the war effort. The faculty, staff and students of the institution relocated forty miles away in temporary facilities in Mabang, Sierra Leone. After the war, Fourah Bay College returned to its location on Mount Aureol in Freetown.

Fourah Bay College continued its affiliation with Durham University until 1967, at which time the Sierra Leone government merged Fourah Bay College with Njala University College under a new federal system devised in 1966. Abioseh Nicol, a Sierra Leonean, became the first African president of the combined institution.  The union, seen as temporary at first, is now permanent.  In 2005, Fourah Bay College and Njala University are constituent colleges of the federal University of Sierra Leone.  Fourah Bay University remains an active institution of higher education with approximately 3,500 students.  As part of the University of Sierra Leone, it grants Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.