Africa Reimagined
Publish date: 22 April 2019
Issue Number: 820
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: General
Africa Reimagined
By Hlumelo Biko
Jonathan Ball. R250
Building on the premise that slavery, colonialism, imperialism and apartheid fundamentally unbalanced the values and the very self-concept of Africans, Hlumelo Biko is calling for realistic steps to return to a more balanced Afro-centric identity.
He notes that African values were shaped by a sense of abundance, in material and mental terms, and by strong ties of community. The intrusion of religious, economic and legal systems imposed by conquerors, traders and missionaries upset this balance, and the African identity was subsumed by the values of the newcomers. Biko shows how a reimagining of Africa can restore the sense of abundance and possibility, and what a rebirth of the continent on Pan-African lines might look like. This is not about the churn of the news cycle or party politics – although he identifies political parties as one of the most pernicious legacies of colonialism. Instead, drawing on latest research, he offers a practical, pragmatic vision anchored in the here and now.
