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Stories

  • Article

The secret lives of Britain’s first Black physicians

Dr Annabel Sowemimo explores the web of connections between early Black British doctors, the role of empire in West Africa and the pernicious reach of scientific racism.

  • Article

Thomas Sankara and the stomachs that made themselves heard

Thomas Sankara’s vision to transform farming and health in Burkina Faso turned to dust with his assassination. Perry Blankson highlights the considerable achievements of Sankara’s brief span in power.

  • Article

When you can’t return home

Migrants and refugees cannot choose to return home, so homesickness becomes a profound and long-lasting feeling. This powerful force infuses migrant cultures, and is rarely given the serious attention it warrants.

  • Article

Epidemic threats and racist legacies

Epidemiology is the systematic, data-driven study of health and disease in populations. But as historian Jacob Steere-Williams suggests, this most scientific of fields emerged in the 19th century imbued with a doctrine of Western imperialism – a legacy that continues to influence how we talk about disease.

All stories (13)

Images

  • Rattle, West Africa
  • Nail effigies, Congo, West Africa.
  • Bow lute, Begam tribe, Cameroon, West Africa
  • Bow lute, Begam tribe, Cameroon, West Africa
  • Figure representing pregnant woman, Ivory Coast, West Africa.
  • Figure representing pregnant woman, Ivory Coast, West Africa.
  • An Aku Mma doll.y. Ashanti, Ghana, West Africa.
  • Carved wood vessel with geometric design, Bagongo, West Africa
  • A Liberian medicine man or shaman, West Africa. Halftone.
  • Carved wood vessel with geometric design, Congo, West Africa
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