TB Is a Disease of Dispossession: 2023’s Record Cases and the Communities on the Front Lines
In 2023, tuberculosis (TB) cases reached a record high, with 8.2 million new diagnoses and 1.25 million deaths globally. The surge is particularly acute in high-burden countries. Funding shortages hinder effective treatment and prevention efforts, while antibiotic resistance complicates control. Innovative solutions and increased awareness are essential to combat TB effectively.
Life from African Soil: What Xenobots, the African Clawed Frog, and Ubuntu Philosophy Reveal About Intelligence
Researchers at Tufts University and the University of Vermont have developed xenobots, the first living robots created from African clawed frog stem cells. These tiny robots can heal, replicate, and perform various tasks, including potential medical applications like targeted drug delivery, wound healing, and environmental cleanup, showcasing remarkable adaptability and innovation.
Moving as Sovereignty: How Migrant and Immigrant Communities Build Themselves — and What Policy Does to Their Power
This article highlights the vital role of migrants in enriching American society through diversity, cultural contributions, and economic impact. With 47.8 million foreign-born residents in 2023, their dreams and resilience foster community connections. Embracing and supporting migrants creates a compassionate environment, paving the way for a more inclusive and thriving future.
The Land Knows Its Stewards: Indigenous and African Communities on the Front Line of Biodiversity Protection
Our planet faces a severe wildlife crisis, with species disappearing at unprecedented rates due to human activities like habitat destruction and climate change. Urgent collective action is essential, including sustainable practices in agriculture and energy, financial reforms, and education. Successes in conservation show that change is possible, but systemic efforts are necessary to secure a sustainable future.
Burdock Root in African, Hoodoo, and Indigenous Healing Traditions: Ancestral Medicine, Not New Age Ritual
Long before burdock root appeared in health food stores or wellness blogs, it was medicine. Across generations of healers — from the river communities of West Africa who worked with burdock’s botanical relatives in the Asteraceae family, to the enslaved Africans in the American South who built Hoodoo medicine from whatever grew around them and […]
This Land Was Never Ceded: Indigenous Sovereignty, Resistance, and What Indigenous Peoples’ Day Is Really About
Before there was a “New World,” there were worlds — thousands of them. Nations with their own governance, astronomy, agriculture, medicine, trade networks, and cosmologies. The peoples of Turtle Island had been governing these lands for at least 15,000 years before any European ship crossed the Atlantic. Indigenous Peoples’ Day does not ask us to […]
Before the Bottle: How Hot Pepper Traveled from Indigenous Americas to African Kitchens to the Black Diaspora
Hot sauce, primarily containing capsaicin, offers various health benefits including pain relief, anti-inflammatory properties, digestion aid, and immune support. It provides antioxidants, elevates mood, suppresses appetite, and may have anti-cancer and heart health benefits. Enjoying hot sauce in moderation can enhance wellness and add flavor to meals while avoiding discomfort.
The Groundnut That Crossed Oceans: West African Foodways, George Washington Carver, and What Peanut Butter Really Is
Ubuntu Village · Ancestral Foodways · African Diaspora What you know as peanut butter arrived in your kitchen by way of the Amazon, West Africa, the Middle Passage, and Tuskegee. This is the story behind it. The groundnut is one of the most traveled foods in history — carried across three continents by Indigenous Andean […]
Angel Loviah: Guardian of Intuition, Memory, and the Wisdom of Surrender
Angel Loviah — the 17th angel of the Shem HaMephorash — governs intuition, premonition, expanded memory, and the sacred art of surrender. Discover her wisdom through Kabbalistic, Yoruba, and Afrodiasporic traditions, and learn how to invoke her energy for deeper spiritual knowing in your own life.
The Ancestors Knew: African Cosmology, Cellular Continuity, and What Science Is Learning About Life After Death
Recent biological discoveries reveal that cells hold capacities their assigned role never let them express — reorganizing into living xenobots or self-assembling anthrobots once they are freed from the body plan they were built for. Alongside research into a cellular “third state” after an organism’s death, this challenges traditional views of life and death, promising significant advancements in personalized and regenerative medicine.