by Ray Jones
Kilombo, Pan-African Community Journal. Vol 8, issue 2, October-December 2005. £2. PO Box 21266, London W9 3YR. phone 07384 405307, email nkexplo@yahoo.co.uk
THE WORD Kilombo comes from the Kimbunu language in what is now Angola. It means a warrior village or settlement.
These were the organisational core of Queen N’zinga M’bandi’s resistance to the Portuguese invaders in the 17th century and the word represents, say the publishers, the unity of fighters in battle and their determination to achieve freedom.
Brave words, which the journal does its best to live up to.
For many of us in Britain Africa is probably still a dark continent as far as it’s politics goes. Well, here is our chance! From Cameroon to the Congo, from Kenya to Uganda, plus Black struggles in Britain and the United States, its all in Kilombo. But not in a dry academic style, because this is a campaigning journal and not just an educational one.
Readers will not agree with all of it, indeed not all the articles necessarily represent the views of the editorial board, but they will find it interesting and informative. The brief over view of the situation in the US by Kali Akuno, from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, for example, gives an interesting perspective and food for thought
The journal is well produced and easy to read and a real bargain at £2.
