Today New York Times Op-Ed stalwart Nick Kristof reported in a “Postcard from Zimbabwe”:
In a week of surreptitious reporting here (committing journalism can be a criminal offense in Zimbabwe), ordinary people said time and again that life had been better under the old, racist, white regime of what was then called Rhodesia….Over and over, I cringed as I heard Africans wax nostalgic about a nasty, oppressive regime run by a tiny white elite. Black Zimbabweans responded that at least that regime was more competent than today’s nasty, oppressive regime run by the tiny black elite that surrounds Mr. Mugabe.
Mr. Kristof may have cringed, but did he give enough context on Zimbabwe and its past as Rhodesia to frame the conversations with citizens that he had? Read More »
tracks the life of Sophie "Sky" Lee, a thirtysomething black rock musician making a comeback in New York City in 2000. There are a few hitches to her plans: Sky's guitarist is her mercurial, drug-abusing ex-husband; her manager is also her boyfriend; and Sky herself is frightened of the cost she'll pay to reach the pinnacle of fame.