Africa Today

Understanding today's Africa through historical context. Contemporary politics, economic development, cultural debates, and the tensions between tradition and modernity.

Dark Skin Was Once Power. Now Africa Spends $8.6 Billion a Year Trying to Erase It.

How did a continent where dark skin once signified royalty become the world's largest market for skin bleaching? Tracing the colonial roots of Africa's beauty crisis.

By Peter Cohen

/ 8 Feb 2026

Dark Skin Was Once Power. Now Africa Spends $8.6 Billion a Year Trying to Erase It.

Are China's Railway Projects in Africa a Repeat of Colonial History?

150 years of African railway history teaches that infrastructure without sovereignty is infrastructure without power

By Peter Cohen

/ 8 Feb 2026

Are China's Railway Projects in Africa a Repeat of Colonial History?