I recently came across the song Suu Kiang on TikTok, performed by Jali Sunkari. A chorus of the song goes: Ntolu yaa be suu le, Kiang Fa niŋ diyaa Suu be ñaadii Kiang Fa niŋ diyaa Ntolu be kaŋ kiliŋ ne Fa niŋ diyaa Maŋ moo bo moo to Fa niŋ diyaa It is one of the most beautiful Mandinka cultural songs I have heard in recent months. More than a melody, it is an affirmation of belonging — a celebration of Kiang not merely as a geographical place but as 𝐒𝐮𝐮 : home, heritage, memory, and...

Sometime back, after finishing the poem “Journey to the Hereafter,” I shared it with a number of friends before publishing it on Facebook. The responses I received were telling: “Are you leaving for eternity?”, “No, don’t bring this kind of poem to me. Please, let us know if you are ready to go!”, “. . . And stop writing these types of writings 😢. Write about money—that’s what I want to see 😂”. Others joked that the poem sounded like I was “giving warning shots” before departing this world....

Two weeks ago, an op-ed (opinion piece) published in The Wall Street Journal called on the incoming first lady of US Jill Biden — who...