In this article, we dissect Fanon’s use of screens in The Wretched of the Earth as a metaphor for the intermediaries of neocolonialism in post-independence Africa. We argue that the origins of Fanon’s use of screens lie in the Hegelian dialectic, through which the inertia Fanon observed in people under colonial conditions during his clinical sociotherapeutic studies reappears with the transformation of decolonization movements into neocolonialism. Fanon identifies three screens in Wretched which substitute themselves for the revolution: the national bourgeoisie, party, and leader, alongside a fourth screen which the people erect among one another in (neo)colonial conditions. Fanon’s analysis contains not only a diagnosis of the screens but also a roadmap of an alternative path toward revolutionary democracy. We conclude by discussing how African social movements are grappling with the necessity of a second revolution to liquidate the screens that shackle the masses to neocolonial underdevelopment today.

This paper examines Johannesburg as a gendered space by looking at texts by Ivan Vladislavic, and performance artworks by Anthea Moys and Donna Kukama in counterpoint. If Johannesburg is positioned by several authors as a quintessentially African metropolis that is being refashioned in postapartheid in creative and emergent ways, what implications does this have for women’s inclusion in the modernist project of ‘the nation’? The construction of lived space is discussed from a perspective of performativity as theorized by Sara Ahmed, and Judith Butler, by reading for expressions of the desire for visibility and inclusion by women in urban space. The movement of persons, either by walking, or driving, is positioned as generative, whereby meaning is created. It follows that imagining, writing, and performing space is akin to movement, and are strategies by which individuals can inscribe new meanings to urban space.

This essay explores the historical significance and modern ­relevance of Zambia’s national anthem, “Stand and Sing of Zambia,” as the nation marks 60 years of independence. It examines whether the anthem remains a “blueprint” for national development or has become an “illusion” that fails to reflect the current socio-economic reality.

This essay offers a personal exploration of Zambian womanhood. It questions the symbolic significance of the cooking stick, considering it both as a practical tool and a gauge of women’s cultural connection to the kitchen. The essay reflects on the multifaceted nature of life in the diaspora, the delicate balance between forging a new identity in a foreign land and preserving one’s connection to their country of origin.