#africanist

[iceandnice]

Africanization of a simple outfit that looks extravaganza now by V.B.

You are welcome

[navarra-world]

Professor Navarra As A Young Man (circa 1920)

Navarra, the Africanist, as a young but experienced soldier. Photo most likely taken in the early 1920's and most likely in Morocco, possibly Ceuta or Melilla, when he would have been in his early 30's.

[akuaagyei-boateng]

The Racialization of Diseases: COVID-19 and Africa “Ep. 2″

Africa, Disease & Western Medicine

My sister recently told me about her encounter with a market woman in Ghana who was calling COVID-19 “coronial disease.” Because I know that for most Ghanaians the “R” and “L” sounds are interchangeable, I can’t help but wonder if this was not a simple linguistic slip. What if somewhere in her mind the idea that disease is transmitted through the white body is enmeshed with her knowledge of Africa’s racist colonial history, transforming Coronavirus into coronial—or colonial—disease.

Throughout many areas of Africa, there is a belief that Western medicine is the vector of disease spread. This distrust of western medicine in Africa is particularly obvious in Muslim communities but throughout the continent, western medicine is generally less preferable (Bennett, 2017). Studies on polio eradication efforts in northern Nigeria show that the prevalence of polio in the area is largely due to the lack of participation from the affected communities due to distrust of western medicine.

In 2003, five northern Nigerian states staged a year-long boycott against the oral polio vaccine (OPV) that shook the international community. The reason for their vaccine refusal was because of rumors that associated OPV with cancer, HIV, and sterility. Specifically, it was believed that “OPV was an American conspiracy to spread HIV and cause infertility in Muslim girls.” (Ghinai et al, 2013; Raufu, 2002). What many in the international community did not realize is that those beliefs were not ill-founded; there was a deep and painful history to them. 

In 1996, the American company Pfizer conducted clinical trials for an oral antibiotic, Trovan, in Kano, a northern Nigerian state, in which several children died (Ghinai et al., 2013; Smith 2011). Community members claimed that the company had no license, ethical approval, or informed consent for those trials, but Pfizer disputed those claims. After a lengthy legal battle, Pfizer settled with the Kano government and some families of the deceased children in 2009 (Smith 2011). Tracing the history even further, incidents like the Pfizer controversy are starkly reminiscent of the medical experimentation that occurred during the period of colonialism in Africa.

Africa was—and frankly continues to be—viewed as an unlimited field for clinical research with unlimited clinical material (Smith, 1955; Tilley, 2016). The power inequalities that existed within colonial Africa centered on the dispensability of Black bodies. It posed an opportunity for widespread medical experimentation on Africans with little regard of ethics—especially since colonial rule occurred during the predominance of germ theories of disease (Tilley, 2016). Additionally, there is a plethora of evidence indicating that health interventions constituted the majority of colonial funding (Tilley, 2016; Lowes and Montero, 2018; (Headrick, 1994; Lachenal, 2014).

In a study on colonial medicine in Central Africa, a correlation was found between contemporary mistrust in the medical sector and the history of colonial medical campaign exposure (Lowes & Montero, 2018). Between 1921 and 1956, the French colonial administration organized a series of medical campaigns in Central Africa aimed at managing tropical diseases (Lowes & Montero, 2018). The subjects, all of which were Africans, were forcibly examined and injected with trial medications that had severe side effects including blindness, gangrene, and death. Also, there is speculation that these campaigns contributed to the spread of contagious diseases in the area because needles were often re-used during the campaigns (Lowes & Montero, 2018; Pépin, 2011; Lachenal, 2014). The aforementioned histories are a smidge of the total history of western medical practices in Africa, but they all reinforce the notion of African distrust in western medicine and the white body as a vector of diseases causing the affliction of black bodies.

A recent viral debate between two French doctors, Camille Locht from INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) and Jean-Paul Mira, head of intensive medicine and the intensive care unit at Paris' Cochin hospital, brought those histories to the forefront and forced us to confront their legacies—many of which people of the continent are still dealing with today. While discussing possible COVID-19 interventions, the two doctors made remarks about testing a new vaccine in Africa. Even though efforts have been made by both doctors to dissuade the public from taking the remarks as racist, by adding context to the debate, there is no excusing the tone of the remarks—especially considering the recency of so many other unethical medical practices from colonial and neo-colonial powers.

In the debate, Mira suggested that the study be conducted in Africa because “there are no masks, no treatment, no intensive care,” and Locht’s responded in kind “You’re right,” and that there were already plans to so (Euronews). The ease at which the use of Africa as a testing lab was suggested and then justified by a perceived general lack—or backwardness if we are being honest about perceptions of Africa—is outright racist. Especially since Africa, at that point, had, and still has, the least cases and deaths of COVID-19 worldwide. Additionally, the experience African nations have in dealing with disease outbreaks has greatly helped them in dealing with COVID-19 in ways that the West can only marvel at: A Senegalese laboratory recently developed $1 testing kits based on an existing kit to test for dengue fever enabling nationwide testing and it has been noted that West African nations’ experiences with the Ebola epidemic have strengthened their health security capacity for infectious diseases like COVID-19 (AlJazeera; Nsofor, 2020). 

[christellekedi]

Reloading an African perspective to one’s mind takes some serious deconstruction work

[galeriexxesiecle]

Vassil Ivanoff

[galeriexxesiecle]

Africanist mask by Roger Capron, H 45cm

[universaleuomo]

Just received 40 new copies of Harlem Nights and Footstep Blues today. Had to admire the beauty of the cover fresh out the box. #harlemnightsandfootstepblues #HNFSB #harlemrenaissance #Aarondouglas #Africanarts #Africanamericanarts #thewearyblues #langstonhughes #africanist #blackarts #blackbeauty

[debbydreamingafrica-blog]

Thank you again, Sindika!! A real pleasure for us!! ☺☺ See you.. in Luanda (!?) 😄 Stay tuned! #sindikadokolo #event #conference #africanartinveniceforum #africanart #collector #collection #girls #africanist #africanlovers #blogger #venice (at Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal - Venice)