Writer. Researcher. Essays and Journalism on politics, culture, power.
A first-person essay on being targeted by immigration enforcement as a foreign, Black, pro-Palestinian activist, reflecting on surveillance, repression, and forced departure in the United States for the Guardian.
A reported literary essay on disaster, aftermath, and everyday life following Hurricane Beryl on Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for Small Axe (SX Salon).
An essay on race, accent, belonging, and shifting meanings of Black British identity within elite academia, grounded in experience at an Ivy League university in the United States and United Kingdom for the Guardian.
A feature on radical decolonisation in literary studies, engaging the intellectual project of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and its implications for global academic institutions for Al Jazeera.
A reported piece on Indigenous resistance, racism, and contested Columbus Day commemorations in Chile, focusing on how Indigenous groups challenge discrimination and exclusion for Al Jazeera.
A reported piece on transitional justice in The Gambia, examining how the country’s reconciliation process seeks to address abuses committed under former president Yahya Jammeh for Al Jazeera.
A cultural report on Senegal’s Museum of Black Civilisations, analysing the politics of decolonising knowledge and heritage in a postcolonial context for Al Jazeera.
A long-form investigation tracing Trinidadian foreign-fighter routes to ISIS and the social worlds that produced them, situating militancy within local histories in Trinidad and the Caribbean and transnational conflict zones in Syria and Iraq for Middle East Eye.
An investigation into how the UK security state facilitated British-Libyans travelling to fight Muammar Gaddafi, exposing covert state practices linking the United Kingdom and Libya for Middle East Eye.
An accountability report on civilian harm and demands for justice following a French air strike in Mali, foregrounding local testimony and calls for truth for Al Jazeera.
Amandla Thomas-Johnson is a writer and Cornell University PhD candidate working on empire, race, and power. His essays and reporting have appeared in The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, and The Daily Telegraph, with a focus on Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe.