Gower Street is proud to present a panel on African history from two of the most exciting writers today: Paula Akpan and Luke Pepera.
Both groundbreaking pieces of writing on African culture and history, Gower Street is very excited to host a panel on African History. With over 500,000 years to cover and the powerful figures of the past to examine, there is so much to explore in what will be a truly fascinating evening.
In Paula Akpan's sweeping history, she takes us into the worlds of queens and warriors, following their stories and how they came to rule and influence the futures of their people. With reigns spanning pre-colonial Nigeria to the farming villages of Rwanda, the hills of Madagascar to apartheid South Africa, these ruler's stories offer us fascinating insight into life in these regions. Akpan shows how societies thrived, expanded and fractured before colonial influence, while also exposing the deep scars colonisation left behind.
Motherland is a ground-breaking new exploration of African culture and identity, told via Luke Pepera’s journey through 500,000 years of history to connect with his extraordinary heritage. Pepera tackles the questions many people of African descent ask - Who are we? Where do we come from? What defines us? And how might knowledge of deep history affect our understanding of our identity?
Paula Akpan (she/her) is a Black British historian and writer who gained a distinction in her fully funded MA in Black British History and who has credits in Vogue, Teen Vogue, The Independent, Stylist, VICE, i-D, Bustle, Time Out London and more. WHEN WE RULED is her much-anticipated debut book.Luke is a writer, broadcaster, historian, and anthropologist dedicated to sharing his passion for African history & cultures. He was born in Ghana, and has a degree from St Peter's College, Oxford, where he read Archaeology & Anthropology and studied ancient and medieval African history. Since graduating he has worked at the Pitt Rivers Museum, The Times, and Tatler, and has written and presented Africa: Written Out of History, a documentary for Dan Snow's History Hit.
Join us at 6pm for drinks before the talk at 6.30pm. There will be a Q&A with an opportunity for book signing after the talk.
