with to a certain extent it s values were imposed on a native people and laid for better and worse much of the foundation for modern kenya. it did abolish slavery, for instance. it did build a modern infrastructure. it was also completely and fundamentally exploitative, often violent and, well, racist. kenya existed to make white people from far away rich. but in 1963, kenya won its independence and elected its first president, jomo kenyatta, and since that time has fought an uphill battle to shake the last vestiges of colonial rule while hanging on to what worked. things are by most accounts going well. there is a growing middle class, a highly rated educational system and an enthusiastic and multilingual professional sector. which is to say this is decidedly not a shithole.
its values, were imposed on a native people and laid for better and worse much of the foundation for modern kenya. it did abolish slavery, for instance. it did build a modern infrastructure. it was also completely and fundamentally exploitative, often violent and, well, racist. kenya existed to make white people from far away rich. but in 1963, kenya won its independence and elected its first president, jomo kenyatta, and since that time has fought an uphill battle to shake the last vestiges of colonial rule while hanging on to what worked. things are by most accounts going well. there is a growing middle class, a highly rated educational system and an enthusiastic and multilingual professional sector. which is to say this is decidedly not a shithole. it s dynamic, it s changing, and
kamau: what a shithole. i mean, the other thing i m aware of too is i think about not wanting to feel like i have come home, you know? and yet there is a sense that there is this diasporic connection, even though i did not come from kenya, you know? it s nice to have that connection. even if the frame that that connection was built through was colonialism. even though that s not it s the good part of colonialism. it brings people together. [ laughter ] anthony: i don t know. it should kind of be compulsory viewing for if you ever run for president, this should be compulsory viewing. kamau: at the very least, i do think that a lot of perspectives will be opened up, a lot of minds will be changed. so, that goal you ve been saving for,
which is to say this is decidedly not a shithole. it s dynamic, it s changing, and it s incredible. kenya by kenyans, for kenyans. but hurdles exist. bizarre, almost surreal ones in this case. mitumba, for instance. also known as the clothing of dead white people. njeri: 70% of africans are wearing secondhand clothes. if we can just make our own clothes and make them cheap enough, and make the money and keep the money. anthony: njeri gikera is the owner of chili mango, an all-kenyan street wear company. melissa mbugua is a managing director at a creative consulting firm. anthony: as i understand it, there used to be 500,000 manufacturing jobs in kenya. textile manufacturing. and there s now 20,000. njeri: before the 80s, we had a booming textile industry
karmusha: that is a white rhino. kamau: so how do karmusha: it s nothing to do with the coloration. white was an african name whit which means wide-mouth. and whoever came to write about them put an e there. then it became white. kamau: okay, because you said white rhino, and i was like karmusha: yeah, it s not white. kamau: i think his dad might be black. anthony: does it look like you wanted it to look? or expected it to look? kamau: i mean, uh, no. i mean, i guess i don t know. i mean, i grew up as a kid, you know, my first images of africa were tarzan, you know? so i don t think i knew what kenya africa was. you know? anthony: what a shithole, right? [ laughter ] kamau: what a shithole.