Good news!  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, a division of the Department of the Interior, has placed the African lion on its endangered species list.

What’s that, you ask?  We have African lions running around unprotected in this country? Really?

Before he died, none of us had ever heard of Cecil. But from the moment Walter Palmer, an American dentist, put a bullet through the lion’s head, it became the biggest African news story of 2015:  Much bigger than tribal atrocities, abduction and abuse of teenage girls and burning of villages.

For human rights activists trying to raise interest in wars and famine in places like Mali, the Sudan and Burundi, the attention that Cecil received was baffling – and said a lot about how Africa is perceived by the rest of the world.

With its all-white cast – the white hunter, the white guide, the white conservationist who raised the alarm – the story reinforced old colonial tropes. Yet again, Africa was seen through the actions and voices of white people, with black Africans relegated to the role of bit players. (Hollywood take note.)

Yes, Cecil the lion’s death was a tragedy.

Yes, we need to conserve Africa’s wildlife.

However, that the death of one African animal is still considered more interesting than the lives of countless African people is a blunt reminder that this continent is still far from being understood on its own terms.

Do Black Lives Matter in Africa, or only in America?

You are welcome.

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