So just came out of a talk called: "African Perspectives on COVID-19 and its Impacts" given at a Harvard center - a story.

I had gotten the calendar invite from my friend and collaborator who I have been doing COVID stuff with, so I accepted it to my calendar - my friend is a top-shelf intellect. Her takes are . So I went.

I don’t know things, so don’t drag me. But the talk was to be delivered by a person called Alex deWaal. I thought “ok, gonna hear from an Afrikaans guy in America about Africa. Cool cool cool - outchea breaking ancestral curses”

took a break from my love-hate affair with R and Zoomed in. He is introduced as someone who works “on” Africa. All of us, guys. Even my mom, even your uncle. My friend of usually unimpeachable judgement texts me in a way that if we were in person she woulda shot this look: .

Homeboy starts his raps. He sounds British so I google him. Tufts comes up, Oxford comes up. No Wits, UCT, Makerere, Nairobi... ok cool cool cool. . We persist.

He begins with a reference to Mbeki on AIDS and also Darfur. But not, like, anything Mbeki said or any of his ideas. No quotes from his lyrical speeches for some razzle-dazzle. just that he worked with him. so at this point I’m like “whut?”. You leading with Mbeki on AIDS huh.

He starts to describe Africa in exactly the way that Africa’s a country works against. It is one thing, and it’s police are like this and it’s politicians are like that and health systems are like this..... I’m like ok cool cool cool. I don’t recognize any of this but ok

Quoth he: Lockdown is unsustainable, and Africa is a young country. older people should vacate the city and go (literally what he said:) TO THEIR VILLAGES to wait it out..... so anti-lockdown kind of vibes. Tough to hear since I have two village-less parents over 60.

Question time so I . “The talk is entitled African Perspectives. Which African scholars would you recommend for us to follow?... which scholars have helped you to synthesize your take?”

He stumbles about a little bit and cites the website African Arguments. Cool cool. Nice one.... “Are there specific African scholars you have read that you would recommend?”

At this point we are using the broad definition of African, guys: basically any person whose bed, or whose ancestor’s bed was, is, or will be, in Africa. We are willing to extend the definition: anyone with a boyfriend, or even a crush, with a historical, or current bed there.

He didn’t name a single one. Not a sin gle af ri can has written anything that merits a mention in a talk on African perspectives on Covid. Meanwhile he is angling at recommendations for the African response.

Ok - some “limitations, strengths and weaknesses” before I give the “discussion and conclusions” tweet: a) It is a work-in-progress seminar so standards are expected to be lower than finished work. But wow - can you do a lit review with black people in it? Can you respect us?

b) I’m literally the last person to demand name-dropping - I have a goldfish memory for names. But again, can you respect us and learn a list of 6 Africans you can throw out there coz no one is going to know the difference anyways?

“Discussion and Conclusions”. Please don’t describe “Africa” unless you are sure that you have mad receipts. If you are too lazy for African receipts learn a list of 5 African-sounding names. Don’t wanna use that word that begins with D and ends with ecolonize, but damn.