Documenting Freedom in Africa

To help us understand the idea of freedom in Africa today this digital archive features filmed interviews uploaded to points on an interactive map that document the meaning of freedom in a variety of African languages and contexts across the continent. This archive provides evidence of the profound importance of freedom in contemporary Africa from different perspectives, which can serve as the basis for informed discussion and new critical insights. Taken together, these interviews offer an extensive, substantive debate of what freedom means to many different people in Africa today. It’s a project that values cultural agency in indigenous languages and will help all of us re-evaluate the Western origins of freedom in relation to modern Africa in terms of geography, language, culture, society and the histories of slavery and European colonial domination. With this platform, we seek to democratize the study of freedom in Africa by allowing African voices to help shape the conversation, set priorities and say what the struggle means to them. This collection of interviews is designed to expand over time as an open-access resource for African people and scholars interested in their experience. 

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