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Chinweizu’s Vision: Unveiling the Complexities of Pan-Africanism and African Sovereignty
Richard Atimniraye Nyelade
Published online by Cambridge University Press:

21 February 2025, pp. 1-22
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The paper critically revisits Chinweizu’s contributions to Pan-Africanism and African sovereignty, focusing on his analysis of Arab and Western imperialism, internal complicity, and the concept of “culturecide.” His call for a distinct Black African identity is explored as a foundation for reclaiming sovereignty, while also addressing critiques of nativism and essentialism. A nuanced approach to decolonization is proposed, emphasizing its relevance in today’s globalized world. Chinweizu’s ideas challenge a rethinking of the intersections between history, culture, and power in the ongoing quest for African autonomy.

Roots of Resilience: Unraveling Yacouba Sawadogo’s Afrocentric Ecological Wisdom through Qualitative Inquiry
Barwendé Médard Sané
Published online by Cambridge University Press:

21 February 2025, pp. 1-19
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Through a personal mentoring relationship with Yacouba Sawadogo, the author analyzes his narrative, highlighting the roots of the climate crisis in the disconnection between humans and nature. The catastrophe epitomizes the visible manifestation of the invisible decay of “the interconnected relationships within creation (Zamane).” The author demonstrates how the Champion of the Earth advocates for a shift in mindset towards Mother Earth. Their qualitative inquiry includes interviews and narratives, examining Sawadogo’s Afrocentric ecological wisdom. In smelling his smell, the focus is on his resilience to provide a comprehension of individual ingenuity and community support, which are valuable for sustainable practices.

“A Kind of Literary Archeology”: Excavating Morocco’s Slave Past under the Protectorate (1912–1956)
Doyle D. Calhoun
Published online by Cambridge University Press:

19 February 2025, pp. 1-20
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Slavery persisted in Morocco well into the twentieth century and throughout the French Protectorate (1912–56), long after it was abolished in other French-occupied territories (1848). While work by historians has illuminated a previously shadowy history of race and slavery in Morocco, less attention has been paid to the growing corpus of literary texts representing enslaved subjectivities under the Protectorate. Through their literary excavations of the slave past, such works retell the history of Moroccan slavery from the perspective of those most affected. This essay takes translator Nouzha Fassi Fihri’s Dada l’Yakout (2010) as a case in point. Although marketed as a novel, the text is also a dense oral history that channels the voice of an enslaved woman who really existed: Jmia, who was abducted as a child at the beginning of the twentieth century and died in 1975. Considered as “Moroccan other-archive” (El Guabli 2023) and imaginative archeology, literary works chart a way forward for reckoning with the enduring legacies of slavery and the slave trade in Morocco.