One thing I’ve always been proud of as a Ghanaian is our ability to make a joke out of anything, no matter how shocking, grotesque or frightening. When the AIDS epidemic struck in the late 80’s, we made an ampe song in which the disease served as the protagonist. When war broke out in Liberia […]
Susu: Cooperative economics/ A method of wealth/resource collection and distribution in which three or more members agree to contribute a predetermined amount of currency over a specified length of time to be used by the contributors as their individual needs dictate/ It’s something West Africans and Caribbean people do. Brothers and Sisters: I greet […]
We all don’t use social media the same way. We can agree on that, right? Some people create accounts which are simply used to follow/stalk certain users. Some people are actually interested in contributing to the discourse on a particular subject. Some people never comment on anything; ever. Others still don the cape of the […]
Good Lord. I’m suddenly struck by the First World Problem-i-ness of this title. They are shelling babies in Gaza. Some people are hunting for food and shelter, but I’m hunting for “happy Twitter”? Like that’s a real thing?? Moving right along… Fans of Dave Chappelle might remember a skit he did back in ’09 about […]
*Note: I know this will open me up to a great deal of scorn from SOME Black men, but the majority of those are not my regular Random Readers or in the MOM Squad, so…. Yeah. Kick rocks.* Hashtag activism is like the ocean tide: raging one moment, a ripple the next. Sometimes our “hashtag […]
“Chile, I don’t want you mixed up in all dat revolution, y’hear? They gon’ KILL your scrawny ass!” This phrase was repeated in various forms in Negro homes all across America in the 50s and 60s. Parents who had lived through Jim Crow and whose own parents and grandparents had come out of slavery and […]
In May of 2000, I moved to Atlanta with 2 suitcases, a bag of toiletries, a newly minted degree and delusions of grandeur. Coming from Tidewater Virginia, everything in Atlanta was fresh and fast. People jogged. Everyone drove a luxury car. You could quit your job at noon and by 4pm land a new one! […]
It’s been 16 days weeks since they were taken at gunpoint. Sixteen WHOLE DAYS. I’ve waited this long to make any remarks about the abduction of the 200+ girls in Chibok, Nigeria, snatched from their dorms as they prepared to take their final exams because I was truly hoping for a different result. With the […]
Living in the digital age is exciting, isn’t it? I imagine our predecessors in the Stone Age felt the same sense of euphoria after they discovered the many uses of fire that we now feel whenever some new technology emerges that makes our lives easier, better and more fun. “Oooh! Hey guys! Look what I […]
Of all the things I could have forgotten to blog about, this is certainly the worst. How could I neglect to tell the MOM Squad, Random Readers and beloved Trolls that the blog is up for an award? That’s right! Mind of Malaka is a finalist at the Ghana Blogging Awards. All of my non-Ghanaian […]
It’s no secret that I dig on Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s a weird looking dude, but that voice…my word! *swoon*!! I was going to write an open letter to my latest crush, but three things have persuaded me to abandon the Open Letter Course; at least for the moment. 1) My sister, whom I primarily blog […]
I have no words. Which is why I had to make a video. Dwarves. DWARVES and wizardry are destroying Ghana’s economy. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhrolzTfhCE&feature=youtu.be] SMH…
I wish this was a comedic post. Lord knows I do… But it ain’t. It’s about a kidnapping, an assault and a violent gang rape. Are you feeling warm and fuzzy yet? Good. You can thank @ABYalley on twitter for bringing this story to my attention and *gasp* requesting my opinion. The story in question […]
Money is the root of all evil by Field Ruwe “Money is the root of all evil,” the email read. “It is the reason you Africans are a failure; a dependent of the West. It is the reason you languish at the bottom of the totem pole. Don’t blame us. You have put yourselves […]
The importance of market women can never be exaggerated. For centuries, these women have held the purse strings and purchasing parity of West African families, deciding what gets sold and at what price. These markets, now little more than stalls or windowless containers were once the nerve center of West African commerce. Now, in the […]
Consider a pimple – a whitehead to be exact. Over the course of time – a week perhaps – you see and feel it erupting slowly, breaking through the surface of the skin with powerful stealth until it blooms and settles on your face with opaque grotesqueness. Frantically, you begin to stab at it, vehemently […]
Hmmm… I think Ambolley wants me to write about Monsanto. Done! Does Ghana – or Africa as a whole, for that matter – have anything to fear from Monsanto? The short answer is “yes”. Anytime a huge US conglomerate takes an active interest in developing nations or any geographic area perceived as being bereft of […]
There’s a pair of Reebok’s on sale at the shoe store I work at. Garish, in-your-face little things, they are. I typically wouldn’t even look at a shoe like this, but it’s one of the few for sale in my store with a pivot ball on the sole – which, if you do Zumba, you […]
Today, millions of Africans around the globe are lamenting the loss of Chinua Achebe. I am one of them. There is something eerie that goes on in the soul of a (presumed) writer when a fellow leaves this realm. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like that intense emptiness that rushes over you while watching […]
Every once in a while, someone will randomly add me to group on Facebook or throw a link on my wall expecting me to read/watch its contents. 97% of the time I do not. There’s just too much “stuff” competing for my attention in the social media realm However when Amma Bonsu raises the alarm […]
“Dude…I have to go get duck-faced this afternoon.’ “Dude, are you serious?” “Yeah man. It’s that time of year.” “I guess that means it’s almost time for me to get duck-lipped too.” “Yup.” “Well, don’t let me know how it does. I hate that thing man. It’s so – weird.” “Hahaha!! Alright. Talk to you […]