Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

“Scent of Africa” Marketed to “Afropolitans”
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
11 May 2020
🖨️ Print Article

Fifty years after most African nations won nominal independence, ad agencies are marketing upscale products like the perfume “Scent of Africa” to so-called “Afropolitans,” a cohort defined by Dr Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin, of Canada’s Queens University, as “mobile and relatively well-off” Africans. Adeniyi-Ogunyankin said Afropolitans are criticized for “trying to envision these same capitalist ways of consumption that continue to produce such inequalities.” However, she prefers to think of Afropolitans as Africans that are “aware of the world,” and part of it.

Africana Studies

Related Podcasts

Women Loom Large in African Secessionist Movements
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
Women Loom Large in African Secessionist Movements
14 May 2019
In Cameroon and the former Spanish Sahara, “women are using traditional ideas about power to drives these secessionist movements,” said 
A Grandfather’s Powerful African Microphone
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
A Grandfather’s Powerful African Microphone
26 February 2019
GoGo Breeze, an elder with a radio program on a provincial Zambian station, counsels listeners on wage theft and other problems facing the common p
Seton Hall Students Will Renew Push on Africana Studies
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
Seton Hall Students Will Renew Push on Africana Studies
17 December 2018
Students with the Concerned 44 movement, representing the 44 percent of students that are ethnic or gender minorities, plan to renew their protests

More Stories


  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Jessie Cox’s Book, “Sounds of Black Switzerland”
    29 Jan 2025
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Jessie Cox. Cox is Assistant Professor of Music at Harvard University. His book is…
  • Nemanja Lukić
    Imperialist Terrorism and Accumulation Through Sanctions: The Case of Serbia
    29 Jan 2025
    Since the launch of its military operation in Ukraine, Russia has become one of the most sanctioned countries in the world. This sanctions campaign, driven by the U.S. and E.U., not only focuses on…
  • Hanna Eid
    Gaza Ceasfire: An Appraisal of the Situation
    29 Jan 2025
    A week has elapsed since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect. As Palestinians return to their devastated communities, we must analyze the moment and the…
  • Christina Carrega
    Despite Pardons, Many Formerly Incarcerated Black People Still Face Uncertainty
    29 Jan 2025
    Biden’s final executive order commuted sentences for thousands, but “collateral consequences” remain a risk.
  • Alan MacLeod
    Marco Rubio: From ‘Perfect Little Puppet’ to Most Dangerous Man Alive
    29 Jan 2025
    As a U.S. Senator, Marco Rubio was a consistent war hawk and imperialist. Now as Secretary of State he poses great danger to the world.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us